The world was ash and echoes.
They ran through the ruins of what had been a village, the cries of the lost swallowed by the void that hung over the land. The Eclipse above bled scarlet light, and shadows stretched unnaturally long, as if reaching for the living.
Liora clutched the shard to her chest. Every step she took, it whispered louder. At first it was faint, like a memory of a dream. But now the words were clear enough to chill her soul.
Child of the Eclipse… seek the core… the void remembers.
"Do you hear it too?" she asked between gasps.
Eryndor glanced at her, his face grim. "Whispers?"
"Yes. From the shard."
"Then it has chosen you." His voice was almost a growl. "Be wary. What it offers is not always what it promises."
They moved deeper into the broken forest. Trees bent in impossible angles, their roots hanging above ground as though ripped by unseen hands. Pools of black liquid shimmered like mirrors, reflecting stars that did not belong to this sky.
From one such pool, a figure rose. Tall, draped in darkness, its eyes twin voids.
Liora froze. The shard screamed in her hand.
The figure spoke, its voice layered with thousands of echoes: "The cycle begins again. The Core awaits."
Before she could reply, Eryndor stepped forward, blade raised. "Begone, wraith. This child is not yours."
The figure tilted its head. "All are mine. When the last star falls, all return to the void."
Its body melted back into the black pool, leaving silence in its wake.
Liora's knees buckled, and she sank to the earth. Her heart raced. "What… what was that?"
"An Echo," Eryndor said, his jaw tight. "A remnant of the last cycle. They remember what was lost."
She looked at the shard, still pulsing like a heartbeat. "And it wants me to find the Core."
Eryndor's eyes darkened. "Then the Core is not lost. Which means this Eclipse will not end until it is found."
Thunder split the sky again, though no storm brewed. Above, the sun was gone. Only the black disc remained, devouring, whispering, hungering.
And deep within her hand, the shard whispered stil.