Dear Diary,
Today is Sunday, January 7th of what would have been the Year 1001 AR. Now, it's Year 1 of the New World...
The world I knew came to an end a week ago. It gave me something, but it took away things from me that I will never get again. There's this hollowness in my heart that will never go away.
My parents are gone. Grandmother, Uncle, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Gina, Alan, and my other cousins are gone.
Only Remus, Felix, and his little daughter Sylvia survived that day at the Manor...
I buried my family with my hands today. Old Remus waited for me to wake up. The Manor is clean too... but it is desolate. I don't know what I would have done without him...
It's a strange world now. Very strange. I can hear terrifying monsters screaming in the distance, roaming on the estate, in the woods, searching for the Aeons to devour...
Internet and cellular networks are gone, but satellites are accessible. However, what I have found on the satellite feed is terrifying, to say the least. I am still trying to wrap my head around the new reality...
We still have electricity, but that's only because the estate has its own source. Most of the world is without it, and the survivors around the globe are engaged in a constant struggle of life and death right now...
Why did this all happen? How did this all happen? Is this all a dream?
I don't have any answers right now, but I will find them. I must find them.
Maybe I will write to you again tomorrow. Maybe I will never touch you again. I don't have the heart to keep writing to you... It's just too painful...
Yours truly,
Amon Elvius Octavius Rayne
---
Sunday, December 31st, 1000 AR.
On the morning of the Last Day, a few minutes before the clocks hit 7:47 am and the world changed forever...
"Master Amon, please slow down!"
The second son of the Duke of Winterheim heard his old butler call after him, but his feet did not slow down.
There was a scowl on his handsome face and coldness in his sapphire eyes. In his ears, the words of his father rang, and in his heart was rage. Unbridled rage. Right on the verge of erupting and destroying everything in its path.
It was taking a lot of effort for him to keep his powers in check, but even then, the people he passed by could not help but feel dizzy and sway on their feet.
The guards of Winter Manor saluted him as he stepped out and walked toward his car, parked next to the fountain of the three prancing white horses, covered in falling snow.
However, he instantly stopped when he heard his butler trip behind him and quickly lowered his head when the old man, who had a greyish-white mane for a beard, caught up and stood by his side.
"Master Amon, please..."
"How can he do that to me, Remus? Have I not been a filial son? Have I not done everything he has ever asked of me?"
"You have been a good son, Master."
"Then why, Remus? Why does he deny me the one thing I truly want?"
"The Red Rain is the symbol of your House, Master Amon. The sword should only be passed from the Duke to the Heir."
"It has been passed to the second son before, and my brother does not use swords. He has no need for it. What good is it doing hanging there on the wall instead of in my hands?"
"Preventing people and enemies from getting the wrong idea and sparing you of their schemes."
Amon frowned and clenched his left fist.
"So, he does not have faith in me."
"Master. I know you understand these things better than I do. Please, try to understand your father's troubles. You have the blood of the Royal Family in your veins. Your mother is a Princess. Your brother's mother was from the Rayne family. If people see the Red Rain in your hands, they will get the wrong idea. Your claim will be backed by the Royal Family, especially since you have inherited their powers."
"I have no desire to become a Duke, Remus."
"I am aware, Master. Your father's decision also spares your brother from the evil of the vultures. Please, give up on the Red Rain."
"My Honoured Sister is a Princess too. The Royal Family married her to my brother because he is the Heir. Why would they favour me over him after all that?"
"Your mother is the King's daughter, my Lord. Your Honoured Sister is the daughter of the Crown Prince. You are the King's grandson. Your brother is only the husband of his granddaughter."
Amon narrowed his eyes.
"Is there something I should know?"
"There are rumours in the Royal Court that are quite distasteful. The enemies will take the opportunity if they see it. Your brother's life might be in danger just because of your desire to take the Red Rain. Your own life might be in danger."
"I will just steal it then and go away..."
The old man froze when he heard him whisper, his face growing pale, but then, to his relief, Amon turned to him and smiled.
"Relax. It was just a thought."
"Pardon me, Master Amon, but that was a very distasteful thought."
"I know." He raised his head, looked at the sky, and then took a deep breath before exhaling all his complaints and anger.
"Remus."
"Yes, Master?"
"Why is life so unfair?"
"I suppose that's the beauty of it. Don't you think a life where you have no challenges, where you can have everything you desire, would become boring very quickly?"
"Perhaps..." he whispered, then shook his head. "I should go see my mother. She looked very anxious..."
His words had not even finished when he sensed something.
A strange red miasma started oozing out of the earth, sparkling, and the next instant, there was a loud explosion in the sky.
It was so loud and booming that his heart stopped for a moment, and then a wave of dizziness washed over him.
His vision blurred, and right on the verge of fainting, he saw himself surrounded by colourful glowing gems floating in the air.
