The night sky was like an open wound.
Black clouds swirled, forming a ring in the Perlis sky.
In the middle, the sun and moon overlapped, but not red like a normal eclipse.
The color was… bluish black, like congealed blood.
---
On a hill near the old mosque in Kangar, Harith and Aina stood looking at the sky.
The air was thick, the smell of iron and smoke was in their noses.
From afar, the sound of police sirens echoed.
The government had declared a Light Emergency... everyone was told to stay indoors, not to go out after seven o'clock at night.
"The eclipse... came very quickly," Aina whispered.
Harith nodded. "It's not natural. My father called it an artificial eclipse."
Aina looked at Harith.
"What do you mean?"
"The Eclipse Genesis project hasn't ended yet. Someone is continuing the experiment. They're trying to open the door to the shadow world again by using the energy of the eclipse."
Suddenly the earth shook slightly.
Black lightning shot into the sky from afar, from the direction of the Eclipse Center Site they had left yesterday.
"He has begun…" Rai's voice emerged from Harith's shadow.
"The gate was opened with the blood of the heir. And that blood… your blood."
---
GATE OPENER
They ran towards the center.
Along the way, they saw a sight that made their chests feel tight
Human shadows began to walk on their own, screaming silently.
Some tried to run, but their shadows pulled them to the ground, swallowing their bodies into the darkness.
The sky was full of silent screams.
"Harith, all of them"
"The shadows have separated. Our world has begun to collapse."
They arrived at the center site, the building was now full of black light, pulsating like a giant heart.
In the middle of the main hall, the glass tank that had broken yesterday had now reconnected itself, but inside it was not empty, there was a floating human body, half flesh, half shadow.
Aina screamed, "That's your father!"
Harith slowly stepped forward, his knees barely able to support his weight.
"Father…"
The man opened his eyes...his eyes were completely white, but his mouth smiled softly.
"You've come, Harith. This eclipse is yours."
"Stop! You'll destroy everything!" Aina shouted.
The man laughed softly. "This world has been destroyed for a long time, Halim's daughter. Humans have lived without souls for a long time. I just want to return what was lost."
Black light exploded from the tank.
Harith and Aina were thrown backwards.
The entire space was now open as if the walls of the world had been torn apart and on the other side, another world appeared...
The Shadow World.
---
THE GATE OPENED
The sky in that world was not the sky but a pulsating black mirror.
Mountains were overturned in the air, rivers flowed upwards, and every shadow of a human who had ever died now stood, staring at the human world.
Rai appeared fully this time, not just a silhouette.
His body was now complete, half human, half dark mist.
"The gate has opened. You have to choose, Harith. The human world or the shadow world."
Harith fell silent, looking at his hand that was beginning to be covered in black mist.
His pulse was pulsing black, a sign that 80% of the Shadow Eater in him was active.
"If I close this gate, I might die."
Aina gripped his hand tightly. "If you don't close it… everyone will die."
His father's voice suddenly sounded again
"You don't understand, Harith! The world can't be balanced without shadows! Open the door completely and you will be the perfect link!"
The black light grew stronger, and in the blink of an eye Harith's shadow and his body were completely separated.
Two Hariths now stood in the middle of the hall, one human with eyes full of light,
the other shadow with glowing red eyes.
The shadow smiled.
"Finally, we meet for real… the human Harith."
"And I," replied Harith, "Harith who rejected the darkness."
The sky cracked, time stopped and two worlds united at one point...the Eclipse Gate.