Kael's head broke the surface of the water, his lungs burning as he gasped for air.
The world spun around him, blurred by the freezing ocean. Lyra surfaced beside him, coughing and shivering.
"That… was too close," she rasped, treading water.
Kael turned his head toward the docks above. The **Celestial Vanguard** stood at the edge, peering down into the dark waters below.
"There!" one of them shouted.
Gideon stepped forward, his silver armor gleaming beneath the moonlight. His expression was unreadable, but his stance was rigid—he wasn't about to let them escape.
Kael's body tensed. If the Celestials attacked now, they wouldn't stand a chance.
Before he could react, Gideon raised a hand, signaling his men to halt.
Kael blinked in confusion.
The Celestial Captain studied him with piercing blue eyes, then murmured something under his breath.
"...Leave them."
Kael's breath hitched.
"Sir?" one of the soldiers asked, visibly confused.
Gideon didn't look away from Kael. "The Abyss will take care of them."
Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.
One by one, the Celestials followed, vanishing into the night.
Kael and Lyra drifted in the water, stunned.
"What… just happened?" Lyra whispered.
Kael didn't answer. He was still trying to process it himself.
Then, he felt it.
A slow, creeping chill seeping into his bones.
A **presence** lurking beneath the waves.
His heartbeat quickened.
"Lyra," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "We need to get out of the water. Now."
She noticed his expression and didn't question it. Together, they swam toward the nearest structure—an old stone bridge leading to the underground canals of Astra City.
Kael reached for the edge—
A **dark tendril** shot out of the water, wrapping around his leg.
His breath caught in his throat.
Then, with inhuman strength, the tendril **dragged him under**.
"KAEL!" Lyra's voice barely reached him before the water swallowed him whole.
---
### **Somewhere Below…**
Darkness.
The cold crushed against his chest, forcing the air from his lungs.
Kael thrashed, but the tendril was too strong, pulling him deeper into the abyss. The city lights above faded, replaced by an eerie, bioluminescent glow from the depths below.
Then, he saw it.
A **massive eye** opened beneath him.
Not human. Not mortal.
A presence as ancient as time itself.
The tendril tightened.
Kael's vision blurred. His body was shutting down, his lungs screaming for air—
Then, the **Eclipse Seal** flared to life.
A surge of energy pulsed through him, and suddenly, the darkness around him **obeyed**.
The tendril released him.
The eye in the abyss… **blinked**.
Then, a deep, resonating voice echoed in his mind.
*"You… are not ready."*
Kael gasped as his body was **thrown upward**, propelled by an unseen force.
The surface rushed toward him—
And then—
---
### **Beneath the Stone Bridge**
Kael coughed violently as he dragged himself onto the stone platform, his body trembling.
Lyra was there, grabbing his arm and pulling him further onto the dry ground. "Kael! Are you okay?!"
He rolled onto his back, panting. His mind was still reeling from what had just happened.
The abyss.
The **voice**.
The way the tendrils had obeyed him the moment his **Eclipse Seal** activated.
Something inside him had **changed**.
He looked down at his arm. The mark was still there, pulsing faintly, as if it were… waiting.
Lyra sat beside him, rubbing her arms to shake off the cold. "What the hell was that?" she asked. "One minute you were there, the next—" She hesitated. "Kael… what did you see down there?"
Kael stared at the ceiling of the underground canal, his breathing still unsteady.
"I don't know," he admitted.
But deep down, he understood one thing.
Whatever was lurking in the abyss…
It **knew** him.
And worse—it was **waiting** for him to return.
---