Ardent Vale's capital city glittered beneath a crimson dawn.
From above, its towers seemed to shimmer like blades cold, precise and pitiless.
Around it stood the Obsidian Citadel, wherein gathered-and conspired-the might of the Empire.
In the throne chamber, the banners hung still. The air reeked of iron and stale smoke.
General Korrin stood before the High Regent-woman whose face was veiled in beaten gold, eyes like fire through glass.
"You said the valley was enclosed," she whispered.
Korrin bowed stiffly. "It was, my Lady. But the Eclipse Vein… awakened. We've lost three battalions."
The Regent's hand tightened on the armrest of her throne. "And the soldier responsible?"
"Escaped," Korrin admitted. "Riven Kael. The reports claim he's"
"Accursed," said the Regent, cutting in sharply. "Yes. I've heard the whispers."
She stood, and the guards didn't even dare inhale. The veil framed her features, catching the dim light and shading her face. "He carries godlight. That makes him either a weapon… or a threat."
Korrin swallowed. "We could track him, my Lady. I've already dispatched hunters."
"Hunters?" The Regent's tone sharpened. "You'll need more than mortals to capture a man touched by the Veins."
She turned to the side, where another figure waited cloaked in black, silent, his presence almost unreal. When he lifted his head, pale silver eyes glinted beneath his hood.
Korrin stiffened. "You brought one of them here?"
"The Eclipse Order never died," the hooded man whispered. "We only waited."
The Regent's lips curvated faintly. "Commander Serath will lead the pursuit. He knows what hides inside Kael."
Serath stepped forward, his gaze cold, knowing. "If the god of dusk awakens, it will not be Kael who rules it. It will be me."
Korrin's jaw clenched. "And if he resists?"
Serath smiled. "Then we break him."
Far beyond the walls of Ardent Vale, the storm gathers.
Riven trudged through the ashen wilds, the landscape fractured by fissures that glowed faintly beneath his feet. Before him rose the ruins of Mirath a shattered city of stone and light, half-swallowed by vines and silence.
It had felt ancient, too ancient. Every step stirred echoes-voices half remembered, prayers whispered by ghosts.
He reached a crumbling archway etched with words in a language older than time. The symbols pulsed weakly when his hand grazed them the same rhythm as his veins.
"You've come," a voice said behind him.
Riven whirled sharply, half-drawing her sword.
Lyra stood on the edge of this ruin, her cloak fluttering in the cold wind. But this time, her eyes were different filled with pain.
"These ruins," she said in a hushed tone, "are what remain of the First Vein. The place where gods fell."
Riven's grip tightened. "And you brought me here to what-remember their graves?"
"No." Lyra's voice darkened. "To remember who killed them."
She raised her hand and the world shifted.
The ruins around them seeped into memory. The air ran like molten gold. Towers of light ejected from the ground, and above them warring divine figures raced across the sky. Their screams tore through the heavens.
Riven stumbled back, his heart pounding. "What is this?"
"The end of the gods," Lyra whispered, "and the beginning of you."
It flared, vision before the boy could speak-and a monstrous shadow blotted out the light. An enormous figure, wings like sheets of black flame, eyes that burned like pools of molten silver.
"The God of Dusk," Lyra said. "The one inside you."
Riven stared, his blood freezing. The creature looked back directly at him.
And when it smiled, he felt it echo inside his chest.
We are not apart, Riven.
We are the same.
The vision shattered. Riven fell to his knees, gasping, silver light leaking from his hands.
Lyra reached for him, but stopped, her face flickering with fear. "He's waking up sooner than I thought."
Riven's voice cracked. "Then tell me how to stop him."
Lyra turned her face upwards to the burning sky and said nothing.
"You can't," she whispered. "You were never meant to stop him… You were meant to become him."
A long silence then filled the ruins.
Only the soft whisper of wind through the broken stones reminded Riven that the world still existed, that he still existed.
He rose slowly, his chest heaving, "You lie."
Lyra met his glare without flinching. "You felt it. When he looked at you."
"I'm nothing like that thing," Riven spat. "That monster killed gods. He burned the sky."
She took another step closer, her eyes steady and mournful. "And now he wears your skin."
Silver light flickered beneath Riven's veins once more. He clenched his fists, forcing it down, but the ground shook beneath his boots. A low hum filled the air-the same rhythm that pulsed through his heartbeat.
Lyra whispered something in the old tongue, her voice a near song. The tremor eased. The light dimmed.
Riven turned to her sharply. "What have you just done?"
"I silenced him. For now."
"How?"
Lyra's gaze rose to the fissured moon. "Because once, long ago… I loved him."
The words hit him harder than any blade. "You-what?"
For the first time, Lyra's face went soft, her voice high with trembling. "He wasn't always a monster, Riven. He was the brightest of us-the god of twilight and rebirth. Until the mortals turned his light into war."
Riven stared, unsure if she spoke truth or madness. "And now he's inside me?"
"Yes."
"Then why me?"
Lyra faltered. "Because you were dying. Your heart stopped beneath the eclipse-and the Vein chose you. His essence needed a vessel. A soul strong enough to contain it."
Riven's chest constricted. "And now you want to bring him back?"
"No," Lyra said fiercely. "I want to separate you from him before the next eclipse completes the bond.
He blinked, unsure if he should believe her. "Separate us? You said it can't be done."
Lyra's eyes turned dark. "I said it cannot be done safely. There is an ancient temple buried beneath this city the Temple of the Vein. It holds the only artefact strong enough to divide mortal flesh from divine essence."
Riven's hand tightened on his sword. "Then let's find it."
Lyra looked away. "It's not that simple. The temple is sealed by blood and memory. It opens only when what's sleeping inside you is stirred awake."
Before Riven was able to say anything, the wind shifted sharp and cold. The faint hum of power turned to a shriek.
Lyra's head snapped up. "They've found us."
A tremor ran through the ruins. Far off, a column of crimson light burst into the sky. Riven's heart lurched. He knew that color the mark of Imperial magic.
Lyra's hand brushed his arm. "Run!"
He turned just as a blast of red fire tore through the temple archway and threw him backward. The air filled with smoke and dust. Figures emerged through the haze: soldiers clad in obsidian armor, their weapons aglow with bloodlight.
At their head walked a man clad in black, his silver eyes shining cold.
"Riven Kael," he said. "You've been hard to find."
Riven's pulse quickened. "Who are you?"
The man smiled faintly. "A reflection of what you could become."
"Serath," Lyra spat, venom in her tone.
Serath inclined his head mockingly. "Lady Lyra. I had hoped you'd still be among the living. How convenient."
Riven stepped between them, blade raised. "You'll have to go through me."
Serath's eyes shone brighter. "Oh, I do." He raised his hand and the air shattered. Red lightning arced across the ruins, meeting silver flame as Riven struck back. The collision ripped the ground apart, shockwaves rolling through the city's bones. Lyra screamed something in the ancient tongue, raising up a barrier of light around them. "Riven, don't let him touch you! He feeds on the Vein!" Riven swung again. His sword met Serath's crimson blade with an impact that exploded sparks. For an instant, there came the flash of silver against red, rival suns colliding and then both men were hurled apart. Serath landed gracefully, unhurt. "You cannot win this fight, Kael. The power in your veins doesn't belong to you." Riven rose, hard of breathing, silver light flaring around him. "Maybe not. But right now, it's mine." The clang that followed lit the ruins brighter than dawn. Above them, unseen, the scarred moon began again to bleed the first sign of another eclipse.