The Red Eclipse and the Ghost of a Heart
The training arena of the Nail of Gaçe Guild was a tomb of silence. A vast expanse of cold, grey stone stretched before me, surrounded by tiered benches filled with students. They watched like vultures, their gazes a heavy mixture of curiosity, awe, and a shivering undercurrent of fear.
Coach Harven stepped forward, his presence commanding and stern. "Today, we witness the entry of a new soul. The rules of the Nail are absolute: whoever remains standing is the victor."
Beside him, Coach Seria nodded, her eyes dissecting me. "The first test reaches for the heart, Levin. We do not just measure the strength of your arm, but the darkness of your intent."
My opponent stepped into the light: Rayn. He was the guild's elite—muscular, decorated with scars of survival, and radiating a disdain that was almost tangible. He gripped his steel sword, his knuckles white. To him, I was just another 'curse' to be broken.
The duel began.
Rayn moved with the speed of a lightning strike. Before I could even settle into a stance, a brutal blow caught me in the ribs. Then another across my guard. My wooden sword felt like a twig against his steel. I fell to the stone, blood slicking my palms, my vision blurring as the spectators gasped.
Then, the world slowed. Deep within the crawlspace of my mind, the Demon's voice vibrated with a jagged edge.
"Levin… what are you doing? Do you think the curse chose you by accident? In this world, there is no middle ground. You either place your heel on the throat of the world, or you are crushed into the dust. Choose."
Suddenly, my heart stuttered. My left eye flared, the crimson light erupting with such violence it burned through the bandage. A dark, suffocating aura exploded from my body, filling the entire arena like a physical weight. It was cold. It was oppressive. It was the scent of a fresh grave.
Rayn froze mid-lunge. His pupils dilated in sheer terror. His legs, once like iron pillars, faltered and shook. A single bead of cold sweat rolled down his scarred cheek as he looked into my red gaze.
"I… I cannot… I cannot breathe against this…" Rayn stammered, his sword clattering to the stones. "I yield!"
Absolute silence reclaimed the arena. Harven looked astonished; Seria's eyes were wide with a dangerous intrigue. The other students shrank back as I stood up, their fear now a palpable wall between us.
"This child…" Harven muttered under his breath. "This is only the beginning of a storm."
Seria added, her voice a ghostly whisper: "Someone with this power becomes either the world's greatest enemy… or its only leader."
I closed my eyes, the red light fading but the chill remaining. "This power… is it mine… or his?" I whispered to my soul.
As the crowd dispersed, whispering my name like a prayer or a curse, I retreated to a dark corner behind the arena walls. My hands were trembling—not from the fight, but from the horror of what I felt. I buried my head in my knees, trying to block out the world.
"What am I doing?" I murmured into the dark. "This isn't who I was. This power… it's hollow. It's taking over everything I am."
As I drifted into the fog of my own grief, a vision flickered—my mother. She looked exactly as she did on that last sunny morning: gentle, kind, and overflowing with a love I no longer felt worthy of.
"Please… no matter how dark the path becomes, do not lose your heart, Riven… My Levin. The child who loved the world is still there, hidden beneath the shadows."
A single, hot tear escaped my eye and hit the cold stone. "Mother… I don't know who I am anymore. I'm a ghost in my own body."
And the Demon's laughter echoed, drowning out her memory: "Weakness is the only sin, Levin. I will make you a god. You just have to let go of that fragile heart."
I stood up, my gaze wavering but my resolve hardening. This power was my destiny, a chain I could not break. But as I walked back into the guild, I knew one thing: I would fight to keep my soul intact, even if I had to burn the world to do it.