when i sleep : The Nocturnal hunter (book 1)

The swirling vortex at the heart of the Nexus Gate expanded, casting prismatic light across the ancient chamber. The air grew thinner, electrified with raw dimensional energy. Misty clutched her sketchbook, eyes wide with awe and trepidation. Andriane stepped forward, sword at her side, her expression calm but resolute.

Ethan looked to Serena. “Where does it lead?”

She held the crystalline data core against her chest, eyes distant as if listening to a voice only she could hear. “To the true origin of the Veilborn. A place far beyond Agartha. A realm lost to time… and memory.”

Andriane turned to her father. “Are we really ready for this?”

Ethan nodded. “We’ve come this far. Whatever’s waiting, we face it together.”

The team stepped onto the platform, the insignia on Ethan’s chest syncing with the Nexus. The gate roared to life, and in a blink of radiant silence, they were gone.

—

They reemerged into a vast, alien landscape—an endless night sky stretching above a floating continent of crystalline cities and glowing flora. Gravity bent unnaturally. Time felt loose. This was not a place bound by the laws of Earth.

Misty gasped. “We’re not in any universe I recognize.”

Serena exhaled. “Welcome to the Veilcore—the realm of origin for all Veilborn bloodlines.”

Structures of living stone and pulsating light formed impossible shapes across the horizon. Ethereal beings—remnants of the first Veilborn—watched them from the distance. Silent. Regal. Ancient.

One stepped forward, a being of light and void.

“Ethan Cross,” it spoke. “You have brought the Trial Sigil to its cradle. But before you may wield its true power… you must face the legacy buried in your blood.”

Ethan’s heart pounded. “What does that mean?”

“It means your transformation is incomplete.”

Suddenly, the ground fractured. Ethan was pulled into a chamber of reflection, alone—visions surrounding him. His past failures. The people he couldn’t save. And then… his future self. A monstrous, veiled version of himself consumed by power.

A voice whispered: “Will you become the savior… or the destroyer?”

Ethan stared into the eyes of his future self, rage and compassion clashing within him. The insignia flared with unstable energy.

He clenched his fists. “Neither. I’ll forge my own fate.”

Outside the chamber, Serena, Misty, and Andriane prepared for what was coming. Something stirred deep in the Veilcore—a presence long dormant, now sensing Ethan’s awakening.

The true battle for the Veilborn legacy was about to begin.

To be continued…