VEIL OF SHADOWS

Veil of Shadows

***

The Journey begins...

The night was a tapestry of secrets, woven with threads of moonlight and starfire. Asher stood at the edge of the ancient well—the gateway between realms. His father's eyes bore the weight of unspoken truths, and Asher's heart thrummed with anticipation. Strange magical powers had awakened within him, allowing him to peer into the veils that separated worlds.

"Remember, Asher," his father whispered, "you are not like other men. Your blood carries the legacy of both light and darkness. The Fates have woven your destiny, and it is time to embrace it."

" Yes, father I know. Although I don't know what I'll become whatever fate has installed for me I'm ready for the journey ahead" He tells him with unquivering fear.

" My son, it is time." His father spoke with a spindle pain in his heart.

Asher steps into a dark void and in the void flowed water running in all directions forming a great sea where life emerged.

Asher's reflection shimmered in the still water. His eyes held galaxies—the swirling chaos of existence. He had glimpsed other realms—realms of fire and ice, realms where time flowed backward, and realms where forgotten gods whispered forgotten names.

" Yes! I see it, I see the secrets of unspoken truth." Goes Asher, his eyes turned black while blood flowed slowly down his cheeks.

His father's silence gnawed at him. "Why keep secrets? What was the price of this knowledge?

Hia's father asked, waiting for a reply.

" That I do not know but it's a secret only seen by mortal beings not by immortals." His voice deepens as his body glows with strange energy.

The seas pulsed with energy, beckoning him. Asher stepped forward, and the world fractured. He emerged in a different realm—a place of perpetual twilight. The air tasted of iron and longing. His skin prickled as he transformed—flesh to shadow, bone to obsidian. His true self emerged—a vampire, hunger coiled like a serpent within.

"Ah! What a powerful feeling." Asher stretching both hands in the air.

" Remember what you came here for? Do not be deceived." Sodomy Speaks warning seriously. Now that Sodomy has found Asher he is released from the river and rebirthed as a mortal God in the form of a human.

*SODOMY'S POV* (God of Chaos and destruction)

Sodomy was an ancient God of both kingdoms whose work was to keep the balance of Fae Fawn and Noxus together. The previous wars in the past were so great that Sodomy wasn't able to withstand the pulsing energy and so he got destroyed perishing within the stars.

Not until a new generation of both kingdoms emerged and through the rebirth of his decimated form was he able to be restored. He silently waited in Aruntanga village for the chosen one to emerge and once again take over from where he stopped.

Story continues...

The realm stretched before him—an ancient city of spires and secrets. The moon hung low, casting elongated shadows. He knew immediately he was in the realm of Noxus. Asher's senses sharpened—the scent of blood, the rustle of wings. His father's words echoed: "Embrace your role, my son. The thirst will consume you, but you must master it."

" Yes indeed you're correct. Welcome to Noxus the night of shadows." Sodomy says looking gloomy.

" What is it?" Asher asked as he sensed Sodomy's disappointment.

" Asher, I thought I would never see this realm again after the great war. Coming back here again... Reminds me of my past memorial." Sodomy replies but gives a fading smile.

Asher looked astonished and puzzled at the new realm. He hadn't seen something so different and long back. Tall, bricked towers hanging iron bells, horse carriages riding calmly on the street, various stores seen in all places, men and women dressed rather in the 80s.

In this realm, he was odd and different. At times when he walks by people would stare weirdly at him. Probably because of how formal he dressed.

Thirty minutes later...

He wandered the cobblestone streets, drawn to the heart of the city—the Bloodstone Citadel. Its walls whispered of forgotten battles, of kings who had bargained with darkness. Asher's veins pulsed with anticipation. The throne awaited—the seat of power and hunger.

Within the citadel, he met **Lysandra**, a vampire queen with eyes like fractured ice. She sensed his arrival, her laughter echoing through the marble halls.

"Asher," she purred, "the prodigal son returns. Your father's silence speaks volumes. You are the key—the bridge between realms."

"Son?" He asked in shock.

" Hmm, I see you haven't told him." Lysander asked turning to Sodomy.

Sodomy removes his face in disappointment and grunts underneath his voice.

" What does she mean? What is going on here?" Asher questioned Sodomy who bearly glanced at him.

Lysandra touched his forehead head with a finger and ignited a fire within him—a hunger beyond blood. She revealed the truth:

Asher was not merely a vampire. He was a **Nexus**, a being destined to bind worlds. His thirst was not for blood alone—it was for balance, for the cosmic dance of creation and destruction.

There was a price to pay. To fulfill his role, Asher must drink from the **Ebon Chalice**—a vessel of ancient magic. Its contents would bind him to eternity, and the thirst would become insatiable.

Lysandra's lips brushed his ear: "Choose, Asher. The chalice or oblivion." She tells him.

Asher stood at the precipice. The Ebon Chalice gleamed—a void within. He sees a face in the chalice. A face that almost looked like him. His father's face haunted him—the fear in those eyes, the unspoken love.

Asher's heart wavered. Could he bear the weight of worlds? Could he quench his thirst without losing himself?

" W...who was that?" Asher turned to Lysandra.

" What do you think?" Asked Lysandra smiling evilly.

" What is the going to be Asher? Make your pick." She calmly tells him, caressing his lips.

As the moon reached its zenith, Asher made his choice. He raised the chalice to his lips, the liquid darkness searing his throat. Power surged—a vortex of stars and shadows. He became the bridge—the Nexus. Blood and magic merged, and Asher's veins pulsed with purpose.

"Finally, You are the chosen one. A rare and different breed of vampire." She laughs softly with admiration.

" What did you do? You were not supposed to taste his fate! What if the result were fatal?!" Sodomy eyes glowing, hid hair burning up in flames.

" Relax! He is alive, isn't he? We both know he has no time and he needs to be at his strongest as soon as possible." Lysandra whispered in his ear.

Lysandra's eyes held secrets. Slowly approaching Asher she said;

"Remember," she whispered, "the thirst is eternal. And sometimes, the greatest sacrifice is forgetting who you once were Asher."

It is time to choose your path... the path of no return and blood as a covenant with death. Are you ready?

To be continued...