The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: The Night Before the Eclipse Moves

After bestowing the power upon the four of them, I decided that they would no longer carry the names they had been given at birth.

Those names belonged to their former lives, lives that had already come to an end the moment they accepted the Eclipse.

From that day onward, they would be known as Aurora, Herrera, Octavia, and Leonora.

Vhan and Vince had already been given their own names when they first awakened the Eclipse, and the same would now apply to the four girls. Their new names were more than simple titles; they represented the beginning of the lives they had chosen for themselves.

Of course, I wasn’t going to stop there.

The six of them possessed talents far beyond what ordinary people could ever hope to achieve, and their loyalty had already been proven. They would become the people closest to me within the organization, entrusted with matters that ordinary members would never even know about.

Vhan and Vince would remain my first two hands.

And the four girls would stand beside them as the next trusted members of the Eclipse Order.

There was only one thing left to give them.

A title.

I looked at the four girls and spoke calmly.

"From this day forward, you will be known as the Four Black Roses."

For a moment, they simply stared at me.

Their eyes widened slightly, as though they hadn’t expected something as grand as that.

"The Four... Black Roses?" Aurora repeated quietly.

I nodded.

"That is the name you will carry."

The four exchanged glances.

Their expressions gradually changed.

The uncertainty that had been there when they first arrived was gone, replaced by something much stronger.

They looked proud.

Perhaps they were even a little overwhelmed.

After everything they had experienced, having someone give them a name and a place to belong probably meant more than I could understand.

Aurora was the first to lower her head.

"We will carry it with pride, Master."

The other three followed.

"We swear it."

I looked at them quietly.

The Four Black Roses, huh?

It sounded rather fitting.

With Vhan and Vince as my first two hands, and these four as the Black Roses, the Eclipse Order was finally beginning to take shape.

The days that followed were spent almost entirely on training.

Vhan and Vince continued refining their abilities, while the Four Black Roses gradually learned how to control the power that had been awakened within them. They were no longer struggling merely to contain the Eclipse. They were learning how to use it, how to combine it with their natural abilities, and, more importantly, how to fight with it.

Watching their progress, I could finally see the people I had expected them to become.

They were still young, but their strength had already reached a level that ordinary knights could hardly comprehend.

That was precisely why I decided it was time for the Eclipse Order to move.

Remaining near the parts of the mountain where I had originally trained was no longer necessary. If we intended to build an organization that would eventually spread throughout the world, then we needed a place that no ordinary person could reach.

So we went deeper.

Much deeper.

Eventually, we reached a region of the mountains where human footsteps had practically never existed. The monsters living there were nothing like the beasts found near human settlements. Some were large enough to destroy an entire town, while others possessed enough power to threaten a fortified city.

For ordinary adventurers, encountering one of them would have been considered a disaster.

For us?

They were little more than obstacles along the way.

After finding a suitable location, we began constructing our first proper base. It wasn’t particularly grand at first, but that wasn’t important. What mattered was that it was hidden, secure, and far enough from civilization that nobody would accidentally discover us.

This would become the true headquarters of the Eclipse Order.

From there, Vhan, Vince, and the Four Black Roses would eventually begin moving into different territories, searching for people who possessed the potential and qualities necessary to join the organization.

We had the power.

We had a place to begin.

Now we needed people.

And that was when something completely unexpected happened.

When I returned to the D’Averon Estate, I immediately noticed that something was wrong.

The atmosphere was different.

I could hear voices coming from the main hall, and unlike the usual conversations that took place there, everyone sounded tense.

My father was there.

My mother was there as well, along with several knights and officials from the surrounding territory.

I stopped outside the room and listened.

"How many weeks?"

"At most, three."

"Three weeks isn’t enough time to prepare."

"Their numbers are almost twice ours. If Count Velmorne really intends to mobilize his entire territory, we won’t be able to meet them on the field."

My expression changed slightly.

Count Velmorne?

I continued listening.

"They have already begun gathering soldiers near the border."

"We should reinforce the western fortifications immediately."

"What about the knights?"

"We can gather them, but our numbers are still far below theirs."

My mother’s voice finally broke through the discussion.

"Are you certain that war is unavoidable?"

My father answered after a brief silence.

"It appears so."

The room became quiet.

So that’s what this was about.

Another count had decided to wage war against the D’Averon territory.

And judging from their conversation, we had only a few weeks before the fighting began.

I expected something like this eventually.

I looked toward the room.

But to think it would happen this early.

The difference in military strength was already becoming a problem. Count Velmorne possessed considerably more soldiers, while my father’s territory had a relatively small number of knights and troops to begin with.

If the war became a prolonged conflict, even victory would come at a heavy cost.

I turned away from the room. There was no reason for me to stand there and listen to everyone worry about a war that had not even begun. Besides, I already had a solution in mind.

"Herrera."

The moment I called her name, someone appeared quietly beside me.

It was Herrera, one of the Four Black Roses.

She was dressed in the attire she and the others had created themselves using their Eclipse power: a fitted black short dress designed for movement, covered by a flowing white robe that rested over her shoulders. The robe carried the distinctive mark of the Eclipse on its back, giving the outfit a simple but unmistakable connection to the organization. It wasn’t overly elaborate, but there was something refined about the contrast between the black dress and the pure white robe.

Her light-violet hair fell smoothly around her shoulders, and her violet eyes remained calm as she looked toward me.

"Yes, Master?"

"You don’t need to go anywhere yet."

Herrera tilted her head slightly.

"Then what would you have me do?"

"Tell the other Black Roses that your first real mission has finally arrived."

Her expression changed almost imperceptibly.

"My first mission?"

"That’s right."

I glanced toward the main hall.

"Count Velmorne has decided to wage war against my father’s territory. They are preparing a considerably larger force than ours, and the war is expected to begin within a few weeks."

Herrera listened quietly.

"Your task is to reduce their numbers before that happens. You don’t need to engage their entire army. Target the people who matter—their high-ranking knights and anyone capable of commanding their forces. If you can accomplish that without drawing unnecessary attention to the Eclipse Order, even better."

She immediately understood.

"I will inform the others."

"Also, tell Vhan and Vince to come to my room at midnight. I have something else to discuss with them."

"Understood, Master."

Herrera lowered her head slightly.

"I shall deliver your orders."

And just like that, she disappeared again.

I remained standing in the corridor for a moment.

Well... that was unexpected.

I couldn’t help but smile.

In my previous life, I had experienced countless things. Assassinations, battles, missions where one mistake meant death, and situations where I had to rely on nothing but my own abilities to survive.

I thought I had already experienced enough excitement for several lifetimes.

Yet somehow, this felt different.

I wasn’t acting alone anymore.

An organization that had started with nothing more than an idea in my head now had its first members, its own base, its own power, and even its first mission.

And now, for the first time, I was about to watch the people I had personally chosen move according to my will.

This is... surprisingly thrilling.

I had to admit it.

I was beginning to enjoy this new life far more than I had expected.

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