Grayhaven's east district descended into chaos.
A Gate yawned wide in the sky above a crowded market street, its violet surface writhing like liquid flame. Out poured monsters twisted by corruption — too many teeth, too many claws, dripping black ichor that sizzled when it hit the pavement.
People screamed. Cars crashed. Sirens wailed.
The city's hunters hadn't arrived yet. For most, death was minutes away.
And then the alley darkened.
From its depths, shadows stirred, curling upward like smoke. A figure stepped out, hood still pulled low, but his body no longer wore the rumpled hoodie of a student.
Instead, blackness had bled over his form, weaving itself into armor — a long coat of liquid night, silver runes faintly glowing across its seams. A half-mask covered his face, leaving only his glowing silver eyes visible.
The Eclipse Suit.
The monsters froze for a heartbeat, sensing something older and hungrier than themselves.
Noah raised his blade lazily.
"Alright, warm-up time," he muttered. "Don't bite too hard."
The first beast lunged. Noah barely moved. A whisper of silver light flicked through the air — and the creature's head slid off its shoulders, dissolving into shadow before the body even hit the ground.
More came.
Noah flicked his finger. A sphere of darkness swelled at its tip, then exploded outward in a roaring cannon-blast. Half the street disintegrated under the impact, monsters vaporized.
A smirk tugged at his lips.
Still too weak. I could do this in my sleep.
One monster tried to flank him from behind. Shadows rose like spikes, impaling it mid-leap. Another creature howled, its jaw unhinging, until Noah simply pointed — and its body crumbled into ash, erased from existence.
The street became a graveyard in seconds.
Above, the Gate still writhed. Noah tilted his head. The air reeked of something… different. Corruption deeper than usual.
"Ahh," he muttered. "So one of their toys slipped through."
A larger figure emerged from the Gate — a beast twice the size of the others, body etched with glowing runes. An Apostle's hound.
Its roar split the night.
Noah's silver eyes narrowed. Shadows coiled tighter around him, forming claw-like gauntlets over his hands.
"Alright, big guy," he said, grin sharp under the mask. "Let's dance."
The clash was short. Brutal. The hound's claws tore through buildings, its roar shaking windows. But every strike passed harmlessly through writhing shadows, Noah slipping between spaces like a phantom.
And then — slash.
One stroke. Clean. The hound split in two, dissolving before it hit the ground.
The Gate shuddered, destabilized, then collapsed with a sound like glass breaking.
Silence returned.
Noah stood at the center of the ruined street, suit rippling like liquid night, silver eyes dimming as the shadows receded.
His coat melted back into nothing, leaving only a tired-looking boy in a gray hoodie standing among smoking craters.
Police sirens wailed in the distance. Guild hunters were almost there.
Noah slung his bag over his shoulder and muttered, "Welp. Time for bed. Big day tomorrow."
And with that, the Eclipse vanished into the night, leaving nothing but rumors of a shadowy figure who had erased a Gate alone.