The message etched into the phantom's palm? It became Mordecai's new guide. "Not yet." A command, for sure, but also a promise. It was like hitting the pause button on his own anger. No more blind hunting. Every move had to count, like using a scalpel instead of a hammer. He wasn't just out for payback. Now, he was a soldier in a secret war, and rule number one was: don't turn into the monster you're trying to stop.
The test came on a slick highway under a dark sky. Elara's info was quick and messy: a group of Ra'Zul's hunters were after some refugees who'd just slipped through a tear between worlds. Alaric's "Thread" was here. It was a faint hope these folks were holding onto, pointing them toward some safe place. Mordecai found them at a tight spot, where the road cut through mossy rocks.
He didn't plan the attack; he just showed up while it was happening.
Ra'Zul's goons weren't the well-trained soldiers of the Fall. They were more like twisted, bloodthirsty scavengers—six of them, messed up by magic and hungry for power. They had the refugees cornered—three families around a beat-up, glowing car that looked like a dying bug. Mordecai could feel their fear, like a bitter taste in the air. It was a feeling he knew all too well, and it made his stomach churn.
The scavengers were pushing them around, enjoying their fear. One, a big guy with an energy whip for an arm, lashed out, hitting the ground near a scared kid. The kid's cry set something off in Mordecai.
Rage, old and deep, took over. It was the same rage that saw his mother die, that felt his sister's hand ripped away. It was a simple, pure anger. It wanted to destroy everything.
He didn't walk; he kind of unfolded from the shadows.
The air turned cold. The scavengers stopped smiling as they felt reality change. Behind them, the refugees went quiet.
Mordecai stood between the hunters and the hunted, looking like he was sucking up all the light. Kaiphus flowed around him, like a living storm of dark, with trails of light.
"Leave," he said, his voice quiet but strong.
The head scavenger, the one with the whip, laughed. "Or what, shadow boy? You gonna tell us to stop?"
He had a choice to make. He could feel the power ready to go inside him. The Bone Serpent, ready to be set free, crush these guys, turn them into dust. It would be quick, and it would be fair.
And he felt something stronger, the Eclipse of the Abyss. He could throw them into nothing. Make them feel as helpless as he had. He could shut them up for good.
He looked past the scavengers at the refugees. A woman held her kid tight, her eyes filled with a terror he knew. An old man stood in front, trying to protect them with his hands. They weren't fighters; they were just trying to survive, like his mother wanted him to.
A memory hit him: his mother's hand on his cheek, her voice talking about being patient. Then, he felt Kaiphus on his shoulders, reminding him not to give up. Not everything will end the way you think.
Destroying was his father's answer, his legacy, Ra'Zul's way. Doing that would make him just like them.
The scavenger with the whip attacked.
Mordecai knew what he had to do.
He didn't use the Serpent to kill, or the Eclipse to destroy.
Instead, he moved. Everything slowed down. He blocked the whip with his arm covered in Kaiphus. The whip died against it. He moved through the group like a ghost, using quick moves to disarm and lock them up—a wrist here, a knee there. He fought without killing.
But there were too many. A witch started casting a spell to melt the refugees' car.
No time for that.
Eclipse of the Abyss.
He didn't let it go all out. He let it happen slowly, like a dark flower opening. The sky went dark, the eclipse looking like a watchful eye. The gravity was like a gentle push, not pulling too hard. It held the scavengers back, making them slow down. Their spells stopped working as they were distracted by the void.
Then, the Bone Serpent rose from the ground, not to kill, but to trap. Its bones, mixed with Kaiphus, wrapped around the scavengers. Its jaws closed, but they didn't bite. They trapped the head scavenger in bone, turning sharp blades into heavy chains around him. The Serpent held them all, alive but unable to move.
The domain disappeared. The world came back with a sigh. The scavengers, trapped, just stared in fear.
The refugees were safe, untouched.
Mordecai stood among his captives, breathing hard. It wasn't the good feeling of winning a fight; it was different. Using the eclipse always cost him something—exhaustion, numbness, blurry vision. But this time, it felt different. The anger was gone, not in a burst, but through holding back.
He felt tired but also knew something new. Power wasn't about destroying. It was about holding back, controlling yourself. The Eye of the Eclipse had been a question, and he had finally answered it.
He looked at the trapped scavengers, then at the refugees. He felt Kaiphus warming his shoulders. He hadn't made things worse. He had picked the harder path. And as he turned to help the survivors, he felt like the emptiness inside him was now a space ready for something new, something that might feel like peace.