"The real world can also be a dream… when the shadow starts to breathe."
---
Tuanku Fauziah Hospital, Kangar at 3:27 am
The sound of the ECG machine broke the silence.
Harith was shocked to get up from the bed, gasping for breath, sweat soaking his patient's clothes.
The light from the ceiling lamp felt too bright, burning his eyes.
He looked at his own hand.
Half of his skin was as pale as glass, and when he moved his fingers, the shadow on the wall moved a little too late.
"...I'm back to the real world?"
He tried to get up, but his whole body ached.
When he took a deep breath, he heard two voices, one his own, the other… from inside his chest.
"You're back… but not completely."
Harith held his chest.
The voice was the voice of his shadow that was living in his body now.
"Silence."
"I can't be silent. We are one now."
---
The door to the room opened suddenly.
A nurse entered but when the light from outside hit his face, Harith saw something.
The nurse's shadow didn't follow his steps.
It stood alone by the wall and turned towards Harith.
"Free shadow... in the real world?"
The nurse smiled blankly, her eyes completely blank.
"Welcome back, heir to the eclipse."
Before Harith could move, the nurse screamed loudly and her body exploded into black smoke.
The shadow on the wall melted and jumped onto Harith's body.
---
Harith was thrown back.
He tried to fight, but his hands began to change, black veins appeared up his arms.
"You can't fight, Harith," a voice in his chest whispered.
"They all want your blood."
---
A few hours later
The hospital had become a no-go zone.
Police, soldiers, and special forces in hazmat suits surrounded the area.
On the outside wall, strange writing was engraved on its own: "THE ECLIPSE IS COMING."
In the news report:
"Strange phenomenon in Kangar, human shadows move on their own.
Authorities advise people to avoid going out at night…"
---
Harith hid in the back alley of the hospital.
He was wearing an old jacket, his hair was matted, his eyes were slightly red.
In the window pane, he saw two reflections, one of himself, the other of his own shadow smiling.
"You can't keep running," the voice said.
"The Second Eclipse is getting closer. And humans themselves will call us."
Harith gritted his teeth.
"I'm not a murderer."
"But you're their blood, Harith. Your father made a deal. Now it's time to pay back."
---
He walked slowly, slipping out of the restricted area.
The night sky over Perlis looked odd, the full moon surrounded by a faint red ring.
The eclipse was almost here.
Harith arrived at his father's old house, an old wooden house on the edge of a rice field, full of dust and old books.
He opened a drawer, found a black leather book with an eclipse symbol on the cover.
"PERJANJIAN GERHANA – 1997"
When he opened the first page, gold writing flashed:
"When the shadow begins to seek its master, the blood of the heir must choose between the world or oneself."
---
A female voice was heard from behind.
"If you want to know the truth, follow me."
Harith was dizzy, Aina stood there, but her face was pale, her left eye was covered in black veins.
"Aina… are you alive?"
She nodded.
"I am alive… but not fully human."
---
Aina showed him the silver bracelet on her hand.
"Tok Halim helped me. He said this eclipse would open the last door between the two worlds."
Harith took a deep breath.
"So… the agreement really exists?"
Aina looked at the sky.
"Existence. Humans and shadows used to live together. But when humans began to deceive their own shadows, the world was split in two."
"And now, every time an eclipse occurs, the border begins to melt."
---
The two of them walked to a field covered in night mist.
In the distance, Harith saw the silhouette of Tok Halim, a blind man in a black robe, standing in the middle of the field with a wooden stick.
"The heir has returned," he said without opening his eyes.
"But you are not strong enough to stop what is coming."
Harith stepped forward.
"If I don't stop you, everyone will die."
Tok Halim smiled faintly.
"Everyone will die too, Harith. But you can choose to die as a human… or live as a shadow."
---
The earth trembled slowly.
From the sky, the moon turned blood red and the entire area was filled with strange whispers.
"The Second Eclipse begins…"
Harith clutched the chain around his neck.
"If this is the price I have to pay, I will not run away again."
Aina turned around, her face half-changed, black veins rising to her cheeks.
"If you choose the world, Harith… I may not exist anymore."
Harith looked at her for a long time.
The red eclipse light fell into both of their eyes.
"I will find a way even if I have to fight the sky itself."
---
The sky split in two.
From the red crack, a black-winged creature emerged, shaped like a burning human shadow.
The sound of thousands of whispers echoed:
"Welcome, heir of the eclipse. Time for a new agreement."