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Chapter 120 -ย THE VEIL OF OBSIDIAN ECLIPSE

Chapter 120 - Chapter 120 -ย THE VEIL OF OBSIDIAN ECLIPSE

Author Note:ย Once more, there are two versions of this chapter. One with the weird font, and the other not.

Chapter 120 -ย THE VEIL OF OBSIDIAN ECLIPSE

"๐•บ๐–... ๐–„๐–”๐–š ๐–๐–†๐–›๐–Š๐–“'๐–™ ๐–๐–Š๐–†๐–—๐–‰?" The voice slithers through the air like smokeโ€”untraceable, unplaceable.

"๐•ณ๐–Š๐–†๐–—๐–‰ ๐–œ๐–๐–†๐–™? ๐•ฏ๐–”๐–“'๐–™ ๐–™๐–Š๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–’๐–Š ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–—๐–Š'๐–˜ ๐–† ๐–“๐–Š๐–œ ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™๐–’๐–†๐–—๐–Š ๐–‡๐–—๐–Š๐–œ๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ..." Another voice replies, hesitant, as if afraid to ask.

"๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž... ๐–‰๐–Š๐–Š๐–• ๐–Ž๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–๐–Š๐–†๐–—๐–™ ๐–”๐–‹ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•บ๐–‡๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‰๐–Ž๐–†๐–“ ๐•ฎ๐–Ž๐–—๐–ˆ๐–š๐–˜, ๐–Ž๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–‘๐–†๐–‡๐–ž๐–—๐–Ž๐–“๐–™๐– ๐–”๐–‹ ๐–’๐–Ž๐–—๐–—๐–”๐–—๐–˜ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–‡๐–—๐–”๐–๐–Š๐–“ ๐–‰๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–’๐–˜, ๐–‰๐–œ๐–Š๐–‘๐–‘๐–˜ ๐–† ๐–˜๐–•๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–™๐–†๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–Š ๐–š๐–“๐–‘๐–Ž๐–๐–Š ๐–†๐–“๐–ž ๐–”๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–—."

"๐•พ๐–•๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–™๐–†๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–Š? ๐–‚๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–˜๐–•๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–™๐–†๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–Š?" The second voice trembles now, curiosity mingling with dread.

"๐•ด๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–Ž๐–—๐–ˆ๐–š๐–˜ ๐–”๐–‹ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•ต๐–”๐–๐–Š๐–—, ๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–๐–”๐–๐–Š๐–—'๐–˜ ๐–“๐–Š๐–œ ๐–™๐–”๐–ž."

"๐•ฟ๐–”๐–ž? ๐–‚๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–™๐–”๐–ž? ๐•ด ๐–™๐–๐–”๐–š๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–•๐–‘๐–†๐–ž๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ๐–˜ ๐–œ๐–Š๐–—๐–Š ๐–”๐–“๐–‘๐–ž ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–‘๐–”๐–˜๐–™ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–‰๐–†๐–’๐–“๐–Š๐–‰..."

The first voice chucklesโ€”a sound that echoes like footsteps in an empty hall. "๐•น๐–”๐–™ ๐–† ๐–™๐–”๐–ž ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–“ ๐–•๐–‘๐–†๐–ž ๐–œ๐–Ž๐–™๐–. ๐•น๐–”๐–™ ๐–”๐–“๐–Š ๐–ž๐–”๐–š'๐–‰ ๐–œ๐–†๐–“๐–™ ๐–™๐–”."

A pause. The air grows colder.

"๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–๐–Š๐–— '๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–๐–Š๐–Ž๐–‘๐–Š๐–‰ ๐•ณ๐–”๐–—๐–—๐–”๐–—.' ๐•พ๐–”๐–’๐–Š ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–˜๐–๐–Š'๐–˜ ๐–† ๐–˜๐–”๐–“๐–Œ๐–‡๐–Ž๐–—๐–‰ ๐–™๐–—๐–†๐–•๐–•๐–Š๐–‰ ๐–Ž๐–“ ๐–† ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–Œ๐–Š ๐–”๐–‹ ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–‰๐–”๐–œ๐–˜. ๐•บ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–—๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–˜๐–๐–Š'๐–˜ ๐–“๐–”๐–™ ๐–™๐–—๐–†๐–•๐–•๐–Š๐–‰ ๐–†๐–™ ๐–†๐–‘๐–‘โ€”๐–™๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–Œ๐–Š ๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–๐–š๐–˜๐–™ ๐–‹๐–”๐–— ๐–˜๐–๐–”๐–œ."

