by Isaac Winter
I counted the seconds under my breath.
5...4...3...2..
Boom.
The stone shattered. From the tiny vantage point under the desk, I watched. Shards of glassy stone lodged themselves in his hands, he face, his neck. Blood rushed out from a cut artery, the flow weakening as he fixed his glassy stare on me.
“You fool...” He rasped. “You’ve doomed us all. The Veil...without a Master...is nothing.”
Before I could ask what he meant, Crane shuddered and went limp, the remains of the stone falling to the ground.
All went silent for a few long moments. A vacuuming sound sucked all the air out of the room, making it harder and harder to breathe. I put a hand on my chest, trying to draw in more air. I failed and toppled over with a cough.
Crane was dead.
The earthen barrier crumbled behind me and air rushed back into the room, leaving me gasping and clawing at my throat. Oxygen. Precious oxygen.
Tris, Fel, Laurie, and Aurelius rushed in, weapons at the ready.
Then they saw us.
> Warning! Veil Energy Critical!
> No Veil Master found.
> System Shutdown sequence initiated...
I stared at the messages, still in a post-battle haze. Shutdown...wait, no!
“Shit!” Tris yelled, and I knew she’d seen the same thing.
You’ve doomed us all... The words rang in my ears like ghosts as I stared at Crane’s body. I thought I’d won. We all did. But now he was gone. And the rest of the Veil was falling apart around us.
I watched as my friends began to flicker and fade like a half-remembered dream. “No!” I screamed and lunged forward, my fingers grasping only air.
> No Veil Master found.
> System Shutdown in 60 seconds ...
“No!” I screamed, pleading to whatever system was generating these messages. “Don’t shutdown! Not yet! I didn’t mean it!...”
“Cael,” Tris whispered as she flickered in front of me. Tears shone in her eyes. “Will it hurt?” She reached out to me, trying to grab my hand. It slipped right through my fingertips like mist.
Pain lanced through my heart that had nothing to do with my physical injuries. My friends. My team. They weren’t meant to go like this! They were more than just pixels and digits on a server somewhere! They had to be!
“I’ll do it!” I yelled to the void, heart pounding as the timer to the apocalypse ticked down around me. “Please! I’ll be the new Veil Master!”
> Caution: The Veil Master role is permanent.
“I don’t care!” I screamed.
> Do you accept?
[Yes/No]
The cursor blinked in front of my vision as I took in the words.
I’d never get to go home. I’d never see the Academy again. I’d never get to apologize to Tanner, or talk to Mabel, or sit through another dreary committee meeting.
Tris, Fel, and the dragon were nothing but wisps of color now, ready to be blown away by an errant wind. Laurie was frozen in place, her own body glitching as she tried to run toward me. Her face was frozen in a mask of fear and pain.
For all that was good in this world. I had to save them. For Laurie. For Fel. For Tris.
“I accept the role of Veil Master.”
It felt like riding the biggest, scariest roller coaster in the world, the drops and inversions included.
A crack like a bolt of lightning shot through me and I doubled over.
> Runic Reserves depleted. Utilizing fallback power source...
My HP and Mana bars dropped precipitously, draining what energy I had left and sending it out into the world. The Veil and I were one, each cell of my body linked to the very fabric of the universe. It was thrilling, terrifying, empowering. All at the same time. In that moment, I was the Veil.
> System stabilized.
The shaking stopped.
My friends rematerialized, coughing and panting on the floor. Laurie tripped and fell forward, and her dragon roared with a triumphant blast of fire.
They were alive.
And so was I. Barely.
> New Master accepted.
> Welcome to the Veil.
Epilogue
Cael’s Journal
I’ve never been master of anything. Not the top of my class in school, not an athletic star, not a prominent scholar, even.
No one ever gave me any kind of leadership awards or groomed me for command.
I was happy in the shadows. Usually.
But now I’m the leader of an entire world.
The Veil and I are chained together like some kind of mystical lock, and I already feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. Is this what Crane felt, every second of every day?
