The Protectors: Rising from Ashes [Progression Fantasy | Action-Packed | Epic Battles]

The sound of laughter faded behind Elias, dissolving into the distance like a forgotten echo. All that remained was the soft, pulsing glow of the Eclipse Heart ahead of him, steady, alive, and strangely familiar.

His fingers drifted to the Infinity Pendant resting against his chest, the metal cool beneath his touch. His mind went back to the time he'd tried to connect with the Heart. He had stood there alone, unsure of what he was doing, the silence around him broken only by the sound of his own breathing. Then he'd seen it, a faint flicker of light, small but impossible to miss. Almost like it had responded to him.

Was that light really from the Eclipse Heart? The question surfaced like a whisper in his mind. Was it trying to reach me, even then?

He thought of all the doubts that had plagued him since, of the voices of his family that told him he wasn't enough, that he would never live up to what the pendant symbolized. The Eclipse Heart had been silent in words, but maybe it had spoken in a different way, through light, through presence, through the warmth he'd felt deep inside when everything else around him had turned cold.

Was it guiding me? he wondered. Pushing me to rise above the noise, above the fear, above the doubt, not just from others, but from within myself?

A tightness formed in his chest, not from pain, but from understanding. The Eclipse Heart hadn't just been a relic to him. It had been a silent witness to his struggle, a constant presence when even he doubted his own strength.

Then, another memory surged to the front of his mind, sharp and vivid. The demon. The fight. The moment everything slowed down except for him. He had moved faster than ever before, like lightning in human form. His blade struck before the demon could blink. He hadn't even had time to think, his body had just known what to do.

That speed... that wasn't me. Was it? He had never moved like that in his life, not even during his training days. He clenched the pendant a little tighter.

Was that the Eclipse Heart?

Is it doing something to me?

The question shook him. Not out of fear, but awe. Or... have I always had that power inside me, and it's only now that I can finally feel it, because of this connection?

Was the Eclipse Heart awakening something in him? Or had it simply been showing him the truth of who he was all along?

His heart pounded, not with panic but with clarity. He wasn't the same. Something had shifted, either within him, or around him. Or both. And the Eclipse Heart, silent and glowing, felt like the key to it all.

His gaze remained fixed on it, its light casting shifting reflections across his face. He stood still, lost in the tide of his thoughts, the world around him falling away. The voices of the others became distant murmurs, just noise compared to the silent conversation unfolding between him and the Heart.

Then, gently, a voice reached through the haze.

"Elias?" Maris's voice broke through the quiet, a gentle mix of concern and teasing warmth. "You planning to stare that thing into submission, or should we start calling you the Eclipse Whisperer?"

Her words broke through the fog in his mind. Elias blinked, his focus pulling back to the present as he turned his head slowly toward her. Her eyes held that familiar warmth, steady, grounding and in them he saw not just worry, but a quiet understanding.

He glanced around, realizing that the others had paused too. Their eyes were on him now. He hadn't even noticed how far he'd drifted from the group, both in body and thought. The space between them suddenly felt very real.

Cassandra stepped forward, her expression softening. "Seriously though... you've been standing there a while. We were starting to wonder if you'd fallen into some kind of magical trance or just forgot we exist."

Thorne let out a low chuckle from behind her. "Yeah, man. You looked like you were in love or something. Kinda obsessed with that glowing entity."

The group laughed lightly, but Elias didn't. His gaze drifted back to the Eclipse Heart, its steady pulse echoing in the back of his mind like a distant heartbeat only he could hear. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then hesitated. A dozen thoughts swirled inside him, the sudden burst of speed during the fight, the familiar glow of the Heart, the strange feeling that something deep within him was starting to stir, but none of it made sense. Not yet.

He forced a small, sheepish smile. "I was just... thinking, that's all." He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding their eyes. "Guess I zoned out."

He didn't tell them the truth, because he wasn't even sure what the truth was.

Before anyone could press him further, a low hum began to rise, vibrating through the air like the stir of some ancient force awakening. All eyes snapped toward the Eclipse Gate, now glowing from within. Its surface rippled with light, the pulse growing stronger.

Without warning, a figure stepped out of the radiance.

Sentinel.

He landed smoothly in front of them, his feet touching down with graceful ease. His cloak settled behind him with practiced elegance, as if the Gate itself had welcomed him home.

A beat of stunned silence passed.

Eyes widened. A few jaws dropped.

"Hey, that's not fair," Thorne said, pointing at the Gate like it had personally offended him. "When we came through, it launched us like cannonballs. And this guy just floats in like some magical prince?"

