Darkness fell slower than expected, as if the world itself was hesitant to let go of the sun's warmth. Zilon stood still, eyes wide, as he tried to fight the fatigue that was slowly accumulating.
"Time sure knows how to play tricks..." Zilon stood near his sun clock in silence as he observed something peculiar happening with the shadows.
It was now the 19th hour of the day and the shadow is around 12,which means an hour have passed already.
On that said hour Zilon had to Change the water clocks positions, as he was avoiding the heat from the sun from touching it,he doesn't want to risk even a drop of water getting evaporated.
He also found a better place to stand around the tree, the sun's rays were reaching the door and was blinding him greatly.
The sun had gone down considerably,but that was not what Zilon was surprised about.
"Well this makes things a lot easier I guess...." Zilon sighed as he saw the two shadows seem to have merged together, making a thicker shadow hand.
"One hand clock-wise and the other goes anti clock-wise... obviously they will meet at a stale point " Zilon walked back flipped the jar and waited patiently for the smaller sun to go down.
It took more time than he anticipated but at some point the second sun was below the horizon and was barely visible.
Zilon stared at this and was surprised of how beautiful it looked.
He looked back at his sun clock and the two shadows are now apart,one almost striking 1 and the other already on 11.
When the water jar final drop fell into the second jar,it officially marked the 20th hour of the day and the second sun was no where to be seen.
Zilon heaved a small sigh of relief.
"While it was a challenge at first,it turned out quite well for me in the end...." Zilon smiled as he held his waist feeling proud of his achievement.
He actually looked striking with that pose,the soft breeze that made his black hair flutter his childish yet calm smile and the golden rays of the sun,made the scene more heart warming and would have made anyone stare with a smile.
But his victory was short lived as he remembered a bigger problem hurdling towards his way.
"Now that I think about it...." He sat down his hands on his thigh as he stared at the grass beneath him.
"How does one tell time in the night?"
Zilon held his chin and closed his eyes.
" well the moon obviously but how can I guarantee that lady luck will side with me, will the rays even be enough to cast shadows..."
"Well no matter....."Zilon opened his eyes and stood up with clenched fists as he stared at the last rays from the second sun fading away making that part look orange.
"So... big guy," he said to the remaining sun. "When do you plan to clock out?"
Oddly, he could look straight at it now without squinting.
"Interesting....." Zilon smirked as he looked around and walked back towards the tree.
Time went by at its general pase ,but for Zilon the time seems x2 slower as if the day doesn't want to end.
Time dragged. To Zilon, it felt doubled—like the day itself was stretching, unwilling to end. Yet he observed, quietly savoring the shifts in the sky color.
Yellow to orange. Orange to gold. Gold to deep blue.
Zilon was able to keep note of this changes since it was his signal that the sun has finally gone down.
By now 3hours have already went, there were down to the last "30 minutes" before the hour totals to 24.
"24 hours of daylight,does that mean 24hours of night time too" Zilon shook his head as he thought the disadvantages.
"While that will mean more rest,my mind is not yet accustomed to this time zone and it might end up harming me than bringing good " Zilon frowned at the idea,but his expression relaxed abit.
"Well, I'll confirm it soon enough. No assumptions yet....." Zilon nods his head.
Still, another concern tugged at him. One he didn't want to voice.
" Don't worry... I'll handle it "he told himself with a nervous laugh.
"But seriously...how do I fight off sleep?"
----------
The the bigger sun dipped beneath the earth marking it an official 24hours.
Zilon flipped both jars and stood.
"It's getting dark...." He said calmly.
he noticed how hard it was for him to identify the things around.
" not like there was anything around me,was there? "
The sky had already started turning black and Zilon was forced to rely on his water clocks.
"Without the sun, there will not be any shadows to tell time with,I can only hope that the moon's rays will be of help"
Zilon was able to mark the last number the shadow marked before it faded.
"The time was around 6... obviously since the day starts around that time "Zilon folded his arm and rest his back on the tree as the cool air swirl around him.
It took around one more hour for the moon to come out into view.
Zilon shook the water clock.
" empty... " he nods his head and flipped the jar.
