By Atharv
Prologue: The Rooftop
The night was heavy.The clouds were thick, and the wind felt sharp as knives. Rain started to fall, cold and slow.
James stood on the edge of the orphanage rooftop.Fifteen years old. Alone. Tired of everything.
Down below, the city kept moving. People walked, cars passed, lights flickered. But up here? It felt like the world had paused — like it was waiting for him to jump.
He didn't cry. Not anymore. He had run out of tears long ago.
He looked up.
"Why me?"
There was no answer. Just the storm.
He took one final step forward.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning exploded from the sky, slamming straight into his chest.
Chapter 1: The Awakening
James flew back and hit the roof hard.He gasped, twitching, smoke rising from his body. His fingers were glowing. His chest burned, but he wasn't dead.
He opened his eyes.
"I'm… alive?"
He sat up slowly. Blue sparks danced across his hands. His heartbeat was loud — like a drum pounding in his ears.
The air smelled like fire and metal.
He touched the ground.BOOM — a chunk of the roof shattered under his palm.
He stared in shock. His whole body was buzzing with energy.His skin was hot, but it didn't burn.
Something had changed.He had changed.
Chapter 2: Into the Night
Sirens screamed in the distance. Red and blue lights flashed near the orphanage gates.
James didn't wait.
He ran down the fire escape, sparks flying from every step.He felt stronger. Faster. Like his legs were made of lightning.
He leaped over a ten-foot fence and landed like a cat. No pain.
He ran through the alleys, across the streets, deeper into the city — until the sirens were gone.
Chapter 3: The Alley
He stopped in a dark alley, breathing heavy. Steam rose from his skin.
Rain hit trash cans and puddles.He felt cold and hot at the same time — and completely lost.
"What's happening to me…"
Then — a sound.
Footsteps. Voices.
Three men stepped out from the shadows. Dirty jackets. Crowbars. One had a knife.
"Well, look what we got here," one of them said with a grin."Lost little rat in our alley."
James backed up.
"I don't want trouble."
They laughed. "Wrong place, wrong time."
The man with the knife stepped closer.James raised his hand by instinct.
FLASH.
A bolt of electricity shot from his fingers.It hit the man's chest — and he screamed.
His body shook, eyes wide, before he collapsed — smoking, still.
The other two froze. One turned to run. The other swung a crowbar.
James screamed back, not with fear — but with energy.A wave of light exploded from his body.
Both men were thrown against the wall.One didn't move.
James stood there, shaking. Breathing fast. Sparks crawled across his arms like angry snakes.
"I didn't mean to…"
He looked at the man on the ground. Eyes open. Empty.Dead.
James took a step back.Then another.
And ran.
Chapter 4: The Birth of a Shadow
He ran for what felt like forever.
He ended up on top of an old building, far from the alley. Far from the bodies.Far from who he used to be.
He stared at his hands.
"What am I?"
The wind blew harder now.The rain washed the blood from his shoes.
He didn't feel like a kid anymore.He didn't feel human, either.
"I was supposed to die…"
But he didn't. He became something else.
Not a killer. Not on purpose.
But not innocent, either.
Epilogue: Eclipse
The sky slowly lightened, just a little.
James stood tall.
He was no longer just a boy. He was something the world hadn't seen before.
He wasn't ready to be a hero.He wasn't trying to be a villain.
He was just… awake.
"If I can't die…""Then maybe I'll make them all remember me."
And the city would.
They would remember the storm.They would remember the fear.
They would call him —Eclipse.