The city of New York felt heavier, as if an invisible weight pressed down on its streets and buildings. Astraeus stood on the rooftop of an abandoned factory, her eyes scanning the horizon. The stars above her flickered faintly, their light struggling to pierce through the dense clouds gathering in the night sky.

The Starforged Spear in her hand pulsed gently, reacting to the unease in the air. She could feel it too—a growing darkness spreading like a virus, infecting everything it touched. It wasn’t just Erebus’s influence; it was his presence.

"He’s here," Astraeus whispered to herself.

Inside the NSB headquarters, Foster paced the operations room. The glowing red nodes on the city map had multiplied overnight, indicating an alarming increase in Erebus’s activity. Every red dot represented an attack, a recruitment event, or a sighting of shadow-infused followers.

"This is escalating too fast," Foster said, slamming his fist on the console. "We’re barely keeping up."

An agent approached him with a tablet. "Sir, we’ve identified the man Astraeus interrogated. His name’s Victor Kane. Former professor of mythology, dismissed from Columbia University five years ago after his research took a... darker turn."

Foster grabbed the tablet and scrolled through the information. "Dark artifacts, forbidden rituals... Kane’s been working toward this for years."

"He’s not working alone," the agent added. "There are reports of other high-profile individuals disappearing—scientists, historians, even ex-military. They’re being recruited."

Foster’s jaw tightened. "And Erebus is building an army."

Astraeus descended from the rooftop, her landing as silent as the shadows she sought to destroy. She made her way through the factory’s broken windows and rusted staircases until she reached the ground floor. The air was thick with the stench of decay, and faint whispers echoed around her, voices that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.

"You shouldn’t have come here, Starborn," a voice said, deep and resonant, from the shadows ahead.

Astraeus tightened her grip on the spear. "And yet, here I am. Why don’t you come out and face me?"

The darkness in the room seemed to coalesce, forming a figure draped in shadow. Its face was obscured, but its eyes burned with an unnatural red light. "You’re brave, but bravery won’t save you."

Without hesitation, Astraeus lunged forward, her spear slicing through the air with precision. The figure moved like smoke, dispersing and reforming in an instant. It countered with a wave of shadow, forcing Astraeus to leap back and deflect the attack with the glowing shaft of her weapon.

The battle was relentless. Astraeus’s spear struck true several times, but each hit only seemed to slow the shadowy figure momentarily. It was as if she were fighting the night itself.

"You can’t defeat what you don’t understand," the figure taunted, its voice echoing in the cavernous space. "Erebus is eternal. He is the void that existed before your stars were born."

"I’ve heard enough," Astraeus snapped. She drove her spear into the ground, channeling a surge of energy that erupted in a blinding flash of starlight. The shadows recoiled, shrieking as the light tore through them.

When the brilliance faded, the figure was gone. Astraeus stood alone in the eerie silence, her chest heaving. But she knew this was no victory. This was only the beginning.

Foster’s voice crackled through her earpiece. "Astraeus, are you there?"

"I’m here," she replied, picking up her spear. "But so is Erebus. His reach is spreading faster than we thought."

"Get back to HQ," Foster said. "We’ve got a lead on one of his main recruitment hubs."

Astraeus glanced back at the empty factory, the lingering sense of dread gnawing at her. "On my way."

Deep below the city, in a cavernous chamber lit only by a faint, unnatural glow, Erebus himself stirred. The pulsating shadows around him shifted and writhed, as if alive.

"The Starlight Sentinel resists," he mused, his voice a deep rumble that echoed through the chamber. "Good. Let her fight. The harder she struggles, the brighter she will burn."

He extended a hand, and a dark, crystalline object appeared, pulsing with energy. "And when she burns out, the stars will follow."

Around him, shadowy figures knelt in reverence, their voices rising in a dark chant. Erebus’s rise had begun, and the light of the stars was fading.