The End Of The Eclipse

The morning sky was a canvas of muted grays, thick with the lingering aftershocks of the month-long eclipse that had swallowed the world in a surreal, suffocating twilight.

The solar eclipse that has existed for entire month was finally dissipating.

As the first rays of light pierced the veil of darkness, they spread slowly across the horizon, casting an eerie, soft glow over the vast landscape. The once-shadowed world seemed to stir in anticipation.

For a month, the eclipse had hung in the sky. People had spoken in hushed voices of the celestial event. They had been told little, yet the presence of the other 6,900 students in the massive arena indicated that this wasn't just a test for the elite.

The Epoch Cycle would claim the lives and destinies of many.

The training arena itself stretched out like a grand coliseum, its circular walls reaching up to an endless sky. The arena was lined with thousands of students, each standing in groups, their expressions full of anxiety, anticipation, and confusion. No one knew exactly what would happen when the eclipse finally ended, but they knew this moment would define them.

In the center of the arena stood the Seventh Enlightenment Students, flanked by their peers, their faces pale and tense.

Vastarael Richinaria, Adelasta Vazakiel Viaca, Elyonari Mintheris, Farrynelle Skyrover, Xander Fedres, Denisia Andelaris, Natalis Andelaris, Peroncerea Ceres, Eldrigan Hanabas, and Narisva Starisnova.

They were the ones everyone had been watching. Beside them, however, were countless other students. Ordinary students who were caught in the same web of fate, their futures hanging in the balance. They had also died and we're resurrected.

For weeks, there had been rumors of strange, unexplainable occurrences; visions of the past, flashes of forgotten memories, and unsettling dreams of alternate timelines.

Some students had gone missing. Others had lost their minds, driven mad by what they had glimpsed or felt. Whispers filled the air of the arena, frantic chatter of those wondering if they would be sent to the past or the future, if they would live or die.

The day before the eclipse had ended, a final announcement had been made:

"Prepare yourselves. The First Epoch Cycle begins at dawn, when the sun finally breaks free from the grip of the eclipse. Your fates will be decided in this moment."

And now, as the last vestiges of darkness dissipated, the sun slowly began to crest the horizon, its light creeping through the veil of shadows. There was a sudden, collective breath held across the arena as the celestial event reached its zenith.

The eclipse faded slowly, like an ancient wound finally closing, as if the heavens themselves were finally letting go of their suffocating grasp. The world shifted beneath their feet.

A few exchanged nervous glances, some whispered frantically to each other, while others stood still, eyes closed in silent prayer or reflection. Their thoughts were a mixture of fear and hope, but the one thing everyone shared was the heavy, unshakable weight of what was to come.

In the center of it all, Vastarael stood at the forefront, nervously eyeing the sky, his heart beating faster with every passing second.

The feeling of anticipation was thick. His mind was clouded by thoughts of the past, of the mysterious events surrounding the Epoch Cycle. He couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, that the coming journey wouldn't be just a test, but something far more cataclysmic.

Beside him, Adelasta was as still as ever, her cold, emotionless gaze fixed on the rising sun. She was the picture of composure, yet even she couldn't hide the subtle tension in her frame, the small shifts in her posture that revealed how deeply this moment had shaken her.

She was prepared, yes, but only because preparation was the only thing that kept her from shattering under the weight of what lay ahead. Her ice-cold resolve was her shield, but even she couldn't silence the whispers of doubt that tugged at the edges of her mind.

Narisva, too, was unmoving, though there was a hint of something darker lurking beneath her calm exterior. She was lost in thought, her eyes distant.

As the final moments passed and the eclipse finally ended, the first rays of sunlight illuminated the arena. And with that, a sudden, intense shift in the air rippled through the arena. The atmosphere itself seemed to vibrate with the pulse of destiny.

The Epoch Cycle had begun.

It started with a flicker.

One by one, the students began to glitch. It started as a faint distortion at the edges of their figures, like a mirage or a shattered reflection. But then, it grew more intense. Sparks of light flashed across their bodies, and their forms rippled, as though their very existence was caught between the threads of time.

Dozens of students were the first to vanish. One moment, they stood there, frozen in time, eyes wide in confusion or anticipation. The next, they were gone, disappearing into the fabric of the past like a dream slipping from memory.

As each student flickered and vanished, the pulse in the air grew stronger, more pronounced, until it felt like the world itself was bending in response to their departure.

In the midst of this, Vastarael turned to face Chainless.

"See you soon."

Arletta nodded before her body glitched and vanished.

Vastarael took a deep breath, centering himself before his gaze shifted toward Elyonari. She stood before him, calm and collected despite the chaos unfolding around them.

There was a quiet sorrow in her eyes, a sense of finality in the way she stood before him. Their time in this moment had come to an end, and the future— or rather, the past—awaited.

With a soft, unspoken understanding, Elyonari nodded toward him, her lips barely parting as she whispered a quiet goodbye.

"Don't die."

Her body shimmered, the light around her warping like ripples in a pond. In the blink of an eye, she vanished, swallowed by the vortex of time. Her form dissipated , leaving only the faintest trace of her presence lingering in the air.

Vastarael watched as she disappeared, a lingering ache tugging at his chest. But he knew there was no time for hesitation. And then, as his attention shifted once more, his eyes met Narisva's.

Vastarael raised his hand in a silent wave, a gesture of both acknowledgment and farewell, knowing full well this was the last time he would see her in this moment.

Before she could respond with a glare, the distortion around him grew stronger, the air bending and twisting as if it were trying to pull him into the past.

With a sharp inhale, Vastarael closed his eyes, grounding himself for what was to come. His form began to glitch at first. Then, with a sudden flash, he vanished, disappearing from the present as though he had never existed in this place at all.

Narisva stood in the aftermath, her heart racing. She didn't move at first, her mind seemingly lost in the echoes of the moment.

It was only when the glitching figures of others began to disappear, one after the other, that she snapped back to reality. She had been waiting for this moment.

For the end of the eclipse, for the beginning of the Epoch Cycle.

But now that it was happening, a strange emptiness filled her chest, a hollow ache left by the fleeting goodbyes. Her obsession was the only thing that anchored her in the face of the unknown.

With a final glance around the arena—where every student she had known had now disappeared—Narisva steeled herself.

In the blink of an eye, she, too, glitched and vanished, her form dissolving into the shifting tides of time.

And just like that, the 6,900 students vanished.

The massive arena, once teeming with thousands of students, stood empty, its vast stone floors now barren. The sound of the wind was the only thing that remained.

The Epoch Cycle had begun, and little did they know that the world they knew would never be the same again.

And that a lot of them would definitely die.

And the first thing that everyone saw was a hologram in pure darkness.

[Welcome To Erna Isles. May the Epoch Cycle bless you with luck.]

__________

And that's it! The First Volume is done!

To be honest, I didn't expect I'd get this far. And I don't get many views on this book but who cares. Well I do but...

Anyways, Volume Two is going to be the longest one yet and that's where real action begins. So if you are ready to witness my favorite handsome MC suffering and dealing with threats, then you'll have to wait for an entire month to do so. Why?

I don't have readers. Well, I do but... let me be a little greedy.

Anyways, you can comment and tell me what you think of it. Or vote. Or whatever so I will be... writing the next volume now. See you next month everyone!