Worry

Where am I? Eclipse thought, standing on a mountain of clouds that seemed to extend for as far as the eye could see. A dream? That is possible.

Walking around, he tried to find something, anything, but no one other than him seemed to be there in that place. It is also so silent that the silence started to grow eerie wherever he moved.

Someone has to be here right? What kind of dream is this if there is no one here? This is … really, really unsettling even more me.

'Hello! Is anyone there?' He tried to call out but no one answered his calls. I should just try to wake up now then. This dream is completely pointless.

'Eclipse!' A painful scream filled the entire place and Eclipse immediately took off. Not understanding why he is running toward this voice, especially when it is very clear that the person is in pain or trouble.

Something seemed to well up inside him as he tried to run even faster, though his feet refused to get anywhere no matter how hard or fast he tried to run.

'Eclipse!'

'I'm coming!' He shouted, willing his burning legs and lungs to try harder, much harder. Even as he felt his vision start to fade as he continued to run for who knows how long. 'I'm coming!'

I don't know who is there. I really don't but … I feel like, if I do not go to them, something bad is going to happen. Something so bad that I can't even think or imagine it.

Finally, after feeling like he has been running for seven hours, he could tell that he is getting closer to the person who has been calling out to him for the past couple of hours.

'Eclipse!' The voice sounded like it was right in front of him, just a reach away.

But, before he could reach out and grab whoever this voice is, Eclipse is jolted awake and right in front of him stood a frightened and concerned-looking woman, holding a pile of clothes in her hands.

"A-are you alright, sir?" She asked, quickly moving away from the boy. "I apologise if I disturbed your sleep. You looked like you were having a hard time and I thought that I should wake you up."

"Huh? Oh. Yeah." Eclipse said, sitting up on the bed and pressing his temples tightly. "What … happened? Nightmare?"

A glimpse of the memory of his nightmare came back to his mind but he was not able to properly recall anything after a couple of seconds.

Huh? What happened in that nightmare again? Was I … looking for someone? I think I was …

No, I was running. Why was I running? Why does nothing make sense here?

"S-sir? S-should I call for the boss?" The woman asked, fingers trembling as she reached out to Eclipse, the two making eye contact. And just like that, he forgot everything about his nightmare, going back to his usual self as he smiled at the woman.

"No, there is no need for that. I don't want to worry him."

"Well, too late." A voice from the doorway said as the big man walked inside the room wearing a gold and black ornamented robe and hair slightly tasselled as he made his way to Eclipse, studying his expression. "You do look a mess."

"Really? I thought I looked fine." Eclipse said, looking at a strand of his hair falling over his face before he stared out the window at the moon in the sky. "Wait … is it already night?"

"It is four in the morning to be exact," Aseko said, looking at the watch on his wrist. "You were making quite a ruckus, causing the maids to go into such a panic that I could hear it all the way from my room. That is why I decided to come and see you."

Eclipse looked at the woman still standing there, holding the pile of clothes as she attempted to disappear into the darkness and not be seen by either of the two.

Following his eyes, Aseko stared at the woman still in the room, a frown coming on his face, "You there. What is your name?"

"M-me, sir?" She asked, pointing to herself.

"Is there anyone else besides you?" He asked, a slightly annoyed expression on his face as the woman continued shaking like a leaf. "Answer my question."

"I-I-I am sorry!" She squealed, looking at the ground as Eclipse could hear her voice start to get slightly emotional. "I-I-I-"

Placing a gentle hand on Aseko's, Eclipse smiled at him and said, in a low voice, "I was having a nightmare and she helped wake me up from that. I think she grew concerned about me and forgot to leave. Please don't blame her for caring about me."

Aseko looked at the red-haired man, slightly impressed before turning to the woman again, staring at the clothes in her hands. "Are those for him?"

"H-huh?" She asked, looking at the clothes in her hands. "Ah! Y-yes! They are for the guest! I-"

"Hand them here." Taking the clothes from the trembling woman, he inspected them before turning to her. "Leave."

"Yes, sir! Thank you!" She shouted and was out of the room, not even turning to look at Eclipse.

"Ah~. She really was terrified." Eclipse chuckled, watching her run away before turning to Aseko. "I see that you are very good at making the people around you feel terrified."

"I have to." He said, handing the clothes to Eclipse. "Otherwise, how will they respect me as one of the bosses? You seem to understand power and the proper way to address as well as talk to someone in power."

"Did I?" Eclipse asked, genuinely confused. "Well, I don't really know much about that except that you, as the person in the leadership position, should not be talked down to, especially in public. Am I wrong?"

A hint of a smile came on the man's face, "I do think you just might be part of some of the organizations scattered around the world. You are far too knowledgeable about things like these."

"You think so?" Eclipse asked, tapping on his chin. "Honestly saying … I don't know if I really am someone with a family, Aseko."

"Hmm? And why is that?" The man sat on the bed beside Eclipse, watching his every expression and movement.

"I don't know. I just don't feel like the type of person to have them." Eclipse said, letting out a deep sigh before flopping down on the bed again. "Besides … if I had any, wouldn't they be looking for me?"

Aseko watched the man's forlorn expression on his face silently for a couple of seconds before letting out a sigh and sat just beside his body, trying not to look at every inch of it.

"I don't know anything about your past but I do know this, you appear to be quite loved by the people that surrounded you," Aseko said, expression still hard but he is trying and Eclipse can appreciate that.

"How do you know that?" Eclipse asked, curious as to what this man's answer might be.

"Well … remember when we found you?"

"Not really." He said running his hands through his hair, chuckling sheepishly. "But I do remember something about it."

"Well, we found some items on you, if you remember what I said when you woke up. They were pure silver and they were … something precious.

"Hler ran some tests on them and found that they were not just ordinary silver. They gave the wearer protection and strength, while still having a hint of magic still in them.

"They were far too powerful for him to be able to decipher or even try to replicate. So … I suppose you can see from there that someone out there is looking out for you."

Eclipse fell silent for a couple of seconds, not sure what he should or should not be saying as he processed this man's words.

"Is that really so?" He finally asked breaking the silence. "I don't know much about these things so I am a little bit … clueless about them."

"To give someone something that powerful, it can only be exchanged from one person that greatly cares about the other," Aseko said, reaching out as though to pat the man's head but stopped himself in the nick of time, pulling his hand away. "If nothing else, kid, know that you are loved."

Breaking into a smile, Eclipse jumped on Aseko, wrapping his arms around the startled man's neck, "Thank you. Truly."

Relaxing almost immediately, the man sighed, sitting awkwardly in place. "I have no idea what you are thanking me for here, kid. And don't just randomly throw your arms around someone, you could end up dead."

"But I am not just randomly throwing my arms around someone." Eclipse said, smiling brightly at the man. "I am randomly throwing my arms around you, Aseko."

Speechless, he just stared at this man that claimed to be older than him and let out a deep sigh.

How did he survive for this long again?