> "Found you."
That single message burned hotter than the flames he'd just endured.
Lin Xian stood in the aftermath of the Skyfire trial, smoke still rising from his skin. Whisperfang trembled at his side, as if reacting to the presence of something darker—older—than even the gods he had faced.
> [System Corruption Level: 3%]
Source: Unknown Intrusion
Protocol Suggested: Relocate Immediately
But Lin Xian did not move.
He stared at the message lingering in the sky. Not a voice, not a vision. A direct thought—forced into the system. Something powerful enough to reach into a realm sealed off by divine rules.
Only one group could do that.
> [Speculation: The Eclipse Order has begun their descent.]
---
He had heard their name whispered across time.
The Eclipse Order.
A cult of god-slayers, soul harvesters, and void priests who worshipped not the heavens—but what existed before them. They had no loyalty to gods or systems. Only to unmaking.
And now—they had noticed him.
---
Night fell unnaturally fast as Lin Xian descended toward a black basin, where the map flickered with a new quest marker.
> [Path of Seals – Node 3: Temple of the Moonless Eye]
Estimated Difficulty: ★★★★☆
Eclipse Energy Detected: High
But the third temple wasn't abandoned.
It was waiting.
---
Inside the Temple:
The doors opened to silence.
No wind.
No light.
Only walls carved in forgotten dialects, flickering with abyssal glow.
And at the center—a boy.
Or… a vessel in the shape of a boy.
Pale skin. Hair like ink. Empty eyes with swirling stars inside.
He looked no older than ten.
He smiled.
"You're late," the child said. "The gods screamed when you killed them. Do you know how sweet that song was?"
> [Warning: Unknown Entity]
[Alignment: Eclipse Order – Rank: Apostle of the Hollow Star]
[Name: Kehras the Empty Vessel]
"You're one of them," Lin Xian said, whispering as Whisperfang rose.
"I'm the first they sent. The next won't talk."
The child snapped his fingers.
And the walls bled shadows.