Chapter 5 — The Counterforce
The night the moon turned red, the entire world felt it.
Cities across the planet fell into uneasy silence. The sky looked wrong. The light of the moon no longer felt calm.
It felt heavy.
Dangerous.
Somewhere within the city, a young man stood on the roof of a ruined apartment building.
His name was Aren Solvayne.
Months ago, he had been just another civilian.
Another life Raun Veyrath had once saved.
Aren still remembered that day clearly.
The collapsing bridge.
The falling steel.
The moment darkness lifted the wreckage away and a calm voice told him to run.
Back then, Raun had been a hero.
Now the world whispered a different name.
Eclipse Sovereign.
Aren clenched his fists as the red moon burned above him.
Something inside his chest began to burn in response.
At first it was only warmth.
Then the warmth became fire.
Golden light erupted from his body, forcing him to fall to one knee.
Energy surged through his veins like sunlight pouring into a storm.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
The air around him ignited with radiant heat.
The red moon hung above like a challenge.
And the universe answered.
Light had awakened.
Aren looked up, golden energy radiating from his eyes.
If darkness had chosen its ruler…
Then light would choose its champion.
Far away, standing beneath the Bloody Moon, Raun Veyrath felt it.
A new presence.
A new power rising against the night.
For the first time since his rebirth, the Eclipse Sovereign smiled slightly.
Balance had begun.
And soon—
Light and shadow would collide.