Dark Omen

Duskfall City

.....

As dusk deepened and the twilight sky bled into deeper shades of violet and indigo, something in the air began to change. The people of Duskfall, though they did not know it, felt the shift—like the city itself was holding its breath. The hum of everyday life, the chatter of merchants and the rustle of noble silks, paused for just a heartbeat. An ancient energy stirred, old as the stars themselves, creeping into the streets like an invisible mist.

Above, the stars began to shimmer with an intensity that bordered on the unnatural. The constellations flickered, their usual cold light becoming sharp and brittle, like daggers of light cutting through the deepening night. The heavens seemed to pulse with a quiet power, as if something was waking, something long slumbering, deep in the vault of the sky.

And then, the shadows began to stir.

They were subtle at first—shifts in the corners of alleyways, slight distortions in the reflections of moonlight against marble. But soon, the shadows grew restless. They slithered across the cobblestones, curling and bending like living things, reaching into places they should not go. On the walls of ancient stone buildings, shadows danced and flickered, twisting into shapes that felt more like presence than mere absence. Eyes widened in the streets, and a chill ran through the crowds as the shadows seemed to breathe. The air grew heavier, thicker—like a storm had gathered on the edge of the world, waiting to break.

In the heart of the city, the noble houses stirred.The mana itself was changing around them, higher concepts were in play, rank fives and sixes all felt it.... some rank fours as well....

....

The Mage Coin glinted from the Matriarch of Dusks chest, cold and silent but her gaze suddenly narrowed and her aura grew heavier, the room suddenly turned a lot darker, the air a lot colder and her eyes cold and emotionless, she gazed up as she looked through the Fortress of Dusk's roof and into the stars, 

She frowned "Interesting".

the room then exploded with light, not a single corner of it harbored any shadows

....

In another room somewhere deep underground, an man was training in the deep shadows, these shadows were deep and unfathomable when all of the sudden the shadows began to dance and celebrate, as if their rightful ruler has awakened. 

the man had light gray hair, eyes velvet as the twilight above Duskfall, and was muscular and aged, like an old commander.

This was the commander of Dusk

His regal coin cold and silent but the change was felt, something was moving on a higher plain, something that was powerful enough to send ripples in the heavens

"what the?"

The man was in full sweat, the aura around him that of an angel, his gaze heavy and body littered with scars, trophies of his battles

He stared in shock and anger at the shadows that had the audacity to celebrate and even disobey him

This has only happened a couple times, the first, when he faced off against a House Shadow angel, the second, against a certain female angel that still haunts his dreams.

"Night."

The mana and shadows around him trembled and did not dare move now.

.....

In the shadows, there was an ancient power awakening, something that had been buried deep beneath the weight of time.

And then, the shadows began to dance.

It was as though the very night itself had taken on a life of its own. Silhouettes twisted and undulated across the walls of ancient buildings, their movements graceful yet eerie, as if they were mocking the passersby. Some turned their heads, their eyes wide with unease, but none could make sense of the shifting darkness.

The shadows pulled themselves into strange, unnatural shapes, growing and shrinking with the rhythm of an unseen pulse.

From the highest towers to the lowest alleyways, the people of Duskfall stopped. The workers in the streets, the scholars in their arcane libraries, the nobles preparing for their evening feasts—all of them paused. The world felt alive, and yet, strangely wrong. Whispers began to thread through the crowd, and some took to their knees, instinctively grasping for their Mana Coins, the only source of comfort in the face of such an inexplicable occurrence

In the high towers where the nobles of Duskfall kept their quiet vigil, the magicians, scholars, and sorcerers felt it first—an electric charge in the air, a magical hum resonating through the ancient bones of the city. Their fingers twitched at the familiar arcane symbols they had studied all their lives, but this was something they did not know, something untamed. It was the very essence of the stars—raw and untethered, flowing like a river of molten light.

The streets buzzed with unease. Nobles, in their silks and velvet robes, exchanged worried glances. The usual calm of the evening was fractured. A ripple of nervous energy passed through the crowd as the shadows twisted and danced. In every corner, in every street, in every shadow, something was changing. Some whispered it was a sign from the gods.

Then, above the city, in the very heart of the heavens, the stars themselves began to align. It was not a simple shift in constellations, but a dramatic, celestial upheaval. The light from the stars burned brighter than it ever had before, casting their rays down upon Duskfall with a strange, unearthly glow. A flare of light split the night, and the darkness itself seemed to tremble as if it were made of something alive, something that feared the coming of what had been lost.

The city stilled in that moment. A deep, collective silence settled like a heavy cloak, and everyone—from the lowliest merchant to the most powerful noble—knew without speaking, A change was coming

No, it was far more profound than that—a symbolic birth, an awakening. It was the resurgence of ancient power, an energy so old it felt as though the very bones of the world were trembling. The shadows that had danced began to swirl, growing stronger, more defined, as if they were feeding off the newfound force in the sky they became almost tangiable. The stars burned with a power that seemed to breathe, their light forming patterns in the heavens that no mortal had ever seen. In the deepest heart of Duskfall, the streets themselves seemed to bend—as if the world was folding inward, drawing everything toward the center of some unspoken event.

And then, just as quickly as it had begun, the light dimmed, leaving only the heavy silence and the cold kiss of night. The shadows slowly settled, their restless dancing subsiding as the city exhaled, though no one would ever be quite the same.