"๐•ฌ ๐–˜๐–”๐–“๐–Œ๐–‡๐–Ž๐–—๐–‰? ๐•ฟ๐–๐–†๐–™'๐–˜ ๐–—๐–Ž๐–‰๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–š๐–‘๐–”๐–š๐–˜."

"๐•ด๐–˜ ๐–Ž๐–™? ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ๐–˜, ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–๐–“๐–”๐–œ. ๐•ญ๐–š๐–™ ๐–“๐–”๐–™ ๐–˜๐–”๐–“๐–Œ๐–˜ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š'๐–‰ ๐–œ๐–†๐–“๐–™ ๐–™๐–” ๐–๐–Š๐–†๐–—. ๐•ณ๐–Š๐–— ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š..." The speaker trails off, as if the memory of it is too much to bear. "...๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–“ ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–™๐–™๐–Š๐–— ๐–Œ๐–‘๐–†๐–˜๐–˜ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–’๐–Š๐–“๐–‰ ๐–‡๐–”๐–“๐–Š๐–˜. ๐•ด๐–™ ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–“ ๐–•๐–š๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–Ž๐–“๐–™๐–” ๐–‰๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–’๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–” ๐–›๐–Ž๐–›๐–Ž๐–‰ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–‹๐–”๐–—๐–Œ๐–Š๐–™ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š'๐–—๐–Š ๐–†๐–œ๐–†๐–๐–Šโ€”๐–”๐–— ๐–‰๐–—๐–†๐–Œ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–Ž๐–“๐–™๐–” ๐–“๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™๐–’๐–†๐–—๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–” ๐–‰๐–Š๐–Š๐–• ๐–ž๐–”๐–š'๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–“๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–— ๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–†๐–œ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–œ๐–†๐–ž ๐–”๐–š๐–™."

The second voice falters. "๐–‚๐–๐–†๐–™... ๐–œ๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–‰๐–”๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–‘๐–”๐–”๐– ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–๐–Š?"

The chuckle returns, darker this time. "๐•น๐–” ๐–”๐–“๐–Š ๐–๐–“๐–”๐–œ๐–˜. ๐•พ๐–๐–Š ๐–œ๐–Š๐–†๐–—๐–˜ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•บ๐–‡๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‰๐–Ž๐–†๐–“ ๐–๐–Š๐–Ž๐–‘โ€”๐–† ๐–˜๐–๐–—๐–”๐–š๐–‰ ๐–œ๐–”๐–›๐–Š๐–“ ๐–‹๐–—๐–”๐–’ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–™๐–Š๐–†๐–—๐–˜ ๐–”๐–‹ ๐–‹๐–†๐–‘๐–‘๐–Š๐–“ ๐–Œ๐–”๐–‰๐–˜ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–˜๐–™๐–Ž๐–™๐–ˆ๐–๐–Š๐–‰ ๐–™๐–”๐–Œ๐–Š๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–œ๐–Ž๐–™๐– ๐–™๐–๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–‰๐–˜ ๐–”๐–‹ ๐–‰๐–Š๐–˜๐–•๐–†๐–Ž๐–—. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–Ž๐–‹ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–‘๐–”๐–”๐– ๐–†๐–™ ๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–™๐–”๐–” ๐–‘๐–”๐–“๐–Œ, ๐–ž๐–”๐–š'๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–‹๐–”๐–—๐–Œ๐–Š๐–™ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–”๐–œ๐–“ ๐–‹๐–†๐–ˆ๐–Š."

"๐•ฑ๐–”๐–—๐–Œ๐–Š๐–™... ๐–’๐–ž ๐–‹๐–†๐–ˆ๐–Š?"

"๐–„๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–’๐–Š๐–’๐–”๐–—๐–Ž๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–š๐–“๐–—๐–†๐–›๐–Š๐–‘ ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™," the voice explains, almost gleefully. "๐–„๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–๐–”๐–ž๐–˜, ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–™๐–—๐–Ž๐–š๐–’๐–•๐–๐–˜โ€”๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–‘๐–Ž๐–• ๐–†๐–œ๐–†๐–ž ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–™๐–๐–—๐–”๐–š๐–Œ๐– ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ๐–Š๐–—๐–˜. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–“ ๐–ˆ๐–”๐–’๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–“๐–†๐–’๐–Š. ๐•ฌ๐–“๐–‰ ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–“๐–†๐–‘๐–‘๐–ž... ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–‹๐–†๐–ˆ๐–Š."

Silence stretches between themโ€”a silence heavy with fear.

