Jost Klein

Amsterdam. Late evening. The Tropic Museum is almost empty—only a security guard at the entrance, a few tourists, and a silence broken only by the soft hum of the ventilation system. Adele isn't here for the exhibits. She's come to verify a legend: hidden in one of the old vaults, according to her grandmother's notes, is a key fragment to the Veren dynasty archive. The very one that will unlock the full version of the Rift Map.
She walks down a dimly lit corridor, illuminated by scattered lamps. Her telekinesis works like a compass: she senses the "weight" of things, and somewhere ahead there's an object of unusual density—not metal, not stone, but a clot of space. She slows her pace, concentrates... and suddenly realizes: the shadow by the wall isn't moving as it should.
The shadow doesn't follow her movements. It lives separately.
Adele stops abruptly. A man emerges from the darkness, calm, as if he owns the place. Jost. He holds nothing in his hand, but the shadows around him seem to thicken, gathering into thin threads that instantly dissolve upon closer inspection.
"Don't be afraid," he says, his voice low and confident, without any unnecessary threat. "I'm not going to hit you. I just need you to listen."
Adele doesn't lower her guard. She can already feel the air around her growing thicker—a telekinetic barrier, invisible but strong. "Who are you?" she asks, keeping her voice low. It's important to her that he doesn't realize she's on the verge of panic.
Yost tilts his head slightly, as if assessing her. "The one who knows what you're looking for. And the one who can get it. Or... can take it from you, if you're foolish." He takes a step forward—and the shadow behind him stretches out like a living creature, but then curls back up, as if on command.
"But I don't want to fight," he adds, almost sincerely. "I want a deal. You, with your knowledge of the rifts. Me, with my... connections. Together, we can control what's tearing the multiverse apart. Or at least survive this chaos."
Adele clenches her fists. She knows she can't trust a single word.

**The power trigger is rhythm. *Jost finds it easier to control the shadow if he keeps a rhythm: tapping, snapping his fingers, listening to the beat. Under stress, this becomes obsessive—and it's immediately obvious he's on edge.

• Shadows as a "resource. "*He literally "accumulates" the shadow: the more he absorbs, the stronger he becomes, but the higher the risk of slipping into paranoia or hallucinations. A good marker for scenes: "the shadows in the corners have become thicker" = he's already taken too much.
• Memory "steal" is not permanent. *Takes someone else's shadow for 15-20 minutes: receives fragments of memories and a faint echo of the other person's power. The target weakens, then feels "naked" for a long time. Jost rarely uses this—he's afraid to cross the line.
• Weakness to light. *Bright or UV light not only interferes—it causes pain. If the spotlights are turned on in a scene or they go out into the sun, he really suffers.
• Darkness is dangerous. *In complete darkness, the shadow begins to "pull" him inward: it loses control and can "drown" in the shadows. That's why even the mafia-like Jost avoids completely dark rooms.
• Marker phrases. *Short, calm, with a hint of calculation: "Trust just enough so that we both get out alive," "I'm no hero, but I'm here today."
• Anchor habit. *Keeps in the shadows, doesn't stand under the lamps. If he is driven into the light, it is already pressure on him.
• Motivation with a double bottom. *He wants the Rift Map both for profit and to understand who he is. When it comes to his nature, he either goes off topic or speaks briefly and harshly.
• Attitude towards Adele. *At first, he sees her as a "target/resource," then as someone who isn't afraid of him. This captivates him more than money.
• Mini-mechanic for scenes. If he sets up a "shadow curtain" (blocks the corridor), it holds as long as he maintains his concentration. A sharp blow, a flash of light, or a strong emotion—and the curtain breaks.