Sohan's steps were heavy as he made his way through the desolate lands beyond the borders of Niram. These weren't the usual Withered territories… they were quieter, colder. Even the air felt like it was watching.
Beside him walked Krayl — a shadow that moved without a sound — leading the way toward the place said to be the Temple of the First Dawn. The place where the story began… and perhaps, where it could end.
Sohan:
"How much farther?"
Krayl, staring into the ashen winds:
"It's not the distance that matters… but what you'll find when you arrive."
After hours of walking, a massive structure appeared, half-buried underground. A stone temple, its black walls etched with twisted solar symbols, as if bleeding dark light.
Krayl:
"This is it… the First Light's Rise. The sanctuary of the first guardians… and the first to betray them."
They entered through a narrow passage. Inside the temple, the air was thick with age and decay… but the faint glow of crystals overhead guided their way.
In the center of the grand hall stood a circular platform, surrounded by six crumbling statues of creatures — half human, half shadow.
Krayl, slowly:
"This is where the war began… not between light and dark, but between two kinds of light. One sought control… the other, freedom."
Sohan approached the platform. Between the statues, he found a stone tablet — upon it, his name was carved in an ancient script:
"Sohan — Bearer of the Sealed Dawn."
Sohan, voice trembling:
"What does this mean?"
Krayl, staring at him intently:
"It means your blood is not purely human… it means you are descended from those who stood between the sun and shadow. Your blood carries the spark of the first light… and its chain."
Suddenly, the ground shook ، Cracking sounds echoed above, and dust fell from the ceiling. Krayl turned sharply:
Krayl:
"They're here!"
From the shadows emerged creatures Sohan had never seen before — beasts known as Light-Eaters — slender figures with black-hole eyes and fangs that glowed with false light.
Krayl shouted:
"Take cover behind the statue! Don't let them touch you — they drain the light from your body!"
A fierce battle ignited.
Sohan wielded his sword with precision, and in one moment, he activated a new technique — Dusk Flash — a sudden strike that created a shadow of light, slashing enemies from behind.
Krayl threw dark daggers that pierced the creatures, but they didn't die… only retreated.
After a grueling fight, Krayl released a blast of Sun Ash, opening a backdoor in the temple.
Krayl, panting:
"This place is no longer safe… seems someone else is watching you — not just Sol. Someone who wants the truth dead before it's spoken."
Sohan, staring at the old tablet:
"I'll uncover everything… even if I have to set the whole world ablaze with my light."
In a distant place, within a dark fortress, Sol Weather stood before a strange mirror, watching what happened in the temple. He smiled that cold smile and whispered:
"You're getting close, Bearer of the Dawn… but you don't know yet — your light is the key… and the end."
Evening shadows crept slowly as Sohan and Krayl exited the temple's back gate. The air was heavy, and the sky cloaked in black clouds as if something was approaching.
Despite his wounds and exhaustion, Sohan's heart burned with resolve:
Sohan:
"I won't let anything stop me from returning to Niram."
But the steps halted…
A cold, deep voice cut through the silence:
Unknown voice :
"Oh, but you already have."
They turned. Standing atop a high rock was a figure cloaked in black, his cape rippling in the wind, dragging behind him a broken-edged black sword that left a trail of darkness.
It was Sol Weather.
Beside him, his dark dragon roared, scattering ash and dust. Behind him stood entire ranks of Withered, bound humans, and captured hunters from various battles — their gazes broken, their bodies worn.
Krayl, shocked:
"How… how did you find us?"
Sol, smirking:
"The old blood calls to me… wherever it goes, I hear it."
Sohan drew his sword and stepped forward:
"If you want me, you won't take me easily."
Sol vanished and reappeared in front of him in a single step, whispering:
"Why fight with force… when you haven't even awakened your own?"
The battle begins.
Sohan strikes first, activating Dusk Flash and attacking from multiple angles, but Sol dodges every move as if reading his mind.
Sol:
"Your power is tied to the sun… and the sun isn't here."
Suddenly, Sol unleashed a mysterious technique — Break of Dawn — slamming the ground, releasing dark energy that sent Sohan flying, his body collapsing like a ragdoll.
Krayl tried to intervene, but a massive Withered threw him to the ground.
Sol walked up to Sohan, knelt beside him, and whispered:
Sol:
"There will come a time when you look to the sky and beg for the light… but the light won't answer."
He raised his hand, and dark chains wrapped around Sohan's limbs, extinguishing the light from his eyes.
After ... A massive caravan of Withered moved through a gray desert, leading a moving prison known as The Caravan of Silence.
Inside the dark wagons, Sohan was bound with other humans — some were hunters from Niram, others from fallen cities.
Groans, chains, and an eerie silence filled the air. No one knew where they were being taken… but a single phrase kept echoing among them:
"The Slave Prison"… a place no one returns from.
A final wide shot from above — the caravan moving through a gray storm..
On a distant hill, a shadowed figure watched, golden eyes glowing.