Eclipse of Eternities

Part 1 – The Blood Trail

The deeper we moved into the forest, the more the air felt heavy. Not like a weight on my shoulders, but like the land itself was holding its breath.

Even the trees seemed to lean away from the trail we followed, their massive trunks twisting unnaturally as if they wanted nothing to do with what lay ahead. Golden sunlight flickered through the canopy, but it didn't reach the ground. Shadows pooled where they shouldn't, stretching in ways that defied logic.

We weren't alone.

Siv, our Vanir tracker, barely made a sound as she moved ahead, leading us through the scorched landscape. Her golden eyes flickered in every direction, scanning for signs of movement.

"The scent is strong," she murmured.

I frowned. "Scent?"

She nodded. "Iron, ash, and something… unnatural."

I exchanged a glance with Ingrid, who was also keeping her eyes on the trees around us. If Siv was unnerved, that wasn't a good sign.

"You two look tense," Erik muttered. "It's just a bunch of fire giants."

Siv stopped. Ingrid sighed. "Look ahead."

We did.

And then, I understood why she was tense.

The bodies came first.

Scattered across the clearing, massive figures lay motionless—or what was left of them. Fire giants, some still wearing their armor, their weapons lying in shattered pieces next to them. Their flaming beards had long been extinguished, and their massive frames had been torn open like paper.

But something was wrong.

Freya knelt next to one of the corpses. "These wounds… they aren't from normal weapons."

I crouched beside her, studying the jagged, torn flesh. This wasn't sword work. This was something else. Something that didn't kill for war—only for hunger.

Darius kicked a massive footprint in the dirt. "No doubt about it. Giants. But if they were fighting something—where's the enemy's body?"

Khaled exhaled, touching a dark stain on the ground. His fingers came away slick and black. The liquid was thick, almost like oil, and it shimmered unnaturally in the dim light.

"This isn't giant blood," he murmured.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

"Then whose is it?"

A sudden low growl rumbled through the trees.

It didn't sound like a wolf.

It sounded bigger.

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Part 2 – Bloodspawn of Fenrir

The creature stepped out from the shadows, its form too large for any normal beast.

It was twice the size of the biggest wolf I had ever seen, its shoulders broad, its limbs thick with unnatural muscle. But it wasn't just a wolf.

It was something born from suffering.

Its fur was black and tangled, almost like it was made from raw shadows, pulsing with veins of dark red, as if its body itself was stitched together from wounds that refused to close. Its eyes glowed ember-red, locked onto us with a hunger beyond simple instinct.

And its fangs dripped blackened blood.

The same blood pooling around the giant corpses.

Freya took a slow step back. "That's no ordinary beast."

Siv inhaled sharply, her body tensed. "No. It's not."

"You recognize it?" I asked.

Siv didn't take her eyes off the creature.

"It's a Bloodspawn."

Erik adjusted his grip on his axe. "A what now?"

Siv swallowed, and for the first time since I'd met her, I saw actual fear in her eyes.

"A child of Fenrir," Ingrid muttered.

That stopped me cold.

"Fenrir is bound in Asgard," I said, keeping my voice steady. "How could one of his spawn be here?"

Siv kept her gaze locked on the beast. "When Odin sealed Hela," she whispered, "Fenrir tried to resist his chains. Every time he struggles, he wounds himself against his bindings."

She gestured toward the pooling black blood.

"And when his blood falls… it doesn't just vanish."

It takes form.

It becomes these.

"So, let me get this straight," Freya muttered. "This thing is basically made from Fenrir's pain?"

"Yes."

The Bloodspawn lowered itself, its glowing eyes burning as it locked onto me. The air around it pulsed, warping slightly—almost like a gravity shift.

It was getting ready to attack.

My fingers tightened around my spear.

"Weapons up. We're killing this thing."

Erik grinned. "Finally."

The Bloodspawn let out a deep, earth-shaking snarl.

And then—it lunged.

The Bloodspawn moved faster than anything that size should.

One second, it was still.

The next? It lunged.

