The night draped Shinon and Malakai in a shroud of darkness as they embarked on their journey towards the Eclipse’s supply point.

The post-apocalyptic terrain lay before them, a harsh reminder of a once-thriving civilisation that was reduced to ruins and desolation.

Buildings, once vibrant with life, now stood as silent monuments to a world that had crumbled into chaos. The stars above blinked like distant embers, their feeble light barely reaching the lifelessness below.

Amid the shadows that cloaked their movements, a palpable tension hung between Shinon and Malakai. The silence that had enveloped them since leaving their hideout was weird. Shinon, wanting to know more about Malakai and to understand their enemy, decided to break the ice.

"So," he began cautiously, "tell me more about the Eclipse. How did they become so powerful? What’s their ultimate goal?"

Malakai, his face obscured by the darkness, hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"The Eclipse wasn’t always this powerful. It started as a small group of survivors like us, trying to protect their settlement from the chaos that followed the apocalypse."

"And then what happened?" Shinon listened intently, his curiosity piqued. "What turned them into the Eclipse?"

"Slowly, they grew into something... monstrous," Malakai continued, his voice tinged with bitterness. "I don’t know every detail, but it began when a man showed up at their settlement... a man who corrupted them from the inside and turned them into his loyal soldiers."

Shinon’s ears perked up when he heard about the ’man’. Although the chances of the person being his father were low because his dad would never do something as horrendous, Shinon didn’t want to clear him of suspicion just yet.

"Have you ever seen that man?" Shinon asked Malakai, who shook his head.

"I don’t think even most high-ranked individuals have seen his face," he said. "They say whoever sees that man’s face either starts revering him or loses their mind. In either case, it works well for the Leader as no one can ever leak his identity."

"That’s a scary ability," Shinon smiled wanly before continuing the conversation. "What about their goal? I know you talked about world domination before, but what about their short-term goals?"

"Their ultimate goal is power, Shinon. They want to control everything – the resources, the survivors, even the knowledge of the past."

Malakai closed his eyes. Although he was wearing his mask, Shinon could feel him getting emotional. "They believe they can rebuild the world according to their own twisted vision, and they don’t hesitate before killing anyone who gets in their way..."

Shinon frowned, absorbing the gravity of Malakai’s words. "But how did they become so ruthless? Surely someone would have tried to stop them?"

"We did... My settlement tried back when I was fourteen, so eight years ago. It was the same place where we met," Malakai’s tone grew darker as he shared snippets of his own past. "Instead of giving you a direct answer, allow me to tell you what happens to those who even show a hint of opposition against the Eclipse."

"I was part of a settlement that fell victim to the Eclipse’s manipulations," He continued, "They slowly infiltrated our community, sowed discord, and turned neighbour against neighbour. All that without anyone noticing. It was a slow and insidious process, but they tore us apart from within."

Shinon couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of such ruthless manipulation. But it also gave rise to a question. A very important one.

"If that was the case, why did you join them in the first place?"

Malakai’s voice turned sombre. "I could say I was young and dumb. But in truth, we grew desperate once our settlement collapsed. So we latched onto the first helping hand we got."

Shinon nodded his head. He could understand what Malakai and his people might have felt back then. After all, had it not been for his father’s wealth, he might have ended up on the same route.

Just the thought was enough to make Shinon uncomfortable, and he couldn’t imagine what actually living through such a nightmare would’ve been like.

Shinon didn’t want to overstep his boundaries and thus didn’t pursue the topic anymore. Instead, he decided to continue the conversation and skip past the sad part, as their destination was nowhere in sight.

"So when did you decide enough and leave them?"

"It took a while, six years to be exact. But once I saw what they truly were – a force dedicated to ruining what little semblance of a society we have left."

Malakai got silent for a moment, wondering if he should continue or not, but ultimately decided it was best to not hide anything from Shinon.

"I snapped when they forced me to kill an infant right in front of her parents..." he mumbled, staring at his hands. "They even chopped all of my fingers on the left hand because I hesitated. I knew then that I couldn’t be a part of their cult anymore."

Shinon couldn’t believe his ears. How could they be so cruel? An infant? Just the thought of doing something so horrendous made his skin crawl. But the man beside him was actually forced to do it.

At that moment, Shinon didn’t know if he should beat the living crap out of Malakai for going through with it or console him. However, before he did anything, a thought crossed his mind.

It could very well be a way to get him to trust Malakai. After all, people with sob stories had a higher chance of being trusted than a battle-hardened veteran.

As such, Shinon pushed his emotions aside and decided not to do anything. If he couldn’t trust him, he wouldn’t call Malakai out to be a liar either. After all, Shinon had no evidence to do either.

Instead, Shinon turned his attention to the mission, as it was the easiest way to confirm Malakai’s intentions.

***

As Shinon and Malakai approached the Eclipse’s supply point, the tension in the air thickened. The moon cast a pale glow over the desolate landscape, revealing the group of Eclipse members guarding the entrance.

Shinon and Malakai huddled behind a crumbling wall, their breaths shallow and controlled. Slowly, Shinon raised his head to observe the guards.

The guards, clad in Eclipse uniforms similar to Malakai’s, seemed to be engaged in idle conversation, their weapons held loosely at their sides. It was clear that they weren’t expecting trouble on this quiet night.

"We can’t take them head-on. There are too many of them. We need a plan." Shinon mumbled.

"That’s weird. There shouldn’t be this many people here..." Malakai replied as he joined Shinon. "This place was supposed to be the least guarded supply point."

"Whatever," Shinon was slightly annoyed, and his senses were up as he looked through his retinal map. "Let’s just observe them for now."

After a tense few minutes of observation, Shinon noticed a pattern in the guards’ movements. They were on a rotation, taking turns patrolling the perimeter while others remained near the entrance.

It was a short window when the guards were huddled together near the entrance. But in Shinon’s eyes, it was an opportunity not to be wasted.

"During the rotation, there’s a brief moment when the guards huddle together near the entrance," Shinon informed Malakai. "That might be our chance to strike."

"That’s perfect," Malakai replied. "But can you guide me there? I’m afraid they might notice me if I move without the cover of your shadows."

"I can lead you there," Shinon affirmed. "But we need to be precise and silent. One wrong move, and we’ll be outnumbered."

With a plan in place, they had to wait patiently for the next rotation. The minutes felt like hours until, finally, the moment arrived. The guards gathered near the entrance, their voices low as they discussed their duties. Shinon and Malakai exchanged a silent nod, their eyes locked at the targets.

Shinon activated his shadow manipulation skill, melding into the darkness as Malakai followed his lead. They moved cautiously, every step calculated to avoid making a sound because while the shadows could mask their presence, the sound of their footsteps was entirely different.

The guards, engrossed in their conversation, were oblivious to the approaching danger. As Shinon and Malakai drew closer, the tension escalated. This was their moment, and they couldn’t afford to falter.

Within a second, Shinon and Malakai struck. They emerged from the shadows in a blur of movement and swiftly incapacitated the guards using blades. Their blows were precise and targeted, rendering the guards dead before they could react.

The Eclipse members crumpled to the ground, their weapons falling beside them. Malakai took the weapons while Shinon searched them for keycards, as the main gate required one.

"We need to move them out of sight. If anyone else comes looking for them, it’ll raise suspicion." Malakai mumbled while looking around for any surprise guests.

"Don’t worry about it," Shinon replied and, with a wave of his hand, threw the corpses inside his domain. "Let’s go, we don’t have much time."