Ross couldn't see anything but pitch darkness. His body was so heavy, as if buried beneath a pile of rocks. He heard the clash of weapons, the casting of magic, and the unleashing of power. From the sounds alone, he knew the battle was epic and that the fighters were immensely powerful.
Ross was a thirteen-year-old boy with a slim body, short golden-blonde hair, and grey eyes.
Suddenly, an earsplitting screech of an explosion tore through the air, and he could move his body once more.
He quickly opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground. He lifted his head and looked around. The sky was red like blood, shattering like glass. The ground was a desolate sea of burning ashes. It was no different from the end of the world. Suddenly, a loud thud erupted behind him. Panicking, he scrambled to his feet and spun around.
Before him lined up a team of heroes, utterly exhausted and badly wounded, facing against a giant, horrifying dark humanoid being. The dark being was majestic and terrifying to the core, as if it was the Lord of Evil. It possessed a perfect man physique, and sharp long fingers. Its chest was wide, its shoulders were broad, and its torso was an inverted triangle, akin to that of a great warrior. Even though its body was absolutely marvelous, its terror remained undiminished.
Its entire body was made of steel and dark like the heart of the abyss.
Emblazoned upon its head were large crown-shaped devil horns, with the leftmost and rightmost horns much longer and larger than the others.
Upon both shoulders were large, long, curved spikes that resembled rhino horns, and beside them were smaller stakes with the same design.
Prominently embedded within its chest was an inverted, red, glowing triangular crystal.
It had flaming eyes that were entirely scarlet and shaped like a wide V split vertically at the center. Each eye was a sharp, slanted line with pointed edges, curving downward at the inner corner and upward at the outer end.
Aside from its sinister eyes and crown-shaped horns, its head bore nothing else.
The dark being glared at the heroes.Ross sensed infinite power emanating from the crystal on its chest—a power capable of destroying the entire universe with a mere snap of its fingers.
It adorned itself with gigantic scarlet devil wings and wielded a massive glowing red crystal trident in one hand.
A white knight with a blue cape and glowing cerulean light greatsword; a cyborg with a heavy armed mechanized suit; a towering warrior with a blazing body, red armor and a colossal double-bladed sword; a superhero in a yellow suit; a green sorcerer with a grandmaster's staff; and an agent with a dual pistol stood side by side, gasping for air, clutching their weapons tightly, and glaring at the dark being.
Behind the dark being towered a dead tree as gigantic as a skyscraper, heavily damaged by the explosion and fire.
Standing resolutely in front of everyone was a tall, strong man in a brown jacket. He had long blonde hair, wielded a radiant golden crystal sword and wore a gold gauntlet with a yellow gemstone set in the back.
"Don't worry," said the man, smiling warmly at Ross.
The man had a gentle face, calm yet piercing glowing golden eyes, long blonde hair, and a short beard.
"Victory will be ours," said the man.
The man wheeled back to the dark being and charged at it with a thunderous war cry. The heroes screamed at the top of their lungs, sprinting after their leader. The being clenched its weapon and charged at the heroes as well.
But just as they were about to clash, Ross reached for the man and yelled at the peak of his voice, "NO! ARTHUR!"
Ross sprang up from his bed, waking from his dream. He was no longer on the battlefield. He was now in a cozy, dim, wooden bedroom, reaching toward the emptiness instead of the man. After realizing it was all just a dream and stopping panting, he lowered his hand.
He woke in the middle of the night. The room was dark, but moonlight streamed in just enough to see. The pendulum of the birdhouse clock on the wall swung steadily, its soft tick-tock echoing through the quiet room. The bedroom was enriched with books, toys, lovely souvenirs, and peculiar treasures from around the world.
Ross glanced at his sister. She was still sleeping soundly in her bed, her back turned to him, lightly stirring. She had long blonde hair and fair skin like him.
Ross sighed with relief that he didn't wake her up. He looked at the open window with two wooden panes at the end of the room and saw a gentle, beautiful ray of moonlight shining in. He put on the glasses, set his feet on the floor and strolled to the window.
He leaned against the windowsill and admired the dreamlike view of the countryside. His house sat on the mountainsides, so beyond the window stretched an enchanting meadow that sloped down to a glittering circular blue lake, surrounded by a small town. At the heart of the lake rested a small island, crowned by a large, majestic tree adorned with white blossoms at the center. A ring of majestic, verdant mountains with snowy peaks embraced the town, and on their sides, lovely wooden and stone houses dotted. A magnificent castle crowned the tallest peak, with a grand academy sprawled beneath it.
