When the light cleared, the world transformed. The chamber's confines melted away, replaced by an expanse that stole my breath. I found myself standing in a vast field that stretched to the horizon. The tall grass swayed in a gentle breeze that shouldn't exist underground. When I looked above, my heart stopped.

  Stars.

  Not the crystalline lights of the Undercity's cavern ceiling. Not the harsh radiance of the eternal day above, but actual stars. Countless points of silver light scattered across the canvas of the night sky. A moon hung low on the horizon, its gentle light casting everything in shades of silver and shadow.

  The night.

  We had been looking for this all this time. This was what the world had lost, what the God of Light had removed from it, the missing piece of the world's natural rhythm.

  In the field before me stood the First King, no longer a statue but flesh and blood and purpose. His raven hair moved in the same breeze that stirred the grass, and his armor reflected the starlight in patterns that mirrored the constellations above. His sword was raised high, its blade seeming to draw power from both the moonlight and the darkness between the stars.

  The First King turned to face me. His eyes, deep as the night sky above us, fixed on the blade I carried – a perfect mirror of his own. The weapon at my hip vibrated in response to its twin.

  "Are you the one who inherited my legacy?" he asked.

  "I am the Knight of the Night," I answered.

  Enders studied me with ancient eyes that held centuries of wisdom. His gaze was unyielding and peered straight through to my core. The silence stretched between us, filled only by the whisper of wind through grass. Finally, his expression softened slightly.

  "I was expecting someone a little stronger," he said, a hint of wry amusement crossing his features. "But no matter. If you are here, you must have completed the trials. Your presence alone speaks to your worth more than mere strength ever could."

  "Where are we?" I asked, gesturing to the night sky above us. "This can't be the Undercity, and it's certainly not the surface world I know."

  "The day of the Gotterdammerung," he replied. "The moment when I brought the night back to the world. Or..." His smile turned bitter. "When I tried to."

  "What happened?" The question burst from me before I could stop it. "Why did the night disappear? Why does the God of Light hold such power?"

  Enders lowered his blade. "That," he said heavily, "is a long story. One of pride and power, of victory and devastating consequence." He looked up at the stars, his expression haunted by memory. "Suffice to say, we were victims of our own success. We, the twelve of us – the twelve holy knights. We fought the Demon King and defeated all that was evil."

  His hand tightened on his sword's hilt. "But alas, the darkness was a necessary evil. Like the night itself, it served a purpose we did not understand until it was too late. Without the darkness around, an overwhelming light flooded the world. We had upset the balance in our zeal to destroy evil, never realizing that light unchecked could be just as destructive as darkness unleashed."

  The stars above seemed to dim slightly, as if responding to the weight of his words. The wind carried the scent of rain, though no clouds marred the night sky.

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  "How do I bring back the Night?" I asked, urgency creeping into my voice. "In our time, the eternal day creates hardship for the people, turning them to stone. Children are being petrified, entire families transformed into decorative statues for nobles' gardens." My fists clenched. "There has to be a way to stop this."

  Enders' expression softened with understanding and sorrow. For a moment, the weight of centuries seemed to press down on his shoulders. "In every generation," he said carefully, "there is an Oracle. She who can see the fate of the world, who stands at the crossroads of what was and what could be."

  "Seek her out," he continued, his voice gaining strength. "She will have the answer you seek."

  The starlit field suddenly blazed with harsh radiance, as if dawn was being forced upon the night. A figure loomed on the horizon, crowned in searing light, its mere presence causing transforming the field around us.

  The stars above began to fade, not dimming but rather being outshone by the approaching brilliance. One by one, they were drowned in the spreading sea of white light, like precious gems being submerged in molten gold. The moon's gentle silver glow struggled against the tide of radiance before being overwhelmed.

  "I'm afraid our time together has come to an end." Enders' voice carried a note of resignation. "I have another guest who demands my attention." He turned away from me, facing the approaching figure. His sword raised slightly, absorbing the last remaining darkness.

  Before he stepped away, he looked back one final time. The gentle smile I'd seen on his statue was there. "Go now, but never forget – you are my living legacy. The night lives in you, in the choices you make and the path you forge." His eyes met mine with an intensity that burned away any doubt. "The world needs balance more than it needs purity. Remember that."

  "I wish you all the best, Knight of the Night." His voice was heavy, like a mantle being officially passed. "May you find in darkness what others fear to seek in light."

  I felt my consciousness being pulled skyward, my body becoming lighter than air as the starlit field began to recede below. But even as the scene grew distant, my vision remained clear – as if the night itself wanted me to witness this moment.

  The looming figure emerged and I was able to get a good look at him. It was a knight with silver hair. His armor shone with the familiar holy radiance of a holy knight, But it was more majestic.

  "Enders, what have you done?" The silver-haired knight's voice carried both authority and sadness, like a brother confronting a beloved sibling's betrayal. Each word seemed to make the stars pulse brighter, as if responding to his presence.

  "I did what I had to." Enders stood his ground, his black blade a stark contrast against the field of stars behind him. His voice was firm but held no malice. "The light corrupts. Look at what the people are calling you – 'God of Light'. We are not gods. We are men." He lowered his sword and pleaded. "I must bring back the balance. Surely you can see what's happening, how the endless day twists everything it touches."

  The silver knight's hand tightened on his sword hilt, causing ripples of light to cascade down the blade. "You would risk the return of the Demon King? After everything we sacrificed to seal him away?" His voice dropped lower, heavy with memory. "After everyone we lost?"

  "Whatever the cost." Enders' response was immediate.

  The silver-haired knight – the being who would become known as the God of Light – closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they shone with an inner radiance. "I'm afraid I can't allow that, Enders. "Some prices are too high, even for balance."

  The silver-haired knight raised his blade skyward. Light began to gather around him. It spiraled up his arm and into his sword like liquid sunlight, burning away the shadows wherever it touched.

  "Eternal Dawn."

  The gathered light erupted from his blade in a column of pure radiance that split the night sky in two. Stars winked out in its path, consumed by its brilliance. The air cracked and splintered under the assault of pure light.

  Where the light touched the field, grass turned to crystal, then to ash, then to nothing at all. The darkness itself appeared to burn.

  Enders raised his black blade in desperate defense, and for a brief moment, I saw darkness gather around him like a cloak of night. But even as my vision faded, I could see the light overwhelming everything, burning away the beautiful star-filled sky piece by piece.