Here is the full
The Veil had never been truly quiet. Even in its calmest hours, there was always the subtle pulse of life footsteps in the deeper halls, soft murmurs near the central campfire, the occasional clatter of salvaged weaponry being forged in the repurposed forge chamber. But tonight, something else lingered. Not just quiet. Something heavier. A silence born not from peace, but from withheld breath.
They knew.
Rumors moved fast in a place like this. By the time Kai stepped through the main corridor, shadows curling off his coat like they did now without command, half the Veil had already heard of what happened in the Vault. Not from him, but from glimpses, from whispers, from the way Ciro and Felda returned pale and wordless.
And from the fact that *Kai Ardent*, the man who never hesitated, had walked away.
He entered the war room without a word. The map was still there, updated with new glyphs, new potential routes to the Sanctified Vault but his eyes passed over them like dead parchment. Solen sat nearby, watching him.
"You didn't choose," Solen said.
Kai didn't answer. He stood before the map, eyes vacant, but body tense.
"They say the mirror demanded your memory," Solen continued. "They say it showed her."
Kai's jaw tightened.
"I would've made the same choice," Solen added.
"No," Kai said softly. "You wouldn't have."
Solen leaned back, one hand resting near the edge of the table, just enough distance to be ready in case things turned. That was the thing about Solen — clever, cautious, and always planning two moves ahead.
"You want to save her," Solen said. "But not at the cost of losing her. Not even her name."
"I almost gave it," Kai whispered. "I almost gave away the only face I remember with warmth."
Solen didn't respond for a while.
Then he said, "The Veil is starting to fracture. You need to speak to them."
Kai finally turned.
"And say what? That I failed?"
"No. Say that you hesitated. That even Shade is still human. Some of them need to hear it."
Kai laughed quietly. The sound was bitter. "And the others? They'll see it as weakness."
Solen smiled faintly. "Let them. Sometimes fear of your fall is what binds people tighter than faith in your strength."
---
Later that night, Kai stood on the old platform that overlooked the central fire. Dozens had gathered below. Some leaned against the stone columns. Others stood stiff, arms folded, eyes wary. Word had spread — the leader would speak.
He let the silence hang for a moment.
Then he began.
"You all know where I went," he said, voice low but echoing clearly across the chamber. "And you've heard that I came back empty."
He let the words settle.
"There is something beneath the Sanctified Vault. Something more than relics or magic. Something ancient. It speaks in riddles, but its demands are clear. It does not open for those who are strong, but for those who are willing to give what cannot be taken back."
The people said nothing. Even the children were quiet.
"I was asked to give a memory. A specific one."
His eyes scanned the crowd. He didn't see enemies here. Not yet. But doubt was growing like mold in corners. If he did not cut it out, it would rot everything they had built.
"I chose not to," he said. "Because the price was too high."
More silence.
Then he said something that shocked even himself.
"If any of you think that makes me weak… then leave. I won't stop you. I won't even ask why."
Nobody moved.
He took a breath.
"I did not walk away because I feared pain. I've tasted worse. I walked away because I want the cure. But I want to be the one who brings it back. Not a shadow of who I was."
Someone in the back stepped forward. Eren.
"You'll go back?" he asked.
Kai nodded. "Yes. But next time, we're going with better options. No more blind doors. We make them open."
A few heads nodded.
Then more.
The fire flickered, throwing light across Kai's face. For a moment, he looked like a myth again but not the untouchable kind. A man who bled, who chose to remember instead of becoming a god.
That night, no one left.
But the cracks remained.
---
The next morning, Felda found him in the upper observatory what used to be a shattered piece of subway control now turned into a makeshift meditation hall. He was alone, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, breathing slowly. The system interface was glowing faintly beside him, displaying nothing but the word:
"Error: Protocol Pulse Interrupted"
"You haven't slept," she said.
Kai opened his eyes.
"I don't think I can anymore."
She sat beside him. The chamber was quiet, the stone beneath them warm from the residual mana Sigils used for lighting.
"I found something," she said. "In one of the older Guild blueprints. There's a hidden path. A different one. But it's… not clean."
He turned to her. "Explain."
She pulled out a scroll — a Guild report sealed with the insignia of a relic division. When she unrolled it, the parchment hummed faintly with locked glyphs.
"I used to be part of this division. Briefly. Before I defected. They were experimenting with soul-channeling — using emotional triggers to force open memory-sealed gates."
"And?"
She hesitated. "They found that blood lineage can override memory locks. But it requires a shared blood sacrifice."
Kai narrowed his eyes. "How much?"
Felda looked away. "It varies. Sometimes a drop. Sometimes… more."
Kai stood.
"You're saying I can bypass the memory lock by offering a blood link. Someone close."
Felda nodded. "A sibling. A parent. Or a child."
Kai froze.
Ara.
His sister.
The vault wanted memory, but it would accept blood instead from someone bound to him by flesh. The closer the bond, the easier the door opened.
"And if I give it?"
"The door opens," Felda said quietly. "But you might share the pain. If she's still sick…"
"I could worsen it."
"Or kill her."
He didn't speak for a long time.
Then he asked the question neither of them wanted.
"Is there a way to simulate it? A proxy?"
Felda hesitated.
"There is one. But it's dangerous."
She looked up at him.
"There's someone in the Veil who used to work for the Guild. A man named Vex. He kept it quiet. But he was a traitor-handler. A collector of broken bloodlines."
Kai didn't recognize the name.
"You're saying he has a synthetic relic?"
She nodded.
"A blood-echo. A cursed one. You bind it to someone who shares your blood, even loosely. It mimics the connection."
"And the risk?"
"It might overwrite your link. Or it might drain them to stabilize the seal. Either way, it's not clean."
Kai looked out over the Veil.
Even as the sunless sky cast no light, he could feel time closing in around him. The Hollow King's presence was growing louder. The relic was calling louder. And now, the people of the Veil were watching with more than hope.
They were watching with **need**.
He had a choice.
Real blood and risk Ara's life.
Or cursed blood and trust a man who once worked for the enemy.
He turned to Felda.
"Bring me Vex."