The rain stopped near midnight.
Thin fog hung between the street lamps of Arkhaven's lower districts. Water dripped from dangling power cables above the narrow alley, creating small repetitive sounds like the lazy tick of a clock.
Kael walked without hurry.
The leather satchel on his back felt slightly heavier than before.
Rationally he knew that was impossible. The weight of a book does not change.
Yet his mind still sensed a strange subtle pressure. As if the object inside his bag was not merely a dead thing.
He stopped at the end of the narrow alley.
His apartment was on the third floor of an old building nearly crumbling, a place cheap enough to attract no one's attention.
Such a place was ideal for someone whose work often made others uneasy.
Kael climbed the wooden stairs that creaked softly.
When he opened his chamber door, the small room greeted him with the smell of metal and old paper.
Not much furniture.
A work desk.
A half-empty bookshelf.
And a small window facing the narrow street below.
Kael placed his satchel on the desk.
For several seconds he simply stood still, staring at the object.
Then he opened the bag and took out the black book.
Its cover still looked the same as before.
No writing.
No mysterious light.
No sign that the object had written by itself just hours ago.
Kael sat in the wooden chair.
He opened the book again.
The first page was empty.
The second page was empty.
The third page still displayed the same sentence.
"Finally."
He turned to the next page.
The second sentence was still there.
"We have waited for you for so very long."
Kael stared at the writing for a moment.
Then he raised his hand and touched the paper.
When his fingers touched the page surface—
something happened.
Not light.
Not sound.
More like... a sensation.
As if a memory not his own had just passed through his mind.
A large room.
Endless bookshelves.
And someone standing alone in the middle.
The figure was too blurred to recognize.
Yet one thing felt clear.
That person was writing something.
And the book they wrote... looked very similar to the book now in Kael's hands.
Kael pulled his hand from the page.
The vision immediately vanished.
He exhaled softly.
"Echo Reading," he murmured.
The ability emerged naturally in his mind, as if he had long known it.
Fragments of memory left upon objects.
Emotional traces.
Residual consciousness.
All of that could be read... if someone was close enough to the Veil.
Kael stared at his hand.
A faint symbol appeared on the inner side of his wrist.
A small circle with cracks like glass.
The symbol looked very similar to the pattern hidden on the book's cover.
He observed the mark without emotion.
Some people might panic if they found a mysterious symbol appearing on their body.
Kael merely noted this new fact.
But his mind could not ignore one important detail.
The symbol did not feel like a wound.
It felt like a trail.
Like something that had marked him.
Kael closed the book.
Then he stood and walked to the window.
The street below looked almost empty now.
A few people still walked quickly under the neon lights.
Nothing looked suspicious.
But Kael did not fully trust first impressions.
He turned off the room lamp.
Then stood beside the window, hidden in shadow.
Several minutes passed.
Only the sounds of the night city were heard.
Then—
a man appeared at the end of the street.
The man wore a long pale coat.
His steps were calm.
Too calm for someone walking alone in the lower districts at midnight.
He stopped right in front of the building where Kael lived.
Slowly, the man raised his head.
A white porcelain mask covered his face.
There was no expression on that mask.
Yet Kael still felt as if the man was staring directly at his window.
Several seconds passed in silence.
Then the man spoke.
His voice was calm, almost polite.
"Interesting."
Kael did not move.
The masked man raised one hand.
In his palm lay a small object that gleamed faintly.
An artifact.
The dim light from the object reflected on his mask surface.
"Awakened artifacts usually leave trails," the man said.
He slightly tilted his head.
"But a trail like this... is very rare."
Kael remained silent.
The man lowered his hand.
"I will not enter tonight."
He turned slowly.
But before walking away, he said one last sentence.
"However, if that book is truly in your hands..."
His steps paused for a moment.
"You had best not sleep too soundly."
Then the man walked away into the night fog.
Several seconds later, he disappeared at the end of the street.
Kael remained standing by the window.
His expression did not change.
But his mind worked quickly.
Someone had found the trail of that book.
And that person was clearly no ordinary artifact merchant.
Kael looked at the symbol on his wrist again.
Then he glanced at the black book on the desk.
For the first time since finding it...
Kael considered the possibility that the object might be more than just a rare artifact.
Perhaps it was an invitation.
And if that was true...
then someone had just knocked on the door.