THE ECLIPSE LEGACY

Pain. It surged through Ian's body like wildfire, burning through his veins and setting every nerve ablaze. His vision blurred, his breath came in ragged gasps, and his heartbeat pounded like a war drum inside his chest.

He ran deeper into the unexplored zone, his battered body barely holding together. The thick mist swirled around him, casting eerie shadows as the cries of distant creatures echoed through the trees. Behind him, the treacherous guild members cursed and shouted, their footsteps pounding against the forest floor as they pursued him.

"I can't stop. I can't let them catch me."

His legs screamed in agony, muscles torn from exhaustion, but he had no choice since death waited on either side. If the monsters didn't get him, the guild surely would.

Then, suddenly silence.

The air shifted. The eerie sound of the jungle was replaced by an unnatural stillness. Even the predators that had been lurking in the darkness stopped moving. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath.

A sudden weight pressed against Ian's chest. It wasn't physical but it was deeper than that, as if something inside him was stirring.

His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground. The pain intensified, no longer just exhaustion but something primal, foreign, and terrifying.

His body felt like it was tearing apart and rebuilding itself at the same time.

Then, it happened.

A surge of power unlike anything he had ever felt erupted from within him. His bones vibrated, his skin burned, and his mind was flooded with knowledge that didn't belong to him.

Visions flashed before his eyes, a forge glowing with molten metal, weapons reforging themselves in his grasp, time itself bending around him.

The realization hit him like a thunderclap. His Gift.

"Congratulations!! You have be chosen by the eclipse"

A deep, reverberating voice echoed within his mind, neither human nor entirely recognizable.

"The hands of the forgemaster shall bend time itself. Restore. Rebuild. Reclaim."

His entire body lit up with an ethereal glow, arcs of golden energy crackling around his fingertips. The rusted, chipped knife in his trembling grip suddenly shone like newly forged steel, its dulled edge reshaped into a pristine, razor-sharp blade.

Ian gasped. His mind was still in turmoil, trying to grasp what had just happened, but there was no time for hesitation.

A bloodthirsty roar shattered the silence. From the shadows, a massive Abyssal Devourer emerged as a monstrous predator that had never been documented before. Its obsidian-black scales shimmered under the moonlight, and its many glowing red eyes locked onto Ian with unmistakable hunger.

The guild members, who had been chasing him moments ago, froze in terror.

"W-What the hell is that?!" one of them stammered.

Ian, still panting, tightened his grip on his restored knife. But this time, something was different.

For the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid.

The weight pressing against his chest was gone, replaced by something else, a resolve.

As the monster lunged toward him, Ian stepped forward. His mind was clear, his body felt lighter than ever before.

A grin tugged at his lips as he whispered under his breath,

"Let's test this power."

Then, he moved. And the battle began.

Ian panted, his muscles aching as he stood over the lifeless body of the Abyssal Devourer. The fight had been brutal, but something inside him had awakened not just his Gift, but a new sense of awareness.

He looked down at the knife in his hand, the blade still gleaming with a supernatural luster. He had felt it during the fight, each time his weapon dulled, it restored itself in his grip, as if time had reversed on the metal alone.

Curious, Ian knelt and picked up a shattered sword left behind by a past adventurer. He gripped the broken hilt and focused.

A strange sensation filled his fingers, it was like grasping the flow of a river and pulling it backward. His mind instinctively understood the process.

Rewind. Restore. Rebuild.

The fragments of the sword began to shimmer, glowing faintly with golden energy. Before his eyes, the cracks sealed, the rust evaporated, and the weapon slowly reassembled itself into a pristine, reforged state.

His heart pounded in excitement.

"So… that's how it works," he murmured.

Ian began testing his ability further. He found a snapped arrow, a dented piece of armor, even an old hunting knife with a missing tip. Each time he focused, his Gift responded, bringing the object back to its prime condition.

It was a blacksmith's ability, the power to restore and rebuild.

But something told him… this was just the beginning.

With renewed confidence, Ian turned back toward the jungle, gripping his perfectly restored knife.

His journey was only just beginning.