It was now four o'clock in the afternoon and I was at home with my family.
"Whew! That was some battle!" Keiran said.
"You did a pretty good job of protecting San, Keiran. Well done" my Mom said proudly.
"Well, I didn't really need to protect San" Keiran laughed nervously.
"San, what happened to you? Nearing the end of the battle, I sensed a sudden tremendous surge of energy. The energy I sensed was identical to that of your Gramps. Such an outburst of energy can only be unleashed by the Successor Of The Nightmare King" my Dad said.
"I released the seal of Endregen with Gramps' help. I will explain later but right now, I have somewhere else I need to be" I said, picked up my satchel and ran out of the house.
"Anyone want to guess where San's going now?" Keiran asked with a sly grin.
Roughly thirty minutes later, I had arrived in the field of Lunar Flowers. A part of me expected it to be completely empty and another part hoped Ciella would still be there. In that I was not disappointed.
"Before I approach though, I'd better check the Tome" I thought and removed the Tome.
Within it were these words;
"Congratulations Sanziri Nightbane (Junior), the Sixth Rule has on this day been fulfilled".
I sighed in depression.
"I thought as much. Now's not the time to cry about spilt milk. I should check out the next rule" I said and flipped the page.
These words were displayed boldly.
"THE SEVENTH RULE: 'UNDER THE WITNESS OF THE SUN, MOON AND STARS, A PROMISE MADE WILL BE KEPT!" the Rule stated.
"Guess I can't stay out late then" I thought with a smile and approached Ciella.
She seemed to be seated on the ground, lost in deep thought. I sat beside her. She appeared to be sad. I stared at her for a while and looked away.
"I'm sorry. I kept you waiting for this long and I missed the Solar Eclipse we were supposed to watch together" I said with a look of sorrow on my face.
"A lot of strange things happened while you were gone. The mobsters that attacked Dream City transformed into actual monsters and over the horizon, a scene of battle was displayed. The world from that scene appeared to be very different from our own. It was beautiful leaving out the rampaging monsters" Ciella said.
"So what kept you so busy?" Ciella asked.
"Urgent family business" I stated plainly.
"It was weird. In the scenes I saw, I thought I saw Keiran, your brother except he was cloaked in brilliant armour" Ciella said.
"Crap! She actually saw Keiran's face as we battled at the Eternal Mirror Gate!" I thought in alarm.
"Then I looked amongst his comrades and saw the Bloody Caped guy who downed the armoured tank. It was strange but for a moment, when I looked at him…I could see you" Ciella said.
My eyes widened in surprise.
Ciella laughed nervously and rubbed her hair.
"Crazy right?" she said.
I laughed nervously but said nothing.
"Anyway, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for this long and failing to keep my promise to see the Solar Eclipse together like I promised" I said.
"You don't need to worry about that. You kept your second promise so I'm not mad at you" Ciella said.
"My second promise?" I wondered and thought back to the moment just before I left Ciella to confront the Nightmares.
"Ciella, stay here, you'll be safe…" I recalled my words.
"Where are you going?" I recalled Ciella's question.
"I'll come back to you…I promise" I recalled my promise. "I promised to return to you" I said with a smile.
"So you do recall after all…and you looked like you didn't" Ciella feigned anger.
I laughed.
"Well…of course. After missing the Solar Eclipse, I had to show up in person to apologize" I said with a laugh.
"Apology accepted" Ciella said, then she burst into laughter and I just couldn't help laughing as well.
We sat close to Shining River. As we enjoyed the scenery around us, a starfish was suddenly washed ashore. I was drinking my lemonade when I noticed it. I immediately spat out the lemonade and glared at that creature that had no business being in the current scene. Suddenly, more and more starfishes were washed ashore till the riverbank between the Lunar Flowers, Sunflowers and Shining River was covered with starfishes.
"Wow! This is pretty amazing San! You may not have missed the Solar Eclipse after all. The Solar Eclipse was the one time the Sun, Moon and Stars all shone at the same time! This field is full of Sunflowers and Lunar Flowers and now, there are even Starfishes! We're still witnessing the Solar Eclipse…but in another way!" Ciella said cheerfully.
I smiled to see her happy completely forgetting that I might be smitten by the family curse in possibly a few days' time. It appeared that sunset was beginning to approach as well. As sunset gradually approached, I began to notice my body start to go numb. I laid amongst the Sunflowers and Lunar Flowers.
