Chapter 27: The Price of the Eclipse
The interface appeared before Caelus’s eyes, familiar enough that he understood it immediately, yet different from the one attached to his bracelet.
The information settled into his awareness without requiring him to consciously interpret it, as though the Ring itself already understood how he expected to examine it.
---
Eclipse Ring
Rank: S
Type: Active
Tier: III
Effects:
[Eclipse Resonance] [S]
Greatly increases the user’s connection to and perception of their affinity.
[Absolute Affinity] [S]
Grants the user absolute control over their affinity, provided their body and spiritual foundation can withstand it.
[Eclipse Corruption] [S]
Gradually erodes the user’s mental stability with continued use.
---
Three S-rank effects.
Caelus stared at them for several seconds, any one of those abilities would have been enough to make the Ring worth hunting for. Together, they made it something far more dangerous than a simple artifact.
The warning was just as clear as the benefits.
Gradually erodes the user’s mental stability with continued use.
He had known about the danger before obtaining it.
That was precisely why he had come here.
The Eclipse Ring had never been a safe artifact in his memories. Its power had always come with a price, and Caelus had already decided that the price was acceptable long before he entered the labyrinth.
The Academy was coming. The Church would eventually become involved. The events he remembered were already beginning to drift away from the story he had written, and whatever advantage remained in his knowledge would become increasingly unreliable.
If the Ring gave him the power to survive those changes, then the risk was one he was willing to accept.
Whether he could survive the cost was another question entirely.
He dismissed the interface and returned his attention to the physical world. The Ring remained warm against his finger, its presence subtle enough to be mistaken for body heat if he didn’t know better.
He wanted to test it immediately. Curiosity pulled at him almost as strongly as the desire to understand exactly what he had obtained, but his body was still recovering from the backlash.
One attempt had already left him unconscious and bleeding from every opening in his body.
Testing the Ring again now would be stupidity.
The limitation wasn’t the Ring or even his willingness to use it. It was his body. His foundation simply wasn’t strong enough to carry what the artifact offered.
He needed to strengthen his foundation. To become someone capable of wielding the power he had claimed.
He planted a hand against the wall and pushed himself upright, only for his legs to buckle beneath him. He caught himself before hitting the floor, his breath escaping through clenched teeth.
Veyra watched him with an expression that was almost amused.
"Eve."
The shadow beside Veyra stirred, and Eve emerged from it without a sound. She approached Caelus as he tried to straighten himself.
"No," Caelus said, raising a hand. "I can handle—"
Eve grabbed him and hauled him over her shoulder before he could finish.
Caelus’s remaining dignity disappeared somewhere between his feet leaving the ground and his stomach landing against her shoulder.
"Put me down."
She ignored him.
Caelus decided that whatever remained of his dignity could probably be recovered later.
He stared at the air in front of him, deliberately avoiding looking anywhere else. He had absolutely no interest in seeing the world or anything from this particular angle.
Veyra’s lips twitched.
Eve carried him through the labyrinth while Veyra led the way. The golden light of the Sun Section gradually gave way to the cooler tones of the Moon Section before both disappeared behind the ordinary darkness of the entrance tunnels.
His body still ached from the backlash, but his mind had already returned to work.
The Ring’s influence remained.
He could feel moisture lingering in the stone around them, detect faint changes in pressure as the tunnels narrowed, and sense the movement of water somewhere beyond the walls. The sensation was subtle compared to what he had experienced inside the Eclipse chamber, but it was constant.
Before the Ring, water had been something he manipulated.
Now he could perceive it as part of the environment.
He couldn’t yet determine the full extent of the change, and he had no intention of experimenting while his body was barely cooperating with him. For now, knowing that the ability remained was enough.
His thoughts inevitably returned to the Eclipse chamber.
The faceless statues.
The grotesque features that had formed across their bodies.
The chanting.
And finally, the shrouded figure waiting beyond them.
Lark.
The man who had written this world, died, and awakened inside one of its characters.
He still didn’t know whether that resemblance had been intentional, accidental, or something far worse.
