Chapter 11: "Eclipse Awakening: The Trial of Shadows"

Into the Abyss:

A deafening silence followed. The moment the vortex of shadows exploded, the entire world collapsed around Aditya. He felt weightless, spiralling through an abyss of nothingness. The air was cold, pressing against his skin like unseen hands dragging him deeper into the void.

"Aeronix?" he called out, but his voice barely echoed in the suffocating darkness. There was no response—only the distant hum of something ancient stirring.

Then, a flicker of light. A dim, silver glow pulsed in the distance. Aditya narrowed his eyes, focusing on the light as his body felt pulled toward it. His surroundings started shifting—no longer empty but forming into something tangible.

He landed hard. The impact sent a sharp pain through his body. Groaning, he forced himself up, his hands pressing againscentreth, cold stone. His breath hitched. He wasn't in the forest anymore.

A massive cathedral-like structure loomed around him, built from dark obsidian, its walls pulsing with the same glowing symbols he had seen on the corpseaarmourange, whispering voices echoed through the vast chamber. The atmosphere was thick, charged with an unsettling energy that made his skin crawl.

Aeronix wasn't there.

Aditya's pulse quickened. "Where the hell am I?" he muttered.

Then, the whispers stopped.

A deep, guttural chuckle resonated through the air. A figure emerged from the shadows, its glowing crimson eyes locking onto him.

"Welcome, Child of the Eclipse. We have been waiting for you."

The Crimson Throne:

Aditya's heart pounded as the figure stepped closer, its crimson eyes glowing like embers in the darkness. The cathedral's eerie silence made every footstep echo ominously. His body tensed, instincts screaming at him to be ready—for what, he wasn't sure.

"We?" Aditya's voice was firm despite the unsettling aura pressing against him. "Who are you?"

The figure didn't answer immediately. Instead, it raised a hand, and the shadows around Aditya shifted unnaturally. The symbols on the walls pulsed, casting eerie patterns across the black stone floor. A chilling wind swept through the cathedral, though no doors or windows were visible.

"You stand in the Hollow Sanctum, the heart of the Eclipse's domain," the figure finally spoke, its voice a deep, reverberating whisper. "And I am merely the first to greet you."

Aditya's fists clenched. The Eclipse's domain? The name sent a cold shiver down his spine. He had encountered the term before, but now it carried an ominous weight.

"Where is Aeronix?" he demanded, his patience wearing thin.

The figure chuckled, a sound filled with amusement—and something darker. "Your companion is… elsewhere. His fate is yet to be decided."

Aditya's jaw tightened. He didn't like the sound of that.

The shadows around the figure swirled, revealing more details—long, flowing robes made of fabric that seemed woven from darkness itself. Its face was obscured by a hood, save for those burning eyes.

"Come," it gestured toward the far end of the cathedral. "There is someone who wishes to meet you."

Aditya hesitated. Every instinct screamed at him to be cautious, but standing still wouldn't give him any answers. Gritting his teeth, he followed.

The cathedral stretched endlessly, the architecture shifting subtly as they walked. The symbols on the walls changed, forming intricate patterns that seemed to watch him.

Then, a set of towering doors appeared—carved with scenes of chaos, war, and celestial bodies colliding. The moment Aditya stepped closer, the doors opened on their own.

Beyond them was a throne room bathed in crimson light. Massive pillars lined the chamber; each one etched with those pulsating symbols. At the centre stood a throne of black stone, its edges dripping with a strange, glowing liquid that seemed almost… alive.

And seated upon it was a figure far more imposing than the one beside Aarmour.

Tall, clad in deep red and black armour, its face hidden behind a horned mask. The aura it exuded was suffocating, pressing against Aditya's very soul. When it spoke, its voice carried the weight of command.

"At last, the Child of the Eclipse arrives."

A heavy silence filled the crimson-lit throne room. The masked figure remained seated on the obsidian throne, its presence suffocating. The pulsating symbols on the walls seemed alive, whispering in a language that only the void could understand.

Aditya swallowed hard, his instincts screaming at him to be wary. The moment he had stepped into this eerie cathedral, he had felt it—an ancient force, something that had been waiting for him.

"Who are you?" he finally asked, his voice steady despite the tension coiling in his chest.

The masked figurelet out a low chuckle, deep and resonant, as if the very walls of the cathedral were laughing along.

"You already know the answer, Child of the Eclipse," the entity replied, tilting its head slightly. "But knowing is not the same as understanding."

A sudden gust of wind swirled around Aditya, carrying whispers from unseen mouths. He clenched his fists. Stay calm. Don't show weakness.

The Shifting Reality

The ground beneath him rippled. One moment, he was in the cathedral—then, in a blink, he stood amidst ruins. A city long forgotten, buildings crumbling, the air thick with ash and echoes of screams.

Aditya staggered. What is this? A vision? An illusion?

"This is what awaits your world," the masked figure's voice echoed, though the entity itself was nowhere to be seen.