"๐–‚๐–๐–ž ๐–‰๐–”๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–œ๐–Š๐–†๐–— ๐–Ž๐–™?" The second voice asks quietly.

"๐•ฟ๐–” ๐–๐–Š๐–Š๐–• ๐–š๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–†๐–‹๐–Š," the first voice replies, almost reverent now. "๐•บ๐–— ๐–’๐–†๐–ž๐–‡๐–Š ๐–™๐–” ๐–๐–Š๐–Š๐–• ๐–๐–Š๐–—๐–˜๐–Š๐–‘๐–‹ ๐–˜๐–†๐–‹๐–Š ๐–‹๐–—๐–”๐–’ ๐–š๐–˜."

Another pause.

"๐•ญ๐–š๐–™ ๐–œ๐–๐–ž ๐–œ๐–”๐–š๐–‘๐–‰ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•ต๐–”๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–๐–Š๐–Š๐–• ๐–๐–Š๐–—? ๐–‚๐–๐–†๐–™'๐–˜ ๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–•๐–š๐–—๐–•๐–”๐–˜๐–Š?"

The answer comes slowly, each word dripping with malice: "๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–˜๐–๐–Š'๐–˜ ๐–œ๐–†๐–Ž๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ."

"๐–‚๐–†๐–Ž๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ? ๐•ฑ๐–”๐–— ๐–œ๐–๐–†๐–™?"

The first voice laughsโ€”a hollow sound that chills to the bone. "๐•ฑ๐–”๐–— ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–•๐–˜๐–Š ๐–™๐–” ๐–ˆ๐–”๐–’๐–Š ๐–†๐–Œ๐–†๐–Ž๐–“. ๐–‚๐–๐–Š๐–“ ๐–Ž๐–™ ๐–‰๐–”๐–Š๐–˜... ๐–˜๐–๐–Š'๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–™๐–™๐–Š๐–— ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–›๐–Š๐–Ž๐–‘ ๐–๐–Š๐–—๐–˜๐–Š๐–‘๐–‹."

The second voice is barely audible now: "...๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–“?"

A whisper so faint it could be mistaken for the wind: "...๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–“ ๐–˜๐–๐–Š'๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–‰๐–Š๐–›๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–š๐–˜ ๐–†๐–‘๐–‘."

The firelight flickers violently before extinguishing altogether.

In the darkness, only silence remains.

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž... ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–”๐–—๐–—๐–”๐–œ... ๐–Ž๐–™'๐–˜ ๐–๐–š๐–“๐–Œ๐–—๐–ž. ๐•ด๐–™ ๐–‹๐–Š๐–Š๐–‰๐–˜ ๐–”๐–“ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–’๐–Š๐–’๐–”๐–—๐–Ž๐–Š๐–˜, ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–๐–”๐–ž๐–˜, ๐–ž๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–›๐–Š๐–—๐–ž ๐–˜๐–”๐–š๐–‘. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–”๐–˜๐–Š ๐–œ๐–๐–” ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ๐–Š๐–— ๐–™๐–”๐–” ๐–‘๐–”๐–“๐–Œ ๐–“๐–Š๐–†๐–— ๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–Œ๐–Š... ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–™๐–†๐–—๐–™ ๐–™๐–” ๐–‹๐–”๐–—๐–Œ๐–Š๐–™ ๐–œ๐–๐–” ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–†๐–—๐–Š. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–Ž๐–— ๐–•๐–†๐–˜๐–™ ๐–š๐–“๐–—๐–†๐–›๐–Š๐–‘๐–˜, ๐–‘๐–Š๐–†๐–›๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–’ ๐–Š๐–’๐–•๐–™๐–ž ๐–˜๐–๐–Š๐–‘๐–‘๐–˜.

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž... ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–›๐–Š๐–Ž๐–‘ ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–œ๐–Š๐–†๐–—๐–˜ ๐–Ž๐–˜๐–“'๐–™ ๐–๐–š๐–˜๐–™ ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‘๐– ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–‰๐–”๐–œ๐–˜. ๐•ด๐–™'๐–˜ ๐–œ๐–”๐–›๐–Š๐–“ ๐–‹๐–—๐–”๐–’ ๐•บ๐–‡๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‰๐–Ž๐–†๐–“, ๐–‹๐–—๐–”๐–’ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–™๐–Š๐–†๐–—๐–˜ ๐–”๐–‹ ๐–† ๐–‹๐–†๐–‘๐–‘๐–Š๐–“ ๐–‰๐–Š๐–Ž๐–™๐–ž. ๐•ฐ๐–†๐–ˆ๐– ๐–™๐–๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–‰ ๐–›๐–Ž๐–‡๐–—๐–†๐–™๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–œ๐–Ž๐–™๐– ๐–† ๐–•๐–”๐–œ๐–Š๐–— ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–˜๐–๐–Ž๐–Š๐–‘๐–‰๐–˜ ๐–๐–Š๐–—, ๐–† ๐–•๐–—๐–”๐–™๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–™๐–Ž๐–”๐–“ ๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•ต๐–”๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–๐–Ž๐–’๐–˜๐–Š๐–‘๐–‹ ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–“'๐–™ ๐–‹๐–š๐–‘๐–‘๐–ž ๐–•๐–Ž๐–Š๐–—๐–ˆ๐–Š.

