Kael's Dream Was Not a Dream
Kael had not slept in three days.
His descent into the Abyss had drained him beyond mortal exhaustion.
But even in the shattered caverns of the Lower Realm, he finally felt his eyelids grow heavy.
Fire dimmed.
The air cooled.
Silence fell.
Kael leaned against a jagged boulder, the Divine Spear resting beside him.
His last thought before slipping into unconsciousness was:
"Just… a moment of rest."
It was a mistake.
---
I — THE SHADOW IN HIS DREAM
Kael's eyes opened into darkness.
Not the darkness of night—
not even the abyss he walked—
but something deeper.
Something hungry.
He stood on a vast, black mirror that reflected nothing.
Kael exhaled sharply.
"This isn't a dream."
A laugh echoed from everywhere and nowhere.
Not mocking.
Not joyful.
Just… empty.
"You sleep, Kael."
"And in sleep, your guard drops."
Kael's hand shot to his side—
but the spear was gone.
"Show yourself!"
The air rippled.
A figure stepped out of the void.
Tall.
Half-wreathed in shadow, half bathed in blinding starfire.
A halo of broken rings rotated slowly behind its head.
Kael's muscles tightened.
"…Eclipse."
The entity tilted its head, eyes like eclipsed suns.
"You call me that."
"But I am more than a title."
---
II — THE ECLIPSE'S CLAIM
The Eclipse raised a hand.
Chains of black-gold light snapped up from the mirror beneath Kael, coiling around his wrists, ankles, neck.
Kael snarled, pulling against them—
but the chains didn't budge.
"Get out of my mind."
The Eclipse stepped closer.
"Your mind?"
It placed a shadowy hand over Kael's heart.
"The moment you entered the Abyss… your soul became mine to taste."
Kael felt a cold pressure sinking into his chest—
something ancient
something parasitic
something patient.
He gasped, teeth grit.
"What do you want?"
The Eclipse leaned close, whispers crawling like frost across his skin.
"To finish what the Abyss began."
"To turn you into a vessel."
---
III — RESISTANCE
Kael's eyes flashed with fierce defiance.
"You can't control me."
The Eclipse smiled.
Not with amusement.
With pity.
"I already am."
Chains tightened.
Kael felt them sinking into him, feeding on his memories—
Arhaan's faint glow
Eryon's warning
Selara's dying plea
The oath he made
All slipping away.
Kael roared, forcing every ounce of will into his limbs.
Light sparked beneath his skin.
Wings of broken starlight flared behind him—
even though he no longer had wings.
The chains cracked.
The Eclipse's expression sharpened.
"You would break yourself rather than yield?"
Kael bared his teeth.
"Every time."
---
IV — THE ECLIPSE'S WARNING
The shadow stepped back.
Chains dissolved into mist.
Kael dropped to one knee, sweat dripping from his brow, breathing hard.
The Eclipse's form flickered, becoming a silhouette of collapsing galaxies.
"Very well."
Kael glared up.
"This isn't over."
The Eclipse replied softly—
the tone of someone stating a simple fact, not a threat:
"Next time… you won't wake up."
The mirror shattered.
Darkness swallowed Kael whole.
---
V — WAKING
Kael jerked awake with a gasp.
The Divine Spear was glowing violently beside him, reacting to danger.
His hands were trembling.
A black-gold mark pulsed faintly over his heart—
shaped like an eclipse.
Kael whispered:
"…It's already inside me."
And for the first time since his descent—
Kael felt fear.