Eye Of The Eclipse - 72 2.5 Months

Initially, two and a half months had sounded as though it would have taken forever to pass. Altogether, that was even more than the time they had spent in the spirit fruit farm and within the planet which homed Chance and Rob combined.

In reality, once everyone had settled into a constant routine, time flew by before they knew it. Just as Marcel had suggested, the majority of the twins’ time consisted of running, running and then more running. The park which served as the base of The Guild was also the perfect place for their training, as the paths were wide, coupled with the vastness of the park which must have covered over 50 kilometers. Every day, they simply picked a path and ran.

Other than that, they spent a good chunk of the time reading. With Chance spending most of his time catering to them in order to make sure they were prepared for their upcoming trial, they always came back to a selection of books. Unfortunately, they were mainly guides and instructions which Chance and Rob had picked out for them, along with some materials to practice the things that they had read up on.

Then the last segment of the day would usually end in them eating a bumper meal while they discuss the city, their progress, mediation method and anything else that comes to mind. Finally, they would all meditate, before finally succumbing to their exhaustion.

Walking through the park once again, Loki and Rykar took in the scenery in silence as they began to trace the path that Marcel had taken them the first time they visited.

“Do you think she is part of The Guild?” Rykar asked while nodding his hood slightly in the direction of a woman who was sat on a bench reading a plain looking book. “She is always here but picks a different bench every time.”

“Yeah, she is probably a hidden guard or assassin or something.” Loki replied while glancing over a few of the other people strolling or lounging around the area.

The first few times they had come here, there was no way they would be able to pick out the regulars at first glance. However, with their perfect recall, it didn’t take long before they noticed many faces that would show themselves day after day with their own habits.

A man reading a newspaper. A woman reading a book. Teens playing catch. Couples flirting. People playing with their pets. There were so many regulars that the twins began to try and pick them apart, creating a guessing game between themselves with the aim of finding out who belonged to the organization and who was simply a passerby.

“We should find out when we pass the test anyway. Don’t forget the ones you picked either! We can ask Marcel so we find out who got the most right.”

Feeling the weighty back across his back, Rykar cursed the inconvenience of having to mask the existence of his fragment. Diverting his attention from the path, he directed his focus internally before marveling at the goodies he had collected over the time they had been world of Grace.

Not only had the spirit fruit grown well, there was now heaps upon heaps of dried food, canned food, processed food and fresh food. Practically anything he could want to stuff his face with was now readily available to him, along with a surplus of equipment which could equip a dozen people, albeit modestly.

The bodies in the isolated space had long dried up and there hadn’t been any notable changes to the appearance of the land mass which continued floating steadily in the void, aside from its now cluttered surface.

Beneath the surface layer, however, Rykar was beginning to feel a sense of fullness. The dried up cracks were long gone and the density of the sphere was clearly climbing at a slow but steady rate, Now fiving off a completely different feel when comparing it to the initial dried up, oversized mudball which presented itself to him.

This change also made much more sense to him overtime. Despite the cooling feeling of absorbing the vitality of the bodies that had been placed inside before, the cycle of taking and giving energy to the plants seemed to actually create a small surplus of energy each time. This would actually be stored within the landmass, similarly to a battery being charged.

With plenty of time to reflect on the matters concerning their abilities, both Loki and Rykar had made many advancements in their understanding, not only their own abilities, but also how their bodies seemed to respond to these changes.

With Rykar functioning as a moving ball of energy and Loki who moved much more precisely, using his energy more efficiently, they seemed to become two sides of the same coin, each with their own traits which the other lacked.

Each lost in their own thoughts, they progressed towards the temple slowly while suppressing their nervousness with their curiosity and excitement.

Many gazes hovered on their bodies throughout the trip, but that was hardly surprising in any way. It was a bright day with barely a handful of clouds in the sky, yet those around them would only see two short figures, wrapped in black cloaks and eerie red and white masks, walking through the fields as though they were pretending to be reapers. Their appearances could be called anything but inconspicuous in such a relaxed setting.

“Have you ever heard of being ‘low key’ before?” The twins jumped out of their skin as a sudden but familiar voice sounded out behind them. “Besides, why are you here? Wouldn’t it have been easier to wait for someone to come get you.”

“When did you tell us that someone would come get us? You just told us the date, so we came early instead of late.” Loki countered after taking a breath.

“Ah, must have missed it out. Well either way, you wouldn’t have missed the calling as long as you’re within the city.” He shrugged it off before walking in front of them. “There are a few hours to go, but there are already many people here. We can wait it out in the hall.”

As they followed him, they started asking any questions that came to mind but most of the questions didn’t receive a direct answer. Something along the lines of ‘you’ll find out when its time to start’ was the most they got out of the guy who had seemed like such a chatterbox before.

“Don’t be so anxious about it all. If you pass, you pass. If you’re not cut out for it, there aren’t too many ways to cheat your way through.” Marcel tried to console them in a weird fashion. “Besides, you’ve done a good job of increasing your stamina over the last couple months, you’ll be able to get by just fine at the start, it will all depend on how fast you improve under pressure.”

With a light whistling sound, the temple seemed to materialize once again at that moment. Despite trying to focus on the area up ahead, they still couldn’t fathom how it seemed to come out of nowhere yet gave the impression that it had been there all along.

“Let’s go, I know at least one person that will be happy to see you again!” Skipping ahead as though he was a child in a candy store, Marcel entered the hall while exclaiming in a singsong voice, “Kyraaaahhhh, look who I found! It’s your bestie!”

*SCHWOOSH!*

The already soft murmurs hall seemed to freeze even further as dozens of pairs of eyes swiveled in the direction of the sudden disturbance. This silence lasted all of four seconds, before the murmurs returned with the intensity of a beehive on steroids.

At the front of the hall, a space slowly separated in order to give a direct line of sight to two identical figures standing next to each other. Just like everyone else in the hall, they were masked and hooded.

Truth be told, their equipment didn’t even stand out among the crowd around them. The opposite held true actually, even as the twins looked straight at the pair, their attention was frequently drawn to those on the periphery.

Made from dark brown leather, their close fitting pants garments clung to their bodies before a second layer consisting of various pouches, pockets and buckles was stacked in order to allow convenient access to a variety of items. A black cloak was then draped across their shoulders with the hood deeply hiding their masked faces.

Similar to the Loki and Rykar, the pair’s masks had obviously been tailor made to their features. Similarly to the growth rings of a tree, their light brown masks rippled outwards unevenly with red highlights used to accent the eyes and jawlines.

All together it was a very striking appearance, which coupled together to form a bearing that made the twins subconsciously feel inferior.

“Who is this supposed to be?” After the initial pause, the figure on the right asked with an annoyed tone. Surprising the twins, the voice was actually feminine, although not so obviously.

“Don’t be so cold!” Throwing his arm around Rykar’s shoulders, Marcel introduced him with added details. “This is the one that you met down on that planet a couple months ago!”

Turning her attention from Marcel to Rykar, she paused for a moment before tilting her head in recognition. “Take off your mask, kid.”