Chapter 30 – Live Broadcast: The Eclipse Awakens
Nation: Great Void Nation (Ranked Second in the World)
Date: 2/6/670 – Void Calendar
Location: Night Watchers Headquarters, City No. 87 – Central Broadcast Spire
The massive holographic screen dominating the central plaza of City No. 87 flickered to life at precisely 14:00 hours. Across the metropolis, every public terminal, every slum holo-projector, and every elite viewing lounge tuned in automatically. The newest batch of Night Watcher recruits—thousands of wide-eyed teenagers from both the upper spires and the lower districts—were herded into the amphitheater beneath the spire to watch their predecessors in real time.
A sleek female announcer with silver-streaked hair and a perfectly tailored uniform appeared first, her voice smooth and professional.
"Welcome, citizens of the Great Void Nation, to the annual Field Simulation Broadcast. Today, we bring you live footage from Sector 4—the ruins of Old London—where our latest class of candidates faces their first true test against the Void. This is not a game. This is the line between survival and convergence. We now join Squad Delta and Squad Epsilon as they engage multiple high-threat entities. Stay tuned. The Void is watching."
The feed cut to a wide aerial shot of the fog-choked ruins. Crimson text scrolled across the bottom of every screen:
LIVE: NIGHT WATCHERS FIELD SIMULATION – SECTOR 4
Candidates Remaining: 20
Primary Threat: Juvenile & Mature Merged Entities
(First Person POV – May Blackheart)
The Mature Merged Devourer lay in ruins two kilometers behind us, its core still burning like liquid starfire in my veins. Physical Star 2 progress had jumped to 47%. The power sang through my body like a second pulse. Every step I took left faint ripples in the violet fog, shadows stretching longer than they should have, as if the darkness itself wanted to follow me.
Lily walked beside me, her small hand occasionally brushing mine. Through the shadow-tether, I could feel her emotions like my own—fear, exhaustion, and a quiet, growing dependence that made something dark and possessive uncoil in my chest. She was mine. The Night Watchers could give her direct entry, titles, and protection, but they could never have her. Not while I existed.
"May… you're bleeding," she whispered, glancing at the dried blood on my lip from my staged performance.
"It's nothing," I replied softly, letting my fingers graze her wrist. The tether pulsed. You are safe. You are mine. She shivered, but didn't pull away. Her cheeks flushed. The imprint was deepening. Every time she used her False Reality talent, my face would be the easiest illusion for her to summon. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see me standing between her and the dark.
Good.
Sera Veylan led from the front, her silver hair whipping in the charged wind. "Delta, maintain diamond formation! Scanners show another cluster of signatures three hundred meters ahead. Stay sharp!"
Kael Ardent glanced back at me, his amber eyes narrowed with suspicion. He had seen too much. His Rank 7 speed and precision were useless if he couldn't see the threat coming. And right now, he was looking at me like I was the threat.
I allowed myself the ghost of a smile. Let him fear. Let them all fear.
"System," I thought. "Status."
The blue interface appeared only for me.
Physical Star 2 – Progress: 47.32%
Shadow God Domain – Imprinting Protocol on Subject Lily: 68%
Neural Overclocking (Rank 1) – Ready for next deployment.
Cellular Adaptation added a private note:
"Host, Overseer Mark has flagged your profile as [PRIORITY ASSET – DO NOT INTERFERE]. He is watching the live broadcast with Chief Darius Vale. Probability of intervention: 9%. They believe the last kill was a core cascade failure."
Perfect. Ten seconds of static had bought me another layer of deception. The city was watching a simulation. I was rewriting it.
The Devourer's core had given me more than raw power. It had given me memory. Flashes of merged consciousness—predatory instincts, ecological awareness, the desperate need to consume before the void consumed back. I understood the beasts now on a level the instructors could never teach.
And I was hungry for more.
A low growl echoed from the fog ahead. Another cluster of Void Hounds emerged—fifteen this time, larger than the previous pack, their obsidian hides shimmering with stolen energy. Sera raised her hands, kinetic energy crackling around her palms. Kael drew his blades. Lily stepped closer to me, her fingers brushing my sleeve.
I stayed back.
Let them fight. Let the broadcast show the "promising recruits" earning their ranks. My role was simpler: observe, protect what was mine, and consume what power I could without revealing the eclipse growing inside me.
