Eclipse slowly felt the world coming into light as he awakened, quite refreshed after a long night's sleep. He slowly got to his feet, and his dazed eyes drifted to the window. A typical morning; rain, from the night before, had occupied the leaves and plants in the form of dew, and the sun was barely peeking out from the mountains on the horizon. Rivulets of condensation slid down the window, blurring the rejuvenating scenery on a small scale.

  Eclipse slowly got out of his bed and knelt before ruffling Shadow's black fur, who was slouched down next to his bed. Despite his clear gestures of affection, his face remained stone-cold. Shadow woke up before long and began rubbing its body against his foot, its soft fur tickling his feet. Even though Eclipse met the cub four years ago, it didn’t seem to have aged much at all.

  Eclipse walked to the house entrance and realised Duozian's shoes were not there, satisfying his speculation that he had gone out. Duozian usually goes out early in the morning from time to time, but he doesn't really emphasise where he goes and what he does. Now that Eclipse thought about it, these past couple of days, especially his outings in the morning, have grown more and more frequent, but Eclipse had never asked about it.

  Duozian, other than his bedroom, had another room for himself, and he had always told Eclipse to never go in there, but Eclipse just didn't understand why. Although he had gone into the room multiple times before when he was out, there was nothing particularly noteworthy there. Duozian spends most of the night in this room, and Eclipse never had an idea of what he actually does. Though he says he works on canvases, Eclipse knew there was more to it.

  As he stood in front of the old wooden door, Duozian's warnings seemed to be at the back of his mind. He turned the handle and strolled in.

  Entering the room, Eclipse saw four dull walls, a wooden desk and a bookshelf. Most of this room, however, was occupied by the myriad of paintings and artistic works based on nature that hung on the wall. Every single artwork was so aesthetic and accurate, it would not be an exaggeration to say it was the split image of their actuality. Eclipse, however, didn't look impressed in the slightest as he was used to seeing such masterpieces. Nothing else had changed from what he remembered. He strolled into the room without any thought and took a seat in a chair mindlessly. There were no windows in this room, so it was dark, despite being early in the morning. Two bodies of flame flickered on candles atop the desk from the night before, which lit the room dimly.

  Eclipse narrowed his eyes. It seemed like Duozian had stayed up all night and had gone out a while before he woke up.

  The orange hue of the dancing flames reflected off the crescent pendant hanging off his neck and shone back to the desk; however, it dissipated just as quickly as Eclipse got up. He crept closer to Duozian’s desk, his steps steady and his expression dreary.

  His eyes were focused on a certain object at the centre of a pile of documents. Usually, Eclipse wouldn't have the slightest interest in the things Duozian kept in his room, but for some reason, it felt almost as if this little glistening object the size of a pin-head seemed to draw itself towards him.

  Red light flickered in his violet pupils as he reached for this object, but the instant he held out his hand, the fire from the candle crackled all of a sudden and flared up. Eclipse's eyes widened, and he instantly pulled back his entire body, completely taken by surprise. Trying to control his momentum, Eclipse grabbed the bookshelf next to the desk, but to his dismay, it leaned to the side, and before he could stop it, it crashed down along with him, sending piles of scrolls and literature scattering all over the floor.

  Piercing pain shot through his body, and he cringed painfully, rubbing his sprained ankle. Eclipse’s face grew pale, "I... should clean everything up before the old man gets home..."

  He soon got to work. He started by lifting the bookshelf before organising the scrolls one by one. Thankfully, they had fallen in an orderly fashion so he could tell which scroll belonged to which shelf. As he was finishing up, he noticed a certain scroll which didn't seem to resemble any other scrolls on the shelf. Not to mention that it was about twice the length of his arm. It was dusty, as if no one had opened it in years.

  Eclipse narrowed his eyes, "An old scroll hidden in a bookshelf..."

  Curiosity rang in his mind as he picked up the scroll. The moment he picked it up, he was shocked because it felt way heavier than it let out to be. As he tugged at the string keeping the scroll together, hesitation flashed across his eyes, but only for a brief instant.

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  Taking a deep breath, he unravelled the string and the contents of the scroll rolled out before him. Confusion filled his face, then his face paled in horror.

  A potent and majestic air immediately crashed into the room as soon as the scroll came into light. It showed the landscape of a vast and majestic ocean - so powerful and enigmatic, instantly creating a deep sense of scepticism. Above the ocean lay a vast night sky, glimmering endlessly with twinkling stars. It was beautiful enough to make Eclipse feel nostalgia yet overbearing, somehow making his heart quake with inferiority.

  He continued to stare wide-eyed at the picture. It was as if nothing else existed other than him and the picturesque sight in front of him.

