The Breaking of the Barrier
The golden barrier of Eldora—a shield woven from centuries of arcane mastery—cracked. Veins of darkness spread across its surface, devouring the light like a disease.
The city's defenders stared in horror.
Their greatest protection, the magic that had safeguarded Solmere for generations, was failing.
On the highest tower of Eldora, Archmage Valeria watched the collapse unfold. Her hands trembled as she traced the air with ancient sigils, pouring her power into the barrier in a desperate attempt to reinforce it.
But Kaelen's power was unlike anything she had ever encountered.
It was not merely darkness.
It was the end of all things.
And it could not be stopped.
Kaelen's Advance
Below, Kaelen strode through the battlefield, untouched by the chaos around him. His army fought like an endless tide, sweeping through Solmere's defenses with relentless fury. The Nightborn tore through battalions, war beasts crushed stone walls, and abyssal sorcerers unleashed waves of black fire.
But Kaelen had yet to join the battle himself.
He raised his sword, and the sky itself split open.
Tendrils of darkness poured forth from the Black Sun, coiling down toward Eldora like living shadows. The golden barrier groaned as it buckled under the weight of Kaelen's magic.
Then, with a sound like the shattering of a thousand mirrors, the barrier collapsed.
The Invasion of Eldora
The moment the shield fell, the abyssal forces poured into the city.
Buildings crumbled as monstrous war beasts smashed through their foundations. Streets ran red with blood as Nightborn assassins cut down Solmere's elite warriors. Magic clashed in bursts of fire and lightning, but for every spell the defenders cast, Kaelen's forces answered with something stronger.
On the battlements, General Aric Varrow, Solmere's greatest swordsman, stood his ground. His silver armor gleamed, his blade wreathed in golden flame as he cut through the abyssal hordes.
"We do not fall today!" he roared, rallying the defenders. "We are Solmere! We are the last light against the dark!"
But even as he spoke, Kaelen stepped into the city.
The battlefield fell silent.
The very air grew heavier, as if the weight of death itself had descended upon Eldora. Kaelen's black armor shimmered with abyssal energy, and his golden eyes burned with cruel amusement.
"The last light?" he echoed, his voice carrying across the city. "No, General. This is only the beginning."
And then, with a single step, he vanished—reappearing directly in front of Aric.
The two warriors clashed.
Abyss met flame.
The true battle had begun.
---
The Duel of Fates
A Clash of Titans
The moment Kaelen reappeared, his sword was already descending.
General Aric barely had time to raise his own blade before the two weapons collided. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield, shattering stone and sending nearby soldiers flying.
Flames erupted from Aric's blade, burning with the sacred magic of Solmere's strongest enchantments. But the fire barely fazed Kaelen. His black armor, infused with the power of the Black Sun, absorbed the energy like a bottomless void.
Aric gritted his teeth. This is impossible.
But he had no time for doubt.
Kaelen struck again—faster this time. His blade blurred through the air, forcing Aric onto the defensive. Every swing felt like the weight of an entire kingdom crashing down upon him.
Yet Aric was no ordinary warrior.
He had trained his entire life for this.
With a roar, he countered, parrying Kaelen's attack and twisting into a devastating arc of golden fire. His sword sliced through the air, aimed straight for Kaelen's neck.
For a brief moment, the world held its breath.
Then Kaelen caught the blade with his bare hand.
The Power of the Abyss
The flames that should have incinerated him simply vanished, sucked into the abyssal energy swirling around him. The golden steel of Aric's sword began to blacken, its enchantments unraveling at Kaelen's mere touch.
Aric's eyes widened in horror. How?
Kaelen's lips curled into a smirk. "You fight well, General. But fire cannot burn the void."
With a casual motion, he shattered Aric's sword.
The blade exploded into fragments, and before Aric could react, Kaelen's gauntleted fist slammed into his chest. The force sent him hurtling backward, crashing through a stone wall.