The magical livestock slept soundly in the heavenly field, bathed in moonlight. The lake reflected, becoming a second sky.
The midnight-blue sky shimmered with colorful, twinkling stars and drifting clouds.The sky was clear, so he could see the brilliant three moons hanging, each differing in color and size.
He couldn't believe that such a nightmare could strike on a beautiful night like this.
He was so captivated by the view that he didn't hear the girl light the lamp on a nightstand and walk over to him.
"Were you trying to give me a heart attack again?" asked the girl, setting down the lantern between them, leaning against the windowsill, and looking at the boy with her sparkling, pretty grey eyes.
"Sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night, Rosalia," said the boy.
"It's okay, Ross. I'm used to it. Wow, the sky is so beautiful."
"Right? Can't believe I had a nightmare tonight."
"The sky has nothing to do with a nightmare."
"I know. But I hope it does."
"Haven't you been having nightmares every night lately?"
"Yes, that's why I wished today would be different."
They watched the stars together for a moment before Rosalia asked, "What did you dream about this time?"
"A team of heroes confronts a dark being."
"And there was Arthur."
"How did you know?"
"Well, someone around here likes to wake up in the middle of the night and shout the name of an unknown person out loud. I really hate it when that happens; it almost gives me a heart attack."
"Oh, right. Sorry. And what about you? Haven't you had any nightmares?"
"Hmm… nope! I'm not the kind of person who loves to read stories before bed."
"Come on, that's not the cause."
"Just kidding."
"Maybe they're not nightmares, but visions—Glimpses of the future."
"Visions?! You?!" Rosalia giggled. "Who are you?! The chosen one?!"
"That's right. The thing you'll never be," said Ross with a smug.
Rosalia punched Ross's arm with a smirk.
"Ouch! Hey, punching the chosen one is wrong, you know."
"If someone around here is the chosen one, it's me, not you!"
"If someone around here is the chosen one, it's someone else, not us."
"Yeah, you're right."
They laughed.
"At best, you'll only be an adventeon who lives day by day."
"So will you. Honestly, I hope my nightmares aren't visions."
"Why? Were they that bad?"
"Whatever you're thinking, it's worse than that. I saw billions of lives lost, slaughtered by the army of the dead. I saw millions of planets burning and exploding into pieces. And worst of all, I saw you…"
They stared into each other's eyes.
"Die."
Rosalia's eyes widened. "Ross! That's not funny!"
"I… I'm sorry. I should have said that."
Rosalia remained silent for a moment. "Did I really die?"
Ross nodded.
"How did I die?"
"You sacrificed your life for your son. His life was in danger, so you rushed to save him without hesitation. Not only did you love him with all your heart, but you also knew that he was utterly important. That's why you gave your life for him… for the greater good."
Rosalia shockingly stared at Ross. "I… I…"
"Hey, are you alright?"
"I told you I'm the chosen one!"
"For crying out loud, Rosy!"
They laughed.
"Come on, let's get back to bed. We have to clean the entire house before our parents return from their adventure tomorrow," said Rosalia, walking back to her bed.
"Good point."
Rosalia jumped onto her bed and hugged a plushie of a cute, white, humanoid creature with big blue eyes and a blue triangle on its chest. "Don't worry about those nightmares. They were just dreams, right?"
Ross went silent as Rosalia stared at him, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah… right…" replied Ross.
Rosalia beamed. "Goodnight!" She blew out the candle, wrapped herself in her pink blanket, and turned away.
Ross looked up at the sky once more. Tonight's sky was so different from the one in his dream. He hoped that everything he had seen in his dream wasn't the future, for it would mean the end of the world.
As he grabbed the window to close it, he noticed the white tree at the center of the lake beginning to glow. Its gentle light pulsed slowly, like a signal.
He was curious about it, but he had work to do tomorrow, so he closed the window and returned to bed. After covering himself with a yellow wool blanket, he stared at the dancing moonlight on the ceiling and whispered, 'Arthur… who are you?' before turning onto his side and closing his eyes.
Once he fell asleep, the tree stopped shining, as though the light was meant for him.