Under the Veil

Author: Phoenixfly_Steller

Death is the end for most men. For the Empire's most lethal assassin, it was just a change of uniform. ​Betrayed and executed in a dark alley, the legendary ghost of the underworld expected the void. Instead, he wakes up in the frail, debt-ridden body of Astragan Ruinheart—a humble baker in the smog-choked slums of the Lower Ward. Worse, he’s inherited the baker's innocent family and, binded a vow to protect them at all costs. ​But the slums are the least of his problems. The baker's death wasn't an accident. ​When a golden, clockwork Yantra awakens inside his room, Astragan catches the eye of the Elartraum Supernatural Organisation—a shadow bureaucracy that regulates magic and hunts eldritch nightmares bleeding through reality rifts. Given a choice between execution or conscription, the former assassin signs his life away in blood. ​Drafted into the First Response Vanguard—a squad of eccentric, highly lethal misfits who boast the highest mortality rate in the organization—Astragan must hide his past while mastering his impossible new reality. Armed with a rare "dual-awakening" that allows him to fire condensed Aether from a revolver, he must navigate cosmic horrors, volatile alchemical potions, and telepathic teammates who can read his every thought. ​He was a master of killing in the mundane world. Now, he must master the Aether before the nightmares of the Other World tear his second life apart. ​What to Expect: ​Tactical, Cold MC: A protagonist who thinks like an elite assassin. No whining, no hesitation, just ruthless efficiency and psychological warfare. (Where it's needed from second life) ​Unique Magic System: A deep, hard-magic system blending Victorian Steampunk aesthetics with Vedic Mythology (Sanskrit runes, Yantras, Cores, and Aether resonance). ​Secret Organization Dynamics: Witty banter, internal politics, and a found-family team of deadly veterans hunting eldritch anomalies. ​Dual Progression: Balancing a dangerous double life—climbing the ranks of a shadow government while trying to give his family a peaceful, wealthy life in the Upper Wards. ​Weak-to-Strong: He has the mind of a master, but the frail body of a baker. He has to physically and magically rebuild himself from the ground up. Also available on Royal Road