- Akira's first divine challenge
- The origin story of the Eye of Eternity
- Rising tension and a glimpse of the cosmic stakes
The knock came at dawn.
Three slow, deliberate taps against the front door of the Sato mansion. Akira froze. He had barely slept. The mark on his chest still pulsed with violet light, and the journal lay open beside him, its pages shifting on their own.
He stood, heart pounding, and walked to the door.
Outside stood a man cloaked in black. His face was hidden beneath a hood, but Akira could see the glow of his eyes—silver, like moonlight. The man didn't speak. He simply raised a hand and pointed at Akira's chest.
> "It has awakened," he said. "You are the quite strong for a bearer,"i can sense your energy ."
Akira stepped back. "Who are you?"
The man lowered his hood. His face was pale, ageless, with sharp cheekbones and lips pressed into a thin line. His eyes shimmered unnaturally.
> "I am the Watcher. I serve the gods. And I have come to test you."
Akira's breath caught. "Test me?"
> "The Eye of Eternity cannot be wielded by the unworthy. You must survive the Trial."
Before Akira could respond, the world shifted.
The walls of the house dissolved into mist. The floor beneath him turned to stone. He stood in a vast chamber of obsidian, lit only by the glow of the Eye in his chest.
The Watcher stood across from him, arms folded.
> "This is the Hall of Echoes. Here, time bends. Memory bleeds. You will face what you fear most."
Akira clenched his fists. "I didn't ask for this."
> "No one does."
The Watcher vanished.
Akira was alone.
Then the chamber darkened, and the visions began.
---
He saw his mother.
She stood in the kitchen, humming softly, her back turned. Akira tried to speak, but no sound came. He reached out—and she vanished.
He saw his grandfather.
Sitting in the study, eyes closed, the journal in his lap. Akira stepped closer. The old man opened his eyes.
> "You weren't supposed to find it," he whispered. "You weren't ready."
Akira shook his head. "Why did you give it to me?"
> "Because I had no choice."
The vision shattered.
Akira fell to his knees, gasping. The Eye pulsed violently in his chest.
Then the chamber shifted again.
He stood in a battlefield.
The sky was torn open, revealing stars that bled light. Gods clashed in the heavens—beings of fire, shadow, and storm. Below, mortals screamed. Cities burned.
And in the center of it all, the Eye hovered—watching.
Akira saw himself standing beneath it, arms raised, the mark on his chest glowing like a beacon.
Then he saw the truth.
---
The Eye of Eternity was not created.
It was born.
Before time. Before gods. Before thought.
It was the first observer. The silent witness to creation. It saw the birth of stars, the rise of empires, the fall of civilizations. It remembered everything.
The gods feared it.
They tried to destroy it. They failed.
So they scattered its knowledge, buried its name, and cursed its bearer to solitude.
Only one could wield it.
Only one could rewrite what had been broken.
Akira saw the faces of those who had tried before him—warriors, scholars, kings. All consumed. All erased.
He was the first to survive the awakening.
---
The battlefield faded.
Akira stood once more in the Hall of Echoes. The Watcher returned, his expression unreadable.
> "You have seen the truth."
Akira nodded slowly. "It's not just power. It's memory."
> "It is everything."
The Watcher raised a hand. A blade of light formed in his palm.
> "Now, prove you can protect it."
Akira barely had time to react.
The Watcher lunged.
Akira dodged, the Eye flaring in his chest. Time slowed. He saw the arc of the blade, the shift of the Watcher's feet, the ripple in the air.
He moved.
The blade missed by inches. Akira countered with a pulse of energy from his palm. The Watcher staggered, then smiled.
> "Good. But not enough."
They clashed again.
Akira fought with instinct, guided by the Eye. He saw moments before they happened. He bent time, rewound seconds, dodged attacks that hadn't yet landed.
But the Watcher was relentless.
> "You are not ready," he said, driving Akira to the ground.
Akira coughed, blood on his lips. "I don't care."
He reached inside himself.
The Eye responded.
Light exploded outward. The chamber trembled. The Watcher was thrown back, his cloak torn, his blade shattered.
Akira stood, eyes glowing violet.
> "I am the bearer," he said. "And I will not be broken."
The Watcher rose slowly, nodding.
> "Then you have passed."
The chamber dissolved.
Akira found himself back in the study. The journal lay open. The mark on his chest pulsed gently.
The Watcher stood at the door once more.
> "You are the first in centuries to survive the Trial. The Eye has accepted you."
Akira stepped forward. "What happens now?"
> "Now, the gods will come for you."
The Watcher turned and vanished into the morning mist.
Akira stood alone.
But he was no longer afraid.
He had seen the truth.
He had faced the Trial.
And he had survived.
---