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Prologue The year 2105. Following the decline of nations, the world was split into hundreds of trading organisations. With the temptations of further benefits, hundreds of trading organisations decided to combine and form trade cartels. The Solaris Federation, the most powerful of them all, has control over 30% of the global economy. It can be said that the Solaris Federation’s leader holds the most power in the world. It wasn’t that no one tried to overthrow the Solaris Federation, but that Devon Solaris, it’s leader, was always one step ahead of his opposition. He would destroy his opponent before they even became a threat. The hunter became the hunted: just before the critical moment, those plotting against him found themselves in Devon Solaris’ crosshairs. Every rival would curse about how close there were to success... but that they were ruined at the very last moment. Not just once or twice, this happened each and every time. In time, the people realised it wasn’t a coincidence, or divine intervention. It was just that Devon Solaris had complete control. He held everything in the palm of his hand. Every opponent who tried to cross him swore they would never go against him again. No conspiracy or coup d'etat could escape him. His dominance was absolute. In this world, he was likened to God. He could not be defeated. The people called this legendary man the ‘Solaris Emperor’.********************
“Gege, I’m coming in!” Daren opened the door to Devon’s study. He sneakily popped his head in through the door with the cutest smile on his face. “Are you busy, Gege?” he asked gently. Nearly buried in documents, Devon lifted his head the moment he heard his little brother’s voice. “Of course not. Come on in.” He abandoned his work and left his secretary on the line without a care. Smiling, he asked, “Dar, tell your brother--are you in a good mood today?” “I’m happy!” Daren took two bounding leaps and jumped into Devon’s arms. “Really?” Devon smiled as he hugged his precious little brother. He ruffled the youth’s hair affectionately as he doted on him. “What did you do today? Why are you so happy? Hurry and tell Gege. Was it because school was really fun?” Daren tilted his head to the side cutely. “Dar didn’t go to school! Gege, you forgot again!” he teased. “I was at home playing with Doctor Avery.” Devon stiffened. Pretending nothing was wrong, he replied, “Is that so? Sorry, Gege didn’t remember.” “No problem,” Daren said, beaming. Knock knock… Devon raised his head. The door to the study wasn’t closed; the person on the other side knocked merely out of courtesy. At the doorway stood the other Daren. From his looks to his body language, the other Daren was exactly the same as the Daren in his arms. The only difference was that the Daren next to him was smiling cheerfully. Even seeing an exact double of himself didn’t faze his smile. However, the face of the Daren at the door possessed no expression, and half of his body was hidden by the shadows cast by the slightly ajar door. Devon stared at the Daren by the door and then looked at the Daren smiling brightly beside him. He opened up his mouth but could not utter a word. “Dar!” Avery shouted, panting for breath as he rushing to the doorway after the other Daren. From the corner of his eye, he quickly scanned the Devon and Daren in the study, before he patted the other Daren’s shoulder. “You return to the science lab first,” he said gently. “I’ll go and do a check up on you after.” “Yes.” The Daren by the door expressionlessly nodded his head and turned to leave. Next, Avery looked at the Daren inside the study. “DSII, you leave as well. Go back to the experimental lab,” he ordered with a businesslike voice. Daren—or, rather, the one who was called DSII—nodded his head and followed. From beginning to end he kept his cute smile on his face. Once the two duplicates left, only the Solaris Emeror and Avery were left in the study. Avery looked at the Emperor flatly. “Solaris Emperor, I activated the modified human clone of Dar—the DSII—in order to experiment on restoring him back to his normal self,” he criticised disapprovingly. “I didn’t do it for you to think of him as Dar’s replacement!” After Devon recovered from his stunned state, he flew into a rage. He drew his handgun and pointed it straight at Avery’s face. “I know what I’m doing! I don’t need you to tell me!” he yelled, furious. Avery looked at him coldly for a moment. “Put down your gun,” he said. “Guns can go off accidentally. If it were the past and it really did accidentally fire, I wouldn’t mind even if I really died. However, the situation at present is quite different. If I were to die, Dar would share my fate. I believe you would not want to see that happen.” Devon’s expression stiffened, and he slowly lowered the gun. Seeing this, Avery’s cold expression relaxed. At least this guy still cares a lot about Dar, he thought to himself. “Solaris