Eclipse Ascension: The Calamity of the Seven Realms

Chapter 2: The Boy Who Returned From Death

The first thing Arthur heard after returning from the dead was a scream. It echoed through the underground burial chamber with enough terror to make even a seasoned soldier hesitate. A guard stumbled backwards and crashed into a stone pillar. His face had become completely pale, and his trembling finger pointed toward the coffin at the centre of the chamber."Impossible..."

The word escaped his lips like a prayer. Arthur slowly lifted his head. Every muscle in his body felt strange. Not weak.Not injured.Different.As though something fundamental had changed. The burial chamber had been constructed beneath the royal prison. Massive stone walls surrounded him on every side, each one engraved with silver runes designed to suppress spiritual energy.

At least, that had been their purpose.Now deep cracks stretched across every rune.Some had completely shattered.Others flickered weakly before fading into darkness.Arthur stared at his hands.Hours earlier, the Soul Severance Sword had erased him.He should have been dead.The kingdom had made certain of that.Yet here he was.Breathing.Thinking.Alive.

A cold sensation moved beneath his skin. Arthur immediately frowned. The feeling reminded him of countless insects crawling through his veins. Then a sharp pain struck his chest. His knees nearly buckled. A flood of information appeared inside his mind. Not words.Instincts.Knowledge.Hunger.An overwhelming hunger.

Arthur's eyes widened. The sensation did not originate from his stomach. It came from something much deeper. Something attached directly to his soul. The Eclipse Ascension System. The memory of the crimson moon flashed through his mind. The broken throne.The chained monster.The warning. The Calamity has returned.

Arthur's breathing became heavier. Before he could process everything, one of the guards finally regained enough courage to move."There is no way he's alive."

The man's voice trembled."We watched him die."Another guard swallowed nervously."The captain needs to know."Arthur slowly looked toward them. That simple movement caused both men to freeze. Neither could explain why. The young man sitting inside the coffin looked no different than before. The same black hair.The same face.The same age. Yet something felt terribly wrong. His silver eyes reflected the torchlight with an unnatural glow.

More importantly, they carried a chilling calmness. A calmness no seventeen-year-old should possess after being executed. The first guard stepped backwards. Then another. Neither noticed the shadows gathering beneath Arthur's feet. Arthur noticed. His eyes narrowed. The darkness moved. Not naturally. The shadows seemed alive.

Thin strands of black energy emerged from beneath him before disappearing moments later. The sight sent a chill through his spine. The system had changed him. The question was how much. A loud alarm suddenly echoed throughout the burial complex.

Arthur immediately recognised the sound. Emergency bells. Someone had reported his resurrection. Within minutes, the entire prison would be mobilised.Soldiers.Cultivators.Execution squads. Arthur's jaw tightened. The kingdom would never allow him to leave alive. One death had already failed. They would simply try again.

Heavy footsteps thundered through the corridor beyond the chamber. Arthur's gaze sharpened. They were already here. The massive iron doors burst open. Five armoured soldiers entered first. Behind them walked an elderly man wearing blue robes.

The moment Arthur saw him, his expression darkened. Elder Rowan.One of the royal prison's chief cultivators.

A man responsible for countless interrogations. Arthur remembered him well. The old cultivator had personally overseen many of his torture sessions. Rowan's expression remained calm. Only his eyes betrayed surprise."I watched your soul disintegrate."Arthur slowly climbed out of the coffin."So did I."The answer caused several soldiers to exchange uneasy glances.

Rowan studied him carefully. The old cultivator possessed decades of experience. He could sense spiritual fluctuations better than most people in the kingdom. Yet the young man before him felt strangely empty. No cultivation. No aura. No bloodline energy.Nothing.And somehow that frightened him more. Because the shattered runes surrounding the coffin proved Arthur had done something impossible. Nobody without power could destroy suppression arrays designed by master cultivators.

Rowan narrowed his eyes."What are you?"Arthur almost laughed. It was a simple question. Unfortunately, he no longer knew the answer.

A few hours ago, he would have answered immediately. He was Arthur Kensington. A powerless orphan.A victim. A condemned criminal. Now? Now he wasn't sure. The monster's words echoed inside his mind. The Heart has awakened. Arthur felt a strange unease settle over him. For the first time since awakening, genuine fear touched his thoughts.

What if the creature had been right?What if the thing that returned from death wasn't entirely Arthur? The possibility disturbed him. His family had died because powerful people viewed human lives as tools. He refused to become another monster.

