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Chapter 1 – The Eclipse Summons
Kael Ardent had never thought the world outside his gaming chair could be… boring. Screens, keyboards, and late-night energy drinks were his kingdom. But tonight, even that didn't matter. Something felt wrong.
The air in his small bedroom shimmered, almost like heat rising off asphalt. The walls bent subtly, the floor seemed liquid under his feet. His monitor flashed—no, not with a game, but with a ripping void, blacker than midnight, edged with crackling violet energy.
"Uh… what the hell?" Kael muttered. He reached out instinctively, and before his hand could touch the void, the world tore open like wet paper.
Pain. A lurching sensation like falling through every possible dimension at once. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't see. Couldn't even think.
And then: silence.
Kael opened his eyes to a sky that bled violet and gold. Mountains floated in the distance, inverted rivers spilling upward into the clouds. A wind, heavy with electricity, tugged at his hoodie like it had a mind of its own.
"Where the hell am I…?"
Before he could answer himself, the ground beneath him cracked. A figure emerged—a knight, clad in armor that shimmered like glass, wielding a sword of pure light. Its face was hidden, but Kael felt its eyes on him, judging.
Kael's instincts screamed run, but curiosity rooted him.
"Who… are you?" he called out.
The knight raised its sword. "You are not of this world, yet your presence destabilizes it. You must… be balanced… or be erased."
Kael blinked. "Balanced? Wait—erase me? Seriously? I just got here!"
The knight didn't answer. It lunged.
Kael panicked. His brain raced. He wasn't a fighter. Not really. But he was fast. Ducking instinctively, he rolled aside. Sparks erupted where the sword had struck the ground.
Then, without thinking, he grabbed a nearby rock. Not a normal rock—it glowed faintly, reacting to his presence. He hurled it.
The rock exploded midair, sending a shockwave that knocked the knight off balance. Kael's heart hammered. He didn't understand what just happened—but he liked it.
A voice whispered in his mind, soft but insistent:
"You are chosen, Kael Ardent. To traverse, to balance… to survive."
Kael stumbled backward. "Chosen? Wait, who's—"
The world warped again. The knight recovered, but Kael was gone—vanished, swallowed by another tear in reality.
He landed, panting, in a forest where trees shimmered like starlight. In the distance, he saw a creature crouched by a glowing pond. It had the shape of a wolf but shifted and flickered like liquid shadow.
Before Kael could react, the creature's eyes locked onto his. A low growl vibrated in the air.
"Okay," Kael muttered, backing up. "This… is definitely not Earth."
The growl softened. Then a voice—gravelly, amused, almost playful—spoke directly in his head:
"You're going to regret that, human… or maybe, just maybe, we'll be friends."
The creature leapt toward him—but instead of attacking, it curled around his legs like it had claimed him. Kael froze.
"Wait… wait! I didn't—hey! Hey!"
The forest echoed with laughter that wasn't entirely human, and above him, the sky tore open again, revealing a massive eclipse, bleeding violet light across the multiverse.
Kael swallowed hard. This was it. He was in Azurae, and there was no turning back.
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