"I'm so exhausted Ciella. Wake me up when you're ready to leave" I said aloud but within my heart, I had concerns.
"But even if the limiter is not completely dependent on physical ability, to some extent, the strain of suddenly releasing much more power from yourself than your body can currently handle will come with consequences. Prepare yourself to endure the potential backlash" I recalled my Gramps' warning.
I could feel my strength slowly seeping away. I could barely move. I turned to look at Ciella. She seemed to be talking happily and enjoying everything about the current scene.
"As long as Ciella is safe…I'm satisfied" I thought silently as my vision began to gradually blur and soon, I was completely still.
Everything went blank in my mind. The sunset turned to night and the Lunar Flowers began to glow brightly with the light of the moon. Ciella turned to me.
"San, it's getting late, let's go home" she said however I remained still.
"San?" Ciella shook me however I didn't stir.
"San! San!" Ciella called in concern.
She began to panic. She reached into my satchel with her face tear stained and found the Tome and Bloody Cape! Her eyes widened in shock.
"San…you couldn't possibly be…?!" she exclaimed in shock as she recalled details from the recent past.
I was always on the scene whenever a dangerous event occurred. I always took her to safety, told her I'd return, then I'd disappear. Moments later, the Bloody Caped guy would appear.
"The battle over the horizon was…real?" Ciella realized.
She shook her head and reached for my cellphone amidst falling tears. She checked my contacts list and found my parents and siblings' numbers. She called Saito.
"Hello San" Saito greeted.
"It's not San. It's Ciella. San is…San is…!" Ciella wept.
"What's happened to San?!" Saito exclaimed in concern.
"He's unconscious and he's not waking up!" Ciella exclaimed.
"Hang on! We'll be there in a moment!" Saito exclaimed.
Thirty minutes later, my family was at the field of Lunar Flowers. Keiran carried me unto his shoulders to my Dad's jeep. Ciella followed.
"I'm coming with you" Ciella said.
"You should head home" Saito said.
"No, I'm coming with you" Ciella insisted.
My father agreed so Ciella entered the jeep and we all headed to my house.
"Shouldn't we send him to the hospital?" Ciella asked.
"I already called the family's doctor" my Dad said.
Keiran carried me to my room and placed me on the bed.
"Ciella, you really should head home now" Saito said.
"No, until San wakes up, I'll remain here" Ciella said and took out her cellphone.
She called her family and informed them that she'd be staying with a classmate for some few days. Her parents appeared concerned however she was so adamant they consented. Saito headed to her room and prepared some clothes for Ciella. Then she carried them to the guest room and prepared the room for Ciella.
"You can sleep here" Saito said.
Then she rushed out while Ciella stood in the room and headed to my room. My parents and other siblings were in the room.
"What's wrong with San?" Saito asked.
"He released the seal of Endregen channeling more power through himself than his body could handle. He's currently suffering the backlash of utilizing that technique. His body must almost be totally drained of energy causing him to fall into a coma. We'll have to replenish his energy by channeling our own into his body" my Dad explained.
My parents and siblings surrounded me and laid their hands on my body, channeling their Dreamweaver energy into me. They ensured that the door to my room remained locked while they did this. Ciella occasionally snuck up to the door in an attempt to get a glimpse of me however it was always locked. She at times listened outside the door for my voice or any indication that I was getting better however, there was always silence.
This went on throughout the night, and then for the entirety of Saturday. The only time my parents and siblings left my room was to freshen up and eat in order to replenish their energy.
"How is he?" Ciella often asked worriedly.
"Still unconscious however I'm certain he'll be fine" Saito and Ariel repeatedly reassured Ciella.
In her room, Ciella wept repeatedly.
"You promised to return to me…yet you've left again. Will you break this promise too?" Ciella thought sorrowfully to herself.
It was almost midnight on Saturday. As I lay deathly still in my room, a sudden gust of wind blew through my window and flipped the pages of the Tome which lay beside me. The Seventh Rule was displayed boldly.
"THE SEVENTH RULE: 'UNDER THE WITNESS OF THE SUN, MOON AND STARS, A PROMISE MADE WILL BE KEPT!'"
Then suddenly, these words faded and were replaced by the words.
"Congratulations Sanziri Nightbane (Junior), the Seventh Rule has on this day been fulfilled!"
At that moment, I inhaled deeply but remained unconscious.