Orphan of Astra City:
Astra City—a place of towering spires, gleaming bridges, and streets paved with celestial stone. It was the heart of the world, where warriors blessed by the gods trained to protect humanity from the forces of the Abyss. But beneath its majestic skyline, in the labyrinthine slums of the Lower Quarter, the weak were left to fend for themselves.
Kael knew this truth better than anyone.
The boy crouched in the shadows of a narrow alleyway, pressing himself against the cold stone wall. His breaths came in short, sharp bursts as he clutched a loaf of stolen bread against his chest. He could hear the merchant's furious shouts behind him.
"Thief! Someone catch that rat!"
Kael didn't dare look back. His bare feet pounded against the uneven ground as he sprinted through the alley, weaving past overturned crates and scrawny beggars.
A hand shot out from the darkness, aiming to grab him.
Kael ducked, rolling forward just as a burly enforcer lunged at him. The man's fingers barely grazed his tattered cloak before he stumbled into a pile of rotting garbage.
"Damned street rats," the man cursed, spitting on the ground.
Kael didn't stop running until he reached a familiar ruined chapel at the edge of the slums. He slipped through a broken window, landing lightly on the dusty floor.
Only then did he allow himself to breathe.
He tore into the bread with hunger-fueled desperation. It was dry and stale, but to Kael, it was a feast.
"Still getting yourself into trouble, huh?"
Kael looked up, wiping crumbs from his mouth. Sitting on a pile of worn-out blankets was an older girl with short silver hair and piercing blue eyes.
"Lyra," he muttered.
She crossed her arms, shaking her head. "One of these days, you're going to get caught, Kael."
Kael swallowed his food and forced a grin. "Not today."
Lyra sighed but didn't press the issue. She knew as well as he did—if you wanted to survive in the Lower Quarter, you had to fight for every scrap.
But even in the slums, rumors spread like wildfire. And lately, the whispers had been dark.
"They say people have been disappearing," Lyra murmured, staring at the flickering candle beside her.
Kael frowned. "Who?"
"Other street kids. Even some of the tougher guys from the gang near the merchant district."
Kael's grip tightened around the remaining bread. People went missing all the time in Astra City. But something about Lyra's voice sent a chill down his spine.
Before he could respond, a deep, guttural scream echoed through the night.
Kael and Lyra bolted upright. The sound came from the alley right outside the chapel.
Kael rushed to the window and peered through the cracked glass.
His blood turned to ice.
A man lay sprawled in the dirt, his body twitching. Strange, dark tendrils slithered around him, pulsing like veins filled with black fire. His eyes were wide, his mouth frozen in a silent scream.
Then, just as quickly as they appeared, the tendrils vanished. The man's body went still.
Kael didn't breathe.
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward.
He was tall and draped in tattered robes, his face hidden beneath a hood. But the thing that made Kael's heart hammer in his chest was the mark glowing on the man's arm—a symbol shaped like a black sun, eclipsing the light.
The **Eclipse Seal**.
Kael had seen that mark once before. In a dream.
The hooded figure tilted his head, as if sensing Kael's presence. Then, without a word, he melted into the darkness.
Kael swallowed hard.
He had no idea why, but something told him his life had just changed forever.
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