VEIL OF EDEN

AUTHORS NOTE : Hey guys! I just wanted to say something before you continue reading. If you came into VEIL OF EDEN expecting a straightforward love story, I promise you… it isn't that. 😂 There is romance. There is slow burn, chemistry, heartbreak, friendships, and all the good stuff. But there is also a much bigger story happening underneath it all. Some things will take time to make sense. Some characters aren't exactly who they seem, and some answers are going to take a while to reveal themselves. So please, trust the process. I know sometimes you might be reading and thinking, “Okay… where is this going?” 😭 Just keep going. Everything has a reason. And I promise, if you give this crazy world a chance, it will be worth it. Thank you for reading, supporting, commenting, and theorizing with me. ❤️ Now… back to the story. 👀 Nerezza was running.She didn't know how long she had been running. Her lungs burned. Every breath scraped against her throat like broken glass, and every step sent another wave of pain through her body. Something warm ran down her leg. Blood. She looked down for half a second. Bad idea. Her foot caught on a root. "Ah—!" She stumbled forward. Her hands struck the ground. Mud,Wet leaves. Pain shot through her palms. For a moment, she stayed there, breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling beneath torn, dirt-stained clothes. Then she heard it. Crack. A branch breaking somewhere behind her. Nerezza froze. Silence. She slowly lifted her head. Nothing. Only trees. Tall, ancient trees disappearing into the darkness, their branches twisting together high above her. Mist crawled between their roots, drifting lazily across the forest floor. Nerezza swallowed. She pushed herself upright. Her legs trembled. Run. She didn't know whether the voice belonged to her. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe fear. It didn't matter. She ran. She forced her aching legs forward, stumbling through the darkness as branches tore at her clothes and scratched her skin. She didn't look back. She couldn't. Whatever was behind her she didn't want to see it. Her breathing became ragged. Her vision blurred. Then, suddenly......moonlight. Nerezza saw it through the trees. The forest was thinning. Relief rushed through her. She pushed harder. One last step. She burst through the trees and stopped. The ground disappeared in front of her. A cliff. Nerezza staggered backward. "No..." Her eyes widened. There was nowhere else to go. Below her stretched a vast valley drowned in silver fog. Far beneath the cliff, a river wound through the darkness, reflecting the pale light of the moon. It was beautiful. Too beautiful. Nerezza stood completely still. Behind her was the forest. In front of her was the abyss. She looked over her shoulder. Nothing moved between the trees. No footsteps. No creature. No voice. Nothing. Slowly, she turned back toward the cliff. Her heartbeat began to slow. Something felt strange. She frowned. The valley. The river. The trees. The moon. She knew this place. Didn't she? Nerezza stepped closer to the edge. A strange pressure settled inside her chest. She stared at the river below. Have I been here before? The thought came so naturally that it frightened her. She closed her eyes. For one brief moment she saw herself standing on the same cliff. Blood covered her clothes. Someone was screaming. A hand reached toward her. Then................nothing. Nerezza's eyes snapped open. "What..." She stumbled backward. Her head throbbed. She pressed a hand against her temple. Another memory flashed. The river. The moon. A pair of brown eyes. Then darkness. Nerezza looked down. There was someone standing beside the river. A man. He was too far away for her to see his face clearly. He wasn't moving. He simply stood beside the water. Waiting. Nerezza narrowed her eyes. "Hey!" The figure slowly lifted his head. Their eyes met. And Nerezza froze. She couldn't explain why. The man didn't look dangerous. He wasn't holding a weapon. He wasn't threatening her. If anything, he looked almost gentle. Then the moonlight reached his face. His eyes were brown. Not warm brown. Not gentle brown. There was something dangerous in them, something deep and unreadable, like the stillness of dark water hiding something beneath its surface. Eyes that should have made her step back. Eyes that should have warned her to run. Yet Nerezza wasn't afraid. She didn't understand why. If anything, looking into them gave her a strange sense of familiarity. Like she had seen those eyes before. Like some part of her had been searching for them. And somehow those eyes made something deep inside Nerezza scream. She took a step backward. The man smiled. It wasn't a threatening smile. It wasn't cruel. It was familiar. Far too familiar. Like he had been waiting for someone who was very late. Nerezza's voice came out barely above a whisper. "Who are you?" The man tilted his head. For a moment, he simply stared at her. Then he spoke. "You're late." Nerezza blinked. "What?" His smile faded. "You always come later than you promise." Her blood went cold. "I don't know