Kade stood at the base of the tower long after the cloaked woman disappeared into the mist. Her name, like everything else in this world, remained unsaid—intentionally, it seemed.
He was alone again. No noise. No time.
He stared up at the spiraling stairs vanishing into the clouds.
High enough to break you, she had said.
Kade exhaled slowly, steadying his trembling hands.
"Then let's find out what it takes to shatter a nobody," he muttered—and began to climb.
---
The staircase wasn't made for humans.
With every step, reality shifted. On the third stair, his limbs went weightless, like gravity had abandoned him. On the fifth, he heard whispers in a language he didn't know—but felt like he should. On the eighth, a burning cold crawled up his spine and nested behind his eyes.
And on the tenth step…
His heart stopped.
---
Kade's body collapsed mid-step—eyes wide, lips parted, breath frozen in his throat. But his mind...
…his mind was elsewhere.
He was in a hospital room, sterile and white. The beeping of a monitor pulsed steadily beside him. He turned—and saw himself in the bed. Pale. Hooked up to machines. A woman sat beside the bed, clutching his hand.
She was beautiful in the tired way only grief makes possible.
"Please, Kade," she whispered. "Come back. I can't lose you too."
He recognized her. Mom.
Then—darkness.
Flames.
---
He awoke coughing, gasping like he had been drowning for hours.
The mist cleared.
The tenth step was behind him.
And on the eleventh stair stood someone waiting.
A boy.
About his age. Slick black hair, piercings on one ear, glowing violet eyes. He wore a street jacket over a school uniform—somehow spotless, even in this twisted place.
"Newblood, huh?" the boy said with a smirk. "Didn't think anyone else made it to this layer today."
Kade didn't answer.
The boy laughed. "Relax, I'm not here to kill you... yet. Name's Veyne. Veilborn, Class C. You?"
"...Kade. No class. No idea what that even means."
Veyne raised a brow. "You serious? Hah! Oh, this'll be good."
He pulled out a sleek card from his jacket, flicked it once, and held it up. Kade saw glowing glyphs shimmer across its surface.
"Veilborn Identification Card," Veyne explained. "We all get one when we awaken. Shows your Class, Affinity, and Origin Path. Most of us start at Class D—if we're lucky. But you... you just walked into the tower? Without an ID?"
Kade looked down at his hands. "I didn't even know this place existed yesterday."
Veyne stared at him like he'd grown two heads.
"Dude. The Arcane Veil doesn't choose random people. If you're here, it's because you're meant to break something... or someone."
A sudden BOOM echoed above them, followed by a pulse of crimson lightning that shook the staircase.
Veyne grinned. "Looks like the next trial's about to start. If you survive, maybe you'll earn a Class."
Kade squinted. "What's a Class even do?"
Veyne tapped his temple. "It determines how long you last. The Veil doesn't care if you're not ready. It either warps you into something stronger… or it devours you."
Before Kade could respond, Veyne flicked his fingers and vanished in a pulse of violet flame.
---
The eleventh step changed.
Where stairs had been moments ago, there was now a cathedral—twisted, blackened by flame, suspended in an endless sky.
A voice boomed in his head.
> "Initiating Arcane Trial: Embers of the Forgotten.
Objective: Survive.
Reward: Class Assignment."
Survive, Kade thought. That sounded promising.
Until the doors of the cathedral creaked open…
And the corpses inside started to move.
Men in ceremonial armor. Burned priests. A woman missing half her face. Their eyes glowed with embers, their mouths stitched shut with red thread.
Kade backed away. "I don't have a weapon…"
But the second the thought crossed his mind, his back burned. He reached behind him—and the black hilt from earlier pulsed, releasing a burst of crimson light.
The blade formed again—crackling with ethereal sparks, humming with potential.
Kade didn't know how to wield it.
Didn't matter.
He screamed—and charged headfirst into the walking dead.
---
End of Chapter 5