Eclipse groaned as the sun cut through the edge of her blinds, dragging its golden fingers across her face like an uninvited guest. She blinked blearily, rolling onto her back as the chill from the dream still clung to her skin. She stared at the ceiling, processing the vivid memories now pying behind her eyes like a te-night film reel on fast forward; rifts of sapphire light, icy runes, and a mystical girl named Sifa ciming to be spirits of the city...

  “Oh my god,” she muttered, throwing her arm over her eyes. “What was in that sandwich?”

  She sat up, her dark sheets tangled around her legs like a sea monster mid-embrace. Her studio apartment buzzed with the comforting hum of familiar tech, but today it seemed louder than normal and the air was still damp from st night’s rain. She got out of bed, stretching, and winced. Her muscles ached like she had run for her life through a soaked cityscape. She paused in front of the mirror, inspecting herself. Everything looked… normal. No glowing runes, no supernatural frostbite. Just bedhead, tired eyes, and one of her tech-wear shirts half-tucked into sleep shorts.

  “Definitely not chosen by ancient frost spirits,” she told her reflection, brushing a hand over her arm. It felt… warmer than usual. She shook it off. Gncing at the time it was off to her morning shift at the Luminous Bean. By the time she pulled on some clean clothes and strapped oh her boots, the dream was already being filed away in the probably some bad cheese folder of her brain.

  Later, at Neon Noodle

  The little noodle shop was wedged between a tattoo parlor and a VR arcade was Arabel’s favorite haunt. The glowing noodles, synth-wave music, and real-sugar bubble tea made it one of the few comforts that hadn’t gone full corporate.

  Arabel was already there, a bright blur in Eclipse’s otherwise muted world. She had curly red hair, multiple cybernetic rings pierced through her ears, and a chunky hoodie that read "Hack the System (But Be Polite About It)" A merch plug for their friend Sorin.

  “You’re te,” Arabel said with a grin, sipping her tea.

  “I almost died. Don’t ask,” Eclipse replied ftly, sliding into the booth across from her.

  Arabel raised an eyebrow but didn’t press. They’d been friends long enough to know when Eclipse needed to talk… and when she just needed noodles.

  Eclipse ordered a synth pork bowl and leaned her elbows on the table. Her fingers tapped restlessly. She tried to ignore the way her skin prickled every time a breeze rolled through the doorway, or how the ice in her drink didn’t seem to melt.

  Arabel was mid-story about a VR heist sim she’d pyed the night before when Eclipse absentmindedly reached for her cup and the condensation on the outside froze solid the second she touched it.

  “...Uh.” She pulled her hand back, and the thin china cup cracked from the sudden temperature change.

  Arabel blinked. “Did you just Elsa my bubble tea?” Referring to a retro animated movie character that had mystical ice powers.

  “I…I don’t know what that was.” Eclipse stared at her hand like it might spontaneously combust in reverse. Her fingers tingle, faintly blue veins pulsing under the skin. “It’s probably… static? Or climate malfunction. Or…”

  Arabel leaned in, grinning wickedly. “Or you’ve been mutated by alien cheese and now you’re the Ice Queen of Aegis-5.”

  Eclipse gred at her. “Don’t. I had a dream… just a weird dream.”

  Arabel’s expression softened a little. “Okay, weird how?”

  Eclipse hesitated, then sighed. “There was a giant ice fox. A mystical woman said I was chosen to protect the city. There was an ice forest under the city. And now, apparently, I’m freezing drinks with my fingers.” Eclipse flopped her head down on the table with a huff.

  Arabel leaned back, drumming her nails on the table. “Huh.”

  “Huh?” Eclipse echoed.

  “I mean… weird dreams are one thing. But also, you literally just froze a cup by touching it. And there’s that mark.”

  “What mark?!” Eclipse looked down.

  And there it was barely visible unless you looked closely, but there: a faint electric-blue rune glowing just on the tip of her finger. Like a tattoo made of light.

  Arabel whistled. “Okay, Elsa 2.0. I believe you now.”

  Eclipse stared at it. Her stomach twisted not with fear, but something unnamed. Purpose? Destiny?

  “This…This is real.”

  Arabel nodded slowly. “Yup. And you, my icy friend, might be the most interesting thing to happen to this city in years.”

  Eclipse exhaled. Her gaze drifted out the shop window, down to the pulse of the city. Somewhere beneath it, was her sanctuary waiting?

  And maybe… Sifa did too?