"So the moon pops around 7 also.....what a strange pattern " Zilon muttered as he saw the moon's rays casting a vivid shadow of the stick.
The moon slowly raised and it's rays brought light around Zilon making it easier for him to tell what was what.
" based on the way I understand it, I am currently on the North wing,so the sun to me,looks like it comes out around the east,and sets around the west,the second sun and the moon pop out from the same place " Zilon thought.
The moon slowly came to complete view and the rays was able to cast a faint shadow on the stick,which pointed towards the number 7.
Zilon walked back repeating the cycle of flipping the jar and stayed close to the tree as he observed calmly.
It was night time,he can't be to careless.
While Zilon was making notes of things he noticed, there was another thing that he tried to ignore, but soon realized that it needed to be addressed.
"I wasn't sure at first..." Zilon shivered, hugging himself. "But this confirms it—I need a sweater."
It was freezing. No ice, yet the chill bit deep.
Zilon felt as if he was standing inside a fridge, freezing at 0⁰ degree Celsius.
Zilon blew air in his hands and was surprised when he saw stem coming out of it.
"That's it."
He sprinted to the house,and shut the door behind him gently, the warmth of the house immediately assaulted him and he took a moment to appreciate it before he walked his room.
He opened the door gently and a soft click sound could be heard,he walked up straight to the wooden drawer and started ramaging through the contents of the drawer.
"I will still keep on asking.....How much stuff can this thing even hold?" Zilon sighed as he knew he wasn't getting an answer for that.
He still continued searching,pulling out random clothes.
Thick layers were rare, but he made do—three mismatched pieces stacked over each other. The result? Bulky, but warm.
"Not stylish, but it should be effective." He chuckled, feeling like a walking pillow.
Zilon stepped back outside , careful not to slam the door.
He walked two steps and nodded with a smile as he felt the cold winds wasn't reaching him inside.
He walked slowly towards the sun clock as he tried to adjust his walking steps.
"Should it still be considered a sun clock at night?"
But Zilon eyes widened in shock as he came to the sun clock.
"No way..." Zilon looked at the sky.
"You have gotta be kidding me " Zilon groaned.
he saw the clouds which blanketed the moonlight completely.
"Well I guess you can't always be lucky" Zilon sighed,
he made a mental decision to still focus on his plans,in the end that was part of the reason why he created two type of clocks.
"I won't be using the sun clock for a while I guess,less work for me then" Zilon stared at his hands as he felt a slight tingle in his body.
He shook his head at a rising thought and looked over to the jars, only to see the smaller jar empty ready to get flipped for reset.
At this point it has become a natural step for him.
He sat under the tree, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the effects that it had on his mind.
"I guess I might need to–"
Suddenly he had an idea about something and really wanted to try it.
"that tingling sensation,it has to be "
He sat straight and with his eyes still closed he concentrated on his body.
Zilon traced all the blocked points within his body,he saw them In form of rocks that blocked the sliver strands from passing.
Each time the waves lash at this rocks but nothing happens.
Zilon decided to test out his theory based on some mangas he had read about cultivation and blocked energy points.
He has some experience in yoga class,and most often he found himself sitting and meditating his mind back on earth.
With his mind in full concentration,he started from a part he knew he could gather enough energy from.
There were 16 blocked points inside his body,this includes feet,the malleolus on both his leg,his knees,his chest,his palm ,his knees and shoulders.
Zilon focused only on his thoughts and tried to control the energy inside him.
He was met with some resistance,and Zilon frowned as he pressed on harder before the energy finally stabilize .
He then focused on that rock on his chest and control all the energy from that part into a narrow pipe making it spin.
The energy twirled inside his body forming a sucking force that was feeding on more energy as it formed a vortex.
It took all the concentration he had two lunch the vortex on the rock.
*Boom*
Zilon could here small explosion and his sent vibrations to his whole body.
Little by little there were cracks all over its surface and huge hole was being drilled into this rock.
*Crack*
*Crack*
*Boom*
It didn't take long but Zilon was able to shatter that rock into pieces.
He then disperse the energy and allowed it flow naturally so as not to harm himself.
The energy seems to make it's way towards the hole that had formed and before long it was filled up with sliver strands.
