Duskfall City
.....
As dusk deepened and the twilight sky bled into deeper shades of violet and indigo, something in the air began to change. The people of Duskfall, though they did not know it, felt the shift—like the city itself was holding its breath. The hum of everyday life, the chatter of merchants and the rustle of noble silks, paused for just a heartbeat. An ancient energy stirred, old as the stars themselves, creeping into the streets like an invisible mist.
Above, the stars began to shimmer with an intensity that bordered on the unnatural. The constellations flickered, their usual cold light becoming sharp and brittle, like daggers of light cutting through the deepening night. The heavens seemed to pulse with a quiet power, as if something was waking, something long slumbering, deep in the vault of the sky.
And then, the shadows began to stir.
They were subtle at first—shifts in the corners of alleyways, slight distortions in the reflections of moonlight against marble. But soon, the shadows grew restless. They slithered across the cobblestones, curling and bending like living things, reaching into places they should not go. On the walls of ancient stone buildings, shadows danced and flickered, twisting into shapes that felt more like presence than mere absence. Eyes widened in the streets, and a chill ran through the crowds as the shadows seemed to breathe. The air grew heavier, thicker—like a storm had gathered on the edge of the world, waiting to break.
In the heart of the city, the noble houses stirred. Both Nobel and Mage Coins shimmered faintly on the necks of their wearers, yet the Earl and Duke Coins flickered ominously, as if aware of something that lay hidden in the unseen corners of fate.
....
The Regal Coin glinted from the Matriarch of Dusks chest, cold and silent but her gaze suddenly narrowed and her aura grew heavier, the room suddenly turned a lot darker, the air a lot colder and her eyes cold and emotionless, she gazed up as she looked through the Fortress of Dusk's roof and into the stars,
She frowned "Interesting".
the room then exploded with light, not a single corner of it harbored any shadows
....
In another room somewhere deep underground, an man was training in the deep shadows, these shadows were deep and unfathomable when all of the sudden the shadows began to dance and celebrate, as if their rightful ruler has awakened.
the man had light gray hair, eyes velvet as the twilight above Duskfall, and was muscular and aged, like an old commander.
This was the commander of Dusk
His regal coin cold and silent but the change was felt, something was moving on a higher plain, something that was powerful enough to send ripples in the heavens
"what the?"
The man was in full sweat, the aura around him that of an angel, his gaze heavy and body littered with scars, trophies of his battles
He stared in shock and anger at the shadows that had the audacity to celebrate and even disobey him
This has only happened a couple times, the first, when he faced off against a House Shadow angel, the second, against a certain female angel that still haunts his dreams.
"Night."
The shadows trembled and did not dare move now.
.....
In the shadows, there was an ancient power awakening, something that had been buried deep beneath the weight of time.
And then, the shadows began to dance.
It was as though the very night itself had taken on a life of its own. Silhouettes twisted and undulated across the walls of ancient buildings, their movements graceful yet eerie, as if they were mocking the passersby. Some turned their heads, their eyes wide with unease, but none could make sense of the shifting darkness.
The shadows pulled themselves into strange, unnatural shapes, growing and shrinking with the rhythm of an unseen pulse.
From the highest towers to the lowest alleyways, the people of Duskfall stopped. The workers in the streets, the scholars in their arcane libraries, the nobles preparing for their evening feasts—all of them paused. The world felt alive, and yet, strangely wrong. Whispers began to thread through the crowd, and some took to their knees, instinctively grasping for their Mana Coins, the only source of comfort in the face of such an inexplicable occurrence
In the high towers where the nobles of Duskfall kept their quiet vigil, the magicians, scholars, and sorcerers felt it first—an electric charge in the air, a magical hum resonating through the ancient bones of the city. Their fingers twitched at the familiar arcane symbols they had studied all their lives, but this was something they did not know, something untamed. It was the very essence of the stars—raw and untethered, flowing like a river of molten light.
The streets buzzed with unease. Nobles, in their silks and velvet robes, exchanged worried glances. The usual calm of the evening was fractured. A ripple of nervous energy passed through the crowd as the shadows twisted and danced. In every corner, in every street, in every shadow, something was changing. Some whispered it was a sign from the gods, others feared it was the return of House Night, the long-dead rulers of the forgotten age. And yet, no one dared speak the name aloud.
Then, above the city, in the very heart of the heavens, the stars themselves began to align. It was not a simple shift in constellations, but a dramatic, celestial upheaval. The light from the stars burned brighter than it ever had before, casting their rays down upon Duskfall with a strange, unearthly glow. A flare of light split the night, and the darkness itself seemed to tremble as if it were made of something alive, something that feared the coming of what had been lost.
