The first thing Kaelis felt was the weight. A crushing, soul-rending pressure, as if the fabric of reality had been draped over his shoulders and was slowly pulling him into the ground. He staggered forward, toward the swirling void in the center of the platform, the shard in his hand burning like a brand. The voices inside him were screaming now, a cacophony of whispers and shouts, each demanding something different. Some called for blood, others for surrender.
None of them could agree, except on one thing: something was coming.
Lyra gripped her blades, her gaze darting around the ruins as the tremors beneath their feet intensified. "We're not alone anymore, Kaelis," she hissed, her muscles tensing like a predator ready to strike. "Whatever this thing is, it's waking them up."
"I know," Kaelis replied through gritted teeth. He could feel them the gods. Their presence was no longer distant, no longer lurking just beyond the horizon. They were here, now, rising from the ashes of this forsaken place. Their power was tangible, like a storm building overhead, ready to tear the sky apart.
The vortex in the center of the platform began to pulse, its surface rippling like water disturbed by an unseen force. The air around it crackled with energy, and Kaelis could feel the shard in his hand resonate with it, as if the two were connected by some ancient, forgotten bond.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them split with a deafening crack, and from the darkness below, they emerged.
Shadows, not like the formless wraiths they'd faced before, but towering, hulking figures, their bodies etched with glowing runes and their eyes burning with cold, otherworldly light. Their forms flickered, as if caught between dimensions, half in this world and half in another. But there was no mistaking what they were.
The gods of the First Eclipse.
Lyra's breath hitched, her eyes widening as she took a step back. "What… what are they?"
Kaelis's grip tightened on the shard. "Remnants. Fragments of what they once were. The gods of the Eclipse are dead, but their essence lingers. And now it's come to claim what's left of this place."
The gods moved with a slow, deliberate grace, their massive forms gliding across the platform like shadows cast by an unseen sun. They didn't speak didn't need to. Their presence alone was enough to convey their purpose.
Kaelis felt a cold dread settle over him as the largest of the gods stepped forward, its eyes locking onto him. The weight of its gaze was unbearable, like staring into the heart of a dying star. He could feel its thoughts brushing against his mind, probing, searching for something. It was the same presence he had felt ever since he first touched the shard the presence of something ancient, something that had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Without warning, the god raised one massive arm, and the air around it shimmered as a jagged blade of pure energy materialized in its hand. It moved faster than Kaelis could react, swinging the blade toward him with a force that could shatter mountains.
But Lyra was quicker. With a fierce shout, she darted forward, her twin blades flashing in the dim light as she deflected the strike, the impact sending shockwaves through the platform. "We need to move!" she yelled, her voice strained as she struggled to hold the god's attack at bay. "Now!"
Kaelis shook off the paralysis that had gripped him and sprinted toward the vortex. The shard in his hand was vibrating wildly now, its light pulsing in time with the vortex. He didn't know what would happen if he threw the shard into the void didn't know if it would end the Eclipse or unleash something even worse but he was out of options.
Behind him, Lyra was locked in a deadly dance with the god, her movements swift and precise as she dodged and parried its relentless attacks. But Kaelis could see that she was struggling the gods were unlike anything they had ever faced. They were faster, stronger, and more dangerous than any of the shadows that had come before.
"Kaelis!" Lyra shouted, her voice edged with desperation. "Whatever you're going to do, do it now!"
Kaelis reached the edge of the vortex, the wind howling around him as the void churned like a storm-tossed sea. He could feel the pull of it now, like gravity, trying to drag him in. The shard in his hand was almost too hot to hold, its light blinding in its intensity.
With a final, determined breath, Kaelis raised the shard above his head and hurled it into the vortex.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the world exploded.
The vortex expanded, its surface rippling with waves of energy that surged outward, engulfing the entire platform. The ground trembled violently, cracks spiderwebbing across the stone as the power of the Eclipse was unleashed. The gods let out a collective roar, their forms flickering wildly as the energy tore through them, stripping away their ethereal bodies layer by layer.
Kaelis stumbled back, shielding his eyes from the blinding light. He could feel the force of the explosion pressing down on him, threatening to tear him apart. But amidst the chaos, he could also feel something else something shifting.
The air was different now, charged with a strange, unfamiliar energy. It wasn't the oppressive weight of the gods or the cold emptiness of the Graveyard. It was something new, something alive.
Lyra stumbled toward him, panting heavily as she wiped blood from her brow. "What the hell just happened?" she asked, her voice hoarse.
Kaelis shook his head, still trying to process what he was feeling. "I don't know. But I think… I think we just broke something."
As the light from the vortex began to fade, the platform around them started to crumble, the once-solid stone dissolving into dust. The gods, their forms now barely more than shadows, retreated into the darkness, their howls of rage and pain echoing through the ruins.
Kaelis and Lyra exchanged a glance, both of them realizing the same thing at the same time.
This was far from over.
The vortex had been a key a lock holding something in place. And now that it was broken, the true power of the Eclipse was beginning to awaken.
"Kaelis," Lyra said quietly, her eyes scanning the crumbling city around them. "We need to leave. Now."
Kaelis nodded, his jaw clenched. The voices inside him had gone silent, but he could still feel their presence, lurking just beneath the surface, waiting for the next move.
As they turned to leave, the ground beneath them gave way, and they fell into darkness.