Chapter 10: The Fall of the Sun
Chapter 10: The Fall of the Sun
The surface had never known peace, but today, it felt different.
The sky, once serene, now churned like the roiling depths of an ocean in a storm. The very fabric of the heavens seemed to break and fold under an unnatural force, a cosmic tear that spread through the clouds like a wound refusing to heal. Every living creature across the continent felt the shift, the tremor that ran through the ley lines like a wave crashing against the shore.
But none could see what was coming.
None, except for Hikaru.
---
In the capital of Arvania, the royal court was in disarray.
King Titus had locked himself away in his private chambers, the once proud ruler now hiding from a fate he could not prevent. His counselors screamed orders, sending messengers in every direction, but there was no hope of averting what was coming. Arvania's forces were ill-prepared to face the abyss. And Hikaru's forces? Well, they were prepared to consume everything.
Selene's disappearance had thrown the court into further chaos. The royal army demanded answers, the archmages invoked their rituals to strengthen the city's defenses, and the nobles argued about the next course of action—whether to fight or to flee. But in the deepest bowels of the palace, a shadow was forming. The whispers of the Eclipsed Pantheon grew louder, and none were wiser to their true intent.
---
Meanwhile, Hikaru stood alone in the Abyssal throne room, his thoughts focused.
The throne before him, a grotesque fusion of obsidian, stardust, and shadows, pulsed with a life of its own. His fingers traced the armrest, feeling the resonance of the powers that came with it. He had now transcended mere kingship. He was becoming something more—a god, if the whispers were true.
But Hikaru wasn't interested in power for the sake of power. No. His goal was far simpler.
He would break this world. He would expose the lies upon which it had been built.
And then he would remake it.
The Abyss hummed in response to his thoughts, the creatures of the dark world shifting, prepared to obey his every command. He could feel the layers of reality bending to his will, the connection between his body and the abyssal realm now a seamless extension of his being.
"The sun will set today," Hikaru muttered under his breath, his amethyst eyes glowing as he stood from the throne. "And the world will wake up in the dark."
Vel'nar, his trusted Abyssal Lord, appeared at his side, his monstrous form towering over Hikaru. "My King," Vel'nar intoned, "We are ready. The rift to the surface is prepared."
Hikaru nodded, his gaze shifting toward the dark portal that stretched before him. It was time. The surface had known light for far too long. Now, it would know darkness.
"Open it," he commanded. "Let the world feel the weight of the Abyss."
---
At the edge of the capital, the rift began to tear open.
It wasn't like anything anyone had ever seen before. The sky itself cracked, a ripple of darkness spreading outward as if the very boundaries of reality were being torn asunder. The ground shook, and the royal city, once proud and mighty, trembled beneath the oncoming storm. For those who looked up, it was as if the stars had descended to consume the world.
And descend they did.
A flood of Abyssal creatures poured from the rift—monstrous titans of shadow, their bodies black and writhing like smoke. Their eyes glowed with an infernal fire, and their claws slashed through the air, cutting through reality itself. They were the heralds of Hikaru's arrival—an army forged in the void, an unstoppable force that would sweep across the surface and bring the kingdoms to their knees.
The first wave hit with the force of a tidal wave.
The royal city, protected by a series of magical wards and defenses, was initially spared—but the people inside were not. The Abyssal Lords moved with brutal precision, tearing through the defenses like paper, their enormous forms making a mockery of the royal army's strength. For every soldier that raised a sword, a dozen Abyssal creatures descended, ripping through their ranks with merciless efficiency.
The Archmages attempted to cast their most powerful spells, weaving intricate incantations to seal the rift. But the magic of the Abyss was far stronger than anything they could muster. Every spell shattered upon contact with the oncoming wave of darkness, each attempt to stop the tide only fueling it further.
---
On the outskirts of the capital, Selene stood at the head of the Twilight Maw, watching the chaos unfold.
She had arrived too late to stop Hikaru's forces, but her role was not yet finished. She had a different mission.
The scroll that she carried—the one that had been passed down through her bloodline—was not just a relic of the past. It was a key. A key that could unlock something even more dangerous than the Abyss itself.
She turned and approached the ancient altar beneath the Maw. The symbols inscribed on the stone were written in a language long forgotten, and the air around the altar crackled with dark energy. Selene closed her eyes and whispered the incantation that would release the binding seal, the same one that had been placed centuries ago to keep the power sealed.
"By blood and by flame, I release you."
The ground trembled beneath her feet as the air itself seemed to twist and warp. A crack opened in the earth, a bright light flooding from within, blinding Selene for a moment. And then, from the depths of the abyss beneath her, something stirred.
It was a being unlike anything she had ever seen—a massive, otherworldly form, born of celestial power and pure destruction. The figure emerged slowly, its body an amalgamation of light and shadow, its eyes glowing with a terrifying force. The power it exuded was beyond comprehension, an energy that could shatter mountains with a single thought.
This was the Divinarch, the final contingency.
And now, it was free.
---
Back at the capital, the battle raged on.
The royal army, though valiant, was hopelessly outmatched. The forces of the Abyss tore through them without mercy, crushing any resistance with terrifying efficiency. Those who survived fled, but there was nowhere to run. The sky above, once clear, was now consumed by the swirling darkness. The sun, which had always been their protector, was now nothing more than a fading memory.
And then, as if by divine irony, the final blow came.
From within the rift, Hikaru appeared.
He descended like a god, the darkness following him, like an unstoppable tide of night. The soldiers, the mages, the nobles—all of them saw him. They saw his glowing amethyst eyes and his aura of power that drowned out the very light of the sun.
And they knew.
They knew that their world was lost.
"I will show you what the true rulers of this world look like," Hikaru proclaimed, his voice carried across the battlefield. "And I will remake it, in my image."
With that, the Abyss answered his call.
The battle was over.