Rael couldn't sleep.
The ruins offered little in the way of shelter, but he had found a spot beneath the collapsed remains of an old overpass. The cold wind bit at his skin, but it wasn't the chill that kept him awake.
It was the stranger's words.
"There's no such thing as freedom when you've got an Anchor. Only chains."
Rael glanced at his hand, the faint glow of the rune barely visible in the darkness. The power it granted him was undeniable—but at what cost? The Eclipse Fiend's voice still lingered in his thoughts, its cryptic demands as heavy as the silence of the night.
The distant howls of Umbrals punctuated the stillness, a grim reminder that danger was never far away. But something else stirred in the back of Rael's mind. It was subtle, like a whisper too faint to hear, yet impossible to ignore.
It wasn't the Fiend.
It was… something deeper.
Rael sat up, his eyes scanning the ruins around him. The whisper grew louder, though it wasn't coming from the outside world. It was within him, coiling in the corners of his mind.
"Come closer," it said.
He gritted his teeth, shaking his head as though to banish the sound. "No. I'm done with games."
But the voice persisted, its tone low and seductive. "You seek answers, don't you? I can give them to you. All you have to do is follow."
The rune on his hand flared suddenly, sending a jolt of heat through his body. Rael staggered to his feet, clutching his arm as the glow intensified. The shadows around him seemed to grow darker, deeper, until they consumed the world entirely.
When the light returned, Rael was no longer beneath the overpass.
He stood in an endless expanse of black sand, the sky above a swirling maelstrom of violet and gold. The air was heavy, thick with a presence that pressed down on him from every direction.
"What… is this?" Rael muttered, his voice swallowed by the oppressive silence.
"A piece of the Abyss," the voice replied, now clearer and more commanding.
Rael turned, his blade forming instinctively in his hand. But there was no one there.
Instead, a figure began to emerge from the shadows. It was humanoid in shape, but its features were indistinct, as though it was made entirely of shifting darkness. Two glowing eyes, cold and silver, pierced through the void where its face should have been.
Rael took a step back, his grip tightening on the hilt of his weapon. "Who are you?"
The figure tilted its head, the movement unnervingly smooth. "I am a remnant. A fragment of what once was. And you, Rael Duskthorn, are far from understanding the path you've chosen."
"I didn't choose anything," Rael said, his voice hard. "The Anchor chose me."
"Did it?" the figure replied, its tone unreadable. "Or did you choose it? Deep down, you wanted this power. You wanted to escape the life of a scavenger. To rise above the ruins of this broken world. But every choice comes with a price."
Rael's jaw tightened. "I don't have time for riddles. If you have something to say, say it."
The figure's eyes narrowed, a faint trace of amusement flickering in their cold light. "Very well. The Anchor you wield is not just a weapon—it is a key. A key to power, yes, but also to knowledge. And knowledge… can be dangerous."
The shadows around Rael began to shift, forming shapes—images that flickered like broken memories. He saw cities crumbling, skies darkened by endless storms, and armies of Umbrals marching across desolate landscapes.
He saw people like himself, wielding weapons born of Anchors, their faces twisted with determination—or despair.
Then, he saw the Eclipse Fiend. Its massive form loomed over the battlefield, its amber eyes burning with a light that devoured everything in its path.
Rael staggered back, the visions overwhelming. "What… what is this?"
"A glimpse of what has been," the figure said, its voice calm. "And what may yet come. The Anchors are not mere artifacts. They are fragments of a greater whole. A whole that was shattered long ago, to keep its power from consuming the world."
Rael's breath caught in his throat. "You're saying… the Fiend… it's just a piece of something bigger?"
The figure nodded slowly. "Yes. And if you continue down this path, you will come to understand the truth. But be warned: the truth is not always a gift. Sometimes, it is a curse."
The ground beneath Rael's feet began to tremble, the black sand shifting as though something massive was stirring beneath it.
"This is the burden you carry, Rael Duskthorn. You are bound to the Eclipse, and it to you. But chains can break. Will you rise above them? Or will you be consumed?"
Before Rael could respond, the sand erupted, and he was falling, the figure's silver eyes watching him until the darkness swallowed everything.
Rael woke with a gasp, his body drenched in sweat. He was back beneath the overpass, the distant howls of the Umbrals echoing through the night.
The rune on his hand was glowing faintly, the heat from it barely noticeable now.
He sat up, his mind racing. The figure's words echoed in his thoughts, the weight of their implications sinking in.
"Bound to the Eclipse," he muttered.
He looked at the Anchor, its surface dull and unassuming in the faint light. But he knew now that it was far more than it seemed.
And if the figure was right, his journey was only beginning.