A Name Lost to Time
The chamber felt smaller than before, the walls pressing in as if they, too, had been listening.
Zyra's heartbeat pounded in her ears.
"The first eclipse-born… the one who started the rebellion… waiting for me?"
Kieran remained tense beside her, his grip firm around his blade. "Who is he?" he asked, his voice cold and steady. "And where can we find him?"
The cloaked figure took a slow step forward, their face still hidden beneath the hood.
"His name has been lost to time," they rasped. "Stripped from the records of history. The stars themselves tried to erase him, just as they have tried to erase you."
Zyra clenched her fists. "Then how do we find him?"
The figure lifted a hand, their bony fingers pointing toward the far end of the chamber. A carving covered in vines sat against the stone wall, different from the others.
It depicted a man with eyes of darkness and stars—his form chained, his mouth open in an unspoken curse. Above him, the celestial sigils burned, branding his very existence.
Zyra stepped closer, drawn to the image. The energy humming beneath it felt… familiar.
Like something inside her recognized him.
"Where is he?" she whispered.
The figure exhaled a slow, rattling breath. "Imprisoned in the Hollow Abyss."
Kieran stiffened. "That's impossible."
Zyra turned to him. "You know of it?"
Kieran's jaw clenched. "It's a place of myths. A realm that exists outside of time—a prison for those too dangerous to be killed. It's said that even the gods do not step there."
The figure nodded. "And yet… he still lives."
Zyra felt something cold slither down her spine.
A man who defied fate. A man who had once fought against the celestial order and had almost won.
A man waiting for her.
---
The Key to the Abyss
"How do we reach him?" Zyra asked, bracing herself for the answer.
The figure hesitated before finally speaking. "The Hollow Abyss is sealed from the living world. No mortal may enter it."
Zyra's chest tightened. "Then how—"
"—unless they carry the mark of both the heavens and the abyss," the figure interrupted.
A slow realization dawned.
Zyra turned to Kieran. His celestial blood. Her abyssal fate.
Together, they were the key.
Kieran seemed to reach the same conclusion, his expression darkening. "That's why you brought us here."
The figure inclined their head. "You were always meant to walk this path."
Fate.
Zyra hated that word.
She'd spent her life resisting it, fighting against the idea that her choices were not her own. And now, here she was, following the breadcrumbs of destiny like a puppet on invisible strings.
But this time… she was playing by her own rules.
Zyra stepped closer to the figure. "How do we open the Abyss?"
The figure reached inside their cloak, retrieving a small, obsidian dagger with celestial engravings along the blade. The sight of it made Zyra's breath hitch.
"This blade was forged in the breath of a fallen star," the figure said. "It is the only thing that can sever the veil between realms. But it comes with a cost."
Zyra took the dagger, the weight of it pressing into her palm like a whisper of fate. "What cost?"
The figure's empty gaze lingered on her.
"You will not emerge the same."
---
A Sacrifice Foreseen
The ruins had long fallen silent, the shadows curling against the stone walls as Zyra and Kieran sat across from each other in the dim torchlight.
"We don't have a choice," Zyra said, turning the dagger over in her hands. "If the celestial order went through this much effort to keep him locked away, then he must be the key to stopping them."
Kieran exhaled, rubbing his thumb against the hilt of his sword. "And what if they locked him away for a reason?"
Zyra frowned. "You think he's a threat?"
"I think anyone who's survived that long in a prison of gods isn't someone to take lightly."
She couldn't argue with that.
But something inside her ached at the thought of leaving this mystery buried.
He was like her. One of the eclipse-born.
She had to know what happened to him.
Zyra met Kieran's gaze. "You don't have to come with me."
His expression hardened. "You think I'd let you walk into the Abyss alone?"
She gave him a small smirk. "You always say I'm impossible."
Kieran sighed, shaking his head. "You are."
Then his fingers brushed against hers, just for a second.
Zyra's breath caught. The intensity of his gaze sent heat curling through her veins, an unspoken promise in his silver eyes.
"I swore I wouldn't let you fall," he murmured. "And I don't plan to break that vow."
The moment stretched between them, something unspoken hanging in the air.
Then Kieran stood. "Let's open the Abyss."
Zyra gripped the dagger tighter. This was it.
No turning back now.
She stepped to the center of the ruins, raising the blade. The celestial engravings pulsed against her fingers, responding to her touch.
Kieran moved beside her, placing his hand over hers. "Together," he said.
She nodded.
Then they plunged the dagger into the ground.
---
The Gates of the Abyss
The moment the blade met stone, the earth shuddered.
A deep, guttural noise rumbled beneath them as cracks spider-webbed across the floor, glowing with a dark, eerie light.
Wind roared through the ruins, the air growing heavier, thicker, as the space around them seemed to twist and bend.
And then—
A massive, jagged rift split open before them.
Beyond it, a swirling, endless void stretched into nothingness, a prison untouched by time.
Kieran tensed, his hand gripping Zyra's wrist. "Are you sure about this?"
Zyra took a deep breath. "No."
Then she stepped forward.
And the Abyss swallowed them whole.
---