you." For the first time, the man looked genuinely surprised. Then he laughed. Quietly. Sadly. "You never do." Nerezza's fingers tightened. Something was wrong. Very wrong. She glanced around. The forest. The cliff. The river. The man. Then she noticed something behind him. Something hovered above the riverbank. A creature. Its shape shifted beneath the moonlight. Nerezza couldn't make out what it was. But she knew one thing immediately. It wasn't human. Her stomach twisted. The man glanced toward the creature. Then back at her. "Does it hurt?" Nerezza frowned. "What?" "Being here again." Nerezza stopped breathing. Again. That word. Again. She stared at him. "What did you say?" The man didn't answer. Instead, he watched her with an expression she couldn't understand. Pity. Fear. Regret. Nerezza's head suddenly throbbed. Hard. She grabbed the side of her head. Images flashed through her mind. The cliff. The river. The man's face. A different dress. A different moon. The same eyes. Her own voice screaming his what she believed was his name , but why cant she remember it - his name ..... Then her hand. Covered in blood. Nerezza gasped. The vision disappeared. She staggered. "No..." Another image. A city burning. six figures standing beneath a black sky. A door opening. A child crying. Then herself— older. Different. Dead. Nerezza screamed. "STOP!" The images vanished. Silence returned. She dropped to her knees. Her breathing came in ragged gasps. Her hands shook violently. The man was still standing beside the river. He hadn't moved. But something in his expression had changed. The faint amusement was gone. For a moment, he simply stared at her. Not with surprise. With recognition. His eyes moved over her face, searching for something only he could see. Then his gaze dropped briefly to the blood staining her clothes. His jaw tightened. So faintly that Nerezza almost missed it. He looked frightened. But the fear didn't last. It was buried beneath a calmness that felt practiced. As though he had felt this fear before. Many times. Nerezza slowly pushed herself upright. "What?" He didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on her. Then he glanced toward the river. Something about the way he looked at it made her stomach twist. He seemed to be calculating something. Counting. Comparing what stood before him with something that existed only in his memory. Finally, he exhaled. A quiet breath. Almost a sigh of relief. Almost. His eyes returned to hers. "You're early." Nerezza frowned. "Early for what?" For the first time, his composure faltered. Only for a heartbeat. "You shouldn't be here yet." Nerezza stared at him. "What does that mean?" He said nothing. His gaze lingered on her for a long moment. For the first time, Nerezza saw something in his eyes that frightened her more than his words. Fear. Not fear of her. Fear for her. "Wait!" she shouted. The man turned away. "Who are you?!" He stopped. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then he looked back. His lips parted. He said something. A single word. Nerezza couldn't hear it. The river suddenly erupted. Water rose into the air like a wall. The forest shook. The ground beneath Nerezza cracked. She fell. "N—!" Darkness swallowed her. The last thing she saw— were those brown eyes. And with the last fragments of consciousness she had left, a terrifying certainty settled inside her. Somewhere. Somehow. She had killed him before. 17 YEARS EARLIER A baby was crying. The sound echoed through a small stone room. Someone whispered: "Why doesn't it have one?" Another voice answered immediately. "Don't touch it." The baby screamed louder. Outside the room, something enormous roared. The windows rattled. The midwife turned toward the sound. Her hands trembled. She looked down at the newborn. Then back toward the window. Something was wrong. She could feel it. The entire room felt wrong. "It's impossible," she whispered. The woman lying on the bed struggled to lift her head. "What's wrong with my child?" The midwife didn't answer. She stared at the baby. Every child was born with one. Everyone knew that. It was simply the way the world worked. Yet the child in her arms had nothing. No creature. No presence. No sign. Nothing. Outside, the first bell rang. Dong. The mother looked toward the window. "What is that?" The second bell rang. Dong. The midwife's face became pale. The third. Dong. The baby suddenly stopped crying. The fourth. Dong. The room fell silent. The fifth. Dong. The midwife looked toward the door. The sixth. Dong. She whispered: "No..." The seventh bell rang. DONG. The sound seemed to shake the entire world. The baby's eyes opened. The midwife froze. Black. They were completely black. No reflection. No color. Just darkness. The baby's tiny hand reached upward. The midwife instinctively offered her finger. The child wrapped its hand around it. The midwife stared at their joined hands. Then slowly looked toward the window. Far above the world— something opened its eyes. And one of the Six spoke. "its here." now it is the first chapter of veil of eden formerly xinox , what do you all think ?😍