Ahead, monstrous shadows slithered across the ruins. The sky cracked open, revealing a monstrous eclipse swallowing the sun. A deep sense of dread clawed at Aditya's chest.

"Why are you showing me this?" he demanded.

"Because you are the catalyst," the voice whispered. "You were chosen before you were even born. The light of the full moon reveals your fate, but the Eclipse…" A pause. "The Eclipse decides whether you will survive it."

Suddenly, the ruins around him trembled. The monstrous shadows turned their heads, focusing on him. Then, they lunged.

The Chase

Aditya barely had time to react before he broke into a sprint. The creatures moved unnaturally fast, their hollow eyes fixed on him. His heart pounded.

"Fight back!" a voice boomed in his mind.

A flash of silver-blue light burst from his hands. Instinct took over. He turned mid-sprint, slashing through the shadows with an energy he didn't fully understand.

The creatures howled in pain, their forms dissipating. But more replaced them. Dozens. Hundreds. The ruined cityscape warped again, shifting back into the cathedral.

Aditya gasped, stumbling to a halt. He was back in the throne room. But this time, the masked figure was standing directly in front of him.

"Your instincts are awakening," it murmured. "But instincts alone won't save you."

The figure raised its hand. Darkness surged forward. Aditya braced himself—

Pain.

A searing, unbearable agony tore through his body. His vision blurred. It felt as if his very soul was being pulled apart.

"This is only the beginning, Child of the Eclipse."

Darkness consumed him once again.

Darkness. Endless, suffocating darkness.

Aditya's body felt weightless, yet he was aware of an unbearable pressure crushing his existence. It wasn't just pain—it was a disinterred, unravelling soul; his very essence was unravelling strand by strand.

"This is only the beginning, Child of the Eclipse."

The masked figure's voice echoed through the void, a whisper that carried the weight of an ancient force.

Aditya tried to move, to resist, but he had no form—only an awareness of pain and a terrifying realization. He was trapped in a liminal space between existence and oblivion.

The Descent into the Abyss

A flicker of silver-blue light pulsed in the distance. His mind latched onto it instinctively. He focused, pushing toward it, willing himself to move.

Then—agony.

A pulse of dark energy surged through him, forcing memories to surface—memories he had never lived.

A battlefield beneath a shattered moon. A crimson-eyed warrior wielding twin blades of black fire. A kingdom in ruins, swallowed by an eclipse.

And a voice.

"You were not meant to awaken yet."

The pressure around him intensified. His breath—or whatever remained of it—hitched.

"You have touched something beyond your understanding. Now, you must prove your worth."

The darkness cracked.

The Trial of the Eclipse

Aditya was no longer weightless. He crashed onto solid ground, gasping. Cold, jagged stone scraped against his skin. He forced his eyes open, adjusting to the dim glow around him.

A vast, ancient arena stretched before him. Black monolithic pillars circled the space, inscribed with pulsating runes. The air crackled with raw energy.

Then he saw the emerges, cloaked in shifting shadows, emerging from the darkness. Their eyes glowed like dying embers—silent, watchful.

A voice rumbled from nowhere and everywhere.

"The Eclipse does not grant power freely. It must be earned. Survive, or be erased."

The figures moved.

Aditya barely had time to register their attack before the first one lunged. He rolled aside just as a shadowy blade struck where he had stood. The force of the impact cracked the stone.

Too fast!

Instinct kicked in. His hands burned with silver-blue energy. He twisted, slashing through the air. His power collided with the shadowy attacker, dispersing it into wisps of smoke.

Another one struck from behind. He barely dodged, feeling the cold slice of a phantom blade graze his shoulder.

There were too many.

The Awakening

Aditya's heart pounded. He couldn't rely on instinct alone. He needed control.

He focused, drawing the energy inward. The silver-blue glow around him intensified.

The shadows hesitated.

He exhaled sharply. Good. They fear it.

Then he moved.

Faster than before, his body felt lighter—more attuned to the energy coursing through him. He wove through the attackers, striking with precise bursts of light. Shadows dissipated one after another.

But it wasn't enough. The more he destroyed, the more emerged.

Then the realization hit him.

"It's not about defeating them. It's about understanding them."

He stopped running.

As the shadows lunged, he didn't attack. Instead, he reached out—feeling the energy within them. It wasn't just darkness. It was something else.

A fragment of a forgotten power. A piece of a larger whole.

And then—

The shadows stopped.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, the pillars around the arena erupted with light, illuminating the space with an ethereal glow. The shadowy figures knelt in unison.

The masked figure's voice returned, calm yet weighted.

"You have taken the first step, Child of the Eclipse. But the path ahead is far more dangerous."

The arena dissolved into mist. The world shifted once more.

And Aditya awoke—back in the crimson-lit throne room.

Except this time, he wasn't alone.

Aeronix was there, restrained by chains of darkness. His eyes, usually fierce and unwavering, were filled with something Aditya had never seen before.

Fear.

The masked figure spoke again, this time with finality.

"Now, let us see if you can truly change fate."