Emperor, don’t think of DSII as Dar,” he reminded him kindly. “If you’re nice to DSII, that would mean hurting Dar. Although, at present, he is keeping up this expressionless and heartless Dark Sun impression. No one knows whether he really has no emotions left—” “I know! Of course I understand that!” Devon barked, interrupting him as he ruthlessly threw the handgun across the room. He turned back and bellowed at Avery, “I don’t want to hurt him, either. But I really want to see his smile. I just want to see that. But he won’t smile no matter what. He won’t smile!” Avery sighed. In reality, the real Daren could still smile, but it was only if he were ordered to. That smile definitely wasn’t the one that Devon wanted to see. Seeing that mechanical smile would only make his heart hurt even more. It would only make him think about why Daren became that way. And a large part of the reason was because of his own poor decisions. “I’m going to continue with my experiments.” Avery had wracked his brains; the only thing he could think to do to solve this predicament was try and wake Dar up as soon as possible. That was the only way. Devon nodded in agreement for a moment before he abruptly realised who Avery was experimenting on. He thought about the aftermath of those corpses he had experimented on and how their limbs had been torn apart and broken… “Don’t hurt DSII!” he couldn’t help but say. Avery stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked at him, a frown growing on his face. Devon struggled to find a reason. “He…He looks too similar to Dar. It’s only because of that…” Avery was silent. He nodded. “I’ll try my best.” Then he walked out and closed the door behind him. Devon fell loudly back onto his black office chair. This chair was crafted in accordance with the standards in ergonomics. It was made to reduce fatigue to a minimum, and make sure that the person sitting in it would have a healthy body. It was an expensive chair that a normal person would never be able to afford in their lifetime. However, at this moment, it was as uncomfortable as a broken chair abandoned to become garbage. It was elegant and it was out of reach from others. But it was icily cold, with no colour to it. It was also separate. Alone. Like the position of Solaris Emperor. The seat’s owner buried his face in his hands. “Didi…Dar, sorry. I’m so sorry,” he murmured.******************** Eclipse Hunter Volume 4 Prologue END ********************
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Prologue The year 2105. Following the decline of nations, the world was split into hundreds of trading organisations. With the temptations of further benefits, hundreds of trading organisations decided to combine and form trade cartels. The Solaris Federation, the most powerful of them all, has control over 30% of the global economy. It can be said that the Solaris Federation’s leader holds the most power in the world. It wasn’t that no one tried to overthrow the Solaris Federation, but that Devon Solaris, it’s leader, was always one step ahead of his opposition. He would destroy his opponent before they even became a threat. The hunter became the hunted: just before the critical moment, those plotting against him found themselves in Devon Solaris’ crosshairs. Every rival would curse about how close there were to success... but that they were ruined at the very last moment. Not just once or twice, this happened each and every time. In time, the people realised it wasn’t a coincidence, or divine intervention. It was just that Devon Solaris had complete control. He held everything in the palm of his hand. Every opponent who tried to cross him swore they would never go against him again. No conspiracy or coup d'etat could escape him. His dominance was absolute. In this world, he was likened to God. He could not be defeated. The people called this legendary man the ‘Solaris Emperor’.********************
“Gege, I’m coming in!” Daren opened the door to Devon’s study. He sneakily popped his head in through the door with the cutest smile on his face. “Are you busy, Gege?” he asked gently. Nearly buried in documents, Devon lifted his head the moment he heard his little brother’s voice. “Of course not. Come on in.” He abandoned his work and left his secretary on the line without a care. Smiling, he asked, “Dar, tell your brother--are you in a good mood today?” “I’m happy!” Daren took two bounding leaps and jumped into Devon’s arms. “Really?” Devon smiled as he hugged his precious little brother. He ruffled the youth’s hair affectionately as he doted on him. “What did you do today? Why are you so happy? Hurry and tell Gege. Was it because school was really fun?” Daren tilted his head to the side cutely. “Dar didn’t go to school! Gege, you forgot again!” he teased. “I was at home playing with Doctor Avery.” Devon stiffened. Pretending nothing was wrong, he replied, “Is that so? Sorry, Gege didn’t remember.” “No problem,” Daren said, beaming. Knock