CHAPTER 2

THE IRON ECLIPSE

The Sky Splits Open

Kael pressed his back against the crumbling wall of the sky-temple, the Starborn Sigil burning in his palm like a shard of frozen fire. The voices of Veyrik's enforcers echoed through the ruins, their boots crunching on broken glass.

"Find the rat," snarled Veyrik the Chain, his mechanical arm whirring as he gestured. "That relic belongs to me."

Kael clenched his teeth. Why does this thing glow for me? The Sigil's light pulsed in time with his heartbeat, casting eerie blue shadows across the temple's fractured murals—depictions of warriors wielding starlight as weapons.

A gunshot rang out. Stone exploded inches from his face.

Move.

He sprinted across the temple's shattered nave, leaping over a collapsed pillar. The enforcers gave chase, their rifles peppering the air with plasma bolts. One grazed Kael's shoulder, searing through his scavenger's cloak. He hissed in pain but didn't stop.

The Edge of Luminis

The city's floating district ended abruptly at a jagged precipice, where the artificial landmass had broken apart centuries ago. Below, the clouds churned over the Forgotten Depths, a graveyard of fallen sky-cities.

Kael skidded to a halt. No way forward. No way back.

Veyrik stepped into the moonlight, his chain-wrapped fist crackling with electricity. "You're out of sky, boy."

Then—the world screamed.

A sound like tearing metal split the air. Kael looked up just as the night shattered. A colossal shape blotted out the stars: a Vorthax Dreadnought, its obsidian hull studded with pulsating red veins.

"No…" Veyrik's smirk vanished. "They weren't supposed to come here!"

The Harvest Begins

The dreadnought's belly opened, releasing hundreds of Iron Reapers—biomechanical soldiers with exposed spinal cords and glowing optic nerves. They fell like meteors, crashing into the city with earth-shaking force.

Kael ducked as a Reaper landed five feet away, its clawed feet cracking the stone. Its face was a featureless metal mask, but the sounds it made—wet, guttural breathing, like a drowning man—made his blood freeze.

"Luminis is designated for harvest," it intoned. "Compliance grants painless extraction."

Veyrik fired his plasma cannon. The blast vaporized a Reaper's chest—but the creature didn't fall. Its wounds stitched themselves back together with black nanites.

"What in the hells—?" Veyrik barely had time to scream before the Reaper liquefied him.

Kael watched in horror as Veyrik's body twisted, his flesh merging with the Reaper's machinery. Within seconds, only a half-metal monstrosity remained, its mouth stretched in a silent scream.

Run. Now.

Kael bolted, weaving through panicked crowds as the Reapers began their harvest. People were dragged into pulsating organic pods that dissolved their bodies into glowing slurry. The air reeked of ozone and burning meat.

The Dying Knight

A hand grabbed Kael's ankle. He nearly kicked free—until he saw the crimson sigil on the man's armor. A Knight of the Astral Order.

The knight's helmet was cracked, revealing a face streaked with blood. "You… carry the Sigil," he rasped. "Starborn."

Kael recoiled. "I don't know what that means!"

"You will." The knight shoved a sword into Kael's hands—a blade of shimmering alloy, its hilt etched with constellations. The moment Kael touched it, the weapon flared to life, its edge glowing like captured starlight.

"Dawnbreaker," the knight coughed. "It chooses you. Now listen—the Vorthax seek the God-Engine. Only a Starborn can stop it. Find the Celestial Drake—"

A Reaper's spear impaled the knight through the chest.

Kael swung Dawnbreaker on instinct. The blade cleaved the Reaper in half, releasing a burst of golden light. The other Reapers shrieked, recoiling as if burned.

"Interesting," murmured the sword.

Kael nearly dropped it. "You talk?!"

"And you panic. A poor combination."

The Fall of Luminis

Kael fought his way toward the city's edge, Dawnbreaker humming in his grip. Each swing repelled the Reapers, but more kept coming. Behind him, Luminis burned, its towers collapsing into the void.

Then—the bridge gave way.

Kael plummeted, the wind roaring in his ears. He caught a glimpse of the dreadnought's soul-cannon charging, its maw swirling with stolen lives.

This is how I die.

A shadow swooped beneath him. Something caught him—not ground, but a metal deck.

"Welcome aboard, kid," drawled a woman's voice. "Try not to puke."

Kael looked up into the smirking face of Captain Ryn, her cybernetic eye gleaming as her ship—the Celestial Drake—banked sharply, dodging a hail of Reaper fire.

The last thing he saw before blacking out: the Drake's wings, vast and metallic, spreading like a dragon taking flight.