Silence.
Not a quiet silence but the kind of silence that screams without a sound.
Harith lay on something hard… but not the floor.
It was like glass, clear beneath it, he could see the familiar world of his room, Aina, everything was still there but upside down. As if he was under a shadow of the real world.
He tried to get up, but every movement made the air tremble like water.
The sky above him was a deep gray, and in the middle, hung something that could not possibly exist, a black sun.
"Welcome to where you are supposed to be."
The voice came from behind.
Harith turned, and there stood his own figure, but not human.
His skin was like a flowing shadow, his left eye white, his right eye black.
It was Rai.
"This… what world?"
"The world that humans create when they reject their own dark side."
"You mean… hell?"
"No. Hell still has laws. Here are just the remains of what humans don't want to admit."
Rai walked slowly on the glass surface. Each step left a trail of smoke.
"You feel scared because you know this place is yours too. When you look in the mirror, when you deceive yourself, that part comes here."
Harith looked around.
Shadows in human form passed by far, their faces blurred. Some were crying, some were laughing like they were losing their minds. Some were standing still, as if waiting for something.
They were all pitch black but from the chest of each, there was a small light trapped.
"They are… who?"
"People who lost their shadows."
"What do you mean…?"
"Every time their shadows were killed or disappeared in the real world, their spirits fell here. They were trapped between light and darkness, not alive, not dead."
Rai's voice was calm but sharp.
"And now, you are also half of them."
Harith tried to walk, but his feet were heavy. As if something was pulling from below.
Suddenly, the glass beneath him cracked, and black hands came out, gripping his ankles and calves.
"Let go! Let me go!"
"Don't fight." Rai moved closer, his eyes glowing faintly.
"They just want to feel the heat. They haven't known what life is for a long time."
Harith kicked, but the harder he fought, the more hands appeared.
From afar, screams echoed, overlapping, a chorus of thousands of regretful human voices.
"Why are you showing me all this?"
"Because this is the price you must understand before using my power."
Rai stood directly in front of Harith, then placed a hand on his own chest.
"Do you want to know who I really am?"
Rai's chest cracked, releasing swirling fragments of light and shadow, forming a bloody eclipse symbol.
Harith caught a glimpse of the shadow of a man standing in the middle of a ritual, holding a small child (himself) under the red moonlight.
"When you were born, your father tried to separate the evil shadow from your body. He thought he could 'purify' you. But he was wrong."
"Because I'm not evil. I'm just half of you that he pushed into this world."
Harith was stunned. "My father… did all this?"
"Yes. And that's why this world is getting more and more fractured. When humans try to separate the darkness from themselves, the darkness becomes a real being. Like me."
The sky trembled. The black sun began to pulse, as if breathing.
Rai looked up.
"The second eclipse is near. When it happens… the border between the two worlds will break."
"And I need you to save both."
"Me? Why me?"
"Because only 'Shadow Eaters' can live in two worlds at once. But you have to make a choice between being a human full of light, or a king in darkness."
Harith fell silent. The screams below grew louder.
He looked down and saw a face between the shadowy hands that held him.
Aina.
"Aina?! What"
"She's here because you opened the door between the worlds."
"Close the door! Now!"
"If you want to save her, you have to use my full power."
Rai held out his hand, half of his body still smoking.
"Hold my hand, Harith. After this, you're no longer human but you can save her."
Harith looked down at Aina, then at Rai in front.
His breathing was heavy. The world shook, the glass began to shatter completely.
He grabbed Rai's hand.
Immediately, the entire world exploded in light and shadow.
And in the middle of the explosion, Harith's voice echoed, not one, but two tones at once
"If I have to become a monster to save her… so be it."