Prologue
The wind blew drifts as a boy slept soundly. His brown hair was wild and messy, matching his young, elegant face. His skin was smooth, and his face was untouched by injury, blessed by the grace of youth. His grey cotton shirt clutched to his chest, even more so to his arms, allowing people to see how refined his arms and torsos were. Black pants flapped in the wind, torn up from time and usage as a single bandage wrap on his right shin.
The wind picked up as pieces of his hair started to sway into his eye sockets, making him stir in his sleep. The wind blew louder and louder past his ears till his eyes shot open.
There, he sees himself floating in the air, surrounded by nothing but gray clouds that appear to be daylight, but flu clouds cover most of everything. He squirms, trying to see where to grab onto, and he starts to panic; there is nothing but clouds as far as he can see.
He finds himself suspended mid-air, enveloped by an expanse of gray clouds. It might have been daylight, yet the overabundance of thick, swirling mists obscured everything in sight.
He writhes, desperate to find something to anchor himself to, but to no avail. The endless sea of clouds stretches into infinity, leaving him adrift and isolated. He starts to panic as his feeble attempts to search for a semblance of solidity are not one existence.
With no reason, he is shot up straight, his body spinning wildly without restraint. His heart pounds in his chest, and breathing becomes difficult for him as he screams, but no noise comes. His arms and legs flailed around as he lost his sense of direction with each spin. His shirt thrashed wildly against the wind as his once messy hair became even more messier.
Nausea slowly crept up on him, and his stomach wanted to hurl up what it could as he started to flip upside down. He saw no ground beneath him—just him and the open sky.
He closes his eyes tight, begging for it all to stop, as fear crept into the back of his mind. But miraculously, his body straightens up, granting him comfort as he flies through the endless sky.
He covered his face as the moisture in the clouds started to brush against his body. He felt his clothes slowly get dampened each time he traveled through each cloud. The wind didn't help as it continued to roar.
Light began to infiltrate his closed eyelids, growing progressively brighter, insistently. A warmth, both gentle and pervasive, enveloped his consciousness, igniting a spark of curiosity that compelled him to open his eyes. As he did, the warm aura that had cradled his mind seemed to extend outward, wrapping his body in its soothing embrace, encouraging him to embrace the unknown vision before him fully.
Before him was a sun, an extraordinary spectacle that lights up the heavens as he approaches. Despite being so near, he cannot look away. The celestial giant, an orb of living flames, is wreathed in red and orange, but the ethereal ribbons of green and blue captivate him most. These colors swirl around the sun in a celestial dance, reminiscent of the aurora borealis, something he only saw in picture books, casting an otherworldly glow that enthralls him with hues beyond the reach of words.
Yet, a wave of confusion washes over him. He is acutely aware that such brilliance should render him blind, and the warmth it emits is peculiar—a curious tingling sensation against his skin. But instead of alarm, a profound sense of calm envelops him. Fear and worry dissolve into the ether; his body seems to embrace the sensation, basking in a warmth that nourishes his soul, akin to the cozy embrace of a fireside on a chilly winter evening.
He is engulfed in tranquility.
This must be a dream.
As tranquility envelops him, the sun's incandescent heart—a crystalline prism that unfurls before his inner gaze. It pulsates with a divine essence, casting a heavenly light that feels simultaneously cosmic and otherworldly. This spectral presence had a profound sense of importance, whispering of its intrinsic role in the fabric of the universe, drawing him into its luminescent embrace with an ethereal allure that speaks volumes of its significance without uttering a single word.
His body continues to float, bathed in its tendered light. He feels the rhythm of his heartbeat, a steady drum in his chest. In a moment of serenity, he closes his eyes, allowing himself to drift without direction, at peace with the universe. The beat of his heart amplifies, resonating as though it synchronizes with the pulse of the sun itself.
If this was a dream, he didn't want it to end.
Beneath his closed eyelids, images flickered with each heartbeat, growing more vivid and casting lights and shadows that danced to the rhythm of his existence.
Heart-beat was steady and strong.
In the grasp of a hand, the sun pulses with life.
His heart-beat continued to amplify.
Atop a mighty beast, a man stares down upon a city, lightning tearing the sky behind him. His eyes, cold and dead, hold malice; his skin is painted with vivid streaks of blood.
His heart-beat struck against his chest.
Around him, a sea of faces—man and beast alike—lifeless, tainted, and despairing, their eyes filled with a silent plea, their voices echoing a chorus of terror.
His heart-beat faster.
A mountain explodes, not with lava, but with a blinding, pure light.
Fear rose up in his chest.
He's fleeing—past trees, past faces blurred by speed, memories, evading the clutches of agony.
Like a knife stabbing his heart as he started to panic.
"Stop! Leave! They will see you!"
A voice he never heard.
A vision of blood, haunting eyes, and more blood.
Dread seeps in as he tries to wake up.
A brother lies lifeless in the embrace of his lover.
He questions what he sees as he clutchs to his heart as it pounded in his chest.
ḅ̸̀l̶̬͛o̴͎͝ö̷̟́d̵̥́ ̵̱̊b̸̝̊ĺ̵̲ò̸̠ơ̸͕d̴̬̆ ̶̖͘b̷̨̊l̴̺̒ȍ̷̮ȯ̶͍d̷̯̏
[Warning Warning]
[Unknown is attempting to sap your Lifeblood]
His Heart felt like it was trying to escape his body as I try to wake up from this nightmare.
"Blood is the Enemy, not I"
Time shatters, a mosaic of what once was—each piece a story to be healed.
Embrace the Chaos
I̸̧̨̗͈̾ ̵͕̓̂́s̶̼̳̤̈̈͝ḝ̸̝͙̻͕̀̑̒͋͘e̸̝̺̟͍̮̓̈̓̾̿͝ ̴̨͓̺̯̣̑̿̓͂̽̂y̷̪̥͗ǒ̶̡͉̯͚̱͂͐͗̈́ü̴̩̣̘͕̆̈́͐
[Unknown uses C̷o̴r̶r̷u̵p̷t̵i̵o̴n̵]
"William!"