In the shadowed reaches of the cursed domain where air resonated with a creepy tune of the forgotten gods and the fading stars, Kael Deryn stood at the border of eternity. Under his shoes the ancient stones of the Eclipse Spire faintly pulsed with veins of flowing gold flowing through the cracks of obsidian as if the ground itself was bearing the anger of the ruler who ruled it.
Kael was gazing into the turning void beyond the spire. The sky was cracked here, it was divided between the realm of light and shadow, a jagged mixture of warring realities. The threads of ethereal mist bled from the Veil, the barrier that separates the mortals from the heavenly dominion of the gods. The air stunk of betrayal and divine arrogance, a smell that Kael had gotten familiar with.
Those gods, they had once whispered promises of perfection to this world but Kael, he knew the truth, their perfection was a lie, their divinity was all an illusion. And the cracks in the Veil were their downfall.
He will make them pay tonight.
The wind trembled bearing whispers that danced on the tip of coherence. Some of the voices chanted and sung his name, worshiping and fearful. Others they cursed and cursed at him, spitting malice that evaporated into nothingness. Kael closed his eyes and savouring the polarity. He flourished in this space where both faith and fear clouded into a single force that he could bend and twist to his own will.
In the silence a memory emerged uninvited, unwelcome.
Before he stood in the golden halls of Sanctis Solara, a boy decorated in the robe of nobility with his heart pure from the resentment that has now shaped him into what he is now. He believed in the gods at the time. He believed in the empire, in his family, in the light.
But belief was a delicate concept that is effortlessly broken by the blade of betrayal.
Kael clenched his fists with his nails piercing into his palm as he forced the memory back into the corner of his mind. He had burned that child to dust a long time ago and crafted himself afresh in the furnace of vengeance. Now he was the Eclipse Sovereign, a creature of shadows and wrath that is dreaded by mortals and gods equally.
And yet, the trace of the boy's belief still remained, like a quiet mocking whisper in the halls of his mind.
The Veil trembled and the voices became louder. Kael opened his eyes; his molten gold irises were glowing with a mystical light. The horizon broke more, pouring out rays of intense bright light into the darkness.
A figure came out of the spiraling chaos cloaked in an ethereal glow. The light around it was blinding but Kael's gaze pierced past the illusion to the truth that was under: a puppet for a god sent to send however another hollow decree.
The figure raised its hand and its voice roared with divine authority. "Kael Deryn, Sovereign of the Eclipse! The pantheon commands that you surrender. Halt your resistance and receive judgement or face destruction.
Kael's chuckle rolled through the spire both resonant and deep, the sound sent shivers over the cursed land that was below. "Judgement?" he repeated with his voice like a silken blade. "You talk as if the gods have not cast me into oblivion already. I mean did you seriously believe that I would just crawl back into the light after tasting the freedom of the shadow?
The figure faltered, and Kael continued, his words a venom that bled into the fragile confidence of his enemy. "Tell your masters this, the Eclipse does not bow. Not to mortals, not to gods, and never to fate."
He extended his hand forward dark tendrils of power snaking around his finger like the shadows were alive. With just a flick of his wrist he tore the puppet from existence and its glow extinguished in an instant. The light faded only leaving the stifling weight of Kael's presence.
Kael turned towards the Veil. The crack widened revealing peeks of the celestial realm; a domain of sparkling spires and brilliant skies, a place of made-up peace sustained by atrocious cruelty. This sight filled Kael with a very familiar fiery rage.
His voice resounded across the spire and a strong oath carved into the foundation of reality. "You built your thrones on the back of mortals and crowned yourselves as gods. But... your reign, it ends here. Tonight, I will destroy the Veil. Tonight, the gods will all bleed.
As he spoke the cursed lands below shook in response. From the shadows came the monstrous residents of his domain—contorted creatures that were born from Kael's dark magic and the broken essence of the Veil. The legion of nightmares all gathered around the spire with their eyes focused on their master.
Kael raised his arms and all the air around him crackled with a raw and uncontrollable power. The Eclipse Sovereign did not have any need for prayers or even followers, but the darkness itself appeared as it was bowing before him.
The sky split open and the war finally began.