The city stilled in that moment. A deep, collective silence settled like a heavy cloak, and everyone—from the lowliest merchant to the most powerful noble—knew without speaking, A change was coming
No, it was far more profound than that—a symbolic birth, an awakening. It was the resurgence of ancient power, an energy so old it felt as though the very bones of the world were trembling. The shadows that had danced began to swirl, growing stronger, more defined, as if they were feeding off the newfound force in the sky they became almost tangiable. The stars burned with a power that seemed to breathe, their light forming patterns in the heavens that no mortal had ever seen. In the deepest heart of Duskfall, the streets themselves seemed to bend—as if the world was folding inward, drawing everything toward the center of some unspoken event.
And then, just as quickly as it had begun, the light dimmed, leaving only the heavy silence and the cold kiss of night. The shadows slowly settled, their restless dancing subsiding as the city exhaled, though no one would ever be quite the same.
For those who understood the old magical rites, the legends, and the forgotten whispers of the past, they knew this: the House of Night had returned—not through flesh, but through the awakening of its power. The Heir of Night, the last scion of the ancient dynasty, had been announced to the heavens.
And the city of Duskfall, once again, was alive with magic—trembling, waiting, for the night to reveal its true nature.
...
The gazes backed off, and Odin released his aura, astra was barley conscience and shaking, he was merely a rank one, how can he even stand in the vicinity of a rank six when they even used a small fraction of their magical prowess
Astra rose to his feet barely
"Ho…. You are truly interesting lad" Odin smiled as the room finally cooled down, the fire went back to normal.
A million thoughts flashed in Astras mind, but the most prominent was how he felt, the stars celebrate and shine, he felt the shadows dance and revel, he felt the unexplainable change in the air, and he felt the deep unfathomable gazes that landed on Odin, he was truly terrified, and was doing everything in his power not to faint.
Odin looked down, his body stopped glowing as his magic deactivated, he stared at Astras deep violet eyes, his blue eyes looking at him expecting something.
Astra took a minute to catch his breath then asked
"So...im a prince?...what has the world become" astra laughed as he sat down on a chair and took several deep breaths
Odin still amused stated
"Astra as the heir of night and a bearer of a regal coin…you have duties and obligations not only to yourself, but to every ancestor you have had…to the gods themselves."
….
Astra hated that notion, the notion he had no control over his life, the idea that he now has these royal obligations, but somewhere deep inside of him, he felt, happy, he felt longing and a strong desire
"But what if I don't want this obligation!" astra asked annoyed and confused
Odin simply stared at astra his gaze heavy
"Your telling me…you never have felt lonely, out of place, never have felt longing for more in life then being a street rat?.....don't lie to me and yourself boy… your eyes are as empty as the sky above Duskfall during twilight….I can sense your loneliness….your solitude."
Astra just looked as Odin analyzed him, what pissed off astra the most was that he wasn't wrong, astra hated being poor, hated being a street rat he hated having to do things just to live and the things that were done to him and that he had done to survive in this wretched city
He hated his loneliness
He hated how weak he was
He hated being a city rat
the stars have chosen him, the shadows celebrate his existence His Path has been set; he just needed to walk on it
"I can sense your desire for power….your soul burns with the flames of ambition, your eyes deepen and swirl at the thought of more…you can't lie to your body nor your heart boy"
"Realize your path.
"Realize your destiny,
"Realize your future"
He sighed and then looked up through the underground district, at the stars, as odin recalled something Layla had said to him all those years ago.
"Stars shine brighter when they are alone"
Astras eyes were closed as his resolve wavering for a second
Astra has made up his mind, he opened his violet eyes, they had a swirly sheen to them his gaze was sharp
"If my destiny leads me to the stars and I wield the stars, who am I to say no?" he smiled finally his mind is set
"I need to survive and persevere, as I always have"
Odin nodded, his eyes full of approval
"Then Astra Noctis, realize your potential, grow stronger become an angel."
"This concludes the favor I owed your ancestor"
Odin looked up again
The Law of Exchange has been fulfilled
"Go to the ruins of the castle of the stars if you dare, with your skills you should be able to sneak in, I doubt the Nightfall will show itself to you but there are still many secrets in that castle that are inaccessible to anyone who does not wield the stars, house dusk has even given up on guarding them."
"Remember Astra, there are still allies of night out there, seek House Shadow, they are a great house that rules over penumbra In the umbral forest. They shall help you.".