Jalen stood motionless, staring at the horizon. The world around him was heavy with silence, a strange calm that seemed almost too peaceful for what had just transpired. He could still feel the remnants of the battle in his veins—the burn of the Ember Core, the pulsing thrum of energy that had felt so foreign yet undeniably powerful.
His body was weary, bruised, but the truth was, it wasn't the physical pain that lingered. It was something deeper. Something more insidious. He had thought that defeating the Servants, shattering the Fold's forces, would bring him clarity—peace, even. But all he had was a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach, a sense that the worst was still to come.
Beside him, Reyka was already scanning the surroundings, her eyes sharp as ever. She hadn't asked him if he was okay, and Jalen was grateful for it. She knew that words wouldn't help him now. The weight of the choice he'd made still pressed on him, and though the battle had been won, he wasn't sure if he had truly won anything at all.
"You're quiet," Reyka remarked, breaking the silence. "Too quiet."
Jalen didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted to the remains of the city—broken glass, smoldering ruins, the echo of destruction still hanging in the air. The lights flickered in the distance, signs of a world struggling to recover. But no matter how much the city tried to heal, he knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
"What do we do now?" Jalen asked, his voice carrying the weight of the question.
Reyka exhaled slowly, as if the question had been on her mind too. "We rebuild. We survive. Together."
Jalen glanced at her, sensing the weight of her words. It wasn't the first time she had mentioned survival in such a way, but this time, it felt different. More final. The Eclipse had come and gone, but the storm wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
"Do you think the Fold will come back?" he asked.
Reyka was quiet for a long time, her eyes scanning the city once more. "They won't stop. They never do. But now we know what they're after. And we know what you're capable of. We have an advantage."
Jalen nodded, though part of him still wasn't convinced. The power inside him felt both like a gift and a curse. At times, it felt as though it was the only thing keeping him alive, but other times, it threatened to drown him in its unrelenting force.
"They wanted the Core," he murmured. "But why? What did they need it for?"
Reyka turned to face him, her expression serious. "It's not just about power. It's about control. The Fold… they want to remake the world. They were using you to unlock something bigger, something far more dangerous than just a weapon."
Jalen felt a chill run down his spine. "Something bigger?"
Reyka hesitated, her gaze far away as if she were considering how much to reveal. "There's something ancient behind all of this. Something older than the Fold, older than even the Eclipse itself. The Ember Core is a key, Kane. But it's not just any key. It's a key to something that can either destroy everything or change the world forever."
Jalen's chest tightened. The weight of those words seemed to sink into him. "And what if I can't control it? What if I make the wrong choice?"
"You will control it," Reyka said, her tone firm. "You already are. The problem is not you, Kane. The problem is them. The Fold, the Servants—this entire war, it's all been part of a bigger plan. And you've just scratched the surface."
Jalen stood up straighter, feeling the weight of Reyka's words settling deep inside him. There was something bigger at play, something far more dangerous than he had ever imagined. He had thought that the battle was over, that the Eclipse was just a cosmic event, but now he understood. The Eclipse had been a signal, a signal that something was awakening. And that something was tied to the Ember Core.
"We need to find out what's really going on," Jalen said, determination flickering in his eyes. "I need to understand what I'm really up against."
Reyka nodded, her eyes dark with the same resolve. "We will. Together."
The two of them turned toward the city, the lights of Nova City flickering as though they were signaling a new beginning. But the battle was far from over. Jalen had only just begun to realize the true scope of what he had become. And as the days passed, the whispers of the Eclipse would grow louder, urging him to make choices that would shape the future of not just the city, but the entire world.
And in the shadows, unseen forces were already beginning to stir, waiting for the moment when they could strike.