Zilon snapped his eyes open after that and could feel the overwhelming tiredness washing his existence .
"But.....it was just one" Zilon tried with all he could but all he could do was lay his back as the sleep finally got to him.
'i guess all my efforts where all.....in vain'
Zilon's eyes closed shut and his breath became calm as he drifted of to sleep.
----------
Zilon woke up in a familiar dark place.
"Ugh....where ....." Zilon opened his eyes and scanned around.
"No no not this again" Zilon remembered the first time he came here and immediately got scared.
"I can't met that monster again" beads of sweat rolled on his face as he could feel his body shaking from fear.
But lucky for him...
*FLICK*
The world around him suddenly twisted and he found himself awake, sitting down with his back on the tree,with his hands rubbing his forehead.
"What just happened....." Zilon felt pain on his forehead,as if someone had hit him there.
His hands dropped slightly as he breathed in,and that moment he caught a whif of someone's scent which lingered far more than it should have,a very familiar scent.
Zilon immediately understood what happened and he couldn't help but smile in gratitude.
he looked at the water clock next to him.
"I guess I slept for an hour..." Zilon nods his head as he noticed the bigger jar still had water in it.
"Thanks for the save,Lyla" Zilon muttered as he placed his hands behind his head.
Time went by considerably fast and before he knew it ,the clouds made way and the moon was in view.
"its a full moon....." Zilon chuckled as he now noticed that little detail he missed.
"I was lucky it didn't rain" Zilon walked towards the sun clock and saw the shadow pointing towards 12.
"So 6 hours into the night huh,should I consider this mid night" Zilon smirked and continued to wait patiently as went by.
Zilon expression became serious as he remembered the dark place,which was meant to be the prison of the demon prince inside his body.
"i have to find a way to counter him...."
Time went by and Zilon couldn't even tell the difference right now.
"If you ask me I would say time is moving way faster " Zilon sighed as he saw the time was currently 3.
Zilon looked towards the door to their yard and noticed how people have already started coming out of their homes.
"Wow this early....." Zilon exclaimed.
He sat back down on the ground enjoying the mid night breeze that couldn't reach his skin because of the cloths he wore.
"At least the rustling sound of this tree is calming"
"Which reminds me ,I might need to talk to Lyla about this tree " Zilon patts this tree as he makes his comments.
The tree rustled even more as if responding to his words.
Zilon stood up as he saw the moon slowly going down.
"I guess this marks the end of the night " Zilon said as he glanced over and saw the shadow barely visible, pointing towards 4.
Zilon yawned as he felt the tiredness coming back for him again.
"No we are almost there ,I can't fall when it's just some hours left..." Zilon slapped his cheeks.
He went back inside the house and entered the kitchen.
There he saw the bowl he washed his hands in evening,which still had the water inside so he tilted the jar next to it and washed his face.
He picked the bowl and went out.
He walked towards the tree and poured the water around it's roots.
He then walked inside and placed back the bowl next to the jar,were it was originally.
Zilon walked out again, and stretched himself as he noticed the sky color change to white.
"No sun,no moon...." Zilon decided to stand near the door as he faced the east.
Zilon looked over towards his water clock and noticed the water inside the bigger jar has already dirpped to it's last drop.
The smaller jar also had its water empty and Zilon sighed as he walked back towards the tree to rest the time.
He also adjusted the water clocks positions and went back towards the door.
He stood there his eyes were closing against his will but he forced himself to stay awake.
He did not know how but at some point,the golden rays of the morning sun reached his eyes.
Zilon opened his eyes and with a tired look on his face dragging himself towards the sun clock.
When he saw that the shadow pointed towards 7,he didn't need anything else.
No yelling,no celebration he only dragged himself back to his room and immediately he hit the bed.
"So Terra...has 36hours.....in it's day"
Zilon couldn't hold himself anymore,he had no reason to in fact.
"Good....nig....."
Zilon's eyes were about to shut close but he saw a blue panel appearing in front of his eyes and the system's voice ringing inside his head.
[You have just completed a hidden mission
You have acquired the following...
]
Everything went dark afterwards.
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