The dungeon door groaned open.
Light from the outside world spilled into the chamber — not warm, not welcoming. Just cold grey daylight.
Hari stood at the threshold, a silhouette draped in torn cloak and shadows. His wounds were sealed, but not healed. His flesh still bore the marks of the Noctfang trial—veins like ink, glowing sigils pulsing beneath his skin.
He stepped into the wind.
And the world changed.
---
The forest surrounding the dungeon was silent. Too silent.
Every beast had either fled or bowed in instinctive terror.
Birds didn't fly. Wolves didn't howl.
Because something ancient had returned.
And it wore the face of a boy.
---
> [Title Gained: First Eclipse-Borne]
Effect: Hidden until witnessed. First public use of Eclipse abilities will trigger world notification.
Hari felt it.
A pull in his blood.
A tremor in the world's magic.
He was marked now.
Not just as a survivor.
But as a predator the world would come to fear.
---
He made his way back through the ravaged forest, the ground still blackened from the dungeon's opening days ago. Time had passed differently inside. He didn't know how long he'd been gone.
But something else was clear.
He was being watched.
---
As he crossed the dead glade, a rustle came from the right.
Then the left.
He stopped.
Three men in obsidian cloaks stepped from the underbrush. Their armor bore silver markings—an eye within a chain. Enforcers. From the Kingdom's secret division that handled rogue awakeners and forbidden magic.
"You emerged alive," one said, adjusting his gloves. "Impressive."
Hari didn't speak.
The leader continued, "We sensed a dungeon collapse. Forbidden-tier. But there's no beacon. No Guild. No clearance. You are—what, exactly?"
Hari looked up. His eyes glowed dimly—red and silver.
> "Hungry."
---
They drew weapons.
Too late.
The next moment was chaos.
Hari moved with inhuman speed—a blur of shadows and instinct. The first man didn't even see the strike that caved his ribs. The second tried to run. Bad idea. Hari's dagger split the air, landing clean in his back.
Only the third remained.
He held a talisman. "Don't make me—"
Hari stepped forward.
The talisman shattered.
The man dropped to his knees, shaking.
> [Blood Fear: Triggered.]
---
Hari stood over him, silent.
"You're not registered in any guild," the man stammered. "No Kingdom brand. No sigil. No house."
"You're off the record."
Hari leaned in close. His voice was cold.
> "Keep it that way."
He let the man live.
For now.
---
That night, far from the glade, in a blood-drenched council hall of the Northern Empire…
Dozens of high-class nobles stood around a glowing map of Neavo. One region — the forest near the southern ruins — pulsed red.
A masked figure stared at it, silent.
> "The predator has awakened."
The others turned.
> "Shall we send hunters?"
"No," the masked one said. "Let him walk. Let the world see what we buried."
> "And if he evolves?"
> "Then we'll see if our gods are still watching."
---
To be continued in Chapter 13: Whispered in Blood and Flame
---