The evening air was painted in shades of gold and rose, the kind of fading light that made the streets of Yokohama glow like a dream.
Fumiko walked slowly, her school bag swaying against her side as she followed the familiar path home.
The sun hovered just above the horizon, bleeding streaks of orange and pink across the scattered clouds.
It was a perfect sunset – warm, quiet, and almost too peaceful.
She tilted her head back, breathing in the gentle breeze.
"Will it always stay like this?"
The thought slipped into her mind like a shadow.
"Will the world remain this calm, or is all this serenity just a fragile shell waiting to crack?"
The dreams had been with her for weeks now – soft whispers, a glowing figure, strange words about powers and fate.
Sometimes, the memories felt so vivid that she wondered if they were more than dreams.
"Are these even real… or am I just losing it?"
A nervous smile touched her lips.
"Well, a little adventure in life won't hurt,"
She murmured to herself.
But even as she said it, unease flickered deep in her chest.
---
By the time Fumiko reached home, the city lights had begun to blink awake one by one.
She slipped off her shoes, placed them neatly by the door, and let her bag drop with a soft thud on her study table.
The quiet of the house wrapped around her like a heavy blanket.
It was Friday evening, the start of the weekend, and she could finally let herself relax.
She fell face-first onto her bed, the soft mattress welcoming her with open arms.
No homework tonight. No deadlines.
Just sleep.
Changing into a loose shirt and shorts, she shuffled to the kitchen to make a quick dinner, the comforting scent of miso soup filling the air.
After eating, she returned to her room, switched off the light, and crawled beneath her blanket.
"I can sleep as much as I want tonight"
She thought, a small smile tugging at her lips.
But sleep was never the refuge it used to be.
---
The whispers began softly, like the rustling of leaves in a distant forest.
Her name.
"Fumiko..."
It was faint at first, but it grew clearer, like someone calling from just beyond the veil of consciousness.
Her eyes snapped open.
Light surrounded her, but it wasn't her bedroom anymore.
The air felt too clean, too sharp.
Under her feet stretched a vast, glassy sheet of water that reflected the endless sky above.
There was no horizon, no floor, only an infinite emptiness where the heavens kissed the earth.
"Not again…"
Her heart pounded.
This place.
The dream she could never escape.
A soft glow shimmered ahead.
From the distance, a figure emerged, blinding and ethereal, the figure seems like neither male nor female.
Its light rippled across the water like moonlight on a quiet lake.
When it spoke, the voice echoed everywhere at once, gentle yet commanding.
"Child of Dawn…"
Fumiko clenched her fists.
"Who are you? Why do you keep calling me that?"
The figure tilted its head slightly, light pulsing with each word.
"Time is passing quickly. You must discover your true purpose in this world, and begin the work that fate has given you."
Its voice was soft, warm like sunlight, but it carried a weight that pressed against her chest.
"Purpose? Fate? What are you even talking about?"
Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to take a step forward.
"Please… you've been haunting my dreams for days. I deserve answers.
At least tell me who you are!"
The figure remained silent for a long, breathless moment.
Finally, it spoke again.
"My existence has no name. My identity bears no meaning to your path, child."
Fumiko's frustration burned hotter.
"Then why do you keep coming to me? Why invade my dreams if none of this matters to you?"
"Because your life is not ordinary. You were not born to live a simple human cycle.
Your soul carries a purpose… a light that can break the darkness."
"A light?"
Her voice cracked.
"I don't even know what that means! Why me? I'm just–"
"Confusion is natural child. But instead of fear, accept what is already inside you.
The time will come when everything reveals itself… slowly."
The glow around the figure began to fade, the edges of its form unraveling like mist.
"Wait!"
Fumiko shouted, panic rising in her chest.
"Don't leave again! Please! at least tell me what the Abyss is! Why me?!"
The figure's voice was a fading whisper.
"Awaken, child of dawn. Only then will you understand…"
"NO!! don't disappear!"
She reached her hands out, but the figure dissolved into nothingness.
Only silence and the endless sky remained infront of her.
---
Fumiko's eyes flew open.
She was back in her room, sitting upright in bed, breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps.
The air was cool, almost cold, yet sweat clung to her forehead and dampened her shirt.
"What… was that?"
She whispered.
Her voice sounded small in the darkness.
Her gaze drifted toward the door.
That's when she saw it – a shadow.
It clung to the wooden surface like spilled ink, darker than the moonlit room around it.
At first, she thought it was just a trick of the light.
But then it moved.
The shadow stretched, twisting unnaturally as it crept across the floor toward her.
There was no one outside the door.
No object to cast it.
It was a shadow without a source.
Fumiko's breath hitched.
Her body froze as the shape began to swell, growing taller, wider, its edges rippling like black smoke.
A faint hiss echoed in the room, a sound too shrill to be human.
Move, her mind screamed, but her legs refused.
The shadow surged forward.
"Stay away!"
Her voice cracked as she stumbled off the bed, backing toward the window.
The moonlight barely held the creature at bay, but it kept advancing, stretching like liquid night.
"DON'T COME NEAR ME!"
She grabbed her school bag and hurled it at the shadow figure.
The bag passed straight through, landing with a dull thud.
The shadow didn't flinch.
Her back hit the cold glass of the window.
Outside, the night air shimmered under the pale moon. An idea popped in her mind.
"I'd rather jump than… facing whatever this is, it would be too foolish to face something which have no source, a creature that can over power me easily"
Her mind raced.
"I can survive a fall but... I can't survive… that."
She climbed onto the window frame, gripping the edge for balance.
Before she could leap, tendrils of darkness lashed out from the shadow, wrapping around her wrists and torso, pulling her in.
"No!!! LET GO!"
The grip was icy and wet, like being plunged into freezing water.
It tightened around her chest, crushing the air from her lungs.
Her heart pounded wildly as her strength began to drain away.
It felt as if the shadow was sucking the very life from her body.
"I can't breathe…"
Her vision blurred.
Eyes almost closed.
The moonlight dimmed.
"No… I can't die. Not like this. Not yet!"
"I can't die right now!"
The thought roared inside her skull, drowning out the hiss of the creature.
Summoning every ounce of will, Fumiko threw her head back and screamed.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
Light exploded from her palms.
A brilliant flash burst outward, blinding and pure.
The shadow shrieked – a piercing, inhuman cry that rattled the windows.
Its dark tendrils recoiled, burning away as if scorched by the sun.
The room filled with a blinding glow, washing over every corner until no darkness remained.
When the light finally faded, the shadow was gone, dissolved into nothing but silence.
Fumiko collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air.
Her hands trembled as she stared at them, still tingling with warmth.
They looked normal, no light, no marks, just her own fingers and palms.
"What… just happened?"
Her voice shook.
"The shadow… disappeared? Did I… do that? How?"
The room looked exactly as it had before, bed slightly messy, curtains swaying with the night breeze.
Only the faint chill in the air hinted that anything had been real.
Slowly, she stood and stepped toward the open window.
The moon hung high above, its pale light spilling across the city.
A soft breeze swept through, carrying the scent of salt from the distant bay.
Her hair lifted gently in the wind.
She stared at her hands again, memories of the glowing figure flashing in her mind.
Powers… the Abyss… child of dawn…
"Was that thing… was it... a part of the Abyss?"
she whispered to herself.
"Is this what they meant by powers?"
Questions swirled like storm clouds, but there were no answers, only the sound of her own heartbeat and the silent glow of the moon.
Whatever this was, she knew one thing for certain:
This was only the beginning.