knock… Devon raised his head. The door to the study wasn’t closed; the person on the other side knocked merely out of courtesy. At the doorway stood the other Daren. From his looks to his body language, the other Daren was exactly the same as the Daren in his arms. The only difference was that the Daren next to him was smiling cheerfully. Even seeing an exact double of himself didn’t faze his smile. However, the face of the Daren at the door possessed no expression, and half of his body was hidden by the shadows cast by the slightly ajar door. Devon stared at the Daren by the door and then looked at the Daren smiling brightly beside him. He opened up his mouth but could not utter a word. “Dar!” Avery shouted, panting for breath as he rushing to the doorway after the other Daren. From the corner of his eye, he quickly scanned the Devon and Daren in the study, before he patted the other Daren’s shoulder. “You return to the science lab first,” he said gently. “I’ll go and do a check up on you after.” “Yes.” The Daren by the door expressionlessly nodded his head and turned to leave. Next, Avery looked at the Daren inside the study. “DSII, you leave as well. Go back to the experimental lab,” he ordered with a businesslike voice. Daren—or, rather, the one who was called DSII—nodded his head and followed. From beginning to end he kept his cute smile on his face. Once the two duplicates left, only the Solaris Emeror and Avery were left in the study. Avery looked at the Emperor flatly. “Solaris Emperor, I activated the modified human clone of Dar—the DSII—in order to experiment on restoring him back to his normal self,” he criticised disapprovingly. “I didn’t do it for you to think of him as Dar’s replacement!” After Devon recovered from his stunned state, he flew into a rage. He drew his handgun and pointed it straight at Avery’s face. “I know what I’m doing! I don’t need you to tell me!” he yelled, furious. Avery looked at him coldly for a moment. “Put down your gun,” he said. “Guns can go off accidentally. If it were the past and it really did accidentally fire, I wouldn’t mind even if I really died. However, the situation at present is quite different. If I were to die, Dar would share my fate. I believe you would not want to see that happen.” Devon’s expression stiffened, and he slowly lowered the gun. Seeing this, Avery’s cold expression relaxed. At least this guy still cares a lot about Dar, he thought to himself. “Solaris Emperor, don’t think of DSII as Dar,” he reminded him kindly. “If you’re nice to DSII, that would mean hurting Dar. Although, at present, he is keeping up this expressionless and heartless Dark Sun impression. No one knows whether he really has no emotions left—” “I know! Of course I understand that!” Devon barked, interrupting him as he ruthlessly threw the handgun across the room. He turned back and bellowed at Avery, “I don’t want to hurt him, either. But I really want to see his smile. I just want to see that. But he won’t smile no matter what. He won’t smile!” Avery sighed. In reality, the real Daren could still smile, but it was only if he were ordered to. That smile definitely wasn’t the one that Devon wanted to see. Seeing that mechanical smile would only make his heart hurt even more. It would only make him think about why Daren became that way. And a large part of the reason was because of his own poor decisions. “I’m going to continue with my experiments.” Avery had wracked his brains; the only thing he could think to do to solve this predicament was try and wake Dar up as soon as possible. That was the only way. Devon nodded in agreement for a moment before he abruptly realised who Avery was experimenting on. He thought about the aftermath of those corpses he had experimented on and how their limbs had been torn apart and broken… “Don’t hurt DSII!” he couldn’t help but say. Avery stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked at him, a frown growing on his face. Devon struggled to find a reason. “He…He looks too similar to Dar. It’s only because of that…” Avery was silent. He nodded. “I’ll try my best.” Then he walked out and closed the door behind him. Devon fell loudly back onto his black office chair. This chair was crafted in accordance with the standards in ergonomics. It was made to reduce fatigue to a minimum, and make sure that the person sitting in it would have a healthy body. It was an expensive chair that a normal person would never be able to afford in their lifetime. However, at this moment, it was as uncomfortable as a broken chair abandoned to become garbage. It was elegant and it was out of reach from others. But it was icily cold, with no colour to it. It was also separate. Alone. Like the position of Solaris Emperor. The seat’s owner buried his face in his hands. “Didi…Dar, sorry. I’m so sorry,” he murmured.******************** Eclipse Hunter Volume 4 Prologue END ********************
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