# Chapter Three:
The sun had begun to rise, casting long shadows over Celestia's alleys, but it could not dispel the gloom that had settled in Kai Lin's heart. The old man's words echoed in his ears: "Those who see... You are one of them now." The stone eye in his pocket radiated a faint coolness, like a strange heartbeat. He no longer felt fear, but a bitter kind of curiosity. He had to understand. He had to find answers.
Kai Lin decided to head to the Central Antique Market, a place he usually frequented to buy and sell artifacts. He hoped to find some trace of Mr. Wu there, or perhaps someone else who could shed some light on what was happening to him. The market was as noisy as ever, filled with hawkers, boisterous buyers, and the scent of spices and incense mingling with the smell of mold and dampness.
As he wandered among the stalls, his eyes caught details he had never noticed before. He saw thin threads of energy intertwining around some artifacts, like faint auras. He heard faint whispers emanating from some ancient statues, as if they were telling stories from forgotten eras. His "Fragmented Perception Disorder" had turned into a magnifying glass, revealing a hidden world intertwined with his ordinary one.
Suddenly, Kai Lin stopped. The whispers in his head grew stronger, turning into an incomprehensible din. He felt an immense pressure on his chest, as if something invisible was pressing on him. He looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of this feeling. He saw a middle-aged man, dressed in luxurious clothes, standing in front of a stall selling antique jewelry. The man was staring at a particular necklace, his eyes unnaturally wide.
In the next moment, the man collapsed to the ground, clutching his head, and screaming in a muffled voice. People gathered around him, trying to help, but they seemed not to see what Kai Lin saw. Something was emerging from the necklace, something invisible to the naked eye, but Kai Lin saw it clearly. It was a black entity, writhing like smoke, wrapping itself around the man's head, as if sucking something out of him.
Kai Lin felt a chill run through his veins. This was not just an illness, or an epileptic seizure. This was something else. This was the shadow the old man had spoken of. This entity was feeding on the man, on his consciousness, on his soul.
Kai Lin tried to scream, to warn people, but his voice wouldn't come out. It was as if something was pressing on his throat. He felt terrified, but he couldn't look away. His eyes were fixed on the shadow, as he watched the man gradually fade, as if his existence was evaporating.
In an instant, the shadow disappeared, leaving the man lying on the ground, pale, his eyes empty. He seemed to have lost a part of his soul. People rushed to help him, but they found no explanation for what had happened. One said he might have had a heart attack, another said it might have been black magic. But Kai Lin knew the truth. This was the shadow, and he was the only one who saw it.
Kai Lin moved away from the crowd, his heart pounding violently. He was not alone. He was not crazy. There was a hidden world, a world full of entities that fed on humans, and he was now a part of this world. The stone eye in his pocket glowed brighter, as if confirming what he had seen. This was a glimpse of another world, a world he was not ready for, but he had to face it. His journey had just begun, and it was more dangerous than he had imagined.