Only a few knew the true significance of this, The angels and devils in the realm of Sahara, all felt it, some rank five demons and saints as well. This was Mana celebrating the potential of a being of great power.....They even tried to see who it was, only to be stopped by another angel.

Times were changing... they all knew it.

.......

The gazes of ancient and forgotten powers retreated like the tides, and Odin's overwhelming aura subsided, leaving Astra trembling on the edge of consciousness. His body shuddered violently from the sheer weight of it—he, a mere Rank One, standing in the presence of a Rank Six, a being who had barely unleashed the merest sliver of their true power. How could he even breathe in such a tempest?

Astra barely managed to rise, his knees shaking as if the earth itself had fractured beneath him.

"Ho…" Odin's voice rumbled, a faint chuckle escaping his lips as the oppressive heat in the forge room finally began to ebb. The blaze that had once threatened to consume everything flickered back to its usual, mundane state.

"You are truly... interesting, lad."

Astra's mind raced, but it all came crashing into a singular, overwhelming truth—he could feel the stars celebrate above him, the shadows whispering in symphony to his existence. It was as if something ancient stirred within him, weaving the threads of destiny, while unfathomable, unseen gazes from across the void fixed themselves upon the two of them. He was terrified. He could barely stand under the weight of such cosmic attention, and his instincts screamed to flee, but he fought with every fiber of his being to remain upright, to hold onto what little control he had left.

Odin, his aura now dormant, looked down at him, his piercing blue eyes like twin glaciers, cold and unyielding. There was something there, in that gaze—expectation.

Astra, struggling for breath, managed to ask through his rattled thoughts, "So... I'm a prince?" His voice cracked as he laughed bitterly, sinking into a chair to catch his breath. "What has this wretched world become?"

Odin, eyes glinting with an ancient amusement, responded in a voice thick with weight, "Astra, as the heir of night and the bearer of a regal coin... you have duties. Obligations not just to yourself, but to every ancestor who has ever walked before you. To the gods themselves."

Astra felt a burning frustration claw at him, the chains of fate tightening around his chest. He hated the very idea—the notion that he had no agency over his own life. He hated the concept of royal obligations thrust upon him like a shackle. Yet, deep inside him, buried beneath layers of resentment, was a longing. A hunger for something more. Something... greater.

"But what if I don't want this?!" Astra's voice was thick with confusion and anger, his hands gripping the chair tightly. "What if I refuse this fate?!"

Odin's gaze bore into him with the weight of centuries, his blue eyes glowing with an eerie light. "You're telling me, Astra... that you've never felt lonely? Never felt... out of place? Never longed for more than the pathetic life of a street rat?"

He paused, his voice growing softer, though the truth in his words cut deeper than any blade.

"Don't lie to me, and don't lie to yourself. Your eyes are as empty as the sky above Duskfall during twilight. I can sense it... your loneliness... your solitude."

Astra's face twisted with anger, yet a sinking feeling in his chest made his breath catch. Odin was right. He hatedeverything about his life—he hated the filth of the streets, the constant struggle to survive, the degrading acts he had been forced to endure and commit. He despised the silence of his existence, the isolation that seemed to cling to him like a second skin.

He hated how weak he was.

He hated that he was nothing but a city rat.

The stars had chosen him. The shadows were calling his name. His path was before him, waiting for him to step into it.

"I can feel it too, Astra." Odin's voice pulled him from his dark reverie. "I can feel the fire of ambition burning inside of you. Your soul aches for power. You can't hide it. You can't lie to your own body, nor your heart."

Astra's thoughts swirled, as Odin's words wrapped around him like chains of destiny. "Realize your path. Realize your destiny. Realize your future."

The room grew silent as Astra's eyes lifted, his gaze searching through the cavernous depths of the underground district to the stars above, like pinpricks of light in the void. He could hear the wind whisper, feel the ancient energies in the air. Odin's voice echoed in his mind, reminding him of something his ancestor had once said.

"Stars shine brightest when they are alone."

Astra closed his eyes for a moment, as if gathering his strength, and when he opened them, his violet irises gleamed with newfound resolve. His eyes, no longer empty, were sharp and unwavering.

"If my destiny leads me to the stars, and if I am to wield their power, who am I to say no?" He smirked, his voice laced with finality. "I will survive. I will endure. I will persevere—just as I always have."

Odin's lips curled into a knowing smile, his blue eyes gleaming with approval.

"Then Astra Noctis," Odin intoned, his voice a powerful resonance that seemed to reverberate in the very bones of the earth, "realize your potential. Grow stronger. Become an angel."

He paused, his expression darkening slightly.

"This concludes the favor I owed to your ancestor."

Odin's gaze turned upwards, a final flicker of something ancient passing through his eyes.

"The Law of Exchange has been fulfilled."

He lowered his eyes once more, his gaze piercing. "If you seek to prove yourself, go to the ruins of the Castle of the Stars. If you dare. With your wits and your skill, you might just manage to slip inside. The Nightfall blade will not come to you easily, but the castle holds many secrets. Secrets hidden from the hands of those who cannot wield the stars themselves. Even House Dusk has given up on guarding its depths."

He leaned forward, a warning in his voice.

"Remember, Astra—there are still allies of the Night out there. Seek House Shadow. They rule over Penumbra in the Umbral Forest. They will aid you, if you are worthy."

The room fell silent once more, as if the world itself had held its breath, awaiting Astra's next move.