Chapter 4 – The Price of Power

The Blood Moon Approaches

The night sky was restless.

Dark clouds swirled above, shrouding the crescent moon in their grasp. A storm was brewing—not just in the heavens, but within the very heart of the empire.

Beneath that ominous sky, Riven Kael and Lyria Vale made their way through the dense forest, their path lit only by the occasional glimmers of starlight piercing through the treetops. The air smelled of damp earth and pine, the silence stretching between them thick with unspoken tension.

They had made a deal.

But that didn't mean they trusted each other.

And trust, Riven knew, was a dangerous thing.

---

An Assassin's Warning

Lyria moved ahead, her sharp eyes scanning the shadows. She was quiet—too quiet. The way she walked, the way she held herself, told him everything.

She was thinking.

She was deciding something.

Riven didn't like that.

"You're planning something."

Lyria didn't slow her pace. "I always am."

Riven exhaled through his nose. "Then tell me this—why does an imperial assassin suddenly want to expose the empire's secrets?"

Lyria stopped walking.

She turned to face him, her emerald eyes flickering with something unreadable. "Because I was lied to."

Riven studied her, waiting.

Lyria let out a slow breath, running a hand through her dark hair. "I was raised in the Shadow Order. Trained to kill without question. They told me I was serving the empire—the people." She scoffed. "But then, I found out the truth."

"And what truth is that?"

Lyria's gaze darkened. "That the prophecy they fear so much? The 'demon prince' they want dead? The real danger isn't you, Riven."

Riven's jaw tightened. "Then what is?"

Lyria hesitated. Then, she stepped closer.

"I don't know yet. But I intend to find out."

Riven held her stare. There was no deception in her voice. No hesitation in her stance.

She was serious.

For a moment, he almost believed that they could trust each other.

Almost.

---

The Hunt Begins

Miles away, in the dead of night, a group of riders tore through the open plains.

Their armor gleamed black under the sliver of moonlight, their cloaks whipping behind them like shadows come to life. Their leader rode at the front—a woman clad in obsidian steel, her long silver hair trailing behind her like a ghostly veil.

Commander Selene of the Imperial Hunters.

She reined in her horse at the peak of a rocky hill, her piercing blue eyes scanning the land below.

Behind her, the other hunters came to a halt.

A scout dismounted, kneeling before her. "We've tracked them. The assassin and the boy—Riven Kael. They were seen heading toward the southern ruins."

Selene's lips curled. "Then we cut them off before they reach safety."

Another hunter spoke. "Do we bring him in alive?"

Selene's cold gaze flicked toward the soldier. "The Emperor wants his body burned before the next eclipse."

She pulled her sword from its sheath, the steel glinting like ice.

"We will grant him that mercy."

With a single motion, she spurred her horse forward.

The Hunters followed, disappearing into the night.

The hunt had begun.

---

The Ruins of Eldoria

Riven and Lyria finally reached the ruins by dawn.

Stone pillars, half-buried in vines, stood like ancient sentinels. The remnants of a forgotten civilization.

Lyria slowed her steps, glancing around. "We'll rest here. The empire's forces won't follow us into cursed ground."

Riven raised an eyebrow. "Cursed?"

Lyria smirked. "Scared?"

Riven scoffed. "I don't fear old ghosts."

"You should."

Before he could respond, Lyria stepped ahead, moving toward a crumbling archway.

But the moment her boots touched the stone—

The air shifted.

A deep, guttural whisper echoed through the ruins.

Riven's instincts screamed. He grabbed Lyria by the arm and yanked her back just as—

A black mist erupted from the ground.

It slithered upward like living shadows, forming the shape of a figure cloaked in darkness. Its hollow eyes glowed an eerie violet, its voice curling into the air like poison.

"The child of the Eclipse…"

Riven's blood ran cold.

He knew that voice.

It had spoken to him before.

In his nightmares.

The figure drifted closer. "You cannot run from fate, Riven Kael."

Lyria reached for her dagger. "Who are you?"

The entity ignored her. It only had eyes for Riven.

"The seal is breaking. Soon, the power within you will awaken. And when it does…"

Its voice darkened.

"You will have to choose."

Riven's heart pounded. "Choose what?"

The entity tilted its head.

And then, it spoke a single sentence that made Riven's blood freeze in his veins.

"Whether you will save this world… or destroy it."

The mist swirled violently—

And then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

Silence fell over the ruins.

Lyria exhaled, gripping her dagger tightly. "What the hell was that?"

Riven didn't answer. He couldn't.

Because deep in his soul…

He felt it.

A power, ancient and wild, stirring beneath his skin.

And for the first time—

He was afraid.

---

Meanwhile… The Emperor's Final Move

At the imperial palace, the Emperor stood in his war chamber, watching the map of his empire.

His advisors whispered nervously behind him.

Then, the doors opened.

A woman in crimson robes entered, her silver mask reflecting the candlelight.

The High Inquisitor.

The Emperor turned to her. "The boy still lives. The Hunters have yet to return with his body."

The Inquisitor's voice was like silk over steel. "Then it is time for the final option."

She unrolled a scroll, laying it before the Emperor.

His eyes flickered over the words.

Then, a cruel smile spread across his face.

"Summon the Eclipse Order."

Gasps filled the room. Even the advisors paled.

The Eclipse Order.

An ancient sect of warriors—monsters forged in shadow.

They had only been used once in history.

And that had led to the fall of an entire kingdom.

The Emperor's voice was cold and final.

"If the boy will not die as a man… then let him perish as a god."

The order had been given.

The end had begun.

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