I saw the future…
A future no one wanted.
A world in ruins, filled with suffering. A red moon illuminated the chaotic night, depriving humanity of all joy. The stench of blood filled everyone's nostrils, waiting to be the next victim. Gray clouds enveloped the world in chaos, bringing with them the fear of death. Thousands of homes collapsed, razed to the ground. Humanity flocked to flee the impending danger. None of them remained in one place. They sought safety that never came.
Millions of demons emerged from their homeland, ravaging the lives of all humanity. However, among the many demons that existed, there was a figure who presided over the apocalypse. A demon with powers equal to the gods, perhaps even slightly stronger. It had six jet-black wings on its back, three on the right and three on the left. It face was deceptive, appearing to be a handsome human, but its body was stained with sin that could never be erased.
Humanity fled from the demon. They ran away, shouting its name, "The Son of Dawn ... has arrived! Run quickly!"
Before I could think deeply about my vision of this bleak future, a dream haunted my days. It came suddenly, disappeared, leaving traces in my heart.
I saw a handsome man with snow-white skin, short black hair with bangs covering his large forehead, standing tall on the roof of a building, staring at his friend lying limp on the cold floor.
The man stepped toward his friend, glancing at him with sorrowful eyes. He opened his mouth slowly, suppressing the sadness welling up in his heart, "Hang in there, Josiah! I will definitely save you!"
Still lying limp, his friend shook his head stiffly. "Don't worry about me, Trayen. Destroy that cursed box before the end of humanity comes. Break its seal. Destroy—the Casket of Dawn! If you don't destroy it, all of humanity... ugh, ugh... will die." Fresh blood flowed from his battle-wounded abdomen. He couldn't even move his hands anymore. This was his fate ... to lose his life.
Trayen stared at the limp young man's face for a moment, then turned his gaze to a brown casket not far from where he stood. "Very well, I will complete my mission. When it's all over, let's meet again amidst the jeweled flower fields."
The casket emitted a blinding purple light, enough to blind an ordinary person in a matter of seconds.
With the last of his strength, Josiah opened his pale lips and shouted his final words. "Blessed are those born of the past, those living of the present, and those dead of the future. Blessed are those who are saved!" Josiah then closed his eyes, signaling that all his energy was gone.
Loneliness finally arrived, leaving Trayen with the sacred casket. Without warning, the casket floated into the air, spinning like a wheel. Trayen, still overcome with grief, stood upright facing the casket. He gathered his courage and energy to unleash his best. The veins in his right hand thickened and turned a deep purple, overpowering the intense light from the casket.
"Blessed be... despair!" His right hand suddenly emitted an incredibly bright purple flame, enveloping his entire arm from palm to elbow. He silently looked up at the 'casket of dawn,' harboring a grudge against it. The heat of the purple flame in his hand didn't burn his body, as if it were already a part of him.
As the casket of dawn stopped spinning, from within emerged a massive monster. Its head looked like a goat's, but its body was human, covered in burns. They stared at each other, and a moment of silence enveloped the still night.
Thus, the battle between the two began. However, at the same moment, I awoke from my sleep. My head was dizzy, my body weak, as if I were the main character in a story. Although I often dreamed about supernatural events, I didn't believe in such strange things. Demons? They didn't really exist to me. Besides, it was impossible for the spirits of the dead to rise to life.
Son of Dawn—I felt as if I had heard of him before. But where was he?
***
Bandung City, 2030.
"Sis! Wake up! Are you going to sleep until the afternoon again?" A girl's soft voice woke me from my reverie. She had knocked repeatedly on the door, but I was too lazy to open it.
Creak! From outside, my bedroom door opened. I heard footsteps approaching. A beautiful girl stood before me, her long black hair reaching her hips, her figure curvaceous and slightly curvaceous, her small bangs covering her beautiful forehead, and her pink lips, a sign of her naturally captivating features. I glanced at her briefly, then I jolted myself out of bed, rising from my slumber.
"See, you just woke up. Hurry up and take a shower, bro. Mom sent me out to buy some things," my little sister said in a slightly softer tone than before.
I rubbed my eyes, stabilizing my initially blurry vision. "Okay, wait a minute."
The usual morning finally dawned, accompanied by the warmth of the sun streaming through the window. The cool air swept across the room, even the tiled floor beneath my feet felt refreshing. Still feeling tired, I headed to the bathroom to finish my morning shower and wash off the dirt.
In the dining room, my two little sisters and I ate together while waiting for my mother to arrive. My father had passed away when I was little, leaving just the four of us in this small family. Honestly, I didn't know the cause of my father's death. Everything felt strange and unnatural, as if some mystical force was surrounding his body. However, I didn't believe in supernatural things like the ones I'd just thought about.
"Brother, Mom said you were going to buy vegetables at the market. Do you want me to accompany you?" asked my younger sister, who had woken me up earlier. She was beautiful and had a shapely figure.
I swallowed my food first and then answered her question with a slight shake of my head. "No need, Mona. I can go by myself. Don't you have school?"
"Yeah, you're right. Okay then. Please go to Tanah Abu Market, okay?" She then fell silent and went back to her breakfast.
My other younger sister was absorbed in her reading. She was a bookworm, a sucker for mystical stories that didn't make sense. She even always had candles at each end of her room, afraid that the devil would come to her while she slept. It was so ridiculous. Her lips were often closed, and she rarely spoke to us, but I never felt awkward when we were alone.
As my breakfast was over, my eyes glanced over at the book my bookworm sister was reading. She seemed to be reading a novel… more like a mystical tale with a touch of true events. "What book are you reading, Tia?" I asked, approaching her chair.
"Here—here. It's called 'Veronica's Diary.' Many people say it's cursed. So—I wanted to see what part of it scares people. But don't worry, sis. This is just a copy, not the original," she replied, partially covering her mouth, seemingly still shy about speaking to me.
It seemed like the book was about someone's diary. It was strange, why would diaries be bought and sold? Humans, the longer we live, the more we lose sight of the rules.
Without another word, I prepared to leave the house for a market not far from our house. However, as I was at the exit, just before I left the house, someone called out to me from inside, "Brother, wait—wait a minute!"
It was a familiar girl's voice. I immediately turned around, looking toward the source of the voice. "Is something wrong, Tia?" I asked.
She looked pale, her mouth stiff, as if she wanted to say something important. However, the next words that came out of her mouth were simple, "It's okay, be careful on the road, brother."
I smiled sweetly. "Of course." With that, I walked out and closed the door tightly.
At the same moment I closed the door, the book Tia was reading fell to the floor, opening to a page. On the page was a sentence: "Monday, August 26, 2030: Bandung City, Purnama Street, Tanah Abu Market: Appearance of Doomsday Symptom 1 - Possession Syndrome."
~ TO BE CONTINUED ~