"I think this Gate plays favorites," Aiden added dryly, folding his arms.

Alice tilted her head with a playful smirk. "Or maybe he's just mastered the art of dramatic entrances."

"But seriously," Thorne muttered, narrowing his eyes, "how is that even possible? The Gates were inactive before the attacks started. Totally dormant. So how did he...?"

A hush fell over the group again as confusion slowly edged toward suspicion. Cassandra and Maris exchanged a glance, silently asking the same question: How much do we explain?

Sentinel remained calm, his face unreadable. If he felt any tension, he didn't show it.

Before the silence could stretch too long, Maris stepped forward with a smile that carried just the right blend of reassurance and confidence. "Don't you all remember? Sentinel was with the last Protectors. Of course he's traveled through these Gates before. He's likely travelled with them through the gate more times than we can count"

Then Lyric broke the silence with a pointed question. "Okay, sure. He traveled with the last Protectors. But he wasn't one of them, right? So... he couldn't have called the Gate. And how did you both even show up in Duskveil Mall that fast? That place is miles from here. Did you use a Gate then, too?"

All eyes turned toward Cassandra and Maris.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip. "Girl," she said with a small, amused smile, "he doesn't have to call the Gates. Don't forget—I'm a witch. I can teleport at least two people if I really need to."

Lyric blinked, then nodded slowly. "Okay... fair."

The explanation landed well enough. The tension in the group eased slightly. A few nods followed as the group began to relax again. Sentinel gave Maris and Cassandra, a subtle nod of acknowledgement, an unspoken thanks for stepping in.

But Elias wasn't so easily convinced.

He watched Sentinel closely, his unease growing. Everything about Sentinel was calm, composed, even courteous, but now Elias couldn't shake the feeling that there was more behind that calm than he let on.

He wondered: What is Sentinel hiding?

Sentinel's voice broke through the lingering silence, laced with just a hint of dry humor.
"If you're all done with your suspicious inquiries," he said, "can we move on? You're bruised, bleeding, hungry, and exhausted. First aid, food, and rest first. Then, at dinner, we talk."

There was a beat of silence before heads nodded, some in agreement, others simply too tired to argue.

Maris stepped forward with a gentle smile. "Come on, I'll help patch you up. You all look like you got into a brawl with a storm."

"I'm coming too," Cassandra chimed in, already moving beside her. "Some of you might need more than a healing salve and a snack."

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As the group began to file out, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone, Elias lingered for a moment. His gaze drifted one last time to the Eclipse Heart.

It pulsed with a steady, radiant rhythm, gentle, yet powerful. Something about it stirred him. A strange familiarity. A silent promise. Or maybe a warning.

Then he turned and followed the others, the chamber growing quieter behind him.

Sentinel stayed behind.

He stood motionless, framed by the glow of the Gate and the Eclipse Heart. The soft light traced the edges of his face, catching in the lines beneath his eyes and the strands in his hair. Stillness settled around him, not the absence of sound, but the weight of thought.

Vaelthar's voice stirred in his mind. Shouldn't we tell them about what's coming tomorrow?

His jaw tensed slightly. We will. But not now. They're tired. Their minds are still clouded with doubt and pain. Let them rest. Let them breathe. Tonight... we prepare them.

The Eclipse Heart pulsed once more, brighter, then calm again.

Sentinel exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.

He didn't need to see what lay ahead to feel it pressing close. The stillness wasn't peace. It was a pause.

The kind that only came before everything broke loose.

The dining hall held a warmth the chamber hadn't. Overhead chandeliers bathed the space in amber light, soft and steady. The long wooden table, now lined with platters of roasted meat, fresh bread, vegetables, and chilled drinks, had drawn everyone in like a magnet.

Conversations rose, scattered and light. Laughter popped here and there—some of it real, some of it forced. Plates clattered. Utensils scraped. The scent of spice and char clung in the air.

Elias sat at one end, still. He held a dark-stemmed glass loosely in one hand, the ruby-red liquid inside catching the light with each slow swirl. He brought it to his lips, paused, then drank. His eyes didn't leave the table. The taste was familiar now, but tonight, it sat like a stone.

Across the table, most of the others had already been patched up. Cuts were vanishing. Bruises faded. The worst injuries were nearly gone, thanks to quick healing and Cassandra's supplies. Even Lyric, who had taken the deepest cut, moved without flinching now.

But on the far end of the table, Thorne grimaced as Cassandra worked over a wound still refusing to play nice.

"Easy! Easy, Cass!" he flinched as she dabbed the paste over the slash along his side.

