The sun never reached Dariem Ruins, a fractured city swallowed by the earth. A graveyard of the forgotten—and now, the suspected birthplace of the Eclipse Crown.
Sefu stood before Korir, Novick, and Plelk.
"This is not a test," he said. "This is a message."
They wore obsidian-weaved cloaks stitched with the Toma insignia—Troop-ranked operatives, chosen to investigate and eliminate.
"If things go south," Plelk muttered, "I'll handle long-range. Don't expect me to tank for you."
Korir nodded. "Wasn't planning to."
Novick cracked his neck. "Just don't slow me down."
Entering the Eclipse
They descended into a tunnel beneath a shattered temple. Walls glowed faintly with inscriptions in a dead language.
Korir shivered. Why does this place feel like it remembers me?
Then—a whisper. No voice. Just intent.
"You are not welcome."
Out of the dark crawled figures in bone-white masks, bodies twisted by an aura unnatural—users of corrupted Dual Marks. Not trained. Not born. Artificial.
Novick dashed first, speed turning him into a blur. He cracked ribs and shattered limbs—twelve gone in a breath.
Plelk extended both palms, murmuring:
"Air Repel. Water Cage."
The tunnel flooded for a moment, enemies tossed against walls like insects.
Korir breathed slowly, focusing—activating his 42% Timeshift mastery. The world pulsed slower around him. He weaved through blades, drawing his dagger across the masked soldiers' chests.
Then, the room trembled.
A figure rose from the pit below. Hooded. Calm.
"You shouldn't have come here."
He raised his hand—two marks pulsed across his chest. Dual marks. Eclipse users.
Sefu's voice echoed through their comms:
"Abort if you face a dual user. We don't yet know the limit of their corruption."
Korir stepped forward.
"I'm not leaving."
Korir's Breaking Point
The figure attacked—blades of shadow spiraling from his skin. Korir tried to match it with Timeshift, but it pushed him to the edge. Muscles screamed. His vision blurred.
Novick was thrown back. Plelk gasped, struggling to counter two marks with one.
But something awakened in Korir—a glimpse. For a heartbeat, his shadow moved on its own.
A flicker of Shadow Extraction.
He landed a strike. Enough to wound the enemy and cause retreat.
Aftermath
Sefu met them at the exit.
"You disobeyed," he said. "But you won."
Novick looked impressed. Plelk just nodded silently.
Korir held his side, bleeding, tired—but changed.
In the distance, Zero stood on a rooftop, watching.
And behind him… another shadow.
Beric.
"Looks like the boy is finally learning," Beric muttered.
Zero didn't look back.
"He'll need to. The real war hasn't even begun."