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž... ๐•ฟ๐–๐–†๐–™'๐–˜ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–๐–”๐–—๐–—๐–Ž๐–‹๐–ž๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–•๐–†๐–—๐–™. ๐•พ๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–”๐–š๐–‘๐–‰ ๐–‘๐–Š๐–†๐–›๐–Š ๐–†๐–“๐–ž๐–™๐–Ž๐–’๐–Š ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–œ๐–†๐–“๐–™๐–˜. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–Œ๐–Š ๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–†๐–“ ๐–Ž๐–‘๐–‘๐–š๐–˜๐–Ž๐–”๐–“. ๐•ด๐–™'๐–˜ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•บ๐–‡๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‰๐–Ž๐–†๐–“ ๐–๐–Š๐–Ž๐–‘ ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–‡๐–Ž๐–“๐–‰๐–˜ ๐–๐–Š๐–—โ€”๐–™๐–” ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–’๐–Š๐–’๐–”๐–—๐–Ž๐–Š๐–˜, ๐–™๐–” ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–Œ๐–—๐–Ž๐–Š๐–‹, ๐–™๐–” ๐–˜๐–”๐–’๐–Š๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ... ๐–‰๐–†๐–—๐–๐–Š๐–—. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–๐–”๐–”๐–˜๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–™๐–” ๐–—๐–Š๐–’๐–†๐–Ž๐–“.

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž... (๐•ฌ ๐–‘๐–”๐–“๐–Œ, ๐–‰๐–—๐–†๐–œ๐–“-๐–”๐–š๐–™ ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–). ๐•ด๐–™'๐–˜ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–ž๐–Š๐–˜, ๐–‡๐–—๐–”๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–—. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–ž๐–Š๐–˜... ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–™๐–Š๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–™๐–†๐–‘๐–Š."

๐•ฌ ๐–ˆ๐–๐–Ž๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–—๐–š๐–“๐–˜ ๐–™๐–๐–—๐–”๐–š๐–Œ๐– ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–†๐–Ž๐–—, ๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐– ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–˜๐–š๐–‹๐–‹๐–”๐–ˆ๐–†๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ, ๐–†๐–˜ ๐–Ž๐–‹ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–œ๐–†๐–‘๐–‘๐–˜ ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–’๐–˜๐–Š๐–‘๐–›๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–†๐–—๐–Š ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–˜๐–™๐–Š๐–“๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–”๐–“๐–‰ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–™๐–—๐–Š๐–’๐–‡๐–‘๐–Š๐–˜, ๐–‡๐–†๐–—๐–Š๐–‘๐–ž ๐–๐–”๐–‘๐–‰๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–Ž๐–™๐–˜ ๐–ˆ๐–”๐–’๐–•๐–”๐–˜๐–š๐–—๐–Š.

"๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–ž๐–Š๐–˜? ๐–‚๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–†๐–‡๐–”๐–š๐–™ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–ž๐–Š๐–˜? ๐•ฏ-๐•ฏ๐•ด๐•ฏ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–˜๐–Š๐–Š ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–’?"