The battle was brief and ugly. Sera's kinetic blasts shattered two Hounds' ribcages. Kael danced between three others, his blades a silver blur. Lily maintained a weak illusionary decoy of the squad ten meters to the left. The Hounds fell for it for four seconds—long enough for Kael to open their throats.
I watched Lily the entire time. Her hands were shaking. The mental strain was draining her faster than it should. The Night Watchers were burning her out.
That would not stand.
I sent another pulse through the shadow-tether. Rest. I am here. They will not break you.
Her shoulders relaxed fractionally. The decoy illusion stabilized.
Good girl.
The last Hound lunged for Lily. I moved before anyone else could react. My hand closed around its throat mid-leap. With a casual twist, I snapped its neck and tossed the corpse aside like garbage. The motion was fast enough to look like a desperate reflex. To the cameras, I was a lucky Rank 16 girl protecting her teammate.
To Lily, I was her shield.
She looked up at me with wide eyes. Through the tether, her gratitude tasted like surrender.
I wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as the squad regrouped. To the broadcast audience, it looked like comfort. To me, it was ownership.
The city was watching.
Let them see what they wanted to see.
A promising but limited asset.
Not the eclipse that had just swallowed another star.
(Broadcast Feed – Central Plaza, City No. 87)
The massive holographic screen above the plaza showed the live feed in crystal clarity. Thousands of citizens—slum dwellers, elite families, and the newest batch of Night Watcher recruits—watched in hushed silence.
The female announcer's voice echoed across the square.
"As you can see, Squad Delta has successfully neutralized another cluster of Void Hounds. Candidate Sera Veylan continues to lead with exceptional kinetic control. Candidate Kael Ardent's blade work remains a masterclass in efficiency. And look—Candidate Lily's illusionary decoy saved critical seconds in that last engagement. Our C-rank Mental Specialist is proving why she earned direct entry."
The camera panned to May Blackheart, who was leaning on Lily for support, blood on her lip, breathing heavily.
"Candidate May Blackheart, Rank 16, continues to show remarkable resilience despite her lower placement. That last Hound nearly reached her teammate, but she intervened at the perfect moment. A gutsy move from our slum-born contender."
The crowd murmured. Some cheered. Others whispered.
In the front rows of the amphitheater, new recruits watched with wide eyes.
One boy leaned toward his friend. "She took that hit and kept going? Rank 16 my ass. She's holding back."
His friend snorted. "Or she's just lucky. The real stars are Veylan and Ardent."
High above in the command center, Overseer Mark watched the same feed, his fingers white on the edge of his desk.
He knew better.
He had seen the ten seconds of static.
He had seen the way the Tyrant and the Devourer had died too cleanly.
And he had seen the way Lily looked at May—like the girl with the red and black eyes was the only safe thing left in the world.
Mark whispered to the empty room, his voice tight.
"You're not a soldier, May Blackheart. You're a plague. And the city is watching you spread."
(First Person POV – Kaiden)
I watched the live broadcast on my wrist unit as Squad Epsilon moved parallel to Delta. The feed showed May "struggling" to keep up, leaning on Lily like she was exhausted.
I knew better.
My Perfect Weapon Mastery had gone completely silent when it tried to analyze her again. No weak points. No leverage. No geometry. Just… nothing.
The same nothing I felt when I looked at a bottomless pit.
"Kaiden?" Jax asked nervously, rifle shaking in his hands. "Delta just took down another pack. They're saying Blackheart got the last one. You think she's really Rank 16?"
I didn't answer.
I was thinking about the way the fog seemed to move around her. The way the shadows stretched toward her like they were bowing. The way Lily looked at her like she was the only real thing left in the world.
My daggers felt heavy in their sheaths.
The simulation was supposed to test us against monsters.
Instead, it felt like we were sharing the field with one.
And the monster had already chosen its favorite.
I gripped my blades until my palms bled.
"Keep moving," I ordered, my voice colder than I intended. "And if we cross paths with Delta… stay fifty meters back. Do not engage Blackheart. Do not look at her too long. Just… survive."
The fog closed in tighter.
Somewhere ahead, another beast screamed.
The hunt was far from over.
And for the first time in my life, I wasn't sure if I was the hunter…
Or the prey.
End of Chapter 30