"Oh please," Cassandra muttered, her tone dry. "You faced down a horned nightmare beast and didn't flinch, but my little healing poultice has you writhing like a toddler?"

Really, Thorne? Pyrix's voice echoed in his mind, all sarcasm and scorn. You're a Dragonborn, not some whimpering hatchling. You're embarrassing us both.

Thorne rolled his eyes, internally, and fired back in thought, I just had a demon tear into my ribs, Pyrix. Forgive me if I don't find herbal paste soothing.

The dragon's mental chuckle was smug. Excuses, excuses.

Thorne exhaled sharply through his nose, trying not to scowl.

His jaw tightened as he hissed through his teeth. "Damn it, that fucking demon was so eager to kill us, I didn't even think about my bruises. Just kept fighting until the bastard went down."

Cassandra lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, so your battle plan was 'get mangled now, complain later'?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Thorne muttered, flinching again.

She dipped two fingers back into the jar and smeared more of the thick salve across his ribs with slow, deliberate pressure.

"Barely," she said, applying more salve with theatrical care. "Honestly, I think half your injuries are your own fault."

Lyric, lounging nearby with a plate balanced on her knee, didn't look up. "He wasn't fighting to kill it, he was trying to wound the demon's ego with his smartass remarks."

Aiden chuckled, raising his glass in mock salute. "Yeah, and I think that only made the thing beat us more brutally."

Laughter broke out, the kind that came too loud after tension, an easy excuse to let go.

"Oh come on!" Thorne threw up his hands, almost knocking over Cassandra's jar. "I was buying time with psychological warfare!"

"Right," Maris said with a grin. "Is that what we're calling reckless taunting now?"

Thorne groaned, then cracked a smile despite himself. "You're just jealous none of you can get tossed through a wall and still look this good."

Cassandra rolled her eyes, dabbing at his shoulder with exaggerated care. "Please stop talking before I 'accidentally' use the burn salve."

More laughter followed—real this time, looser. The sounds filled the hall, echoing off the stone like warmth against cold.

After the meal, filled with laughter and jabs that masked deeper exhaustion, the group slowly dispersed. Each of them retreated to their assigned rooms, finally given the chance to clean up, patch what wounds remained, and catch what rest they could before nightfall brought more questions.

But something lingered.

A shift, quiet, but unmistakable.

It hung between Elias and the others like a breath held too long. Not in the words they spoke, but in the spaces between them. A pause that shouldn't have been there. Glances that lingered just a second too long, like they were trying to see something beneath his skin.

They smiled. They laughed. No one said anything outright.

But Elias felt it.

Not in what was said, but in what wasn't. A subtle edge in their tone. The way their shoulders didn't fully relax around him. Like they were waiting for something. Or bracing.

He tried to brush it off, told himself it was just the aftermath of battle. The Eclipse Gate. The demon. Sentinel's sudden arrival. Everyone was on edge, raw from everything they'd seen.

But the doubt gnawed at him.

Because deep down, he knew the truth.

They were looking at him differently.

He had called the Eclipse Heart. None of them had.

And whether they meant to or not... that mattered.

There was distance now, not out of malice, but uncertainty. A line drawn not by choice, but by change.

Later, in the quiet of his room, Elias lay on the wide bed, the woven sheets cool against his back. Clean, comfortable clothes clung loosely to his skin, and the scent of lavender soap still lingered faintly in the air. Moonlight poured across the stone floor, broken by the soft ripple of curtains stirred by a passing breeze.

Sleep wouldn't come

His thoughts churned, looping like a broken reel. The memory of the demon's death, the moment his body moved faster than it ever had. The way the Eclipse Heart had pulsed in time with his heartbeat. The light, the energy, the feeling that something inside him had awakened.

And then… the looks.

Not just surprise.

Not just relief.

Their eyes had shifted, flicking toward him with a new edge, quiet, cautious. A measured glance, like one given to a stranger cloaked in familiarity. As if they weren't sure whether they stood beside a friend… or someone they no longer fully recognized.

Was it doubt?

Was it fear?

Elias drew in a slow breath and rolled onto his side, the coarse sheets brushing against his arm. His brow furrowed, eyes tracing the soft arcs of moonlight across the ceiling. Maybe he was reading too much into it. Maybe the tension in the air was just leftover adrenaline. Everyone had been through hell.

The wind stirred the curtains again, whispering across the stone like a secret. He exhaled slowly and shut his eyes, but sleep didn't come. His body stilled, but inside, everything was restless.
Something had changed.

And not just in him.

