Eternally Regressing Knight: Chapter 1 - The Obsidian Mirror
The biting wind whipped at Sir Kaelan’s worn surcoat, the icy tendrils snaking through the gaps in his armor. He stood atop the crumbling precipice, the chasm yawning below like a hungry maw, the endless night sky mirroring the despair in his heart. For a thousand years, he had fought. A thousand years of battles, of victories stained crimson and defeats etched in bone. And yet, here he stood, unchanged, unyielding, eternally bound to this brutal cycle.
This wasn't the glorious immortality promised by legend. This was a curse, a relentless repetition of bloodshed and loss. Each death, each rebirth, found him at this precipice, gazing into the Obsidian Mirror – a swirling vortex of black, reflecting not his image, but the fragmented memories of a life lived and relived countless times.
What is the Obsidian Mirror?
The Obsidian Mirror is not a physical object in the traditional sense. It is a nexus point, a tear in the fabric of reality, where the fragmented echoes of Sir Kaelan's past lives converge. It’s more a metaphysical representation of his eternal regression, a visual manifestation of his unending cycle of death and rebirth. Gazing into it allows him to glimpse fleeting moments from his past lives, but offers no escape from the present. It is both a torment and a source of morbid fascination. The mirror itself seems to feed off his despair, strengthening its hold with each passing cycle.
Why does Sir Kaelan keep regressing?
Sir Kaelan's eternal regression is tied to a forgotten pact, a deal made long ago with a power beyond comprehension. The details are lost to the mists of time, buried beneath layers of repeated deaths and incomplete memories. However, the consequences remain undeniably clear: he is condemned to relive his life, endlessly repeating the same triumphs and failures, the same loves and losses. The only constant throughout his countless lives is the Obsidian Mirror and the haunting feeling that he's perpetually on the brink of uncovering a critical, life-altering truth.
How can Sir Kaelan escape his fate?
This is the question that haunts Sir Kaelan across all his lifetimes. The answer is elusive, veiled in shadows and hinted at only in fleeting glimpses within the Obsidian Mirror's chaotic reflections. Some lives hint at a hidden prophecy, others at a powerful artifact. But each life ends before he can fully grasp the solution, leaving him to begin anew, burdened by the knowledge of what he has lost and the ever-present dread of what will come.
What is the prophecy surrounding Sir Kaelan's fate?
The prophecy, if it even exists in a concrete form, is fragmented and contradictory across Sir Kaelan’s various lifetimes. Sometimes, he sees glimpses of a potential redemption—a final victory that would break the cycle. Other times, the visions depict only an unending war against forces beyond human comprehension. The truth remains shrouded in mystery, a tantalizing clue constantly just out of reach, adding another layer to his eternal torment.
This night, however, felt different. A flicker of something new, something…hopeful, danced in the Obsidian Mirror's depths. A single, clear image materialized within the swirling blackness: a silver locket, engraved with a single, cryptic symbol. This time, maybe, just maybe, the end of his endless cycle was within reach. His journey towards understanding his eternal regression had begun anew...but this time, there was a thread of hope clinging to the edge of despair.
