Chapter 489: Eclipse Without Mercy.

Chapter 489: Eclipse Without Mercy.


(Third Person's POV)

The cave screamed. Not with sound, but with force—raw, suffocating pressure that crushed lungs and bent reality around it. The air itself felt heavier, thickened by something ancient and hateful that pulsed from the depths of the cavern like a second heartbeat. Red crystals embedded in the stone walls flickered erratically, their glow stuttering as if even they feared what was awakening. Above them—miles of rock, miles of earth—the sky darkened. The solar eclipse had begun. Earlier than anyone had calculated.

“Something’s wrong,” Brian shouted, bracing himself against a jagged pillar as the ground trembled violently. “The timing—it’s off!”

Alec barely managed to keep his footing, claws digging into stone as a shockwave blasted through the cavern. “He’s accelerating it,” he growled. “Marcus—no. Whatever’s inside him is accelerating it.”

A massive pulse of energy erupted from the central chamber, the walls cracking outward in spiderweb fractures. A deep, distorted laugh rolled through the cave, vibrating through bone and blood alike.

Marcus.

Or what was wearing him. Taylor staggered forward, one hand pressed against her chest where that strange pressure had been growing since they’d entered the cave. It was unbearable now, like something inside her was reacting—responding—to the eclipse, to Marcus, to the Moon Goddess, to everything she hated.

Killian appeared from nowhere and rushed to grabbed her arm before she could collapse. He was bleeding from a gash across his temple, one sleeve torn and soaked red, but his grip was steady, grounding.

“You’re shaking,” he said, voice low, urgent. “Focus on me. Not on him.”

She swallowed, forcing herself to nod. “I can feel it. His power—it’s… everywhere.”

Dylan stumbled out from a collapsing side passage, dust coating his hair and clothes, eyes sharp but wild. Whatever alliance he’d pretended to have with Odette was gone now.

“They’re gone,” he said, breathless. “The corridors collapsed behind me. Odette’s dead. Marcus is—”

Another shockwave cut him off. He dropped to one knee, bracing himself with a hand to the ground.

Marcus’s voice rolled through the cavern, layered with something else—older, crueler.

“You came too late.”

The ground split open in front of them, revealing a massive chasm. From its depths rose Marcus, floating inches above the stone floor, eyes glowing with a sickly, unnatural light. Shadows coiled around him like living chains, writhing and whispering.

Brian and Alec were thrown across the chamber like dolls, slamming into the cavern walls with bone-rattling force. Alec rolled to his feet with a snarl, blood at the corner of his mouth. Brian groaned, pushing himself upright, but his leg twisted at an unnatural angle.

“Still alive,” Brian muttered through gritted teeth. “Damn it.”

Marcus’s lips curled into a slow, cruel smile.

“You were foolish to think herbs and prayers could stop me.” Taylor felt Killian’s grip tighten.

“The powder,” Killian said urgently. “Where are the bottles?”

Theresa stumbled toward them, clutching a satchel, her face pale but determined. “Here. Two bottles. That’s all we managed to salvage when the cave split.”

She pulled them out—two small, glass vials filled with shimmering silver-gray powder, glowing faintly like stardust.

For a secom d, hope surged.

Then Marcus moved. He didn’t even touch the ground. He simply lifted a hand.

Reality warped and The air screamed.

A beam of blackened light shot from his palm, twisting and spiraling like a serpent of pure destruction. Alec leapt forward, claws flashing, trying to intercept it—but the beam shifted, intelligent, alive. It slammed into the ground between them. The explosion was deafening.

Taylor was thrown backward, slamming into a wall. Killian shielded her with his body, taking the brunt of the blast. Theresa cried out as the satchel flew from her hand, shattering against the rocks. The bottles shattered and Glass exploded. Powder scattered into the air—beautiful and useless as it vanished into nothing.

“No!” Theresa screamed, scrambling forward, hands clawing at dust that was already fading.

Brian’s eyes widened. “That was it. That was our only shot.” He gaped out in shock in disbelief.

Marcus descended slowly, boots touching the ground with unnatural grace. His presence pressed down on them like gravity had doubled.

“Your hope was fragile,” he said, voice layered with that other entity. “And hope is weakness.”

Taylor pushed herself up, heart pounding. “You’re not Marcus,” she said, voice shaking but defiant. “Marcus wouldn’t do this.”

His head tilted, amused. “Marcus is still here,” the spirit purred through him. “He is watching. He is screaming. And he is losing. I will let him watch as I end his friends with his own hands.”

The cavern plunged into darkness, the red crystals flaring violently as if trying to compensate. A massive surge of power erupted from Marcus, shadows exploding outward like a storm. Brian and Alec were thrown back again, hitting the cavern wall hard. Dylan barely managed to dodge, rolling across the ground and coming up on one knee, eyes wide with shock.

“This wasn’t part of the plan,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. “He’s not supposed to be this strong.”

Taylor felt something snap inside her. “We never planned for divine interference,” she whispered.

Killian glanced at her. “What are you thinking?”

She met his eyes, fear and determination colliding. “If the powder is gone… then we have to reach Marcus another way.”

Alec coughed, pushing himself upright. “You mean inside him.”

“Yes.”

Brian let out a humorless laugh. “That’s suicidal.”

At that point, the whole team was left shocked, hopeless and scared. A part of them wished Stella was here, maybe she could reach him.