Hours later, the quiet of the keep shifted again. One by one, the others emerged from their rooms, footsteps soft on the stone floors as they drifted into the common room.

All except Elias.

The fire crackled softly in the hearth, casting shadows along the walls, but none of them seemed to notice. They settled into the couches and chairs scattered around the room, wrapped in a quiet too thick to be called peace.

Perched on the wooden mantel above the hearth, Ash ruffled his glossy black feathers and cocked his head, eyes sharp and alert as they flicked between the group. Meanwhile, Noir sat quietly on the armrest of Alice's chair, his glowing eyes narrowing thoughtfully as he observed the tense air, occasionally twitching his tail in subtle rhythms.

No one spoke for a while. But something unspoken buzzed in the air between them. Glances were exchanged, brief and thoughtful, filled with questions none dared voice.

It was Alice who finally broke the silence.

"So… we won our first real battle." Her voice was quiet, still processing. "I still can't believe it. That thing was—" she shook her head. "It felt impossible. And yet… here we are."

Lyric nodded, arms crossed over her chest. "We all fought with everything we had," she said, then glanced toward Elias's door. "But if Elias hadn't moved when he did… we wouldn't be here right now."

Noir shifted, his luminous eyes flickering toward the door as if sensing the weight behind Lyric's words.

That hung in the air like a sudden shift in pressure.

Thorne leaned forward, elbows on knees, frowning. "You guys really think he didn't have that kind of speed before?" he asked, brows furrowed. "He said back at the mall it was the first time—but what if he's been holding back this whole time? Pretending to be like the rest of us… struggling."

Aiden let out a breath. "Yeah, I mean… he's the only one who's bonded with the Eclipse Heart. What if that means he's more powerful than we thought? Maybe he just didn't want us to know."

Alice looked between them, disbelief etched on her face. "No. That doesn't make sense. Didn't you see how his own family reacted when he was chosen? They weren't proud. They looked… ashamed." Her voice tightened. "If he was secretly powerful, why would anyone, especially the Nightshades, treat him like a failure?"

Lyric's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Alice is right. His coven sees him as a liability. A disappointment. Why would anyone choose to carry that image if they didn't have to?"

Ash spread his wings briefly, stretching them out in the firelight, then tucked them back as he shifted his gaze slowly between the group members.

There was a pause.

Then Thorne looked at Lyric, almost challengingly. "So… you trust him?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation. "I do. Because I know what it feels like to be powerless around people who shine like stars. And you know that feeling too, Thorne."

Thorne looked away. There was a long, heavy pause.

Then Lyric's gaze flicked between Thorne and Aiden. "Or…" Her tone sharpened just a little. "Are you two just… jealous that he forged his bond with the Eclipse Heart before you did?"

Their eyes widened, caught off guard by the bluntness.

Alice blinked. "Wait—are you?"

Neither Thorne nor Aiden said anything.

And that silence spoke louder than words.

Lyric let out a slow breath, her voice softer now. "I was upset too."

That caught them off guard. All three, Thorne, Aiden, and Alice, turned to look at her, surprise flickering in their expressions.

"But listen," she continued, meeting their eyes, "it's normal to feel that way. Of course it stings a little that Elias was the first to bond with the Eclipse Heart. We've all been trying so hard. But that doesn't mean he was pretending to be weak or hiding anything from us. That's not fair to him."

Alice nodded, her gaze shifting toward Thorne and Aiden. "Just imagine if the roles were reversed. If it had been one of you instead of Elias, and we started questioning whether you were faking it all along. How would that make you feel?"

Thorne and Aiden exchanged a glance. The guilt was plain in their eyes now. Neither of them spoke for a beat.

Noir's tail flicked once more, brushing softly against Alice's sleeve as if to comfort her.

Then Aiden exhaled and said quietly, "You're right. Both of you. We let our frustration twist things that didn't need to be twisted."

He looked down, hands resting on his knees.

"It's just… he's changing. He's growing stronger. And we're still where we started. What if… what if he starts to think we're not worthy to stand beside him? Just like the others always said about us?"

Before anyone could respond, a voice came from behind them, gentle but firm.

"I would never think that."

They all turned.

Elias stood at the entrance to the room, leaning slightly against the doorway. His eyes held no anger, only quiet honesty and a trace of sadness.

At the sudden sound, Ash gave a startled caw and fluttered his wings once, hopping quickly back to the far corner of the mantel, eyes fixed steadily on Elias. Noir stood, stretching his lithe body and letting out a soft, almost feline purr, settling again on Alice's lap, eyes never leaving Elias.