In the meantime of the others exploring, Adrian was the one that went into the slightly larger building within the outpost complex, presumably thought to be the HQ. The room was stark and utilitarian, just like the rest of the outpost, with its bare walls contrasted by the hum of Essence-powered devices. But despite that, it was still small enough to potentially just house some workers that would monitor the region this thing was in.
As he moved deeper into the room, his eyes landed on a faintly glowing terminal near the back wall, its pulsing light a small but insistent presence in the otherwise lifeless space.
He approached it cautiously, brushing the device with the edge of his fingers. The terminal looked more advanced than the other equipment in the outpost, its screen displaying the familiar symbol of the Aegis Coalition.
“This is definitely not part of the building…”
Whoever had placed it here left it in standby mode, Essence power keeping it functional. But after a brief hesitation, Adrian reached out and tapped the activation panel. The terminal whirred to life, its screen brightening as the Essence within powered up the system.
“Hm…”
With a low hum, a holographic display flickered to life, casting an eerie blue light over the control room. The image stabilised, and a familiar figure materialised in the air—a young man, with pale blonde hair tipped with green, looked to be his age, wearing a lab coat over casual clothes.
“Felix Knolton…?” Adrian murmured, recognizing the face of their mission director. He had seen Felix before, all of them had, back in Alden's office, so what was he doing here now?
As the hologram began to speak, the door behind Adrian had opened up again, and he glanced over his shoulder. Marilyn and Cecilia had entered, both of them pausing as they noticed the recording. Adrian nodded to them, and they moved forward, watching intently as Felix’s voice filled the room, youthful but firm.
“If you're seeing this, it means you’ve reached the designated checkpoint for your mission.” Felix’s holographic form began, his tone somewhat relieved at the thought. “This is your first and only safe zone within the Veil, and from this point onward, you’re on your own. No backup, no reinforcements. Your objective is simple, but not easy.”
Adrian frowned a little, and so did Cecilia, at the thought of that. Marilyn didn't respond so expressively and just kept watching.
“This mission of yours, may I remind you, is a test for your capability in becoming fully fledged Pathfinders, in order to help us in ending the ongoing Veil Storm that started a year ago.” Suddenly, a screen popped up next to him, a list of names categorised into groups of four to six individuals. There weren't many, but there were several dozen groups at least from what they could see.
Felix continued, “But if you are truly in this list of names, it would also mean that you're one of the chosen candidates for becoming Aegis operatives—each singular group being from a specific academy. You're not just a third party collaborator to us, you're the first wave for our future.”
“We're not the only ones…?” Marilyn questioned. The others were silent, so she opted to listen in some more.
Felix paused, his eyes seeming to scan the room, though they were merely locked in a pre-recorded loop. “The Veil you’re in has been designated ‘Fallen Kingdom,’ a Storm-born corruption with indefinite growth potential. This particular Veil is rooted in an alternate timeline of Albion, one where the kingdom fell long ago, succumbing to a calamity we still don’t fully understand."
Marilyn’s face tightened as she listened, her hand instinctively reaching for her tome, fingers tapping anxiously against its edge. She was fully focused on absorbing as much information as she could, like the other two next to her. Cecilia, too, was silent, her gaze narrowing as she absorbed every word with an intensity that matched her title as the Second Princess of Albion.
“The Veil has anchored itself to this timeline, like any other Veil that spawned during this storm,” Felix resumed, “and…it’s expanding. If left unchecked, it will eventually grow to consume the main timeline, displacing our own world and effectively rewriting reality. The only way to stop it is to locate the source of the manifestation and neutralise it. This is where I come in, to brief you all about it.”
After a brief pause, Felix’s image shifted, bringing up a new holographic display that filled the air beside him. It showed a map of the Fallen Kingdom Veil—a desolate landscape dotted with faint, pulsing markers in various colours. Each marker seemed to correspond to different areas of interest: red for high-risk zones, blue for potential safe points, and a single, ominous black marker at the heart of it all.
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“This map will update in real time as you make your way through the Veil,” Felix explained, gesturing to the black marker at the centre. “This is your target—the core of the manifestation. We’ve detected significant Essence activity there, far beyond what would naturally occur, even within a Veil. It's most likely a localised corruption, likely a creature or artefact that’s become the nexus of this timeline’s collapse.”
Felix’s tone sharpened, and the image zoomed in on the black marker, revealing a towering, darkened structure—a twisted, decayed version of Albion’s royal palace, its once-proud spires bent and broken, shrouded in a sickly mist. “This structure is where we believe the manifestation is anchored. Whatever lies within is what’s fueling the Veil’s expansion. You must reach it and destroy the source, or at the very least, weaken it enough for the Veil’s influence to be contained.”
