eclipsed Fate

Kaito's breath came in ragged gasps as he and Lysaria plunged deeper into the forest, the spectral echoes wailing behind them. The ground twisted beneath his feet, shifting like a living thing, as if the very land rejected their presence.

Lysaria's grip on his wrist tightened. "This place… it's unraveling."

Kaito didn't need her to tell him. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach—a sickening sensation, as though they were teetering on the edge of a crumbling dream. The echoes grew louder, their voices merging into a single, sorrowful lament. Then, all at once, the world around them shattered.

A cold rush of air engulfed them as they fell—not through space, but through something much deeper. Time itself twisted, and when Kaito's feet found solid ground again, the forest was gone.

They stood in the ruins of a vast, forgotten city. Towering spires, broken and jagged, loomed over them like the ribs of some long-dead beast. The sky above was frozen in twilight, neither night nor day, the twin moons hanging motionless in the heavens.

Lysaria exhaled sharply. "Solmira's first kingdom."

Kaito's pulse pounded in his ears. This was the place Varian had spoken of—the origin of the cycle, the key to everything. But something was wrong. The air was too still, the silence too heavy.

Then he saw them.

Shadows. Not the formless echoes from before, but beings with weight—cloaked figures watching from the edges of the ruins, their hollow eyes gleaming with unnatural light. They did not move, did not speak, but their presence pressed against Kaito's mind like an impending storm.

Lysaria whispered, "Guardians of fate."

A shiver ran down Kaito's spine. The words of Varian echoed in his head: Shadows of what once was. Guardians of fate who will not welcome your presence.

As if in answer, the nearest shadow raised a hand. The air crackled with unseen energy, and the ruins trembled beneath them.

The silence broke.

The guardians surged forward.