Just as he was about to stab the Stain something happened. Aether exploded from the body of the Stain pushing Eclipse backl
Then something shifted.
The air grew heavy. Cold. As if the breath of death rolled over the trees themselves.
A low hum rattled through the ground, making the blood in Eclipse's veins throb in rhythm. His eyes shot back to the corpse.
It twitched. Once.
Then, violently, it jerked upright—its spine cracking into place like a zipper of bone. Smoke belched from its mouth as its shoulders trembled… and from its chest, two new arms unfurled—emaciated, shriveled, but unmistakably real.
Clasped together. In prayer.
"No," Eclipse whispered, staggering backward. "No, no, no…"
The prayer wasn't silent.
A voice emerged—a chant deeper than any language, older than any worship. It vibrated in Eclipse's teeth, in his ribs, in his soul.
"Return it… return it… return the sin…"
The beast stood again.
Not only alive—but more powerful. The prayer was like a shield, its Aether swelling into a storm.
Eclipse backed away. His own Aether was flickering, dimmed from the last battle. His legs refused to hold steady. His lungs fought for air.
"I killed you," he muttered. "I killed you! You weren't supposed to get back up!"
The beast stepped forward.
Faster.
Stronger.
And now, it wasn't rushing to end him—it was toying with him.
It lashed at him once—too fast to dodge.
The claws tore into his thigh. Blood sprayed, and Eclipse collapsed onto one knee with a guttural scream.
He tried to rise.
Another blow—across his back this time—sent him sprawling.
The beast walked a slow circle, hands still locked in prayer, whispering its mad hymn.
Eclipse coughed blood into the soil, face contorted with rage and fear.
He knew what this was.
A Viled Evil, worshipper-turned-monster, mutated by faith and vengeance. He'd fought one before. But not like this, that one was a Nether-borne Beast nothing like this.
This was something else.
This was something closer to death that would soon claim him.
And yet… he laughed.
A broken, bitter laugh, choked by blood.
"Oh, you smug bastard," he coughed. "All that power, and you still need to pray for it?"
The beast stopped. Tilted its head.
Eclipse spat and stood.
Barely.
And then—he reached inside himself.
To the flame.
That ancient heat, burning just above his soul. A spark left behind by something old, something divine, or maybe just cursed. He had never dared draw from it in full before.
But now?
Now he had to.
He gritted his teeth and pulled.
And the fire answered.
It roared through his veins, searing every inch of his body from the inside out. His skin blistered. His blood boiled. His mind nearly shattered from the pressure of it.
But with the pain came the light.
And with the light—Clarity was born.
Not a weapon.
Not armor.
A presence.
It aupersidied over the pain, he could feel the pain but there was clarity he could move while feeling pain not like the first time he couldn't think due to the agony of pain his flame brought
He marked confessor in his hand causing the poor blade to by lit up by the flame of Annihilation.
And in his hand—Confessor blazed anew,
The beast paused.
Its chant broke.
Eclipse's voice boomed through the trees like a funeral bell.
"No more sermons."
And he charged.
The two forces collided in a pillar of fire and smoke.
The second battle had begun.
Eclipse moved faster than light—or so it seemed. Each strike of his blade sent rings of fire outward, carving through trees and soil. His first slash tore through the beast's outer skin.
The second—split the clasped hands apart.
The creature shrieked, enraged by the blasphemy.
It struck back. Hard. Its clawed arms moved faster than before, now desperate and unrestrained. Eclipse blocked one, dodged the second—but the third clipped his shoulder, spinning him through the air.
He landed hard, breath driven from his lungs.
But clarify burned on.
He stood, scorched and snarling.
"You should've stayed dead, Veiled Evil," he spat. "I already sent your soul packing once!"
The beast surged toward him—but Eclipse was ready.
He whispered to the flame—and the flame answered.
He swang the blade at the Stain and the flame latched out like a whip. Holding enough weight to send the Stain flying in the air, Eclipse gathered Aether on his legs and jumped even higher then the Stain, then he attacked the stain.
He struck once—twice—thrice—each blow weakening the core that flickered through the beast's ribcage. But then—the beast caught his leg mid-air and hurled him into the ground Creating a creater
Eclipse coughed, burned, broken, he couldn't hear anymore, his vision had begun to blur and if he lost his sight he was a sitting duck.
The flame flickered.
His body couldn't keep this up.
But he had no choice.
The beast dropped from the sky like an executioner. Its arms formed a cross, ready to crush him with a final blow.
But Eclipse—laughing through his broken ribs—grabbed the creature's arm.
"Now who's praying?!". What a tug he marked the Stain, a triskelion pattern appeared on the hands of the Stain.
And the flame exploded.
The red flame surged into a burst of Annihilation essence, engulfing them both.
The creature screamed.
Eclipse screamed louder.
The world became white.
And then—darkness.