The hall beneath Sira was silent, yet the silence pressed against him like water. Every faint shimmer of the Veil responded to Prince—not Nasir. The vessel moved, but the soul was entirely his.
He studied the circle etched into the stone. Threads of silver energy pulsed faintly above it. Each thread seemed to stretch toward him, measuring, evaluating, probing.
So this is how it begins, he thought. The reflection chooses the soul first, the body merely follows.
The Emergence
Prince stepped into the center. The threads of the Veil thickened, coiling around him like serpents. He extended his hands deliberately. Light responded instantly, solidifying into shapes.
Before him, a figure began to form: transparent, flickering, but unmistakably human. A Reflection Avatar, created by the presence of the Veil in response to his soul.
Prince examined it carefully. The figure mirrored him perfectly—but its eyes were hollow, waiting, probing.
"Your path is not simple, Prince," the Reflection spoke in his own voice. "I will walk where you cannot. But choices matter. Every path has a cost."
Prince's expression remained calm. "I understand. And I choose the path of Insight."
The Reflection nodded, then shifted, vanishing into threads of silver that drifted silently into the hall.
The Path of Mystic Insight
Prince could feel the choice settle within him. The first path he had claimed was not for combat, nor for brute force, but for perception, for understanding, for seeing what others could not.
The silver threads lingered faintly in the hall, like whispers of power, and the Veil hummed in acknowledgment.
So, this is the first step, he thought. Not to strike, but to see. Not to act, but to understand.
A Threat in the Shadows
He had barely begun to study the Veil when a subtle disturbance rippled through the hall.
Masked figures—enforcers of the Veil Watchers—moved silently along the edges of the chamber. Their eyes, hidden behind featureless masks, seemed to measure him, judge him.
Prince did not panic. Every movement, every intention, every step of these figures was visible to him now—not through ordinary sight, but through the heightened perception granted by the Veil threads he had claimed.
He watched them, cataloging their distance, speed, stance. Then he stepped aside into a shadow, silent, calm.
They are aware of me. But I am not yet theirs to touch.
Awakening of a Calculating Mind
Prince—inside Nasir's body—stood alone again. The Reflection Avatar had gone, the masked enforcers had vanished, and the hall was quiet once more.
And yet, the city had shifted around him. Threads of Veil power lingered in the air, connecting him subtly to unseen currents.
Observation first. Calculation second. Action last.
He felt the thrill of awareness, not of strength. The true power of the Veils lay not in the body, but in the mind that could perceive, understand, and plan.
Prince inhaled slowly. The city of Sira had revealed a fraction of its truth.
And he was ready to uncover the rest.