Chapter 8: Marked by the Gods
Kael's first breath was ash.
He awoke sprawled across broken stone, the ruins of Valthor smoldering in the distance. His body felt hollow, like something essential had been scraped out of him. The Relic's chamber was gone—collapsed into rubble.
Lysa was gone too.
For a moment, Kael almost thought it had been a nightmare. Then he looked at his arm.
His veins were blackened, etched with faint ember-like light that pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. A scar of corruption.
The System's cold voice confirmed it:
[Corruption Scar gained: Vein of the Eclipse]
Effect: Void channeling efficiency +5%. Stamina recovery permanently reduced -2%.
Kael's throat tightened. His body had adapted, yes… but at a permanent cost. And worse, anyone who saw this mark would know what he was becoming.
He clenched his fist. Rage simmered under exhaustion, but the truth was undeniable. He had left the ruins with nothing but pain. Lysa had taken the Relic.
And yet… the whispers coiled inside his head like smoke. Not nothing. You carry the throne inside you.
Kael forced himself upright, every step heavier than the last.
⸻
Hours later, crimson clouds churned overhead as Kael dragged himself across the jagged ridges bordering the Ashen Plains. His vision blurred, his body failing, when the System struck again:
[Quest Update: Survival of the Void]
Reach safety before Corruption surpasses 35%.
Current Corruption: 30% (Unstable).
Kael spat blood into the dirt. His own life had become a countdown.
⸻
Far above, in the golden spires of Solarius's sanctuary, a fire burned brighter than the sun.
The Dawnflame General stood at the balcony of his citadel, armor etched with divine runes that pulsed in rhythm with his god's heartbeat. He had felt it—the flare of Void power rising in the Plains.
"Report." His voice rumbled like distant thunder.
A messenger bowed low. "The resonance came from the Ruins of Valthor. Survivors speak of a man wielding fire and shadow. A… Void-touched."
The General's amber eyes narrowed. "Then he carries the Eclipse fragment."
He turned toward the horizon, raising his spear high, voice rolling across the citadel:
"Mark him. Hunt him. Break him. By Solarius's will, this man is an enemy of the gods."
⸻
Kael woke in darkness, sprawled inside a shallow cave. He didn't remember crawling here. Only collapsing.
The System's interface shimmered into focus:
⸻
[Eclipse Sovereign System]
• Tier: I (Mortal)
• Corruption: 30% (Unstable)
Abilities:
• Ember Void Strike — Tier I
• Galevoid Slash — Tier I
• Voidscale Armor (Fused, Cracked)
• Voidchain Grasp — Tier I
Unlocked Features:
• Eclipse Fusion (Limited)
• Sovereign Domain [Partial — Locked: Void Stabilization Required]
Corruption Scar(s):
• Vein of the Eclipse (Right Arm)
[Designation: God-Hunted]
You have been marked as an enemy of the divine. Pursuit is inevitable.
⸻
Kael laughed bitterly. "Hunted by beasts, hunted by gods. Why not?"
That was when he felt them.
Lightning crackled faintly outside the cave. The metallic tang of blood carried on the wind. Then shadows shifted—and three warriors stepped into view. Their armor bore Solarius's sigil, their spears burning faintly in the gloom.
The leader, a lean man with coal-bright eyes, leveled his weapon. "By decree of the Dawnflame, you are condemned. Voidspawn dies here."
Kael staggered upright, his scar burning. His body screamed to run. But there was nowhere left to go.
"I'm tired of being hunted," he rasped. "So if you want me dead—" His veins glowed black-red as he raised his shattered blade. "—then come take it."
⸻
The clash was brutal.
Voidscale Armor flickered across his chest as the first spear thrust struck—but the impact jolted agony down his arm, the Scar reacting to strain. Kael countered with Galevoid Slash, the black wind hurling one soldier aside.
The leader pressed harder, his spear igniting in divine flame. Kael barely ducked, heat searing his cheek. Every movement drained him faster—the Scar eating away at his stamina.
He was losing.
The whispers curled around him, low and hungry. Open the Domain. Unleash it. Sovereignty is survival.
"No…" Kael hissed. He knew the risk. He was already at 30%. One slip would push him over.
But the next strike split his shoulder, blood spraying. His knees buckled. The leader raised his spear for the killing blow.
Kael roared—and the Void roared back.
⸻
The cave warped. Shadows thickened, air bending inward like a collapsing star. Pressure flooded the cavern, suffocating and absolute.
[Sovereign Domain Activated.]
[Warning: Premature use. Risk of collapse.]
The soldiers faltered instantly, their movements heavy as though the world itself pressed against them.
Kael moved with impossible clarity. Ember Void Strike cleaved through the first warrior, his body burning and dissolving in shadowfire. Voidchain Grasp lashed from his hand, spectral chains dragging another into the dark until his screams cut off.
Only the leader stood, staggering under the Domain's weight, his spear blazing defiantly. "You are no man," he snarled. "You are a blight."
Kael's veins pulsed, his scar burning like molten iron.
[Corruption +5% → Current: 35% (Unstable)]
He unleashed a final Galevoid Slash, black wind splitting the spear's flame in two. The blow hurled the leader against the stone wall, his body falling limp.
⸻
The Domain shattered.
Kael dropped to his knees, gasping, his Corruption meter flickering dangerously close to 40%. His scar burned like fire, veins pulsing black in his arm.
But he was alive.
For now.
The corpses of the Godmarked hunters smoldered in the cave, their spears still faintly glowing with Solarius's fading flame. Kael staggered, bracing against the wall, vision swimming. He wanted to laugh—he had survived—but the sound stuck in his throat.
The System pulsed one last warning:
⸻
[Corruption: 35% → UNSTABLE]
Reduce exposure or risk collapse.
⸻
Kael clenched his fist. His body was betraying him, but his will would not.
"Let them come," he rasped. "I'll feed on them all."
Outside, the Ashen Plains stretched under a sky split by crimson lightning. He staggered into the storm, boots dragging through black dust.
And then—he froze.
Shadows moved across the ridges. Shapes. Silent. Watching.
Not beasts. Not clan hunters. Too disciplined.
A low whistle carried on the wind.
Kael's grip tightened on his weapon, every nerve on edge. Whoever they were, they had been waiting.
The storm howled louder, carrying the scent of smoke and iron.
And Kael realized—he was no longer alone.