Solar eclipse?

"What's happening? It's dark already?" Ethan thought he had suddenly gone blind, groping around for a while before he realized what was happening.

He checked his phone, which showed it was only half-past three in the afternoon. In London, even in winter, it shouldn't be dark until after 4 p.m. What was going on?

Ethan couldn't help but think of the scene depicted on the scroll of the sun sinking into the sea. He opened the scroll, and the patterns inside began to glow, similar to the faint bioluminescence he saw in the symbols on the walls of the tunnel when he first entered. What was happening?

Sounds of cars braking and colliding could be heard in the distance, indicating that the sudden darkness had caused some traffic issues. Or was it some other kind of anomaly? Ethan thought to himself.

He quickly closed the scroll, and the light inside it disappeared. Regardless of what had happened, he decided it was best to check out other areas to see what exactly was going on.

This complete darkness was highly unusual. Ethan looked up, and it seemed not like clouds were blocking the sun but as if the sun had suddenly gone out, or perhaps a rapid eclipse had occurred. What happened to the sun? Ethan remembered the eerie image on the scroll suggesting the sun might be sinking into the sea.

This situation was highly inconvenient for Ethan. He didn't use his phone's flashlight since he was conserving battery power. He fumbled his way around.

Ethan hurriedly left for a more populated central area of the neighborhood, which had become brightly lit. A black sedan had crashed into a lamppost on the side of the road, creating a bit of chaos.

Ethan bypassed the accident scene and entered a Tesco convenience store, a common chain in London, though not very popular because it significantly encroached on the space of local convenience stores.

Inside, he found people casually chatting, seemingly puzzled by the situation but not overly concerned.

After all, London's weather is unpredictable, with sudden darkness not being too unusual.

Ethan casually bought a chocolate-filled croissant, his favorite breakfast item, choosing it due to extreme hunger after surviving a deadly encounter since Tesco didn't have much else to eat.

While paying, he casually asked the cashier, "Hey, bro, do you know what happened? Why did it get dark so quickly today?"

The cashier shrugged, indicating he didn't know. He looked Ethan over and suddenly said, "This one's on me. No need to pay."

"What? Thanks a lot," Ethan was surprised, not understanding why the cashier was so generous.

Seeing Ethan's puzzled look, the cashier gestured towards Ethan's attire.

Ethan looked down and found that although his wounds had completely healed, his clothes were in tatters due to the shooting and there were still some blood stains.

It seemed that I was being treated as a homeless man or a refugee? Ethan smiled bitterly.

But since it doesn't cost money, it doesn't matter. Although the bread only costs one pound, Ethan wasn't exactly flush with cash.

He had just graduated and immediately lost his student status: the council had sent him a council tax bill the day after his graduation ceremony, a significant amount he didn't have to pay as a student.

"Damn this government, they just want me to get out as soon as I graduate," Ethan thought angrily.

After thanking the cashier again, Ethan left the store, picking up a free newspaper on his way out to wrap the scroll, making it less noticeable.

A few minutes after Ethan left the store, the sky trembled again, and the light returned. What was going on?

Ethan carefully looked at the sun, which seemed less intense after regaining its light, as if veiled by a thin mist.

Standing in the middle of the neighborhood, Ethan's gaze shifted between the bustling crowd and the sun in the sky.

Despite the restored brightness, people around didn't seem to pay much attention, continuing with their daily lives. The sun appeared no different than usual, except for the brief darkness, as if everything had returned to normal.

Deciding to head home, Ethan walked towards the train station.

He was filled with curiosity and wanted to explore the old house's basement again, but considering a potential ambush by Carlos, he chose to temporarily give up. His instinct told him the scroll was key, and keeping it hidden was more important than anything else.

Sitting on the train back home, Ethan found a quiet corner to sit down. Fortunately, with London's diverse population and the dim lighting, his attire didn't attract much attention.

He took out his phone, hoping to distract himself a bit.

Soon, a piece of news caught his attention - "A millennium-rare large-scale solar eclipse! Observable from around the world!" He clicked on the news and found that indeed, this unusual phenomenon was reported worldwide, from New York to Tokyo, from Paris to Sydney, without exception.

It wasn't just London; such a phenomenon was happening all over the world. However, this made sense—if it was indeed an anomaly with the sun, whether it be extinguishment or eclipse, it could indeed be observed from any part of the Earth that was in daylight at the time.

As Ethan browsed through the news about the eclipse, he also looked at the interactions and comments of netizens, hoping to find some information.

One comment read: "Don't be silly, an eclipse? The moon is still up there! This is definitely a conspiracy by the US, they must be testing some secret weapon." Following this, another netizen joked: "Haha, remember, the US is a democratic country, maybe Russia is conducting a nuclear test in some corner, and a large dust cloud has blocked the sun."

Another comment was even more bizarre, saying: "I saw the shadow of a monster last night, this is a harbinger of monsters wanting to invade Earth!" Immediately, someone replied: "Bro, it's time to cut down on your horror movie dosage."

Ethan scrolled further down.

"I heard the sun went out because the sun god is on vacation, even the sun gets annual leave, when will my company give me annual leave?" "Well, now that the sun isn't working, I can legitimately tell my boss I don't want to work today."

As Ethan read, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the gloominess in his heart due to his physical mutation dissipated a bit.

Opening Twitter, Ethan saw a comment under the trending section from someone named "Abyss Walker": "The flickering of the sun is just the beginning, the sun will eventually be extinguished, swallowed by the abyss, dragging the world into endless darkness!" Due to its overly religious content, it was mocked by many.

Ethan saw someone mocking below: "Abyss Walker sounds like a character from some second-rate sci-fi novel, now even the sun is going to be swallowed? Stop joking, do you even know how big the sun is?"

Another netizen joined the debate: "The sun swallowed by the abyss? Haha, should we start building spaceships and look for a new home then?"

"Abyss Walker" replied: "You may laugh, but when the truth comes, you will have nowhere to escape. The power of the abyss far exceeds your imagination."

This piqued some people's curiosity, with someone asking: "Abyss Walker, what exactly do you know? Do you have any evidence?"

And "Abyss Walker" mysteriously replied: "Time will prove everything. Remember, the power of darkness is not to be underestimated, only by joining us and building the ark in advance can you go further in the abyss!"

Ethan felt a chill, this discussion and prophecy reminded him of the scroll in his hands and those strange symbols. He couldn't help but start to ponder if there was indeed some connection between these so-called prophecies and the incredible events he had experienced?

As the train slowly moved forward, Ethan's thoughts wandered far.

"It seems I need to study the symbols and patterns in the scroll carefully," Ethan decided, seeing it as the current breakthrough, perhaps hiding the key to unlocking all these mysteries.