The rain was still falling when Kael finally closed the black book.
The ink on the last page slowly stopped moving, as if whatever had been writing had just finished speaking.
Inside the shop, the air felt heavier than before.
Morcant stood several paces away, his face pale.
"Kael," he said softly, "close that book. Now."
Kael did not answer immediately.
He stared at the page that had written itself.
The writing had stopped changing.
Yet strangely, Kael felt as though the sentence was not finished.
As if the book had merely paused... temporarily.
He finally closed the black cover.
A soft sound was heard as the old leather shut.
And in that instant—
the oil lamps in the room stopped flickering.
The air returned to normal.
As if something unseen had just left the room.
Morcant exhaled a long breath.
"I have seen many strange artifacts," he murmured, "but that one... is not ordinary."
Kael leaned the book against the table.
"All artifacts are unusual."
"Not like this."
The old man shook his head.
"There are objects that are dangerous because of their power."
He pointed at the black book.
"Then there are objects that are dangerous because of their origin."
Kael looked at him.
"And you think this is the latter?"
Morcant did not answer immediately.
He took a small bottle from the shelf and poured a dark liquid into a metal cup.
His hands trembled slightly.
"It is no ordinary artifact," he finally said. "I have seen a symbol like that before."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Symbol?"
Morcant stared at the book carefully.
"The cover is plain, but the texture is not ordinary leather."
He pointed at the corner of the book.
"There."
Kael looked closer.
At first he saw nothing.
But when he tilted the book slightly under the lamplight...
a faint pattern appeared upon the leather surface.
Thin lines barely visible.
The pattern looked like a circle filled with small lines, almost like cracks in glass.
Kael did not recognize the symbol.
Yet something in his mind felt strange.
Like a memory that almost surfaced... then sank back down.
Morcant spoke softly.
"That symbol was once found on an artifact from the deepest layer of the old city."
"The third layer?"
"Deeper."
Kael fell silent for a moment.
There were no official maps for territories beneath the third layer.
Some people even believed that part should not exist.
He turned his gaze back to the book.
"How much for it?"
Morcant looked at him sharply.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
"You just saw that object write by itself."
"That's precisely why."
The old man laughed shortly, but there was no humor in it.
"I will not buy it."
Kael was slightly surprised.
Morcant usually bought almost all artifacts.
Even those clearly dangerous.
But this time the old man shook his head.
"That thing should not be in my hands."
He looked at Kael with a serious expression.
"And if you have any common sense, it should not be in yours either."
Kael closed his leather satchel and put the black book back inside.
"The problem," he said calmly, "is that I rarely use common sense when something is interesting."
Morcant muttered softly.
"You will die one day because of your curiosity."
Kael stood.
"Perhaps."
He walked toward the door.
But before he left, Morcant spoke again.
"Kael."
He stopped.
"There is something you should know."
Kael turned slightly.
The old man seemed hesitant, something rare for him.
"Some artifacts," he said slowly, "do not merely grant power."
He looked at Kael's satchel.
"They attract attention."
Kael did not answer.
He opened the shop door and stepped out into the rain-soaked street.
The neon lights reflected pale light in puddles.
The lower districts of Arkhaven looked the same as usual.
People walked quickly.
Merchants closed their kiosks.
Nothing seemed strange.
But as Kael began walking down the narrow street...
something changed.
At first very subtle.
The sound of rain seemed slightly farther away.
The footsteps of others felt slightly slower.
And then—
a whisper emerged behind his mind.
Very soft.
Almost like someone's breath.
Kael stopped walking.
The whisper had no clear words.
Yet it carried meaning.
The feeling it brought was simple:
interest.
As if something very far away had just discovered something intriguing.
Kael stood still for several seconds.
Then he walked again.
But this time his mind was far more focused.
Because one thing became clear to him.
The black book was not merely an artifact.
It was a beacon.
And if Morcant was right...
then someone or something might already be looking for it.
In a place very far from Arkhaven, in the depths of the Veil never touched by man—
something that had long slept slowly opened its consciousness.
And for the first time in a very long while...
that creature felt curious.