In the human world,a peaceful night had settled in.The stars shone brighter than ever before,as if warning of something terrible to come.
The wind was cold… yet calm.Even the animals were silent.An eerie stillness cloaked the Earth.
In her room, Elunara slept soundly—until her dreams pulled her somewhere else.
She found herself standing in a place where everything was dark.It didn't feel like Earth…It didn't feel like any world she knew.Gravity was strange; she couldn't even stand properly.
But someone else could.
A lone figure walked across the void,freely, calmly, holding an ancient book and reading it as he moved.Elunara stared in confusion—she couldn't see his face,only the faint outline of a smileand the glow of the book in his hands.
She gathered her courage and shouted,
"Hello…?"
The mysterious man stopped.He was startled—a voice in this realm?He turned toward the sound,and for a long moment, said nothing.
Then, with quiet astonishment, he whispered,
"This is the first time I see you here, Elunara…But how are you here…?"
Elunara's heart raced.She still couldn't see his face.Only the curve of that strange, unsettling smile…and the book—clutched tightly in his hand.
She asked calmly,
"Where am I…?"
The man didn't answer.Instead, he raised one handand snapped his fingers.
The moment he did,a crack tore through the very fabric of space behind her—and Elunara began to fall.
As she disappeared into the void,the man smiled widerand whispered softly,
"The cycle begins again…"
Elunara woke with a jolt.
Gasping.Sweating.Terrified.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest.And yet…there was something strange—something familiar—about that man.
"I didn't see his face clearly,"she whispered to herself,"but… why do I feel like crying?"
After a few minutes, she calmed herself, drank some water, and glanced at the clock.
2:00 AM.Still the middle of the night.
She stepped out onto her balcony for fresh air.A cold breeze brushed her cheeks as she looked up at the sky—those same stars, still burning quietly above her.
She began to remember something from her childhood.A memory—soft and warm.
Long ago...
"Mom, can you tell me that story again?"young Elunara asked."The one about the GODs."
Her mother smiled.
"Sure, my little girl."
"In the beginning," her mother said gently,"a GOD came into existence.He was the first being.Alone in the darkness, in a silent void,he took the form of a birdand flew across the emptiness, searching for someone like himself."
"But there was no one."
"Years passed—thousands, maybe millions.Still, he was alone.Eventually, he came to a still ocean and lay down to rest."
"As he slept, his breath created a second GOD.""The first GOD rejoiced. Finally, he was no longer alone."
"The second GOD knelt before him and asked,'My Lord, what is the purpose of my life?'"
"The first GOD was overjoyed.He gave his first command:'My child, create a universe.Let it be known that I am the first GOD.Create life with free will and purpose.Protect them. Guide them.'"
"And so, the second GOD divided himself into three parts:The GOD of Creation.The GOD of Operation.The GOD of Destruction."
"The GOD of Creation made the gods and demons,and forged infinite worlds."
"Wow, Mom! What happened next?" Elunara had asked excitedly.
Her mother smiled again.
"It's late now, Elunara.You have school tomorrow.Time to sleep."
"But Mom," she pleaded,"what happened to the first GOD?Why did the second GOD divide himself?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow, sweetheart. Now go to sleep."
Present day.
Standing on her balcony, Elunara whispered to herself,
"Mom never did tell me what happened next…"
She walked back into her room.Her eyes landed on a framed photo of her and Luceniel.
"Luceniel… why does it feel like our meeting at college wasn't our first time?"
"I feel safe around you.But now that I'm not with you…I see dreams of war.Of worlds burning to ash.Of a man lying on a serpent with a million heads…Of you… killing people."
"I just hope those dreams…are only dreams."
Elunara gently lay back down and closed her eyes, trying to sleep once more.
Somewhere else…
In a quiet park under the same starlit sky,Rio walked alone.
His thoughts were heavy,his hands buried in his pockets.
"I know my brother…He's a kind person.I always feel good when I talk to him…"
"But that day…the second time in my life,I felt like I was going to die."
"I still don't understand…why she smiled when Luceniel got angry.She hid her smile the moment I noticed."
"Mom is happy for Luceniel…but not Dad.All my uncles rejected his marriage.My cousins… they've started to show their true colors."
"There's something wrong in our house."
He exhaled slowly.
"Anyway… tomorrow Luceniel's going to another country…"
After a while, Rio returned home.
But back in the park—
A shadowy figure appeared where Rio had just walked.He grinned.
"I finally found you… First Angel."
In Rio's room:
He started playing video games, trying to clear his mind.Suddenly, his phone rang.
"Who's calling me at this hour?"
He checked the screen. It was his friend, Rayan.
He answered.
"Hey Rio, what's up?"
"Dude… it's 2 AM. What do you want?"
"I just wanted to talk about your brother. Luceniel."
"What about him?"
"You know he's going to Country A tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. He even packed his backpack and everything.Like he doesn't plan to come back."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?He's not coming back to Country I?"
"I don't know. It's not that I don't want him to go—I just wish I could go with him.But he only booked two plane tickets."
"Two? One for him and one for you?"
"No, man.One for him…One for his girlfriend."
Rio sighed and hung up after a few more minutes of chatting.He returned to his game.
But then—his phone buzzed again.A message.
He didn't recognize the number.
He opened it—and his eyes went wide in shock.
In Country J…
A monk finished meditating in a small stone temple.He walked into the nearby jungle to collect wood for the night's fire.As he gathered branches,he noticed something strange beneath a tree.
A book, lying in the grass.The area around it was unnaturally silent.
He walked over and picked it up.The moment he touched it, a strange chill ran through his body—cold, but calming.A vision flashed in his mind:A man sitting atop a flower, gazing into infinity.
Startled, the monk dropped the book, panting.But when he picked it up again, the feeling was gone.
"Strange," he thought."Not many people come to this jungle.Maybe another monk dropped it."
The book had no title.Its cover was worn and old.
He opened it.The pages were empty.
"Why is this book empty?"
He decided to bring it back to the temple.
"I'll ask the others tomorrow," he murmured.
At his small home,he placed the book on the table and continued with his night prayers.
Back in the jungle…
Near the same tree,a girl sat with a hood pulled over her head.Her eyes were hidden,but her smile glimmered beneath the shadows.
She leaned forward and drew a strange symbol on the tree's bark.
"My job is done now," she whispered."I hope we meet this time…First Angel."
She vanished into the wind,leaving behind a white feather—not from a bird, but something ancient.
A strange wind stirred around it.The tree began to grow unnaturally fast.The feather cracked space itself,and fell into one of the glowing rifts.
Back at the monk's house:
A subtle presence spread through the home—as if the house itself welcomed the book's arrival.
The monk, finishing his prayers, turned to the table.He stared at the book once more.
And in the silence,he tried to remember the man on the flower.
In Country A…
Inside a sleek tech company tower,a man sat at his desk and spoke to his assistant.
"When Luceniel arrives in Country A,you are to be the first person who meets him.Invite him to our company."
"Don't worry, sir," the assistant replied."Luceniel will definitely come to us."
"You understand what will happen if he doesn't, right?"
"Yes, sir. Everything is already prepared."
They both exchanged quiet, knowing smiles.