I couldn’t leave them. What choice did I have?
There is so much yet to explore in this world. So much to be. And I want these players, these people, to experience just as much of it as they can. That’s why I kept it running. That’s why I made that sacrifice.
People talk about the apocalypse. But they don’t pay attention to the tiny worlds that end around us every day. Every game that has ever been shut down, every virtual world that shut its doors, destroyed a world vibrant with color and life and possibility. And the people that live there, the NPCs, never saw it coming. There was nothing they could do.
I guess I’m out to change that.
There haven’t been any more Tears since the battle with Crane. Guess the power of the Runes died along with him. The knowledge is still there, in the back of my mind, but it’s fuzzy. Like a radio station not tuned quite right. I don’t know if I could use them again even if I wanted to.
But I still have my items. I still have my skills. I still have my life.
And I still have my friends.
If I’m going to be officially stuck here, I want to make the most of it. Not like Crane did, by trying to control everyone and everything. I’ve seen such a small facet of this universe, but I want to learn more.
I think I’ll go traveling. See what I can learn along the way.
After I’ve gotten things stabilized around here, of course. Nobody told me what hard work being a Veil Master was.
The paperwork is a nightmare.
Of course, I couldn’t do it without a little help from my friends.
Fel and Laurie agreed to stay on with me almost immediately. Fel’s business was destroyed in the aftermath, after all. He’s staying in the Keep with me for the time being. Least I could do.
Laurie too. Her dragon is getting larger by the day. Definitely glad they’re on our side.
Tris, on the other hand, faltered when I asked her to stay around. I still remember those sad eyes, the way she squeezed my hand as she told me goodbye. She took a piece of my heart with her. She said she had something she had to do. Alone.
I thought we had something, something a little more than acquaintance. Friendship, at the very least.
I tried asking where she was going, but it was no use.
I couldn’t force her to stay. So she left.
Only after I made her agree to send me any news she gathers on her travels.
I miss her. I’ll admit it.
Hope she comes back soon.
There are still rumblings of disquiet. I see the missives and messages from players all over the Veil every day. They’re like prayers, which is more than a little disturbing. I’m not some kind of god.
But the people here are hurting. That much is clear. And while Crane’s strategy may have been to burn it all to the ground, I’m not Crane.
That’s really my one goal with all of this. I’m going to be a better leader than he was, but it’s going to be a long road to get there.
A new dawn is rising. And I’ve never been so grateful for the sun.
Acknowledgments
No book is written in a vacuum, and this book is no exception. Many people were involved in bringing this book to fruition and although I cannot list all of them, I must mention
in particular:
Chloe (my new writing BFF)
Scott, for putting up with me
The 20Booksto50k crew
Michael Chatfield and Dawn Chapman
4thewords.com — big thanks to Ed, Thijn, and the rest of the team. Happy Hunting!
You. You make following this dream possible.
Free Story Unlocked!
One night. One item. One last heist.
After searching the world for clues and ingredients, Tris is one item away from crafting the Veil's most powerful artifact: an Infinity Potion.
When Tris's plan goes awry and a forgotten evil attacks, Tris must choose: the ultimate prize, or the lives of those around her.
[Get my FREE copy of Tris the Tinker]
Also by Isaac Winter
Veilwalkers Novels
Lost Archive - Book 1
Soul Reckoning - Book 2
Veilwalkers Short Stories
Tris The Tinker
About the Author
Isaac Winter is a full-time geek and part-time writer from California. A long time gamer and fantasy nerd, Isaac found his new favorite genre when discovering LitRPG. When the voices in his head wouldn't be quiet anymore, he decided to start writing stories about those characters. He enjoys a warm cup of tea and a good book, and lives with his partner and cat on a radioactive island (no really!)
He also curates a weekly newsletter for new releases in the LitRPG genre. He’ll scour Amazon for the freshest new reads and audiobooks so you don’t have to! Sign up for free at http://litrpg.curated.co
You can find his Amazon author page at: http://author.to/isaacwinter
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