Eclipse Requiem

The night was quiet, yet Kael couldn't shake the feeling that **something was watching them.**

Saren walked beside him, exhaustion clear in her steps. Orin, still unconscious, was slung over Kael's back, his breathing faint but steady. The battle had taken everything out of them, yet their journey was far from over.

They moved through the ruined outskirts of the battlefield, the fires of war still smoldering in the distance. **The scent of blood and ash lingered in the air.**

Kael's grip tightened around his sword. **Something felt wrong.**

Then—

A **whisper.**

Barely audible, but **there.**

Kael's instincts screamed **danger.** He stopped, turning sharply. His eyes scanned the darkness.

Nothing.

But he knew better.

"We're being followed," he murmured.

Saren stiffened. "Where?"

Kael narrowed his eyes. "I don't know."

The abyss within him stirred. Even though he had forced it down, it still reacted to the **presence of something unnatural.**

Then—

A **figure emerged from the darkness.**

---

### **The Phantom of the Abyss**

A tall man, draped in a long, tattered cloak, **stepped into the moonlight.** His presence was suffocating, as if the very shadows around him bent to his will.

His eyes, glowing a deep crimson, locked onto Kael.

"You've awakened," the man said, his voice smooth, **almost amused.**

Kael's body tensed. He didn't know who this man was—but he could tell.

**This wasn't just any enemy.**

The aura around him felt… *familiar.*

Like looking into a **darker version of himself.**

Kael shifted his stance. "Who are you?"

The man **smirked.** "Someone who has been waiting for you, Abyssborn."

Kael's blood ran cold.

**That name.**

Nobody should have known it.

Saren glanced between them, confusion and unease in her eyes. "Kael… what is he talking about?"

Kael didn't answer.

Because deep inside—he already knew.

The abyss hadn't just changed him.

**It had made him part of something much bigger.**

Something **far worse.**

The man **stepped forward.** "Come with me, Kael. I can show you the truth."

Kael gritted his teeth. "I don't trust you."

The man chuckled. "Good. That means you're not a fool."

Then, in a blink—

**He disappeared.**

Kael's breath hitched.

Not vanished. Not ran.

It was as if the man had never been there **at all.**

Saren swallowed. "What… was that?"

Kael didn't answer immediately. His fingers curled into fists.

Because he knew.

This wasn't over.

Whoever that man was—

**He would return.**

And when he did—

Kael would be ready.

---