My face was on a statue. Something to brag about atleast.
He could no longer treat his knowledge of the novel as absolute. What he had once considered certainty was now only probability, and the distinction could mean the difference between surviving an event and walking directly into a grave.
His knowledge was still valuable. It gave him information nobody else possessed, but it could no longer replace observation or judgment. The world was capable of changing independently of the story he remembered.
If that continued, then eventually he would reach a point where he knew what was supposed to happen and had no idea what actually would.
He would have to adapt.
There was no other option.
---
The entrance finally came into view.
Fresh air reached Caelus before they stepped outside, carrying the faint scent of earth and distant vegetation. After the oppressive atmosphere of the labyrinth, even the ordinary sky seemed strangely unfamiliar.
Pale blue stretched above them, broken by thin clouds.
Nothing was wrong with it.
That almost made it unsettling.
Eve lowered him carefully. Caelus tested his legs before taking a step, only for them to tremble beneath him.
He lowered himself against a nearby stone instead of risking another humiliating collapse.
Veyra stood over him. Her expression was unreadable.
His gaze settled briefly on Veyra.
She had saved his life.
She had destroyed the entrance, entered a collapsing chamber, found him beneath the rubble, and brought him back out instead of leaving him behind.
Caelus had expected her to abandon him once the labyrinth was finished. Their agreement had been practical. He had brought her there for a purpose, and she had fulfilled it.
She had still stayed.
He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
"You owe me three questions," she said.
Caelus blinked, then remembered the agreement.
"My payment," Veyra said. "Three questions in exchange for my help through the labyrinth. I haven’t collected them yet."
He remembered the deal clearly. Three questions in exchange for her assistance.
At the time, it had seemed like a harmless price. He had believed he understood the world well enough to control the risks.
That confidence had not survived the Eclipse chamber.
He would answer her questions eventually. But not until he understood the situation better. Not until he had more information.
Veyra watched him for another moment, but she didn’t press the matter.
"I’ll collect them when I need them."
He wasn’t sure if that was reassuring or terrifying.
They resumed their journey toward the city once Caelus was able to walk without immediately collapsing.
His steps were still unsteady, but each minute made them slightly more reliable. Eve remained close enough to catch him if necessary, which Caelus found both reassuring and deeply insulting.
He considered his next move.
He needed money. He needed connections. He needed a reliable way to communicate with people and acquire information. The Eclipse Ring had given him power, but power alone was not enough.
He needed resources.
He turned to Veyra. "I have something I want to sell."
She glanced at him. "What kind?"
"The kind that people will pay for."
She studied him for a moment. "And you want me to help you?"
"I’d like you to leave someone with me. Someone who can communicate with you when necessary and handle the practical side of selling the information."
Veyra’s gaze sharpened. "You intend to sell information through me?"
"Through someone capable of doing it properly. I don’t exactly have a network of contacts waiting for me."
Veyra considered him for several seconds.
"That’s a significant request."
"I know."
She stared at him. He stared back.
"You’re infuriating," she said finally.
"I’ve been told that before."
Veyra sighed.
"Fine. I’ll arrange for someone to remain in contact with you. Not Eve. She has other responsibilities."
She paused. "And I’m still willing to teach you chantless incantation. If you want it."
His interest sharpened immediately. "I want it."
"Then there’s one condition."
"What?"
She smiled. "From now on, you listen when I tell you something."
He stared at her.
"That’s a terrible condition."
"Then find another teacher."
Caelus stared at her for a moment, weighing his options. Pride was one possibility. Learning chantless incantation was the other.
Pride lost immediately.
"Your Grace," he said, his expression shifting into shameless politeness, "how could I possibly reject such an offer—"
A violet needle tore past his face.
Caelus froze as a thin line of blood appeared along his cheek.
Veyra continued walking as though nothing had happened.
"I think," Caelus said carefully, touching the cut, "that was unnecessary."
"You were about to say something irritating."
He stared at the back of her head.
"You wound me, Your Grace."
Another violet needle appeared between her fingers.
Caelus immediately shut his mouth.