Episode 4 – The Crimson Eclipse
After the Bridge
The Skyway Bridge still smoked with fire and broken steel when the Raheja brothers and their allies slipped away. The city's rescue teams were already moving in, but none of them would ever know the truth: that a Bronze Titan had walked their streets that night.
Parth Raheja stole a glance at his brother. Shreyank's hands still shook faintly, his veins glowing as though the crystal's fire hadn't yet faded.
"Bhai… kitni der tak aisa chalega? Every fight is killing you a little more."
Shreyank forced a smile, though his eyes betrayed exhaustion. "As long as it takes. Until we reach Silver. Until the city's safe."
Rehanshika, walking a few steps ahead, didn't even turn. "Safe? You really think this ends at Silver?"
Her words hung in the air, heavier than the smoke around them.
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The Gathering Storm
For the next two days, the city lived in an uneasy calm. No new trials emerged. But the streets of Noctis-4 buzzed with whispers—strange lights, vanished civilians, shadows moving where no shadows should exist.
The Raheja brothers used the time to recover and train.
Parth perfected his traps, rigging miniature EMP devices and stun mines out of salvaged tech. His room became a chaos of wires, sparks, and half-burnt circuit boards.
Shreyank, under Ritika's guidance, learned breathing techniques to survive the power surges. Sometimes he succeeded. Sometimes he collapsed, coughing blood.
But what worried Ritika most wasn't his exhaustion. It was the way Shreyank sometimes stared at nothing—his eyes distant, as though he was listening to someone nobody else could hear.
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The Eclipse Approaches
On the third night, the system awakened again.
[Bronze Trial #4 Incoming]
Location: Old Industrial Sector – Eclipse Foundry
Time: 22:00 Hours
Ritika froze. "The Eclipse Foundry…"
Parth frowned. "What's the big deal? Just another creepy abandoned factory, right?"
Rehanshika shook her head slowly. "Not just any factory. That place… it was shut down decades ago after a meltdown. Hundreds died in a single night. They say their screams never left those walls."
Shreyank felt a chill, but before he could speak, the system burned another line across his vision:
[Warning: Astral Event Detected]
Crimson Eclipse Rising… Probability of Hostile Surge: 87%
The air itself grew heavier.
---
The Foundry
The team arrived at the Eclipse Foundry, its massive smokestacks cutting into the night sky. Rusted steel doors hung broken, and strange crimson light seeped from the cracks in the walls.
Inside, the world felt wrong. Machinery dripped with blood-red glow. Every step echoed too long, like the building itself was listening.
Parth muttered, "I'm already hating this place."
Suddenly, the system triggered:
[Bronze Trial Initiated]
Target: The Wraith of Eclipse
From the shadows emerged a monstrous figure—tall, skeletal, its body stitched together from melted steel and glowing veins of red crystal. Where its face should have been was only a void, sucking in the light around it.
The Wraith screamed, and the foundry shook as though alive.
---
The Battle Begins
Ritika fired the first arrow, exploding against the Wraith's shoulder. It staggered, but instead of falling, its body absorbed the energy, growing brighter.
"It feeds on attacks!" Ritika shouted.
Parth cursed under his breath and hurled an EMP mine. The device detonated, flickering the creature's glow for a moment.
Rehanshika moved like a phantom, slashing at its legs, forcing it back. "Hit it with precision! Nothing broad, nothing that fuels it!"
Shreyank clenched his fists. The power surged inside him, begging to be unleashed. But he remembered Ritika's warning—shape it, don't waste it.
He focused, condensing the glow into a blade of pure energy across his arm. With a roar, he slashed, carving deep into the Wraith's chest.
For the first time, the creature screamed in pain.
---
The Crimson Eclipse Rises
But then—the sky outside turned red.
The moon was swallowed in shadow, replaced by a glowing crimson disk. A Crimson Eclipse.
The foundry shuddered. The Wraith's body swelled, its void-face opening into a spiraling vortex. From within, ghostly hands clawed outward, thousands of them—faces of those who had died in the foundry disaster.
"They're trapped souls!" Ritika gasped.
The Wraith roared, now towering twice as tall. Every light in the sector died.
Parth whispered, "We're dead. We're all dead."
---
The Whisper Returns
As panic surged, Shreyank collapsed to one knee. The whisper returned—louder, sharper:
"Four stars… about to become five. But remember, Raheja, every star you earn… cuts a piece of you away."
He clutched his head, sweat pouring down. But then another voice—softer, almost protective—cut through.
"You are chosen, Shreyank. Don't fear the eclipse. Become its fire."
When he opened his eyes, his veins burned brighter than ever.
---
Turning the Tide
"Parth!" Shreyank shouted. "Use your traps—draw it toward the central furnace!"
Parth understood instantly. He and Ritika set the charges while Rehanshika kept the Wraith busy, dancing around its blade-like arms.
Finally, when the creature lunged, Shreyank unleashed everything—channeling his power into one massive strike that hurled the Wraith straight into the furnace chamber.
Parth detonated the traps. The furnace roared alive for the first time in decades, flames engulfing the Wraith.
The creature shrieked, its body cracking apart, souls scattering like broken glass across the crimson sky.
[Bronze Star Acquired: +1]
The counter shifted: 5/10.
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The Cost
But victory came with a price.
As the Wraith collapsed, a shard of crimson crystal embedded itself into Shreyank's chest. He screamed, collapsing to the ground.
Ritika rushed forward, but when she touched him, her hand burned. The crystal was fusing with his body.
Rehanshika's voice was low, almost fearful. "This isn't just power anymore. The system is… rewriting him."
Parth knelt beside his brother. "Bhai, hold on! You're not leaving me here!"
Shreyank's eyes opened briefly—glowing not just blue now, but streaked with crimson.
And then he blacked out.
---
The Watcher's Smile
Far away, the cloaked watcher observed through his silver visor.
"The Crimson Eclipse has begun. The Raheja boy now carries both light… and shadow."
He removed his visor, revealing eyes that glowed the same red as the eclipse.
"Exactly as the prophecy demanded."
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