The first thing Izumi noticed wasn't the ruined hall or the fractured light—it was the silence of the forest.
Leaves hung motionless in the thick, humid air. The sun, a dull orange behind a veil of clouds, cast long, trembling shadows.
He tested his legs. Every muscle remembered the movements of a thousand warriors, but his body had never been trained like this. Not properly. Not fully.
Yet when he ran, his steps fell perfectly, as if the ground itself guided him.
> "Kid! Over here!"
The voice was familiar—grating, sarcastic, full of energy.
He turned to see Kaelen "Kael" Thorne, his best friend and fellow rebellion scout, grinning like an idiot from atop a fallen tree.
> "Damn, you look like hell. I've been screaming your name for an hour!"
Izumi raised an eyebrow, his voice hoarse from disuse.
> "An hour? I was… asleep for six days."
Kael's jaw dropped.
> "Six days? What the hell were you doing, dude?"
Izumi ignored him. The forest around them shimmered slightly—the residual effect of his Eclipse Weave, threads of Solara radiating faint golden-black light.
> "The hall is gone," he said.
"Yeah, I noticed," Kael muttered, gesturing vaguely. "Thanks for taking out Aetherion… again. Can't believe you did it without even trying."
> "I wasn't trying," Izumi admitted. His voice was low, haunted. "It… just happened."
Kael whistled.
> "Of course it did. That's why I call you the 'Sun's Disaster.' Everyone else dies, you break the system. Typical Izumi."
---
🌿 Rebellion Headquarters
The two made their way to the hidden village where the Veil Rebellion operated.
The camp was small but well-organized, carved into the cliffs and camouflaged by thick vines and floating Solara sigils, warding off divine detection.
Rebel leaders paused as Izumi entered. Murmurs ran through the crowd—his eyes, glowing faintly in their Eclipse pattern, were unmistakable.
> "He's awake," whispered one scout.
"The boy of legend…"
A slender, sharp-eyed girl approached, her green hair tied back and a sword at her side.
> "You're late."
Izumi's lips twitched.
> "And you're still bossy."
It was Liora Veyren, his childhood friend and first love. She had been with the rebellion since she escaped the Games herself. Their bond was unspoken yet unbreakable—a mixture of rivalry, shared trauma, and faint, stubborn affection.
> "I heard about the AI," she said, eyes narrowing. "Don't tell me you absorbed… everything?"
> "Everything," he admitted. "And I'm fine."
Kael coughed.
> "You're fine? You literally just killed a god-made AI and ate its brain. What part of that is fine?"
Izumi ignored him. His attention was on the others—the rebels, the children who had escaped death. They reminded him of the past he had tried to forget.
> "We have work," Liora said softly, sensing the storm inside him. "You're not just awake for show."
---
⚡ Testing the Solara Weave
The leaders guided Izumi to a practice field. There, Solara glyphs etched into the ground shimmered faintly.
> "Focus on your threads," Solmara's echo whispered in his mind. "The Weave chooses its path. You choose how to master it."
He spread his hands, feeling Solara pulse through his veins. Threads of black and gold danced across his skin, flowing outward into the glyphs like living light.
Kael squinted.
> "Dude… what the hell is that?"
> "It's… me," Izumi murmured. "Everything I absorbed. Everything I remember. It's… alive."
He extended his right hand toward a training dummy. Threads of energy wrapped around the figure in a spiral of fire and shadow. The dummy's limbs moved as if guided by hundreds of invisible hands, attacking in patterns Izumi didn't consciously direct.
> "Not bad," Liora said, impressed despite herself. "You're… faster than anyone I've ever trained with."
Izumi frowned.
> "It's not just speed. It's… instincts. Memories. Life experience."
Kael groaned.
> "Great. He's basically a walking encyclopedia of death now. Can't wait to see you get cocky and die."
---
🗡️ First Steps Toward Twin Sun Style
The Weave stabilized as he moved. His hands formed the beginning of what would become his Twin Sun Style, a combination of dual-blade swordplay and mana bursts.
Each strike carried the memory of a life — a warrior's stance, a mage's spell, a child's desperation — perfectly integrated into one flow.
> "I can feel… everyone I absorbed," he whispered. "And I can make it mine… if I'm careful."
A small smirk tugged at his lips.
> "Guess the Sun's Disaster isn't dead yet."
---
🌌 Foreshadowing: Divine Eyes and Future Conflicts
As the sun dipped behind dark clouds, a strange light shimmered on the cliffs above.
Somewhere far away, a noble from one of the six houses of Solara raised his head, sensing a disturbance in the Divine Eyes balance.
A child was rising who carried more than one Eye — more than any mortal should.
> "The Eclipse has awakened," whispered a voice, trembling with awe and fear. "And everything changes now."