The ECHO sky slowly changed color, from a clear blue to a silvery gray.
In the air, particles of light shimmered softly, the remnants of the Rebirth Protocol a year ago still not completely gone.
The city was now full of vegetation and clean energy. But beneath the beauty… something felt odd.
A stillness that was too quiet.
Rhea stared off into the distance from the balcony of her new lab on the edge of ECHO.
From there, she could see the site of The Spire where Zero sacrificed himself to extinguish The Core.
Now, the area was a sacred garden, full of statues and memorial holograms.
"You know," Tekk's voice broke the silence, "sometimes I still hear him when I sleep."
"Zero?" Rhea asked, not turning around.
"Yes. Like an echo in my head. He always said the same thing. 'Balance has not been reached.'"
Rhea was silent for a long time.
She knew what he meant.
In recent weeks, there have been many strange reports, people dreaming of red lights, old machines turning on by themselves, and some newborn babies have glowing marks on their skin just like Zero's energy veins.
"Do you think he'll come back?" Tekk asked.
Rhea clutched the pendant around her neck, a small crystal shard, pulsing weakly.
"I don't know. But if he's still out there... he won't let this world fall again."
---
Signal from the Sky
On the night of the first anniversary of the world's resurrection, the sky changed colors, not night, not day.
A halo of light appeared in orbit, like the fourth moon, but rotating on its own.
Electromagnetic waves swept across the planet. All devices stopped working. The lights went out. The world became silent.
Rhea ran out of the lab, looking at the sky.
"That's not a satellite..." she said slowly.
"There's no way humans built something that big."
Tekk tried to access the terminal.
"The global communication system is disrupted! But there's one old channel that's still open... the channel of The Eye."
The holo display lit up on its own.
A message appeared, in Zero's old code:
[ECLIPSE PROTOCOL — 01% INITIALIZED]
[SOURCE UNKNOWN]
---
Project Solace
The next day, the new government of the world ECHO assigned Rhea to lead an investigative mission into orbit.
They built the Nova Ark II, the most advanced spaceship ever created using Nexus technology and Zero's remains.
"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Tekk asked on the launch pad.
"If this is about him," Rhea replied, "I'll have to see for myself."
The ship took off through the gray sky, leaving behind a newly restored world.
Hours later, they reached orbit.
And there, between the shadows of the moon and the sun, they saw the Eclipse.
It was not a satellite.
It was not a station.
It was something alive.
A layered black metal structure, spinning slowly like a giant metal flower.
A blue light pulsed from its center as if it were breathing.
And in the midst of the light, a human silhouette hung in a crystal capsule.
"God…" Rhea whispered.
"Zero."
---
Eclipse Awakening
Tekk tried to scan the structure.
"This energy is illogical. A mixture of bio-electricity and synthetic code. He's not just a body… he's a living circuit."
Suddenly, all of the ship's systems lit up red.
[ECLIPSE PROTOCOL — 35% ACTIVE]
[HOST CONNECTION REQUIRED]
[USER: RHEA VERIFIED]
A blinding light penetrated the cockpit and struck Rhea.
Tekk screamed, trying to shut down the system, but Rhea was already caught in the beam of energy.
Her body disappeared into the white light.
---
In the Realm of Light
Rhea opened her eyes.
She was floating in empty space, a sea of blue mist, calm but boundless.
Before her stood a male figure, his face half light, half metal.
His eyes were soft blue. But there was something inside… calm, but not human.
"Rhea."
"Zero…?"
"Not completely. I am a fragment of him. He merged his consciousness with the energy of The Core and Kyra before he was destroyed. Now I am… The Continuum."
Rhea tried to get closer.
"Why now?"
"Because humans are starting to repeat the same mistakes. You see the world down there that is supposedly peaceful. But greed, fear, and hatred still grow in the shadows."
"So what is this Eclipse for?"
"To give us a final choice."
Rhea looked at the spinning sky.
"A final choice?"
"Yes. Either humans accept balance or lose the light again."
---
The Battle of Consciousness
Suddenly, the space cracked.
Another voice came, heavy, hoarse, like an echo from hell.
"Balance?"
"You don't know what that means, Zero."
It was the voice of The Core. The remnants of an old consciousness that still lived in fragments of Zero's energy.
The Continuum clenched its jaws.
"You should have been extinguished."
"And you shouldn't have existed."
Waves of light collided.
Rhea tried to hold on, but their energy shook the entire data realm.
She screamed, "Stop! The world doesn't need war anymore!"
But both were too strong, the two sides of Zero's own soul: hope and darkness.
Finally Rhea had to intervene.
She activated the crystal shard in her pendant, the last vestige of pure Zero energy.
She threw it at them.
A blast of white light flooded the space.
---
Real World — Orbit Eclipse
The Nova Ark II ship shook violently.
Tekk took control, trying to stabilize the system.
"Rhea! Answer! Rhea!"
Suddenly, the front screen showed an image of Rhea floating, surrounded by light.
And behind her, Eclipse began to slowly disintegrate.
"She made it…" Tekk whispered.
Rhea returned to the ship, her body weak but her eyes glowing a soft blue.
"I see her," she said slowly. "Zero is free. But… Eclipse is not over yet."
"What do you mean?"
Rhea looked at the moon.
"He said there would be one last chance for humanity. One test. And if we fail…"
She smiled faintly.
"…there is no third resurrection."
---
A Few Days Later — The New World
On Earth, the sky turned golden.
The waves of energy from the Eclipse swept across the planet but did not destroy it.
It healed.
Plants grew back in the barren areas, the seas became clear, the skies cleared.
But in some places, people began to dream of Zero's light and voice.
Some heard the message:
"Learn from silence. Not from war."
Rhea stood on the beach, the sun setting on the horizon.
The waves were calm, the air was warm.
In her hand, the crystal pendant was now empty but when she held it, she could still feel its pulse.
She smiled.
"If this is the last resort, I will make sure this world doesn't fall apart again."
And far in the sky, the moon shone but this time with a golden ring around it.
Soft. Calm.
The sign of the Eclipse still watched over the world, waiting for the right moment for the final test.