Chapter 11: Whispers of Veyrith, the Nullbrand
The pale moonlight bled across Nightreach's rooftops like spilled mercury.
Faintly, the world trembled.
Shen stood at the edge of the northern gate, cloak torn and boots cracked from the fight beneath the city. Behind him, the girl with the glowing eyes—Elire—walked in silence. Her gaze, always distant, now burned with uneasy awareness.
The sky was shifting.
[System Update: New Phase Detected – "Lunar Shift: Tier I Initiated."]
[Global Effect: Ethereal Threads Unraveled. Some locked paths may now be walked.]
Shen's eyes narrowed. The Lunar Shift… it wasn't just a calendar event. It felt like something awakening. Breathing. Watching.
"Something's broken," he muttered.
Elire stopped. "Not broken. Loosened."
Shen turned to her. "What do you mean?"
She didn't respond immediately. Instead, she reached into her satchel and pulled out a small crystal vial. Inside was liquid night—swirling black and silver like storm-tossed oceans in miniature.
"Aetherrot," she whispered. "Collected from the bones of things that should not still exist."
The ground vibrated softly beneath them.
Far above, the lunar clouds parted. A second moon—pale and incomplete—flickered briefly into view.
[System Notification – Hidden Protocol Breach Detected.]
[ERROR // CODE NULL: VEYRITH.]
Shen froze. The name echoed.
Veyrith…
It wasn't just a name. It carried weight, like someone had stapled a dead star into the syllables. Shen stumbled forward, a hand on his temple. It wasn't pain—it was static in his mind. Too many timelines bleeding through.
Elire looked at him carefully. "You heard it, didn't you?"
He nodded, barely.
"That's his true name. The one they struck from the Archives. The one not even gods are allowed to speak."
Shen's fingers tightened around the hilt of his weapon.
"Who was he?"
"Not was," Elire replied. "Is. Veyrith was the first anomaly the systems tried to erase… and failed. The God of Echoes. The Nullbrand. He was a slayer of timelines, a devourer of logic. They called him the god who glitched. And they buried him in a forgotten loop."
🜂 Scene Shift: The Temple of Folded Light
Beneath Nightreach, in a vault only visible during the Lunar Shift, a faction stirred.
The Hollow Moon Order. Cloaked in veils, speaking in code. Watching the city tremble.
"Phase instability accelerating."
"Has the Nullbrand made contact?"
"No. But the Voidscorched one—the Nightfall—is echoing his pattern."
A priestess, masked in bone, leaned forward. "Then prepare the casket. If Veyrith rises again, we must either seal him—or make him ours."
🜁 Back to Shen – Encounter Trigger
Shen's system surged again:
[New Quest: Path of the Nullbrand – Prologue Unlocked]
→ You have glimpsed the error that should not be named.
→ Veyrith remembers you.
→ Survive until the next moon phase to learn the truth behind your connection.
Rewards:
– ???
– 1x Void-Class Trait Evolution
– "Oblivion Mark" (Incomplete)
"You said he was buried in a time loop," Shen said slowly. "Then how is he returning now?"
Elire tilted her head. "That's what you have to figure out. Because if Veyrith's voice reached you… maybe it's because your soul was never fully yours to begin with."
⚔ Battle Interlude: Moonfall Hunters Arrive
Before Shen could process it, alarms blared across the city perimeter.
[Alert: Spatial Signature Breach Detected – Hostile Class: Moonfall Hunters]
Tearing through silver mist, three creatures appeared—gaunt figures wrapped in skeletal armor, bearing warped scythes that pulsed with lunar energy.
"They're drawn to the name," Elire hissed. "The name you heard. The system recognizes you as a threat now."
Shen's blade flickered. "Then let's show them what a threat can do."
He leapt forward—activating:
[Skill: Umbral Cascade – Lv2]
→ Chain shadows into a fluid combat style. Gains adaptive targeting in warped terrain.
He clashed with the first Moonfall Hunter mid-air. Sparks exploded. Shen twisted mid-swing, slashing through its jaw with an upward spiral.
The second lunged from behind—but Elire raised her hand, throwing a glass orb that shattered into fractal light. The creature screamed, caught in recursive time.
The third reached Shen—only for his blade to phase behind its ribs.
CRACK.
It disintegrated into shards of cursed moonlight.
🜃 Aftermath: Another Revelation
As the battle faded, Shen collapsed to one knee.
"More are coming," Elire said quietly. "You've touched something the world forgot."
The system pinged again.
[Passive Awakening: Shard of the Nullbrand]
➤ Your presence destabilizes timeline locks within 1km radius.
➤ Enemies above your tier may experience fractured behavior.
➤ Further exposure to Veyrith's essence will unlock Forbidden Codices.
Shen's eyes burned violet for a brief moment.
And somewhere, far beyond the clouds, a voice laughed.
⚡ Chapter End Teaser:
A vision flickered at the edge of Shen's perception. A temple drowned in black snow. A figure chained in zero gravity. And nine glowing eyes, all staring at him.
[Transmission Echo: Veyrith… Veyrith… Veyrith…]
[He Remembers You.]