Side Chapter: The Sage's Veil Signiture

The forest around them felt heavy with silence, broken only by the sound of footsteps and the occasional rustle of leaves. Rune watched the sage, who seemed to be lost in thought, his fingers gently tracing the edges of a worn tome. Rune had seen the sage use his abilities before, but he still didn't fully understand them.

"You're wondering how I did that earlier, aren't you?" The sage finally spoke, his eyes glancing up from the tome, catching Rune's gaze.

Rune nodded, his curiosity piqued. He had seen the sage create an impaling spike from the ground, manipulating the environment with an almost effortless flick of his hand, and it was nothing like anything Rune had ever seen before.

"It's my Veil Signature," the sage said, his voice calm but with an edge of something unspoken. "Everyone has one. It's your connection to the Veil—the invisible force that connects all things in this world. Some people have strong Veil Signatures, some weak. Some people can manipulate certain aspects of the world, and some can't do anything at all."

Rune frowned. "Veil Signature?" He had heard the term before, but it still didn't make sense. He was starting to feel like he was missing something obvious.

The sage shrugged, sitting down on a large rock. "It's simple, really. My Veil Signature lets me alter the properties of non-living matter. I can change things around me, shape the environment to my will. It's not as flashy as what some might expect, but it's useful." He glanced over at Rune, almost as if testing him. "It's not about controlling things or bending the world. It's about understanding it. Knowing how it works and using that knowledge to manipulate what's already there."

Rune watched intently as the sage held out a pen that seemed to flicker with faint energy. The pen wasn't ordinary, but it wasn't glowing in any way Rune had seen before. It was just... different. The sage held it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The sage raised the pen, and Rune's eyes widened. Without any noticeable movement, the earth beneath them trembled slightly, and in the blink of an eye, a jagged spike of stone shot up from the ground, impaling the nearby tree with precise force.

"That's my Veil Signature," the sage said, his voice calm but with a glint of pride. "By using the pen, I can alter the properties of non-living things, like the ground or air, to shape them into what I need. But it's not about force. It's about the right moment, the right understanding of how the world fits together."

Rune stood in silence, taking in the scene. He was still speechless, his mind racing with questions, but the simple, quiet power that the sage displayed left him breathless. He had never seen anything like it.

"That's incredible," Rune finally muttered, unable to hide his awe.

The sage shook his head, his tone shifting slightly, "It's not that simple. Every time I use my Veil Signature, it takes something from me. The more I change, the more it wears me down. And my pen—it's not just a tool. It's connected to my signature, but it has limits. It can break, and if I'm not careful..."

He trailed off, his gaze distant for a moment. Rune could tell there was more behind those words, but the sage wasn't offering any further explanation.

"But that's the nature of a Veil Signature," the sage continued. "It's about subtlety. It's about what you can do without anyone knowing you did it. But it's a balance. Everything has its cost."

Rune's mind was buzzing, trying to process what he had just seen and heard. The sage's power was incredible, yes, but it was also clear there was so much more Rune didn't understand.

"So, you just... change things?" Rune asked, still trying to wrap his head around it.

The sage nodded. "Exactly. I change things. But it's not always so obvious. I don't have the power to alter the world in big, dramatic ways."

Rune stood there for a moment, his thoughts swirling, trying to make sense of it all. But the most pressing thought in his mind was clear: "What else can you do with it?"

The sage smiled faintly, as if he had anticipated the question. "That, my boy, is a lesson for later."