Book One – Chapter 14

Midnight felt the veil immediately, as though the fabric of the mountain itself had shifted beneath her. The light that formed around her whenever she ceased to move vanished entirely. Relief washed over her, intense and instantaneous, like a deep exhale after holding her breath far too long. But the sensation did not stop there. Midnight’s senses sharpened with a clarity so overwhelming it almost tore her from herself. The world around her expanded, not into chaos but into startling order, an intricate lattice of existence laid bare before her. This clarity was unlike anything she had ever known. As a midnight stalker, Midnight had always possessed extraordinary night vision, a trait that defined her kind and made her a creature of night. Where wizards, under T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n‘s veil, failed to recognise the world energies anchored in the Alladharian dimension, Midnight had been able to discerning vague outlines of her surroundings, albeit faintly, as though through looking through a distorted shroud of smoke. Sey had always anchored her, a pale but dependable compass. Even in the depths of the Albweiss tunnels, she had been able to perceive the world’s edges, however dimly.

Now, even Sey’s faint comforting presence was gone, smothered entirely by T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n‘s impenetrable shadow. Now, for the first time, Midnight was utterly immersed in darkness — and yet, for the first time, she could see everything.

This was not vision as she had once known it. It was not the conversion of light into shapes and edges. This was something far more intricate, more raw. T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n‘s rise had wiped the slate clean, covering the clutter of fragmented light and chaotic energy that had always surrounded her. The only thing that remained uncovered was essence. From one instance to the next, as the veil of the witch moon swept over her, Midnight perceived the world through essence — through the very flows and currents of existence itself.