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–‘๐–Š๐–†๐–“๐–˜ ๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–”๐–˜๐–Š๐–—, ๐–Ž๐–™๐–˜ ๐–™๐–”๐–“๐–Š ๐–‰๐–—๐–”๐–•๐–•๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–™๐–” ๐–† ๐–œ๐–๐–Ž๐–˜๐–•๐–Š๐–— ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–ˆ๐–—๐–†๐–œ๐–‘๐–˜ ๐–š๐–“๐–‰๐–Š๐–— ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–๐–Ž๐–“. "๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–Š๐–ž๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–‡๐–š๐–—๐–“ ๐–œ๐–Ž๐–™๐– ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–•๐–˜๐–Š ๐–Ž๐–™๐–˜๐–Š๐–‘๐–‹โ€”๐–† ๐–‡๐–‘๐–†๐–ˆ๐– ๐–‹๐–‘๐–†๐–’๐–Š ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–‰๐–Š๐–›๐–”๐–š๐–—๐–˜ ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–‘๐–Š๐–†๐–›๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–”๐–“๐–‘๐–ž ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–‰๐–”๐–œ๐–˜. ๐•ด๐–‹ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–˜๐–™๐–†๐–—๐–Š ๐–™๐–”๐–” ๐–‘๐–”๐–“๐–Œ, ๐–ž๐–”๐–š'๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–˜๐–Š๐–Š ๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ๐–˜ ๐–ž๐–”๐–š ๐–œ๐–Š๐–—๐–Š ๐–“๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–— ๐–’๐–Š๐–†๐–“๐–™ ๐–™๐–” ๐–˜๐–Š๐–Š."

"๐•พ๐–Š๐–Š ๐–œ๐–๐–†๐–™?" ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–”๐–“๐–‰ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–‡๐–†๐–—๐–Š๐–‘๐–ž ๐–†๐–š๐–‰๐–Ž๐–‡๐–‘๐–Š ๐–“๐–”๐–œ, ๐–† ๐–‡๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–™๐– ๐–†๐–œ๐–†๐–ž ๐–‹๐–—๐–”๐–’ ๐–‡๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ.

"๐–„๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–‰๐–Š๐–†๐–™๐–," ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–—๐–Š๐–•๐–‘๐–Ž๐–Š๐–˜, ๐–†๐–‘๐–’๐–”๐–˜๐–™ ๐–Œ๐–‘๐–Š๐–Š๐–‹๐–š๐–‘๐–‘๐–ž. "๐–„๐–”๐–š๐–— ๐–‰๐–Š๐–†๐–™๐–โ€ฆ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–—๐–ž ๐–‰๐–Š๐–†๐–™๐– ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–๐–†๐–˜ ๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–— ๐–‡๐–Š๐–Š๐–“. ๐•ฐ๐–›๐–Š๐–—๐–ž ๐–˜๐–ˆ๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–’, ๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–—๐–ž ๐–•๐–‘๐–Š๐–†, ๐–Š๐–›๐–Š๐–—๐–ž ๐–˜๐–”๐–š๐–‘ ๐–™๐–”๐–—๐–“ ๐–†๐–•๐–†๐–—๐–™ ๐–‡๐–ž ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–‰๐–†๐–—๐–๐–“๐–Š๐–˜๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–—๐–—๐–Ž๐–Š๐–˜."

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–”๐–“๐–‰ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–Œ๐–†๐–˜๐–•๐–˜, ๐–ˆ๐–๐–”๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–”๐–“ ๐–‹๐–Š๐–†๐–—. "๐•ฟ๐–๐–†๐–™'๐–˜โ€ฆ ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–™'๐–˜ ๐–Ž๐–’๐–•๐–”๐–˜๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‡๐–‘๐–Š."

"๐•ด๐–’๐–•๐–”๐–˜๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‡๐–‘๐–Š?" ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–‘๐–†๐–š๐–Œ๐–๐–˜โ€”๐–† ๐–๐–”๐–‘๐–‘๐–”๐–œ ๐–˜๐–”๐–š๐–“๐–‰ ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–๐–”๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–Š๐–“๐–‰๐–‘๐–Š๐–˜๐–˜๐–‘๐–ž ๐–Ž๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–‰. "๐•น๐–”๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–Ž๐–’๐–•๐–”๐–˜๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‡๐–‘๐–Š ๐–Ž๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–Ž๐–—๐–ˆ๐–š๐–˜ ๐–”๐–‹ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐•ต๐–”๐–๐–Š๐–—. ๐•ณ๐–Š๐–—๐–Š, ๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–‘๐–Ž๐–™๐–ž ๐–‡๐–Š๐–“๐–‰๐–˜ ๐–™๐–” ๐–๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–œ๐–Ž๐–‘๐–‘, ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–˜๐–๐–Šโ€ฆ ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–’๐–†๐–˜๐–™๐–Š๐–—๐–•๐–Ž๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–Š."

"๐•ญ๐–š๐–™ ๐–œ๐–๐–ž ๐–œ๐–”๐–š๐–‘๐–‰ ๐–๐–Š ๐–๐–Š๐–Š๐–• ๐–๐–Š๐–—? ๐–‚๐–๐–ž ๐–œ๐–”๐–š๐–‘๐–‰ ๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–™๐–Š ๐–˜๐–”๐–’๐–Š๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–˜๐–”โ€ฆ ๐–’๐–”๐–“๐–˜๐–™๐–—๐–”๐–š๐–˜?"

