The Obsidian Palace was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Kael moved through its marble halls like a forgotten shadow. No bells. No maids. No footsteps. Just silence thick enough to smother breath.
He'd changed since the masked figure's attack. The Phantom Veil wasn't just a form. It was a filter. A new layer of reality.
Everything felt… slower.
Sharper.
Darker.
---
[Shadow System: Passive Activated]
Phantom Veil
> Cloaking enabled. Sound dampened. Light bent. Presence obscured.
Emotions slightly numbed. Reactions enhanced.
---
Kael now heard things others couldn't.
A whispered command behind a locked door.
The scratch of ink on parchment three rooms away.
Even the heavy breath of Aserion Voss during one of his dreamless naps.
But it wasn't Aserion that made Kael uneasy today.
It was her.
---
Syrene Ashvale, the Flame Beneath Ice.
She'd begun watching him.
Nothing overt. Nothing someone else would notice.
But she paused when she passed him in the halls.
She held eye contact a second too long.
And once—just once—he caught her glancing toward the servant ledger after he'd signed it.
She knew.
Not the truth. Not yet.
But she felt something was wrong.
---
Kael returned to the servant quarters and slipped into the shadows of the linen storeroom. Safe. For now.
He sat cross-legged on the floor and whispered:
> "System. Threadreader."
---
[Threadreader Activated]
> Local thread map: 128 active threads
High-risk knots: 3
Shadow anomalies: 1 nearby
Observation in progress…
Observation?
Kael's breath froze.
He turned his gaze slowly toward the high shelf. A small vent — barely big enough for a rat.
Yet… something flickered there.
Not a presence. Not a person.
A thread.
Not one of fate — but of surveillance.
> Another system user.
Thread Anchor Detected.
Kael narrowed his eyes and activated a stored whisper:
---
[Skill Used: Whisper in the Thread]
> Intent: Reverse-signal echo back through the thread
Target: Unknown Observer
Message Sent:
"I see you."
---
The thread snapped like cut silk.
The room shook—just for a moment—and then the darkness returned to normal.
But Kael's hand trembled.
They weren't just watching him.
They were watching from inside the system.
---
Moments later, elsewhere in the palace…
Syrene stood by a stained-glass window, watching the courtyard below. Her gloved hand traced a sigil on the glass—old mage-code, illegal but untraceable.
> Response:
"Shadow presence detected in Thread Anchor. Identity uncertain."
"Escalation protocol?"
Reply came quickly.
"Observe. Do not engage. Unless he breaches Fate Barrier."
Syrene closed her eyes.
"Then I'll wait," she whispered. "But not for long."
---
Back in the servant quarters…
Kael opened his eyes, heart steadying.
His first kill had been time itself.
His second… might be whoever was trying to turn the shadows against him.
And if they were inside the system?
Then this war was no longer about changing fate.
It was about who controlled it.
---