The forest felt endless.
Tall black trees stretched in every direction, their branches clawing at the gray sky. Snow fell in slow drifting flakes, and the heavy footsteps of the Keeper shook the earth with every step he took ahead of them.
Liam and Aria followed close behind.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
The distant glow of headlights flickered between the trees behind them. The hunters were still searching.
Still closing in.
Liam finally broke the silence.
"So…" he said carefully. "That giant rock monster just said something interesting."
Aria glanced at him.
"Which part?"
"The part where he said I've touched the Veil."
Aria looked forward again.
"I heard."
Liam kicked a small stone out of the snow.
"Because I definitely don't remember touching anything called the Veil."
The Keeper suddenly stopped walking.
The ground trembled slightly as the giant turned his head.
His glowing blue eyes fell directly on Liam.
"...You did."
Liam blinked.
"Oh great."
Aria stepped forward.
"What does that mean?"
The Keeper studied Liam carefully.
"...He carries an echo."
Liam frowned.
"I don't like the sound of that."
Aria looked confused.
"An echo of what?"
The Keeper remained silent for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"...Memory."
Liam crossed his arms.
"That doesn't explain anything."
Aria turned toward him.
"Think carefully."
Liam sighed.
"I am thinking."
"No," she said quietly.
"Remember."
Liam opened his mouth to respond—
Then stopped.
Because something strange happened.
For just a moment…
His vision blurred.
The forest around him flickered like a broken film reel.
And suddenly—
He was somewhere else.
Sunlight.
Bright.
Warm.
A small wooden house stood at the edge of a lake surrounded by green hills.
Birds sang in the distance.
A child laughed.
Liam blinked in confusion.
He was standing in the yard.
But he was smaller.
Much smaller.
Seven years old.
"What…" he whispered.
Then he heard a voice.
"Liam!"
He turned.
A woman stepped out of the house.
Dark hair.
Gentle eyes.
His mother.
"Lunch is ready!"
The memory felt vivid.
Too vivid.
Young Liam ran toward her, laughing.
But the adult Liam inside the memory felt something strange.
Like he was watching his own life from behind a window.
His mother knelt and ruffled his hair.
"You've been outside all morning again."
Young Liam grinned.
"I was exploring."
She smiled.
"Of course you were."
Then she looked toward the lake.
Her smile faded slightly.
"Liam…"
"Yes?"
"If you ever see something strange in the water…"
Young Liam tilted his head.
"What kind of strange?"
She hesitated.
Then she whispered.
"A blue light."
The adult Liam inside the memory froze.
Blue light.
His mother placed both hands gently on his shoulders.
"If you ever see it…"
"Run away."
Young Liam laughed.
"That's silly."
But she didn't laugh.
Her voice became serious.
"You must promise me."
The scene suddenly shifted.
The sunlight faded.
The sky darkened.
Rain fell hard against the lake.
Liam felt his heart start pounding.
Another memory.
The same house.
But now something was wrong.
Lights flashed outside.
Red.
Blue.
Voices shouted.
Young Liam stood near the window.
"Mom?"
His mother rushed into the room, panic on her face.
"Liam, listen to me carefully."
"What's happening?"
She grabbed a small metal box from a cabinet.
Inside it was a necklace.
A small silver chain.
With a clear crystal attached.
Liam frowned.
"That looks like—"
"Yes," Aria whispered beside him in the present.
"The same symbol."
The memory continued.
His mother quickly placed the necklace around his neck.
"Never take this off."
Young Liam looked confused.
"Why?"
But before she could answer—
The front door exploded open.
Men rushed into the house.
Black coats.
Cold eyes.
The hunters.
Aria inhaled sharply.
"The same organization."
In the memory, Liam's mother pushed him behind her.
"Stay behind me."
One of the men stepped forward calmly.
"Dr. Carter."
Liam's heart skipped.
Carter.
His last name.
"You know why we're here," the man said.
His mother's voice trembled.
"You can't take him."
The hunter smiled.
"We're not here for the boy."
He pointed directly at her.
"We're here for the researcher who stole classified Veil technology."
The world inside the memory seemed to freeze.
Aria whispered,
"Your mother studied the Veil."
Liam stared in shock.
In the memory, his mother stepped backward slowly.
"He doesn't know anything."
"He doesn't need to," the hunter replied.
Another man pulled out a strange metallic device.
The same tranquilizer Liam had seen earlier.
Blue liquid glowing inside.
"Last chance, Doctor."
His mother turned toward young Liam.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Run."
Young Liam hesitated.
"Mom—"
"RUN!"
He ran.
The memory blurred again.
Rain.
Dark woods.
Young Liam running through trees, terrified.
Behind him—
A bright blue light exploded from the house.
The forest trembled.
Something powerful had been unleashed.
Then everything went black.
Liam snapped back into the present.
He staggered slightly.
Aria grabbed his arm.
"Liam!"
He stared at her, breathing hard.
"I remember."
The Keeper watched silently.
Aria's voice was soft.
"What did you see?"
Liam ran a hand through his hair.
"My mother."
"She was studying the Veil."
Aria nodded slowly.
"That explains a lot."
Liam frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"You can see my memories when we touch."
"Yes."
"That shouldn't be possible."
Liam blinked.
"It shouldn't?"
"No."
She looked toward the Keeper.
"Only someone connected to the Veil can survive direct memory transfer."
Liam felt the pieces clicking together in his mind.
"My mother put a necklace on me before I ran."
Aria asked,
"Do you still have it?"
Liam reached into his jacket pocket.
His fingers closed around something cold.
He pulled it out.
The silver chain.
With the clear crystal.
Aria's eyes widened.
"That's not a crystal."
Liam looked closer.
Inside the transparent stone—
A tiny blue spark glowed faintly.
The same color as her eye.
The Keeper spoke.
"...A stabilizer."
Aria looked stunned.
"A Veil stabilizer?"
The giant nodded slowly.
"...Created to allow humans to safely touch the Veil."
Liam stared at the necklace.
"So my mother…"
"...was trying to protect you," Aria finished.
The Keeper continued.
"...Your mother was among the first to study Veilborn."
Aria frowned.
"But the hunters destroyed those research teams."
The Keeper nodded.
"...Yes."
Liam felt a heavy weight settle in his chest.
"They killed her."
Aria didn't deny it.
"They silence anyone who gets too close to the truth."
Liam clenched his fist around the necklace.
"And the truth is?"
Aria looked directly into his eyes.
"The Veil isn't just power."
"It's a doorway."
Liam felt his stomach tighten.
"A doorway to what?"
Before she could answer—
A bright beam of light cut through the trees.
Headlights.
The hunters were closer now.
Voices shouted in the distance.
The Keeper turned his massive head.
"...They are here."
Aria's glowing eye brightened.
Liam tucked the necklace back under his shirt.
"So now what?"
The Keeper looked down at them.
"...Now we see if the son of the researcher can survive the Veil."
Liam groaned.
"I really miss the days when my biggest problem was taking photos of sunsets."
Aria gave him a small smile.
"Those days are probably over."
Gunshots echoed through the forest.
The hunters had found them.
And this time…
They weren't leaving empty-handed.