He did not know how or why, but he felt like he needed to make a choice, so he instinctively grabbed the dark red gem that resembled a blood ruby. It was his favourite colour...
Amon felt like his entire body was on fire as soon as he gripped the gem, and he heard himself scream in the distance.
When he regained clarity, he found himself in motion, off the ground, and the next instant, he painfully crashed into the tall pillar.
A terrible pain shot through his torso. His mind blanked again for a moment, but then he heard the terrifying roars all around him and in the distance.
He raised his head and saw Old Remus covered in blood, about to be slaughtered by a humanoid monster with an ox head, wearing the torn uniform of a guard.
Without a second thought, he charged towards the creature, at a speed he did not even notice, and managed to reach it just in time to save his old butler from its punch.
He blocked it with his forearm, then smashed his left hand into the monster's abdomen, sending it flying away with a red Psionic Blast.
"Remus..." he turned around but froze when he saw the old man's expression morphing into something monstrous. "Remus!!!" he instinctively shouted, and subconsciously let out a strange Psionic Blast that hurled his butler away, along with two other monstrous guards who were charging at him.
When he realised what he had just done, his body trembled as he rushed forward to grab the unconscious butler.
He looked around the grounds and found more monsters running toward him. Quickly, he rushed inside the palace, carrying the old man like a sack.
"Mother..." he whispered, and for some reason, tears started pouring out of his eyes.
It almost felt like he heard her scream, but there were screams all around him, and he was praying in his heart that she was fine.
His hope did not last for long.
Everyone in the Manor seemed to have turned into a monster, and they all wanted to kill him and Remus.
He wanted to get to his mother fast, but they wouldn't let him. Even as he fought with them, creating a red sword with his Psionic Energy, there seemed to be no end to their numbers.
His mind entered a state of Blood Frenzy, fuelled by the desire to survive and to get to his family. He fought and fought, painting the walls and floor of his manor in the blood of monsters.
Bruised, cut, battered, and in tatters, he finally made it to his mother's chamber, and the scene he saw made him let out a painful wail.
He was late. His mother had screamed for help, and he had failed...
His presence caught the attention of the hound-like monsters who were devouring his mother's corpse, and Amon dropped Remus and charged at them, only to be smashed into the wall with a Psionic Blast. His mother's power...
These hideous creatures now had his mother's powers...
All he saw then was the world in the shade of blood. He killed and fought every monster he could find until his consciousness fleeted away, and unbeknownst to him, even after that...
Old Remus, when he woke up hours later, almost threw up at the smell of rotten blood. But when he looked around the Duchess' room, his blood went cold.
The walls were clawed. The bed was shattered. The marble floor cracked and soaked in dried blood. There were corpses of monstrous things scattered about the room. Things that had once been people. Torn and twisted beyond recognition.
But it was the Duchess who brought him to his knees.
She had been mauled. Her limbs lay in pieces. Her golden hair was tangled in blood, and her torso was nearly hollow, as if the beasts had fought each other for her flesh. Her body had been dragged, clawed, gnawed at. Her eyes wide open in horror. There were marks of bite and blade, and her throat had been ripped open.
Remus collapsed beside her, body trembling, and reached out a shaking hand to close her eyes.
"My Lady..." he whispered, voice breaking, and pulled the torn sheet from the broken bed to cover what remained of her body.
He could not move for a long time. He could not weep. His chest ached, but no sound came out.
The Duchess, who had once walked these halls with grace, who had treated even the servants with kindness, had been devoured in the very room where she once sang lullabies.
And he had not been there.
Remus clenched his fists and stood up to rush out again.
He needed to find his young master.
After searching for nearly half an hour, he finally arrived at the main entrance, and there he found Amon sprawled on the floor, covered in dried blood.
He failed to hold back his tears when he noticed Amon's chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. He staggered forward and fell to his knees beside him.
Only God knew how relieved he felt when he checked his young lord's body and did not find even a scratch. Then he lifted him and carried him to his room.
Once he wiped his body and put him in the bed, he picked up the phone, only to find there was no signal. Even the internet was gone.
Remus quickly rushed to the wall, slipped aside a painting, and revealed a hidden safe.
He took out the satellite phone inside and was relieved to find it functioning, but what he saw on the satellite feed chilled his heart.
A while later, he wiped away his tears and glanced at his young master, resting in bed. Then he inadvertently looked into the mirror and, for a moment, failed to recognise the reflection.
His hair was no longer grey, but golden blonde. His face looked younger. Decades younger.
It was only then that he noticed his hands, which no longer had wrinkles, and sensed the strength in his body, which no longer ached from old age.
He clenched his fist and felt the power coursing through him. Then sadly lowered it.
After losing himself in thought for several minutes, he slowly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Remus did not want his young master to see what he had seen. He needed to clean the Manor. He needed to put his late master and mistress in their coffins.
He needed to clean the place and also check on the two people he could still sense.
They were hiding in the Treasury.