No matter how much power the system offered. That promise quietly formed inside his heart. Then Rowan raised a hand."Seize him."The soldiers immediately advanced. Steel swords left their scabbards. Spiritual energy surged throughout the chamber. Arthur instinctively stepped backwards. He had no weapon. No cultivation.

No understanding of the system. Yet the moment the nearest soldier approached, another notification appeared inside his vision. First Bloodline Available For Consumption.Target Compatibility Detected.Low-Grade Stone Rhino Bloodline. Consume? Arthur froze. The words hovered before him. Consume? What exactly did that mean?

The soldier charged. Arthur had no time to think. The blade swung toward his neck. Instinct took over. The moment Arthur touched the soldier's arm, darkness erupted from his hand. The reaction was immediate. The soldier screamed. Black veins spread across his body. His eyes widened with horror. Energy poured from him like water escaping a broken dam.

Arthur felt it entering his own body.Warm.Powerful.Addictive.The sensation nearly made him gasp. Within seconds, the soldier collapsed.Dead.The chamber fell silent. Every remaining guard stared in shock. Arthur stared as well. His heart pounded violently. He had killed a man. Not intentionally.Not consciously. The system had done it. Or perhaps he had.

That realisation disturbed him more than anything else. The notification returned. Bloodline Devoured.Stone Rhino Bloodline Acquired. Evolution Progress Increased. Arthur looked down. The soldier's corpse appeared decades older.

The body had become little more than dried skin and bone. A wave of nausea hit him.Power.Real power.The thing he had desired his entire life. Yet obtaining it felt horrifying. For years, Arthur had dreamed of becoming strong enough to protect the people he loved. Now he finally possessed a path toward strength. A path built upon consuming others.

The cruel irony wasn't lost on him. Rowan's expression transformed completely. Fear replaced confidence."Kill him!"

The old cultivator's shout echoed through the chamber. The remaining soldiers charged. Arthur's instincts screamed.Run.Stay and fight, and he would die.Again.He turned immediately. A side passage connected to the older sections of the prison. Without hesitation, he sprinted. Shouts erupted behind him. Footsteps followed. Arthur raced through narrow corridors illuminated by flickering torches. His heart hammered inside his chest.

The prison had once felt enormous. Now every corner seemed like a trap. Another notification appeared. Bloodline Integration Commencing. Arthur nearly stumbled. Pain exploded through his muscles. His bones cracked. His skin tightened. The process felt as though molten metal had been poured directly into his veins.

Yet beneath the agony came strength. Raw physical strength. Arthur reached a rusted iron gate. Without slowing down, he slammed into it. The gate exploded outward. His eyes widened. That should have been impossible.

A few minutes ago, he couldn't even bend prison shackles. Now he had shattered solid iron. The Stone Rhino Bloodline was already changing him. Arthur continued running. Unfortunately, something else had begun changing as well. The darkness beneath his feet had returned. The shadows stretched unnaturally along the floor.

Almost as if they were following him.Watching him.Waiting.Arthur felt a growing sense of unease. The system wasn't simply granting power. Something else lurked beneath the surface. Something ancient.Something hungry. Then the prison trembled. A wave of pressure swept through the underground complex.

Every torch extinguished instantly. Arthur stopped. His instincts screamed danger. A figure stood ahead. A woman. She wore a black cloak embroidered with silver stars. Her face remained hidden beneath a hood. Yet her presence felt overwhelming.

The pursuing soldiers abruptly stopped. Fear appeared on every face. Even Rowan had gone pale. The mysterious woman slowly raised her head. Moonlight-colored eyes met Arthur's gaze. For several seconds, neither spoke. Then she whispered something that made Arthur's blood run cold."You awakened far sooner than expected."

Arthur froze. The woman knew him. Or worse. She knew the thing inside him. The prison around them continued shaking. Cracks spread across the walls. Somewhere deep beneath the capital, ancient seals were breaking. The woman stepped forward. Her expression contained neither hostility nor kindness. Only urgency."You need to leave now."

Arthur's eyes narrowed."Who are you?"The woman looked directly into his silver eyes. When she finally answered, her voice carried a weight that chilled his soul."I am the last person your mother trusted before she disappeared."

Arthur's heartbeat stopped. His mother. The kingdom had displayed her severed head. He had seen it himself. Yet something in the woman's eyes told him she wasn't lying. Then her next words shattered his world. "Arthur."

The woman glanced toward the darkness gathering around him."The woman you call your mother is still alive."

Everything inside Arthur froze. And before he could ask another question, an explosion rocked the prison. A terrifying roar emerged from somewhere beneath the capital. A roar identical to the one he had heard beyond death. The chained monster was no longer inside his visions. It was beneath the city. And it was waking up.