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–•๐–†๐–š๐–˜๐–Š๐–˜, ๐–†๐–˜ ๐–Ž๐–‹ ๐–˜๐–†๐–›๐–”๐–—๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐––๐–š๐–Š๐–˜๐–™๐–Ž๐–”๐–“. "๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–˜๐–๐–Š ๐–œ๐–†๐–˜๐–“'๐–™ ๐–ˆ๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–™๐–Š๐–‰ ๐–†๐–™ ๐–†๐–‘๐–‘. ๐•พ๐–๐–Š ๐–œ๐–†๐–˜ ๐–‹๐–”๐–š๐–“๐–‰โ€”๐–‰๐–Š๐–Š๐–• ๐–Ž๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–—๐–š๐–Ž๐–“๐–˜ ๐–”๐–‹ ๐•ท๐–Ž๐–—๐–†๐–“๐–Ž๐–†, ๐–œ๐–๐–Š๐–—๐–Š ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–‰๐–”๐–œ๐–˜ ๐–‡๐–‘๐–Š๐–Š๐–‰ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–œ๐–๐–Ž๐–˜๐–•๐–Š๐–—๐–˜ ๐–ˆ๐–—๐–†๐–œ๐–‘. ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐•ต๐–”๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–‰๐–Ž๐–‰๐–“'๐–™ ๐–’๐–†๐–๐–Š ๐–๐–Š๐–—; ๐–๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–†๐–Ž๐–’๐–Š๐–‰ ๐–๐–Š๐–—."

"๐•ฎ๐–‘๐–†๐–Ž๐–’๐–Š๐–‰ ๐–๐–Š๐–—? ๐•ฑ๐–”๐–— ๐–œ๐–๐–†๐–™?"

"๐•ฑ๐–”๐–— ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–“๐–‰," ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–’๐–•๐–‘๐–ž. "๐•พ๐–๐–Š'๐–˜ ๐–“๐–”๐–™ ๐–๐–š๐–˜๐–™ ๐–† ๐–™๐–”๐–ž ๐–”๐–— ๐–†๐–“ ๐–†๐–ˆ๐–™. ๐•พ๐–๐–Š'๐–˜ ๐–† ๐–๐–Š๐–žโ€”๐–† ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–™๐–” ๐–˜๐–”๐–’๐–Š๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–‹๐–†๐–— ๐–œ๐–”๐–—๐–˜๐–Š ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–“ ๐–‰๐–Š๐–†๐–™๐–."

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–”๐–“๐–‰ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–˜๐–™๐–†๐–’๐–’๐–Š๐–—๐–˜, ๐–‰๐–Š๐–˜๐–•๐–Š๐–—๐–†๐–™๐–Š ๐–‹๐–”๐–— ๐–†๐–“๐–˜๐–œ๐–Š๐–—๐–˜. "๐–‚-๐–‚๐–”๐–—๐–˜๐–Š ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–“ ๐–‰๐–Š๐–†๐–™๐–? ๐–‚๐–๐–†๐–™ ๐–ˆ๐–”๐–š๐–‘๐–‰ ๐–‡๐–Š ๐–œ๐–”๐–—๐–˜๐–Š ๐–™๐–๐–†๐–“โ€”"

"๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–๐–Š๐–Ž๐–‘ ๐–”๐–‹ ๐•บ๐–‡๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‰๐–Ž๐–†๐–“ ๐•ฐ๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–•๐–˜๐–Š," ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–Ž๐–“๐–™๐–Š๐–—๐–—๐–š๐–•๐–™๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–—๐–•๐–‘๐–ž. "๐–‚๐–๐–Š๐–“ ๐–Ž๐–™ ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–™๐–™๐–Š๐–—๐–˜, ๐–Ž๐–™ ๐–œ๐–”๐–“'๐–™ ๐–๐–š๐–˜๐–™ ๐–‡๐–Š ๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–ˆ๐–†๐–Œ๐–Š ๐–‡๐–—๐–Š๐–†๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œโ€”๐–Ž๐–™'๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–‡๐–Š ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–œ๐–”๐–—๐–‘๐–‰ ๐–Ž๐–™๐–˜๐–Š๐–‘๐–‹ ๐–š๐–“๐–—๐–†๐–›๐–Š๐–‘๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ."

