The Veil didn't feel like a place—it felt like a trap. Haruaki followed Rina through its twisted streets, his sneakers crunching on pavement that shimmered like it was dusted with crushed stars. The buildings loomed, their obsidian edges sharp enough to cut the bruised-purple sky. Neon signs flickered with unreadable glyphs, their glow pulsing in time with the key in his pocket, which hadn't stopped its faint, insistent thrum since he'd stepped through the stone door. Every step made his skin crawl, like the Veil was watching him, sizing him up. Rina, on the other hand, moved like she owned the place, her staff tapping the ground, sparks trailing from its tip.
"Keep up, kid," she called over her shoulder, her voice sharp but not unkind. Her red-streaked hair caught the light, and her leather jacket creaked as she moved. "You're already a target. Don't make it easy for them."
"Them?" Haruaki's voice was rough, his throat dry from the ozone-heavy air. "You mean more of those… Veilspawn things?"
Rina didn't answer right away. She led him down an alley where the walls seemed to breathe, their surfaces rippling like liquid. "Veilspawn are just the start," she said finally, stopping at a rusted metal door set into a crumbling wall. "The Veil's got worse. And you, with that Gatekey? You're a walking beacon."
Haruaki's hand went to his pocket, the key's warmth seeping through his jacket. "This thing? Why's it so important?"
Rina pushed the door open, revealing a dimly lit room that looked like a cross between a dive bar and a witch's lair. Shelves lined the walls, stuffed with jars of glowing liquids, bones, and things Haruaki didn't want to identify. A table in the center held a cracked crystal ball, its surface swirling with faint colors. The air smelled of incense and something sharper, like burnt copper. "Sit," Rina said, pointing to a stool. "And don't touch anything."
He obeyed, mostly because he was too tired to argue. The pain in his chest from earlier—the one that had hit when the Veil flickered—lingered like a bruise. Rina leaned her staff against the wall and started rummaging through a crate, muttering to herself. Haruaki's eyes wandered to the crystal ball, its colors shifting like oil on water. For a moment, he saw a face—his own, but older, with lines etched deep and eyes that looked… broken. He blinked, and it was gone.
"Alright, rookie," Rina said, tossing a small vial of green liquid onto the table. "Drink this. It'll keep you from fracturing again until we figure out what you are."
"Fracturing?" Haruaki's voice cracked. "You said that before. What does it mean?"
Rina crossed her arms, her fire-red eyes narrowing. "You felt it, didn't you? The world slowing down, speeding up, like reality was glitching? That's you, messing with the Veil's time zones. You're not just some kid who stumbled into this place. You're Fractureborn."
There it was again—that word. It hit him like a punch, stirring something deep, like a memory he couldn't grasp. "Fractureborn," he repeated, testing the word. "The old man said that too. What does it mean?"
Rina sighed, leaning against the table. "It means you're rare. Dangerous. Born on the edge of the Veil and the real world, caught between them. You can manipulate time here—bend it, break it, reshape it. But it comes at a cost." She tapped her temple. "Every time you use that power, you fracture reality a little more. And you pay for it with your body. Your life."
Haruaki's stomach twisted. "My life?"
"You felt the pain, right? That's your body aging, burning itself out. Keep using your powers without control, and you'll be an old man before you're twenty." She smirked, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Welcome to the club."
He stared at the vial, his mind racing. Aging. Dying. All because of some power he didn't ask for, tied to a key he didn't want. "Why me?" he asked, his voice quieter than he meant it to be. "Why'd that guy give me the key?"
Rina shrugged. "Gatekeys choose their owners. Or maybe the Veil does. Either way, you're stuck with it. And someone's gonna come looking for it—someone a lot worse than that Veilspawn."
Before he could ask more, a sharp caw cut through the room. Haruaki flinched, his eyes darting to the corner where a crow perched on a shelf, its feathers so black they seemed to drink the light. Its eyes glowed faintly, gold like the key, and it tilted its head, staring at him. "Well, well," it said, its voice low and gravelly, like a smoker who'd lived too long. "You're the new guy. Not much to look at, are you?"
Haruaki's jaw dropped. "Did that bird just—"
"Talk? Yeah." Rina didn't seem fazed. "That's Kuro. He's… let's call him a guide. Shows up when a Fractureborn does. Congratulations, you've got a babysitter."
"Babysitter?" Kuro squawked, ruffling his feathers. "I'm a guardian, fire-witch. Show some respect." He hopped onto the table, fixing Haruaki with a stare. "You, kid. You're trouble. I can smell it. That key's gonna get you killed if you don't listen."
Haruaki's head spun. A talking crow. A magical key. A hidden world where time could kill him. He wanted to laugh, to scream, to wake up from whatever nightmare this was. But the key in his pocket pulsed, and the pain in his chest flared again, sharper this time. He gripped the table, his vision blurring as the room seemed to stretch, then snap back. The crystal ball flickered, showing that older version of himself again, his face gaunt, his eyes hollow.
"Drink the damn vial," Rina snapped, shoving it into his hand. "Now."
He fumbled with the cork, downing the green liquid in one gulp. It tasted like battery acid and mint, burning down his throat. The pain in his chest eased, and the room stopped spinning, but he felt heavier, like gravity had doubled. "What was that?" he gasped.
"Stabilizer," Rina said. "Keeps your powers from going haywire. For now." She sat across from him, her expression unreadable. "You're gonna need training, kid. The Veil's not a playground. It's a battlefield, and you're walking around with a target on your back."
Haruaki's hands shook as he set the vial down. "Training? For what? I didn't sign up for this."
"You don't get a choice," Rina said. "The Veil's breaking, like your dead guy said. Fractures are spreading, letting things like that Veilspawn into the real world. If you don't learn to control your powers, you'll make it worse. And trust me, the people who run this place—the Veil's elite—they don't take kindly to loose cannons."
"Elite?" Haruaki's mind flashed to Crimson Towers, to the wealth and power that oozed from its walls. "You mean the rich assholes who live in places like that penthouse?"
Rina's laugh was sharp, bitter. "Oh, kid, you have no idea. The Veil's got its own aristocracy—mages, merchants, warlords with more power than you can imagine. They trade in magic, not money, but it's the same game. They'll eat you alive if you don't play smart."
Kuro cawed, hopping closer. "She's not wrong. The Veil's a market, kid. Power, artifacts, secrets—everything's for sale. And that key? It's worth more than you can imagine. Guard it with your life."
Haruaki's head throbbed. He wanted to go back to his old life, to deliveries and rain and the grind of Eldridge City. But the key, the Veil, the pain in his chest—they were real, and they weren't letting go. "What do I do?" he asked, hating how small his voice sounded.
Rina leaned forward, her eyes locking onto his. "First, you survive. Then, you learn. I'll teach you to control your powers, but it's not gonna be easy. You'll bleed, you'll hurt, and you might not make it. But if you're Fractureborn, you've got a shot at being something more than a delivery boy."
Kuro tilted his head. "Or you'll die trying. No pressure."
Haruaki glared at the crow, but his heart wasn't in it. The weight of the key, the Veil, the word Fractureborn—it was all too much. But as he looked at Rina, at the fire in her eyes, he felt a spark of something he hadn't felt in years: purpose. Maybe he wasn't just a ghost in the city. Maybe he could be something else.
"Fine," he said, his voice steadier now. "Teach me."
Rina's smirk was almost a smile. "Good choice, rookie. Let's hope you don't regret it."
Outside, the Veil's sky pulsed, and somewhere in its depths, something ancient stirred, drawn to the new Fractureborn and the key he carried.