Chapter 7: Relic of the Void
The chamber thrummed like a beating heart.
Runes spiraled across the black stone floor, pulsing with light that bled between silver and shadow. At its center hovered the Relic—an obsidian crystal laced with veins of pale light. Power radiated from it in waves, pressing against Kael's skin, making his Eclipse fragment hammer inside his chest.
But they weren't alone.
From the shadows, the guardian rose—an armored specter taller than any man, its frame cracked and stitched together with runes of both sun and void. In its grip, a jagged sword of crystal scraped the floor, shrieking sparks.
Its hollow voice echoed:
"Only the worthy may claim the Relic. Step forward… or perish."
The System pulsed in Kael's vision:
[Spectral Guardian Detected]
Tier: III (Ascendant)
Status: Relic Protector
Warning: Absorption impossible. Entity bound by Eclipse contract.
Kael's jaw tightened. "…I can't absorb it."
Beside him, Lysa leveled her spear, fire coiling around its shaft. Her eyes blazed. "Then stop whining, Voidspawn, and fight."
The guardian moved first. Its blade fell like judgment.
⸻
The floor split as Kael rolled aside, ribs screaming. Void energy surged instinctively into his arm, and he unleashed a Galevoid Slash. The crescent of black wind tore into the guardian's chest—but barely scratched it.
Lysa darted in, spear a streak of sunfire. She drove the point into the guardian's knee, carving glowing runes across its form. The giant staggered—then swung a backhand that smashed her across the chamber. She hit the wall hard, blood spraying from her mouth.
Kael's pulse hammered. He couldn't hold back. Not here.
"Eclipse Fusion," he growled.
Voidscale Armor melded with Stoneheart Resilience across his skin, forming cracked, stone-veined plates wreathed in shadow. The System blared warnings.
[Corruption +4% → Current: 23%]
Kael ignored it and charged.
The guardian's sword met his armored forearm. Sparks exploded. His bones screamed, but he forced his body closer, voidfire spiraling into his other fist.
"Ember Void Strike!"
The blow landed against the guardian's chest. Cracks spidered across its torso. For the first time, it recoiled.
"Move!" Lysa's voice cut through.
Kael leapt back just as her spear became a streak of molten light, slamming into the guardian's core. The chamber shook with the impact. The specter shrieked, its body splintering—only to reform, slower but still deadly.
⸻
Kael's vision swam. His mana was nearly gone, his muscles on the verge of collapse. He checked his System in desperation.
⸻
[Eclipse Sovereign System]
• Tier: I (Mortal)
• Corruption: 23% (Stable, whispers active)
Abilities:
• Ember Void Strike — Tier I
• Galevoid Slash — Tier I
• Voidscale Armor (Fused, cracked)
• Voidstone Resilience — Tier I
• [Fusion: Limited Use]
[Domain: Locked]
⸻
Every skill was battered. His body was breaking. But the Relic pulsed behind the guardian, promising strength beyond imagining.
The whispers coiled through his mind: Take it. Claim it. The throne is yours.
[Corruption +2% → Current: 25%]
Kael snarled and forced the voice down. Not yet.
The guardian raised its blade again.
This time, Kael didn't hesitate. He drew in every shred of his remaining mana, void and wind twisting together with fire. His body screamed as he forced them into fusion.
"GALEVOID—EMBER FUSION!"
A storm of black fire and howling wind exploded from his fist, ripping through the guardian's chest. Lysa's spear struck at the same moment, bursting with sunfire.
The chamber detonated in light and shadow.
The guardian shrieked, its body fracturing into a rain of shards before dissolving into nothing.
⸻
Silence.
Kael collapsed to his knees, coughing blood, his System screaming warnings.
[Corruption +5% → Current: 30%]
[Status: Unstable]
[Warning: Eclipse Fragment at risk of destabilization.]
He forced himself upright, vision swimming. The Relic pulsed on the altar ahead, every beat echoing in his chest.
He staggered toward it.
But before he could reach, Lysa's spear slammed into the ground before him, blocking his path.
Kael froze, chest heaving. "…Move."
Her eyes burned, but her voice was cold. "You're dangerous. More dangerous than I thought. That Relic would consume you—and I won't let the Void claim it."
Kael's jaw clenched. "After all that, you think it's yours?"
Her smile was sharp, merciless. "You were useful, Voidspawn. Nothing more."
And with that, she shoved past him, stepping toward the altar as the Relic's light flared brighter, calling to them both.
Behind his eyes, the whispers roared.
Take it. Rule. Sovereign Domain waits… but it will cost you everything.