I barely had time to shout before a claw the size of a warhorse came crashing down.

I threw myself aside, rolling through the dirt just as the ground exploded where I had been standing. The force of the impact sent a shockwave rippling through the clearing, splintering trees and hurling debris into the air.

"SPREAD OUT!" I roared.

My team moved instantly.

Erik charged, bringing his axe down in a brutal arc, aiming for the beast's flank.

Darius flanked left, his shield raised to absorb an attack.

Freya and Khaled split off, moving fast, blades ready.

Ingrid stayed back, calculating.

Erik's axe connected—a blow strong enough to split an armored knight in two.

The Bloodspawn didn't even flinch.

The wound closed instantly.

"That's not fair," Erik growled.

The beast snarled. Its claws lashed out faster than a whip.

Darius barely had time to raise his shield before the impact sent him flying backward, crashing into a tree with a sickening crunch.

"Darius!" Freya shouted.

He coughed, staggering to his feet. "Still alive."

The Bloodspawn whipped its head around, eyes locking onto Ingrid.

Ingrid moved first. She dodged left, then right—each movement precise, efficient. Then, in one smooth motion, she hurled a dagger.

The blade embedded into the creature's shoulder.

For the first time, the Bloodspawn staggered.

"Runes work!" Ingrid shouted.

I didn't hesitate.

I called on my spear.

The engravings along its shaft flared with celestial light as I surged forward, dodging beneath the beast's massive arm.

I struck.

The spear sank deep into the Bloodspawn's chest.

And for a moment, I thought we had it.

Then, the beast roared.

A shockwave of black energy erupted from its body, hurling me backward like I weighed nothing. I slammed into the ground, my vision spinning.

I coughed, trying to push myself up. "That… hurt."

Freya skidded to a stop beside me. "You good?"

I wiped blood from my mouth. "Been worse."

The Bloodspawn wasn't just strong.

It was learning.

Khaled moved fast, striking at the Bloodspawn's legs, his twin scimitars flashing like lightning. He was too fast to hit, his blades cutting deep.

But again, the wounds healed.

"This isn't working!" Darius growled, raising his shield just in time to block another strike.

I clenched my jaw. "We need to break its regeneration."

Freya's eyes narrowed. "Its chains."

I blinked. "What?"

She pointed. "Look at the chains still wrapped around its limbs. They're not just decoration. They're part of its original binding.**"

I looked closer. She was right.

The chains weren't random. They pulsed faintly, still linked to Fenrir's imprisonment.

That was its weakness.

"Break the chains!" I shouted. "That'll stop it from healing!"

Ingrid grinned. "Now we're talking."

We moved together.

Erik swung his axe, not at the beast—but at the chain wrapped around its hind leg. The rune-carved metal shattered on impact.

The Bloodspawn screamed.

Darius and Khaled worked in sync, striking at another chain around its forelimb. The second chain broke.

Its regeneration slowed.

Freya leapt high, flipping over the beast's head. In midair, she slammed her blade down, severing another chain wrapped around its back.

The Bloodspawn staggered.

It was weakening.

"Orion!" Ingrid called. "Now!"

I didn't hesitate.

I channeled everything I had into my spear. The runes flared white-hot as I lunged forward, aiming for the beast's heart.

The final chain snapped.

The Bloodspawn let out a soul-shaking roar.

Then, its form shuddered.

The black mist consuming its body started to unravel, dissolving into the air.

Its eyes met mine.

And for a moment, I saw something in them.

Not just rage.

But pain.

Then, with one last, guttural growl, the Bloodspawn collapsed into dust.

Silence.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then Erik let out a breath. "Well, that was fun."

Darius shot him a look. "Define fun."

Freya shook her head, sheathing her sword. "That was too strong. That wasn't just a normal Bloodspawn."

I nodded slowly. "No. It wasn't."

Something had made it stronger.

Something had brought it here.

And whatever it was, it was still ahead of us.

I looked toward the path leading deeper into the ruined forest.

"Let's move."

We weren't done yet.

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