The defenders of Eldora stared in shock.
Their strongest warrior—defeated in mere seconds.
Kaelen stepped forward, his golden eyes glowing with dark amusement. "Who else will challenge me?"
The Desperation of the Archmages
From the Celestial Tower, the Archmages watched in horror.
Valeria clenched her fists. "We must act now!"
Archmage Soren nodded. "If we hesitate any longer, there will be no city left to save."
Archmage Darius turned toward the forbidden tomes locked within the tower's vaults. "Then we must use the Eclipse Ritual."
The room fell into silence.
The Eclipse Ritual was forbidden magic, a spell that could consume both the caster and the world itself. It had not been used in a thousand years—because those who invoked it never survived.
But there was no other choice.
Valeria took a deep breath. "Then we do it now. Before Kaelen reaches us."
As the Archmages gathered around the ritual circle, the air inside the tower grew heavy. Ancient symbols lit up, and golden energy began swirling around them.
Far below, Kaelen sensed the shift.
He looked up at the Celestial Tower, his smirk fading.
"Ah… so they would dare?"
He lifted his hand, and the sky above Eldora darkened further. The Black Sun pulsed, responding to its master's will.
The true battle was about to begin.
---
The Eclipse Ritual
A Desperate Gamble
The Celestial Tower trembled as the Archmages began their incantation. Golden sigils lit up the chamber, casting an ethereal glow across the stone walls. Ancient runes, written in the language of the First Mages, spiraled through the air, forming a complex lattice of divine power.
Archmage Valeria stood at the center of the ritual, her eyes burning with determination.
Soren and Darius flanked her, their voices weaving the incantation into reality. The Eclipse Ritual was not meant to be cast by mortals—it was a spell that could rip apart the fabric of existence itself.
But they had no other choice.
If Kaelen was allowed to continue, Eldora would be nothing but dust and memory.
Kaelen's Response
Below, Kaelen stared up at the tower, watching the ritual unfold.
For the first time in this battle, he frowned.
The power radiating from the Celestial Tower was ancient, older than even the Black Sun's corruption. It was the last gift of the Celestials, the very beings who had once opposed the Abyss itself.
If completed, the ritual could seal him away.
Unacceptable.
Kaelen raised his hand toward the sky. The Black Sun throbbed, and tendrils of pure abyssal darkness plunged downward, aiming for the Celestial Tower.
The Final Barrier
Before the abyss could reach the tower, a final golden barrier erupted around it.
The last of Eldora's protective enchantments—cast by the greatest Archmages of history—blazed to life.
Kaelen narrowed his eyes. "So you're willing to burn the last embers of your strength?"
With a slow exhale, he lifted his sword.
And then, with a single downward slash—he shattered the heavens.
A massive abyssal rift tore open above Eldora. The sky itself seemed to scream as reality bent and fractured, allowing the true darkness beyond the Black Sun to spill into the world.
From that darkness, something ancient and monstrous stirred.
The ground trembled. The very laws of existence warped as a shadow greater than Kaelen himself began to take form.
The Devourer of Stars had awakened.
The Eclipse Unleashed
Inside the tower, the Archmages felt it—the breaking of the world.
Valeria clenched her fists. "No more hesitation!"
She thrust her hands forward, channeling every ounce of her lifeforce into the ritual. The golden sigils flared—and for a moment, time itself seemed to pause.
The Eclipse Ritual activated.
A colossal pillar of light erupted from the tower, slamming into the abyssal rift.
The two forces clashed, reality itself torn between light and shadow. The city of Eldora was now caught between two cosmic forces—one seeking to consume, the other desperately trying to hold back oblivion.
Kaelen felt the shift.
For the first time… he felt resistance.
His golden eyes flickered, the abyssal energy around him wavering.
The Archmages had truly summoned something beyond mortal comprehension.
And for the first time in a thousand years—
Kaelen wondered if he had underestimated his enemies.