Shadows in the Tower

The wooden door creaked open slowly, the eerie sound echoing in the silence of the watchtower. Asteria’s breath caught in her throat. Stary stood frozen beside her, his glowing eyes locked onto the twisting darkness just beyond the threshold.

Then, they stepped inside.

The shadows moved unnaturally, shifting and stretching as if they had no solid form. At first, Asteria thought they were simply wisps of darkness, but then—eyes.

Dozens of them.

Glowing white, peering through the shifting black mist, locked onto Stary with something that felt like hunger.

Asteria tightened her grip on the rusted sword. It wasn’t much, but it was all she had.

A voice slithered through the air. It wasn’t spoken aloud—it was inside her head.

"Lost one… you do not belong here."

Stary inhaled sharply. His hands clenched at his sides, the light pulsing through his veins brighter now, almost defiant. "Who are you?"

The shadows rippled. A figure emerged from their depths—a tall, cloaked being, its face hidden beneath a hood of swirling darkness. The very air around it seemed wrong, as if it bent the world to its will.

"We are the Eclipsed. And you… are ours."

Asteria stepped in front of Stary instinctively. "He belongs to no one!"

The figure turned toward her, and for a moment, the shadows coiled like snakes, tightening around its form.

"And yet… you shield him."

Asteria gritted her teeth. "Yeah, I do. And I’m not letting you take him."

The Eclipsed One tilted its head slightly, as if amused. Then, it raised a hand. The shadows around the room shifted—and suddenly, the walls of the tower seemed to melt away.

The entire world vanished into blackness.

Asteria gasped. One moment, she had been in the tower—now, she was standing in a void of endless dark, the floor beneath her feet barely solid. She turned frantically, searching for Stary, but the space around her seemed to bend, stretching impossibly in all directions.

"Stary!" she called.

A flicker of silver-blue light appeared ahead of her. Stary stood in the distance, struggling against the shadows that wrapped around his limbs like chains. His glowing veins pulsed wildly as he fought against them, but they tightened each time he moved.

Asteria ran toward him.

The voice echoed again, closer this time.

"You cannot fight what you are."

Stary gritted his teeth, his eyes glowing like burning stars. "You don’t know what I am!"

The shadows around him tightened. Stary cried out, his entire body pulsing with energy.

Asteria didn’t think. She moved.

She swung the rusted sword at the nearest tendril of darkness, expecting it to do nothing.

Instead, the moment the blade touched the shadow, a burst of golden light erupted from it.

The tendrils recoiled violently, shrieking as if in pain. The shadows released Stary for a split second—and he exploded with light.

A wave of silver-blue energy blasted outward, shattering the darkness around them. The watchtower snapped back into existence, the walls reforming, the ground solid beneath their feet once more.

Asteria gasped for breath, stumbling back. Stary fell to one knee, panting.

The Eclipsed One had withdrawn, its form flickering at the edges. But even as it faded, its voice echoed in the air.

"You cannot run forever, fallen one. You will return to the dark… when the light within you fades."

Then, the shadows vanished.

The tower was silent again.

Asteria dropped the sword, her hands shaking. She turned to Stary, who was still kneeling on the ground, his glowing veins dimmer than before.

"You okay?" she asked breathlessly.

Stary looked up at her, his expression unreadable. Then, after a long moment, he whispered:

"I remember something."

Asteria’s heart skipped a beat. "What?"

Stary’s glowing eyes met hers.

"My real name."