  The world around him slowly swirled as his consciousness got sucked into an abyssal void residing deep in the nature of the landscape.

  A sudden purple light flashed, and then a wave of dominant and lofty air crashed past him, making him subconsciously put an arm out to defend himself. He blinked, and the first thing that came into his vision was the tyrannical reverberation of the ocean; a large abundance of seawater roared violently, crashing onto the shore, constantly forming powerful ocean waves which seemed to subjugate all essence of Mother Nature. Crystalline sea salt hung in the air, looking more like crushed pearls. The golden sand beneath his feet slowly filled the gaps between his toes.

  Above him lay the potent sight of an endless night sky, filled with billions of stars. Completely irreconcilable to the ocean, it was so calm, yet the pressure it exuded made Eclipse stop breathing almost completely; no, it was more like he couldn't breathe at all, looking above him. Suffocated as his heart clenched, both his body and soul quaked with anxiety and dread.

  "Nine lamentations… of conquered worlds…" he muttered soullessly, the words ringing into his mind.

  The flow of time slowly lapsed in this world as Eclipse dumbfoundedly stood in place. The clutch of despondency had already slithered into his heart. The constant, deafening resonance of the ocean coupled with the exalted dominance of the night sky made him feel... meaningless.

  How long has it been? An hour? A day? A year? A decade? Eclipse's chest violently undulated as his hollow pupils shook soundlessly.

  Just as he was about to collapse, a firm hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder. Eclipse's eyes shot open. Beads of sweat clung to his face as he rasped to catch his breath. As he fell to his knees, he pushed out his hands to support himself, but they, too, were shaking spasmodically.

  "Kid, haven't I told you many times not to come into this room?" Duozian's voice was stern, but not its usual stern; it was suffused with extreme disappointment and even anger, causing Eclipse's heart to sink. He had never heard Duozian speak in this tone before.

  "Old man... I..." Eclipse stuttered as he struggled to his feet.

  "No need to say anything." Duozian cut him off, "I'll get this cleaned up. You can go get some fresh air."

  Eclipse swallowed and staggered towards the door, "R...Right!"

  "Eclipse!" Just as he reached the entrance, Duozian called him again. Eclipse turned around, wallowing in self-deprecation, and faced Duozian.

  Duozian stared at him right in the eye, full of disappointment, "There are some things in this world which are best kept secrets. Forget you ever saw this."

  Eclipse nodded anxiously and walked out of the room. He stood outside for a moment, then sighed. What he had witnessed today was a complete enigma, but Eclipse decided to respect Duozian's wishes and not think about that.

  After standing there for a while, he went to the kitchen, made his own food and left the house. As he stepped outside, something came to mind, and he raised his eyebrows slightly. Now that he thought about it, Duozian had a very unusual composure. Other than his silent anger, dark shades had formed visibly under his eyes, as if he had skipped out on sleep, and his voice was a lot frailer despite the strong front he was trying to maintain.

  Eclipse was met with the cool autumn breeze. The swashing of the sea just behind the woods he lived in resonated in his ears. The scent of sea-spray merged with the scent of the woods, producing a cosy and relaxing ambience.

  The atmosphere was quite damp, keeping most people indoors. The pathway leading away from his cottage stretched on for a couple of ten metres before the pathways split into the main areas of the village.

  Grapefruit Village is a small village located inside the Bloodmoon region.

  It resided near the borders of one of the bases of the barbaric Dracoferus Tribe. Within the Bloodmoon region, the Dracoferus Tribe and Viridian Flame Warriors held the most power, with Dracoferus having the most political power and the Viridian Flame Warriors having the most military power. Smaller tribes and villages would suck up to the Dracoferus tribe and pay their tributes every year as a form of submission. Grapefruit Village was no different.

  Eclipse quietly left towards the village centre, leaving footprints on the soaked leaves.

  Reaching the village centre, Eclipse wasn't surprised at how sparse it was this morning. There was barely anyone walking around, and this was why Eclipse had specifically chosen to come at this time. He absolutely hated crowds.

  He paced down the empty streets, and a couple of minutes later, he had finally reached his destination. In front of him was a bench situated on a more elevated land which would give him the perfect view of the village and the surrounding, gloomy, barren land.

  He sat down on the bench and appreciated the sight. Despite it being early November, a stream cut right through the village and the dry grass blades surrounding him.

  Eclipse unwrapped his meal, and the fragrance of chicken-flavoured pasta caressed his nose. "It smells good…"

  He has learnt various things from Duozian in the past few years, and cooking was one of them. Without further ado, he dug in with his chopsticks.

  As he did, a voice called out, "Hey, speak of the devil; this guy's Eclipse, right?"