The holographic map flickered, briefly showing other markers moving through the Veil, dots that Adrian, Marilyn, and Cecilia assumed represented other Pathfinder teams on similar missions. But the dots faded out quickly, leaving only their own path and the distant black marker, isolated and alone.
“These are not other teams exactly, but these paths have been scouted out by Aegis to be the safest for you to take,” Felix added, their assumption corrected, “but do not expect total safety, and do not expect that things in this briefing would stay the same either. You are being trained to operate independently and under extreme conditions, as full-fledged Aegis operatives would. Trust in your own strength, your own team, and complete the mission as if you are the last line of defence for civilization.”
The weight of his words settled heavily in the room, the sense of isolation deepening with each passing moment. Felix’s image then flickered slightly, the Essence powering the terminal wavering for a moment before re-stabilizing.
His gaze seemed to bore into them, even through the recording. “But make no mistake—this isn’t just an abandoned world. The nature of the storm is unpredictable, things can change from your prior information. The Veil Storm won’t hesitate to consume those that are unprepared. Stay vigilant, and good luck.”
With that final, ominous warning, Felix’s image flickered once more before vanishing, the room falling back into silence as the hologram powered down.
“Well…that was something.” Cecilia then commented, crossing her arms. “But at least we’ve found our target…right?”
Adrian exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as he processed the briefing. "Yeah, it’s clear enough. We head for that corrupted palace, find whatever’s anchoring this Veil, and neutralise it. But knowing our ‘target’ and reaching it...they're two different things."
Marilyn nodded, her gaze still fixed on the terminal, as if expecting Felix’s hologram to reappear and offer more answers. Well, at least the map was downloaded into their Tomes for them to follow after that recording. "This map might update in real time, but the Veil itself is unpredictable. If the environment shifts, markers can only help so much. I…wonder if they’re expecting us to figure out more than what was given here."
Cecilia gave a slight huff, her eyes narrowing. "Typical, really. They’ll give you just enough information to keep you alive, and then leave you to figure out the rest. ‘Trust in your own strength,’ as he says." She shook her head, frustration flickering over her features. "And yet, that ‘independent’ approach would cost more lives than they’d admit."
Adrian shot her a glance. "I get what you’re saying, but this is part of the training. If they’re expecting us to operate as real Pathfinders, they’re not going to spoon-feed us through it."
"True," Cecilia conceded, though her tone remained sceptical. "But that doesn't make the risk any easier to accept. We’re being treated like operatives, not students, and they’re banking on the fact that we’ll survive, despite the lack of reinforcements."
Marilyn looked down, fingers tracing the edge of her Tome thoughtfully. "We’re not the only ones, either," she said quietly, recalling the list of names that had flashed by during the recording. "All those other groups…from the other academies, they’re out there, dealing with their own Veils, their own missions. Each of us a separate part of Aegis’s ‘first wave.’"
Cecilia’s gaze softened as she glanced at Marilyn. "You don’t have to carry their weight too, Marilyn. Yes, we’re all part of a larger plan, but right now, our focus is here. On each other. They have their teams, and we have ours. That’s enough."
Marilyn hesitated, then nodded. "I know, it’s just strange, thinking of us as pieces on a board. I know we’re supposed to be ‘independent’ here, but it feels a bit like we’re isolated—each team cut off from everyone else."
Adrian’s expression hardened. "That’s the reality of this. We are isolated, and we have to rely on each other. If something happens, it’s us or no one. That’s why Felix said to treat this like we’re the last line of defence."
The silence that followed was heavy, the weight of Felix’s words settling even more deeply among them. Each of them had known the risks of becoming Pathfinders, but hearing it spoken so plainly, so bluntly, brought a chilling clarity. There was no room for error here. No room for hesitation.
Cecilia straightened, her gaze sharpening. "Then we approach this mission as they intended. We tell the others, and get to that palace, no matter what. We don’t just ‘trust our strength,’ we hone it. We use every skill, every lesson we’ve learned to get through this."
Adrian nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Now that’s the spirit."
Marilyn’s fingers stilled, her grip on her staff firm as she made a small smile. "Together, then. We trust each other, and we make sure we’re ready for whatever this Veil has waiting."
Cecilia’s gaze flicked between them, a glint of determination settling in her eyes. "Together," she echoed.
They then took one last look at the now-empty terminal, as if sealing a silent pact with it.