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–”๐–“๐–‰ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–‹๐–†๐–‘๐–‘๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‘๐–Š๐–“๐–™, ๐–™๐–”๐–” ๐–™๐–Š๐–—๐–—๐–Ž๐–‹๐–Ž๐–Š๐–‰ ๐–™๐–” ๐–˜๐–•๐–Š๐–†๐–.

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–”๐–“๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–š๐–Š๐–˜, ๐–Ž๐–™๐–˜ ๐–™๐–”๐–“๐–Š ๐–‰๐–—๐–Ž๐–•๐–•๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–œ๐–Ž๐–™๐– ๐–’๐–†๐–‘๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š. "๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š๐–ž ๐–˜๐–†๐–ž ๐–œ๐–๐–Š๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–•๐–˜๐–Š ๐–ˆ๐–”๐–’๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–†๐–Œ๐–†๐–Ž๐–“, ๐–˜๐–๐–Š'๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–๐–Š๐–— ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–“๐–†๐–‘ ๐–˜๐–”๐–“๐–Œโ€”๐–† ๐–’๐–Š๐–‘๐–”๐–‰๐–ž ๐–˜๐–” ๐–๐–†๐–š๐–“๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–Ž๐–™ ๐–œ๐–Ž๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–˜๐–•๐–‘๐–Ž๐–™ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–๐–Š๐–†๐–›๐–Š๐–“๐–˜ ๐–†๐–“๐–‰ ๐–‰๐–—๐–”๐–œ๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–Š๐–†๐–—๐–™๐– ๐–Ž๐–“ ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–‰๐–”๐–œ. ๐•ฌ๐–“๐–‰ ๐–œ๐–๐–Š๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–‘๐–†๐–˜๐–™ ๐–“๐–”๐–™๐–Š ๐–‹๐–†๐–‰๐–Š๐–˜โ€ฆ ๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–—๐–Š ๐–œ๐–Ž๐–‘๐–‘ ๐–‡๐–Š ๐–“๐–”๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–‘๐–Š๐–‹๐–™."

"๐•น๐–”๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ?" ๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–”๐–“๐–‰ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–œ๐–๐–Ž๐–˜๐–•๐–Š๐–—๐–˜ ๐–˜๐–๐–†๐–๐–Ž๐–‘๐–ž.

"๐•น๐–”๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–‡๐–š๐–™ ๐–˜๐–Ž๐–‘๐–Š๐–“๐–ˆ๐–Š," ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–˜๐–™ ๐–›๐–”๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–Š ๐–—๐–Š๐–•๐–‘๐–Ž๐–Š๐–˜ ๐–ˆ๐–”๐–‘๐–‰๐–‘๐–ž.

๐•ฟ๐–๐–Š ๐–‹๐–Ž๐–—๐–Š๐–‘๐–Ž๐–Œ๐–๐–™ ๐–‹๐–‘๐–Ž๐–ˆ๐–๐–Š๐–—๐–˜ ๐–›๐–Ž๐–”๐–‘๐–Š๐–“๐–™๐–‘๐–ž ๐–‡๐–Š๐–‹๐–”๐–—๐–Š ๐–Š๐–๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ๐–š๐–Ž๐–˜๐–๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–†๐–‘๐–™๐–”๐–Œ๐–Š๐–™๐–๐–Š๐–—.

๐•ด๐–“ ๐–™๐–๐–Š ๐–˜๐–š๐–‹๐–‹๐–”๐–ˆ๐–†๐–™๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ ๐–‰๐–†๐–—๐–๐–“๐–Š๐–˜๐–˜, ๐–”๐–“๐–‘๐–ž ๐–”๐–“๐–Š ๐–œ๐–”๐–—๐–‰ ๐–‘๐–Ž๐–“๐–Œ๐–Š๐–—๐–˜:

"๐•ฝ๐–š๐–“."

Chapter 120 -ย THE VEIL OF OBSIDIAN ECLIPSE

"Oh... You haven't heard?" The voice slithers through the air like smokeโ€”untraceable, unplaceable.

"Heard what? Don't tell me there's a new nightmare brewing..." Another voice replies, hesitant, as if afraid to ask.

"They say... deep in the heart of the Obsidian Circus, in the labyrinth of mirrors and broken dreams, dwells a spectacle unlike any other."

"Spectacle? What spectacle?" The second voice trembles now, curiosity mingling with dread.

"In the circus of the Joker, is the joker's new toy."

"Toy? What toy? I thought his playthings were only the lost and damned..."

The first voice chucklesโ€”a sound that echoes like footsteps in an empty hall. "Not a toy you can play with. Not one you'd want to."

