That morning, Kangar was unusually quiet.
No birds chirped, no leaves moved.
Only the sound of the slow engine of a black car without a license plate stopped in front of Harith's house.
Four men came out, all dressed in black uniforms with a half-moon symbol on their left sleeves.
On their chests was a single letter "E".
"Target identified," one of them said through the communication device in his ear.
"Object code: Shadow Life - Subject H-01. Instructions to capture alive."
Aina looked out the kitchen window.
"Harith... someone is coming."
"I know. I don't think they're ordinary people."
Harith stood in the middle of the living room, his hands still wrapped in the faint black from the shadow absorption from last night.
In his mind, Rai whispered, calm as always
"They're hunters. Eclipse Division. They captured me before you existed."
"You want me to fight?"
"You want to live, right?"
There was a loud knock on the front door.
DUM! DUM! DUM!
"Harith Hadami! Open the door now! We are from the Eclipse Division, under the Ministry of Public Security!"
Aina pulled Harith's hand. "Don't, they will shoot you!"
"If I run, they will consider me a threat."
"If you sit here, they will still arrest you."
Harith took a deep breath.
The sky outside looked strange with the first sunlight appearing normal, but there was a faint black shadow over it, moving along.
He opened the door.
Four agents entered, fully armed. A short-haired woman with sharp eyes stood at the front.
"Harith Hadami?"
"Yes."
"My name is Captain Zara from the Eclipse Division. You are suspected of carrying a B-class entity named Rai in your body. We need you to come with us to the Langkawi Isolation Center for examination."
Harith didn't move.
"What if I refuse?"
Zara smiled faintly.
"We're shooting. But you won't die quickly."
He held out a small glass prism-shaped device that pulsed with light.
The Rai in Harith's head suddenly screamed
"Don't let him get close! That's a spectrum trap if it hits, I'll be stuck inside you forever!"
Harith stepped back, but one of the agents had already pointed a weapon.
"Get down! Now!"
Aina screamed, "Don't shoot him!"
In the chaos, the prism fell to the floor and shattered, emitting a burst of purple light.
A wave of energy swept through the living room, shattering the windows, and pushing everyone back.
When the dust settled, Harith stood in the center, his eyes shining two bright colors.
"I don't want to fight…" he said softly.
"…but don't force me."
His shadow spread across the floor like an oil spill crawling up the walls, absorbing the light, until the entire house was half dark.
Zara pressed the device on her wrist.
"Activate Ecliptic Spectrum mode. All units, fire simultaneously!"
A blue energy bullet was fired at Harith but before it could hit, the shadow swallowed the light.
He moved his hand, and the bullets deflected, knocking the two agents into the wall.
"He's completely stabilized by the entity!" one of the agents shouted.
"Class-A! Repeat, Class-A!"
Aina covered her ears, terrified.
Zara stepped forward, even though the wound on her cheek was open.
"You don't understand, Harith. If you keep using that power, you'll lose yourself."
"If I don't use it, I'll die."
"Let us help."
"Do you want to help? Stop the eclipse first."
He opened his fist and from his own shadow, a second hand emerged, smoky black, moving as he pleased.
He used the power to push everyone out of the house without touching them at all.
Zara fell to the ground outside, seeing Harith standing in the doorway with eyes glowing in the darkness, like two black torches.
"You can catch me later, Captain," he said slowly.
"But for now, I need to find the cause of all this first."
He and Aina stepped onto the quiet street.
The rain began to fall slowly.
The shadows along the street bowed towards him, as if recognizing him.
Rai whispered: "They are not the real enemy. The real enemy is behind the eclipse."
"Who?"
"Someone who used to… be my master."
Zara stood up, blood on her forehead, but her eyes were still sharp.
"Track him. Code red. Subject H-01 is now free."
"Yes, Captain."
"And make sure the world doesn't know we failed again."