The wind at that height didn't feel like air; it felt like silence. The floating city of Veyra drifted above the storm layer, hidden from the world below. Its towers were carved from obsidian and silver, reaching upward like frozen lightning. The people who lived there called themselves the Eclipsed. They believed they were chosen to watch over both light and shadow, though few remembered why.
In the highest tower stood the girl Arin had seen in his vision — Selene Vale. Her reflection shimmered faintly in the black glass of her chamber. Same eyes as Arin's, same faint mark under the wrist, but her aura was colder, sharper. She held a fragment of crystal between her fingers, and it pulsed dark blue, responding to her heartbeat.
"The Shadow Core resonated again," said the armored man beside her. His armor was smooth and faceless, marked only by a single red slit across the helm. His name was Darius, Commander of the Eclipsed Guard.
Selene turned toward him. "He's growing stronger," she said quietly. "Faster than expected."
"You warned the council this would happen," Darius replied. "But they refused to believe anyone could survive the fusion."
"He's not just surviving," she said. "He's remembering."
She walked to the balcony. From there, the world below looked like a sea of clouds, glowing faintly under the morning sun. "He doesn't know what he carries. Or what he is."
"Then what should we do?" Darius asked.
Selene looked at him. "We wait. The light always finds its way here. And when it does, he'll come looking for me."
Darius hesitated. "And when he does?"
"Then," she said, "we'll finish what began the day the world broke."
Far below, Arin and Lira traveled along the ruins of an old railway bridge. It stretched for miles across a canyon, supported by giant metal ribs that groaned in the wind. Their supplies were running low. Lira's wristband scanner flickered occasionally, showing faint traces of energy ahead.
"Where does this lead?" Arin asked.
"Old records say it connected to Skyport Twelve," she said. "If it's still intact, there might be food, shelter, maybe even a way to contact the outer colonies."
Arin looked at the endless fog below them. "And if it's not?"
"Then we fall a very long way," she said flatly.
They reached the midpoint of the bridge when Arin stopped suddenly. His pulse quickened. "Do you feel that?"
Lira frowned. "Feel what—"
The metal beneath them vibrated. A low hum filled the air. Out of the mist, three massive shapes emerged — black sentinels with glowing blue lenses, hovering silently. "Wardens again?" Arin asked.
Lira shook her head. "No. These are older… autonomous types. From before the Collapse."
The machines locked onto them instantly. Red targeting beams crossed the air. Lira pushed Arin aside as a plasma bolt hit the bridge, sending a shockwave through the structure. Metal twisted and sparks flew.
"Run!" she yelled.
They sprinted as the sentinels fired in synchronized bursts. Arin reached out instinctively — the air around his hands lit up, forming a shield of pure energy that absorbed the blasts. But this time, the energy wasn't gold; it was streaked with faint black lines.
Lira noticed. "That's not normal light."
"I know," Arin said through clenched teeth. "I think the Shadow Core did something to me."
He pushed forward, launching a wave of mixed light and shadow that split the nearest sentinel in half. The others shifted targets, firing relentlessly. Lira swung her blade in arcs, deflecting energy rounds back at them. Her movements were precise, controlled, like a soldier who'd fought this fight before.
Finally, the last sentinel exploded, scattering glowing shards across the bridge. The silence afterward was deafening.
Arin fell to one knee. His hands trembled. "Every time I use it, I feel it pulling me. Like something's watching from the inside."
Lira crouched beside him. "Then we'll find a way to control it before it controls you."
They continued forward until the bridge ended abruptly. Beyond it floated the remains of an ancient platform — Skyport Twelve — hovering weakly on fading engines. The ruins were covered in moss and half-swallowed by clouds.
They crossed the last few meters using a narrow beam, the wind nearly knocking them off balance. Inside, the port was a maze of dark corridors and flickering lights. But something still functioned here — the faint hum of an old power core.
"Someone's been here recently," Lira said, running her hand along the console.
Arin glanced at a mark burned into the wall — a spiral with two intersecting lines. "I've seen that before," he said. "In the chamber beneath Eryndor's citadel."
Lira froze. "That's the mark of the Eclipsed."
"Who are they?"
"The ones who control what's left of the sky cities. They don't come down to the surface anymore. They believe they're above humanity — literally and morally."
"And they're led by—"
Lira looked uneasy. "No one knows her name. They call her the Shadow Heir."
Arin's chest tightened. "Her name is Selene."
Lira stared at him. "How do you know that?"
"I saw her," Arin said. "In the vision. She called me brother."
Before Lira could respond, a faint voice came through the static-filled comm system nearby.
"Signal trace confirmed. Coordinates locked. Retrieval units inbound."
Lira's eyes widened. "They've found us again. We need to move—now!"
The walls around them trembled as something massive began descending from the clouds outside — a sleek black ship with glowing crimson thrusters. Its shape was like an arrow aimed straight at the platform.
Arin turned to her. "If she's really my sister, maybe she's not here to kill us."
"Or maybe she's the reason everything's falling apart," Lira snapped. She grabbed his wrist. "Don't trust the blood you don't remember."
Outside, the ship's hangar opened, flooding the platform with cold blue light. Figures in dark armor stepped out — silent, synchronized, unstoppable. At their center was a woman cloaked in black and silver. Her hood fell back, revealing those same silver eyes.
Selene looked directly at Arin across the burning wreckage. "You finally woke up," she said softly. Her voice was calm, but it carried across the storm. "I've been waiting a long time, brother."
The air between them shimmered with light and shadow colliding. For a moment, everything around them stopped — even the storm.
And then, the world moved again.