A pause. The air grows colder.

"They call her 'The Veiled Horror.' Some say she's a songbird trapped in a cage of shadows. Others say she's not trapped at allโ€”that the cage is just for show."

"A songbird? That's ridiculous."... "Is it? They say she sings, you know. But not songs you'd want to hear. Her voice..." The speaker trails off, as if the memory of it is too much to bear. "...her voice can shatter glass and mend bones. It can pull you into dreams so vivid you forget you're awakeโ€”or drag you into nightmares so deep you'll never claw your way out."

The second voice falters. "What... what does she look like?"

The chuckle returns, darker this time. "No one knows. She wears the Obsidian Veilโ€”a shroud woven from the tears of fallen gods and stitched together with threads of despair. They say if you look at her too long, you'll forget your own face."

"Forget... my face?"

"Your memories unravel first," the voice explains, almost gleefully. "Your joys, your triumphsโ€”they slip away like sand through your fingers. Then comes your name. And finally... your face."

Silence stretches between themโ€”a silence heavy with fear.

"Why does she wear it?" The second voice asks quietly.

"To keep us safe," the first voice replies, almost reverent now. "Or maybe to keep herself safe from us."

Another pause.... "But why would the Joker keep her? What's her purpose?"

The answer comes slowly, each word dripping with malice: "They say she's waiting."

"Waiting? For what?"

The first voice laughsโ€”a hollow sound that chills to the bone. "For the eclipse to come again. When it does... she'll shatter the veil herself."

The second voice is barely audible now: "...and then?"

A whisper so faint it could be mistaken for the wind: "...then she'll devour us all."

The firelight flickers violently before extinguishing altogether.

In the darkness, only silence remains.

They say... This sorrow... it's hungry. It feeds on your memories, your joys, your very soul. Those who linger too long near her cage... they start to forget who they are. Their past unravels, leaving them empty shells.

They say... The veil she wears isn't just silk and shadows. It's woven from Obsidian, from the tears of a fallen deity. Each thread vibrates with a power that shields her, a protection even the Joker himself can't fully pierce.... They say... That's the horrifying part. She could leave anytime she wants. The cage is an illusion. It's the Obsidian Veil that binds herโ€”to the memories, to the grief, to something... darker. They say she chooses to remain.

They say... (A long, drawn-out sigh). It's the eyes, brother. The eyes... They tell the tale."

A chill runs through the air, thick and suffocating, as if the walls themselves are listening. The second voice trembles, barely holding its composure.

"The eyes? What about the eyes? D-DID you see them?"

The first voice leans closer, its tone dropping to a whisper that crawls under the skin. "They say her eyes burn with the eclipse itselfโ€”a black flame that devours light and leaves only shadows. If you stare too long, you'll see things you were never meant to see."... "See what?" The second voice is barely audible now, a breath away from breaking.

"Your death," the first voice replies, almost gleefully. "Your deathโ€ฆ and every death that has ever been. Every scream, every plea, every soul torn apart by the darkness she carries."

The second voice gasps, choking on fear. "That'sโ€ฆ that's impossible."

"Impossible?" The first voice laughsโ€”a hollow sound that echoes endlessly in the void. "Nothing is impossible in the circus of the Joker. Here, reality bends to his will, and sheโ€ฆ she is his masterpiece."... "But why would he keep her? Why would he create something soโ€ฆ monstrous?"

The first voice pauses, as if savoring the question. "They say she wasn't created at all. She was foundโ€”deep in the ruins of Lirania, where shadows bleed and whispers crawl. The Joker didn't make her; he claimed her."

"Claimed her? For what?"

"For the end," the first voice says simply. "She's not just a toy or an act. She's a keyโ€”a key to something far worse than death."

The second voice stammers, desperate for answers. "W-Worse than death? What could be worse thanโ€”"

"The Veil of Obsidian Eclipse," the first voice interrupts sharply. "When it shatters, it won't just be her cage breakingโ€”it'll be the world itself unraveling."

The second voice falls silent, too terrified to speak.... The first voice continues, its tone dripping with malice. "They say when the eclipse comes again, she'll sing her final songโ€”a melody so haunting it will split the heavens and drown the earth in shadow. And when the last note fadesโ€ฆ there will be nothing left."

"Nothing?" The second voice whispers shakily.

"Nothing but silence," the first voice replies coldly.

The firelight flickers violently before extinguishing altogether.

In the suffocating darkness, only one word lingers:

"Run."

To be Continued...

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