In a sense, it was as if someone had suddenly twisted off the lid to a tightly sealed container, making everyone aware of its existence the moment the contents inside were released.

A thick, pungent smell clogged his nose, dragging his attention away from his sister's long message glaring on the phone screen. Similar to the cloy and cling of heavily scented perfume, but laced with a tang of iron and salt. It was the smell of blood.

A rather familiar smell.

Yesterday.

The kitchen knife slipped from his hand as he watched, transfixed, at the crimson liquid spilling down his forearm onto the white tiles of his kitchen floor.

"x-? Nox? Are you still there?" His sister, Roxanne, was still on the phone. He put her on speaker to free his hands while preparing dinner.

"I'm fine," Nox replied. He reached across the counter with his uninjured hand to grab a few paper towels. He pressed it against the long gash firmly. 'There should be a first aid kit in the bathroom,' he thought as the white surface slowly became stained with a dark red.

The iron tang of blood hung in the air.

"What were you saying again?"

***

Now, the same scent swarmed the streets of the seemingly normal sunny day, the heat making it more prominent to passersby by the second.

The summer weather felt stifling, making the collar of his shirt press uncomfortably against his throat.

Covering his face with a hand, Nox hurried to escape the dominating scent, long legs striding past the gathering crowd. The viscous, dark liquid never drew anything decent near it.

Someone nearby was shouting into their phone, no doubt calling the police to inform them of the situation.

"How terrible," a middle-aged woman muttered nearby, face pale with horror. Another passerby ran out of the crowd, heading for the nearest trash can.

By a sudden impulse, or perhaps from his shitty luck that day, Nox decided to glance back just as the crowd shifted, revealing a mangled body torn up beyond imagination.

He could taste bile at the back of his throat as his eyes unwillingly lingered on the image: broken bones protruded through the bloody mess at weird angles; the entire area was soaked in a murderous aura as if traces of whatever had made the corpse that way still lingered in the air, smugly showing off its kill.

Swallowing around the lump in his throat, he quickly headed across the street, ignoring the screams and urgent shouting as more people noticed the commotion. Without turning back, Nox walked towards his small apartment nestled in the busy city.

_______________________

'...And today the police station has received a total of four new reports of bloody bodies strewn across the city, all in the same condition. We ask that citizens remain cautious as we wait for an official report concerning this matter…'

On the screen was a solemn news reporter and a mosaiced image of each bloody scene, showing the brutality with a large amount of red pixels.

Nox stared glumly at the TV screen, absentmindedly waiting for his microwave dinner to finish heating. Maybe it was from the shock of seeing the bloody corpse, but he'd been having headaches since returning to his apartment.

He might as well call in sick for tomorrow, even if the thermometer hadn't reported a fever. "I don't think I'm at the age for a heart attack…" he muttered, placing a hand over his heart. It was beating like he just finished running a 100m sprint at full speed, adding to his irritation.

A buzzing from his phone snapped him out of his trance. Glancing at the screen, Nox swiped to accept the call. "Mom."

'Nox, did you see the news of the murders? There's one in your area, right? How was it?'

Immediately, a look of exasperation took over his face. "Roxanne, just because you're interested in criminology doesn't mean that you can ask useless questions. Be satisfied with the pixels you see on the news." Despite his blunt words, fond indulgence crept into his tone.

'They literally made the whole image a block of red this time, how am I supposed to figure out anything from that?!'

Listening to her demanding question made his head pound. "Put Mom on. I bet you stole her phone again."

'I got permission this time-ah? Mom!' The sound of people fighting over the device transmitted over, making the speaker crackle from the audio.

Waiting, Nox took out his heated dinner and opened up the plastic lid, blowing on the scalding strands of cheese melted into the noodles.

'Nox?'

Ah, they were finally done. With a regretful glance at his mac and cheese, Nox picked up his phone. "Mom."

'I understand that your sister doesn't have the… best wording at times, but she was concerned about you after hearing that you were so close to the crime scene.' Nox rolled his eyes.

Roxanne and concern never fit in the same sentence. Although it was like her to fool their parents into thinking that she was simply worried for him instead of wanting a first hand recount of the details.

Spooning in a mouthful of mac and cheese, Nox remained silent as he continued to listen to his mother's worried voice, pausing when he heard her offer for him to move back in until things settled down. He denied her. "It's fine, I didn't even see the scene. The police will probably come out with a statement tonight anyway, so there's no need to overreact."

'... If this is a problem about your father, I'm sure he won't say anything if it has to do with your safety-'

"Mom, it's fine." Nox interrupted her, not wanting to get into this topic. It was getting harder to breathe for some reason; his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest. "I'll call you later, I'm going to turn in for the night."

… Silence greeted him on the other side. Frowning, Nox hung up the call and scarfed down the rest of his dinner, throwing the plastic container into the trash bin before collapsing on his bed.

_______________________

He stood on a starry plane, the glittering lights twinkling beneath his bare feet as colorful swirls of nebula passed by- no, he was walking past them, the stars twinkling in greeting.

There was a sun on the horizon, as if greeting him at dawn, or maybe it was dusk. It made the sky above swath itself in purples and pinks, intermingling with peaks of orange and red. Deep shades of blue mixed with a lighter shade, making the whole scene seem… ethereal.

With silent steps, Nox continued to walk forward, each footstep causing a ripple in the stars as if he was walking on a surface made of water. However, unlike a clear stream of water, he couldn't see his reflection when he glanced down at the astral plane; only stars stared back at him, glowing steadily to remind him of their presence.

After walking a while, his body suddenly stopped. There was still nothing around him, the space shrouded in silence. Suddenly, Nox gave a start, feeling his body be released by the invisible force compelling him forward. Testing his suspicions, Nox lifted a hand and clenched it tightly into a fist before releasing his grasp. It seemed that he regained control of his body again after reaching this point of the plane.

He stared at the horizon where the resting sun laid, feeling a presence in the same direction. "Why don't you come out?"

Slowly, in front of his vision, a shadowy figure emerged out of nowhere, floating on top of the stars. Despite its sudden appearance, Nox had an odd feeling of certainty that it had been here since the beginning; its shadow trailed back into the dark sky beneath them. "&*#%*@"

"?" Nox looked at the shadow in confusion, hearing a weird clanking growl-like sound coming from it.

The shadow, as if sensing his bewilderment, stopped the noise. The trailing shadow behind it puffed up, bobbing in an agitated motion. Once again, an odd noise came out, this time similar to a screeching banshee.

It made Nox slam his hands over his ears, unable to block out the noise fully. "Stop!" The screeching immediately disappeared. Nox studied the shadow carefully, noting the shadow trail blowing up even more. Despite its attempts at making him deaf, it seemed like it was trying to communicate. "You-"

"The dogs of fire are about to descend," a raspy voice finally spoke, grating from the darkness in front of him. "A new reign is emerging."

Shaken, Nox stepped forward to demand a clarification, but for some reason his foot wouldn't move. Looking down, he noticed with alarm that his feet had sunken into the starry abyss.

Without warning, a large hole opened up beneath him, like a giant maw eager to swallow his whole body. "Wait-"

Could he not get a single sentence in?!

_______________________

With a start, Nox woke up in his bed, body drenched in sweat. He stared at the pale gray color of his blankets, heart pounding. Even with his bed firmly beneath him, it was as if a part of him was still falling at a heart lurching speed with no end in sight. He had dreamed about... what was it again? A faint impression disappeared before he could fully grasp it.

Shaking his head in confusion, Nox headed towards the shower, slightly disgusted at the clammy feeling left behind after his nap.

In his hurry, he didn't see the frantic notifications flashing on his phone screen.