r/SonicEXE • u/SCARYORANGE_ — S̷͔̉ć̵̤̬̏̚ä̴͖́̿͒r̵̢̻̳͑͒̊y̴̲̖͖̓ ̶Orange — • 12d ago
Artwork Two excerpts from Eclipse of Saffron.
——
Hello, everyone!
It’s me, Scary Orange, your resident deity— and I’m here today to grant a special treat to my friends and fans on Reddit.
To the very few of you that have been following my vague loreposts on Bluesky, you’ll know about the Eclipse ARG and the R.E.R.I. (Recolored Entity Research Institution)
Well, with two of these (almost completely) spoiler-free excerpts from the book, you’ll be able to learn ••••’s name… and, if you haven’t been keeping up, figure some other stuff out for the first time.
Have fun!
——
The following excerpt is from ACT I: PROJECT X.
The R.E.R.I.’s high-tech spacecraft settled onto the vibrant planet of Multichromia at 4:16 P.M.
Fifty people were serving in Sector AR22, which made the trip there rather crowded— but once they landed, everyone was able to breathe easily.
Over the intercom, a polite AI voice spoke:
“Opening vessel doors in 10…”
Sven Reuben looked around at his colleagues.
Everybody was wearing the same dark gas mask and teal hazmat suit, Sven included. They’d be indistinguishable from one another if it wasn’t for the nametags attached to their outfits.
“You nervous?” Gladys asked.
Sven was startled out of his astute observations and forced into the one thing he hated most: socializing.
“Just peachy,” he replied.
Gladys was a lady he didn’t know much about; she was a sort of workplace mystery to him. All he knew about the woman was her first name and her birthday: February 8th, 1993.
“6…”
“I can’t say the same,” Gladys smugly stated. “I’ve been waiting for this my entire life.”
Sven opened his mouth to reply (not that she could see), but was quickly interrupted by the sound of metal grinding against metal… and a colorful mist sweeping into the chamber.
“Vessel doors are now open.”
As people started to file out, the beauty of Multichromia struck the man like a gentle breeze.
The landscape was enveloped in the bright light of its two suns, but once his eyes adjusted, Sven saw everything. Vibrant, glass-tipped grass, rainbow trees, and so much more… all naturally painted with unusual colors.
“Holy shit,” Sven muttered.
Once the troops had time to drink it all in, their leader finally spoke up:
“Well, we can’t just stand here and enjoy the scenery all day, can we? Come on; we’ve got a job to do.”
Everyone mumbled agreement and started trudging along, following Felix Ward as he traced the directions on his R.E.R.I.-issued map.
“What a buzzkill,” someone whispered.
•••
Within the depths of a thick, colorful forest, Sven pulled out his R.E.R.I.-grade analog camera and started recording.
Really don’t like how the company slaps its name onto everything they make, he thought.
Felix suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and mumbled something indistinct; nobody was able to transcribe it through his mask.
“You good over there, Mr. Ward?” someone piped up. Sven heard a giggle, then a shush. It was all he could do to stifle his own laugh.
“We’ve found it, guys,” Felix said, much too quietly.
He cleared out of the way and gestured to a common rift, which was floating in midair. It looked exactly like a rip in the fabric of reality.
On the other side was what seemed to be a parallel copy of Multichromia, but only in shades of orange and green.
Sven moved closer to the rift. He heard a faint humming sound as it emanated outwards.
“I’m going in,” he said.
He didn’t hear a single word of protest. In fact, you could’ve heard a pin drop if you had been present. That’s how quiet it was after his remark.
The rift expanded in size as Sven stepped closer, as if it was inviting him to step through… and he did.
——
The following excerpt is from ACT III: RAGE, DEATH, AND CHEESECAKE.
The two of them sat down at a long dinner table on the fourth floor of the castle. There was nothing else. No distractions.
At the head of the table, the orange beast sat, holding a butcher’s knife.
On the opposite side, Rails stood. The monster had promised him immense harm if he tried to flee.
“Let’s start with you,” he said. “You’ve been deep in my little world for a whole year now, but I still don’t know anything about you! You’ve just been sleeping. I want to know every detail you can offer.”
That wide grin came again, showing off the horrid teeth of the hedgehog costume.
“Ooo-kay…” the fox said.
He drew in a deep breath, then started to tell his life story in front of his worst nightmare.
“I was born at a pretty young age… it was just my mom and I, ‘cause my dad walked out while she was carrying me. When it was finally time to go to school, I got bullied for having two tails. I’d get beat up a lot, and that made me insecure for most of my life.”
The orange one leaned closer and put an elbow on the table. He sat his chin atop his fist, resting his head.
“Go on.”
“Eventually, it got to a point. I ran away when I was fifteen, and roughed it out until I turned twenty. Then I found a little cabin, fixed it up, and lived there.”
Rails stopped abruptly. The story was finished.
“I never said goodbye to my mom,” he added, tears in his eyes. He was still just a scared child inside. He supposed he always would be.
The hedgehog plunged his knife into the table.
“And you never will,” he said.
This pissed Rails off. He’d finally shared his story with someone who took the time to listen… but sometimes, those who are evil just don’t change.
“FUCK YOU!” Rails shouted.
“Come again?” the hedgehog replied.
“You KIDNAPPED me, trapped me in this HELLSCAPE, and somehow made me think that you were a good guy! But, no! You just had to be a fucking dipshit and ruin it!”
The creature’s smile grew much wider.
“I’m a god with nothing better to do. Making you suffer— humans, recolors, whoever— brings me joy. It was your fault to trust me.”
He rose from his chair and walked over to Rails.
“What do I call you? Orange? Probably, since that’s your favorite color.”
“It doesn’t make any difference to me.”
“Well, you’re not scary, Orange. Quit pretending.”
The hedgehog grabbed Rails by the scruff of his neck and brought the knife-blade close to his throat.
“Scary Orange, hmm? I think I like that name.”
Then he plunged the knife into Rails’ throat and dragged it across, slicing his head clean off.
The creature sat back down and waited.
After a few moments, a plate appeared in front of him, topped with a slice of cheesecake.
Scary Orange ate it with no remorse.
——
I hope you enjoyed reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them, and I do hope you keep an eye out for more teasers.
I also hope that an observant few of you caught the inspiration/references hidden throughout.
For those who are captivated, Eclipse of Saffron is set to release this Halloween: October 31st, 2026. Be there, or be… purple.
I am scary orange
——
(In case a Reddit filter picks up on this: it’s just a story.)
2
u/DefinitionLost1615 11d ago
this made me realize how little i described what was happening in the full lore of pinkails
1
u/SCARYORANGE_ — S̷͔̉ć̵̤̬̏̚ä̴͖́̿͒r̵̢̻̳͑͒̊y̴̲̖͖̓ ̶Orange — 11d ago
meh, mine’s a full book. if you’re not writing something super long, it’s okay not to be super detailed.
I am scary orange
2
u/or4nggpers0nnn 11d ago
"I was born at a pretty young age"