The city of "Vaelthorne" was drowning in mist. It slithered through the narrow alleyways like a living thing, curling around gas lamps that barely pierced the gloom. The cobbled streets were slick with last night's rain, reflecting the dim glow of lanterns swaying in the wind.

Beneath the heavy silence of dawn, Elias Dorne moved like a shadow. His coat was tattered at the edges, his boots worn from miles of restless wandering. He had long since abandoned the luxury of an easy life; now, only the pursuit of knowledge drove him forward.

Tonight, he sought a name—one that should not be spoken.

The old books called it the Unseen Lord. A being that did not exist in records, yet left its mark on the world like an ink stain on parchment. Some said it was a god long forgotten. Others whispered that it was never a god to begin with—something worse, something that did not belong.

Elias clutched the note in his pocket, his fingers brushing against the brittle parchment. It had been left at his door at midnight, sealed with a sigil he did not recognize. Three words had been scrawled upon it in hurried script:

"Seek the Hollow Veil."

He didn't know what it meant—yet. But he would find out.

The destination was clear: Saint Orwain's Archive, the oldest library in Vaelthorne, a place where knowledge was both preserved and hidden. If the Unseen Lord had ever left a trace, it would be there.

Elias reached the library gates just as the city bells tolled six times. The towering iron doors loomed before him, adorned with symbols of forgotten tongues. He pressed his palm against the cold metal, whispering the phrase he had stolen from an old tome.

"By the weight of the past, grant passage to the seeker."

The doors groaned open.

Inside, the air smelled of dust and aged parchment. Shelves stretched into the dim light, weighed down by volumes no living man had read in centuries.

A single candle flickered at the farthest table. Behind it sat Master Callian, the librarian. His wrinkled face was set in an expression of quiet contemplation, but his sharp eyes fixed on Elias the moment he entered.

"You are looking for something dangerous," Callian murmured, turning a page in his massive tome without breaking eye contact.

"I usually am," Elias replied.

The librarian sighed, closing his book with a soft thud. "The Hollow Veil, then."

Elias stiffened. He had not spoken the words aloud.

Callian rose, gesturing for Elias to follow. "Come," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "If you truly wish to see beyond the Veil… then you must be prepared to never unsee it."

Something shifted in the air. The candle flames flickered.

And in the deepest shadows of the archive, something *watched*.

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