Eclipse

The System

A hollow emptiness swallowed Rain’s consciousness. He felt both grounded and adrift, as if the world had vanished beneath him yet still held him in place. It was strange. Eerie. And, more than anything, peaceful. At last, he could rest.

Rest.

Misty! Her name echoed like a thunderclap through the quiet of his mind, shattering the calm. Peaceful? There was no peace without her. Panic flickered. He reached for something… anything to anchor himself, but his senses grasped only nothingness.

Blip!

A heavy thud reverberated as he hit… something. “The bottom of what?” He wondered. His eyelids dragged open, and light slowly bled into what looked like open space. Shapes and forms had no meaning here; the world itself felt abstract. Then, across the emptiness, a glowing blue notification flickered to life:

You have died.

An error has occurred.

The message sprung across the area rapidly as if trying to overshadow one another. Rain blinked, disoriented. None of it made sense. Was this the afterlife Misty had spoken of so often? Was he… truly dead?

Another message materialized before him:

System rebooting.

Suddenly, several mystical symbols spun around him rapidly. A bolt of electricity jolted him, prompting to vaguely understand what they were. They were the elements. And in that moment, as if claiming himself anew, a single word left his lips, “Rain.”

***

Blip. Blip. Blot.

Raindrops caressed Rain’s face as he laid flat on the ground. There was a familiarity of the situation that he couldn’t remember. A shadow crossed the sun above him, and gradually a face came into focus; a young man, no older than Rain himself, wearing a cheerful, almost boyish smile. Neither of them could have been more than twenty.

“Now where did you come from?” the stranger asked.

Rain was silent. His thoughts ran deep as he searched deep within his mind for an answer. But none surface. But, he couldn’t remember anything. Only the word “Rain,” he said.

“Rain?” the stranger’s brow rose. “Is that your name?” he asked, to which Rain nodded.

“I am Zayne,” he said, as he stretched out his hand to help Rain up.

But Rain stayed still. He stared at the notification that was right before him. “Am I the only one that sees this? Or is he choosing to ignore it?” Rain thought.

“Are you okay? You seem dazed,” Zayne said, concern creeping into his voice.

Rain ran his hands through his hair. It was a black as coal, and it glistened as the rain mixed with it. He let out a heavy sigh. He couldn’t remember anything. Except his name… Rain. And something else. Or someone. It was just at the border of his mind. A silhouette of a lady he knew. A silhouette. That was all that remained of his memory.

“You can’t see that blue box in front of me, can you?” Rain asked.

“Blue box? You really have lost it,” Zayne teased. “Get up. We need to be on the move before the sun sets,” he said as he pulled Rain up.

That phrase. It tugged at some buried memory, but he couldn’t remember.

“Why?” Rain asked.

“What?”

“Why do we need to leave before the sun sets?” Rain asked once more.

“Well, before the Darkens come around and…” Zayne’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You don’t remember anything, do you? Except your name, that is.”

“Yes. It’s all a blur really. My memories.”

“Don’t push it. I don’t know how you got here, but I’m sure it was not be choice. These areas can be dangerous. Don’t worry, it’s not the first time we’ve encountered your type. I’m sure the master would be glad,” Zayne said, as he led the way.

***

Rain followed Zayne for what felt like a 2 hour walk. Surprisingly, Zayne was silent throughout. He occasionally turned back to check Rain. Perhaps to be sure he was still behind him, or to reassure him. But not a single word was uttered. The system notification had a message on it:

System Reboot Complete.

Rain waved his hands in the air in a bid to remove the notification from his face but to no avail. For this, Zayne feared that his new acquired friend had truly lost more than just his memory after all. After several futile attempts, Rain carefully examined the system as they walked. He noticed an x mark at the bottom. Instinctively, he knew to press it. The notification was removed. He closed his fist as if to close the system and the window disappeared. He opened them once more and it was back. Somehow, it felt right. But he would worry about that later as he closed it altogether. Now wasn’t the time.

***

Zayne and Rain arrived at a settlement of huts. It was a scatter of low huts pressed close together as though huddling for warmth against the chill wind. It was lively as children ran around in the light rain drizzle, delighted as though they had never experienced it before. Most of them hadn’t.

Rain observed them curiously. There was a warm tug at his memory as he saw the delighted children. Then a cold chill ran down his spine. Rain quivered. Zayne noticed, casting him a quick, sidelong glance, but said nothing.

They reached the heart of the settlement, where a wide clearing opened between the huts. Several teenagers moved in a rhythm, sparring with wooden staves as their boots splashed against the wet ground. Watching over them from a carved wooden stool was a middle-aged man whose presence filled the space more than the drizzle, more than the shouts of the trainees.

“That’s our master, Maresca,” Zayne murmured. “He can be… peculiar. But don’t let that bother you. He means no harm.”

Maresca had already spotted them. He lifted a hand in a lazy wave, his sharp gaze never leaving Rain. The man bore a permanent scowl etched deep into his features, as though the years had taught him to mistrust the world. A scar ran diagonally across his left cheek, stark against skin weathered by sun and steel. His hair, strikingly white, framed his face in uneven locks, and even his brows shared the same pale hue. But it was his eyes that seized Rain’s attention; blue, impossibly blue, like the ocean itself, vast and unfathomable.

When Rain came within arm’s reach, Maresca extended his hand in greeting. Rain only stared at it, his body stiff, and the drizzle sliding down his face like cold sweat. He didn’t move.

“He’s… lost his memories,” Zayne interjected quickly, hoping to soften the awkward silence. “Still disoriented.”

Maresca’s hand lingered in the air for a beat longer before falling to his side. His expression remained unchanged, though his gaze sharpened. “I see.” He turned slightly, his cloak brushing the damp ground. “Find him a spare room and something to eat. We’ll speak in the morning.”

It sounded like dismissal, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of curiosity as he watched them walk away from the corner of his eye. He flexed his fingers, staring briefly at his palm where the handshake had been refused. A faint tingling reverberated through his hand, an echo that was not entirely his own.

A beast has arrived.