The Ripple Before the Storm
The next morning came quietly, too quietly for Ruko's liking. The sky was overcast, heavy with clouds that promised rain but never delivered. He stared out his window, watching the faint shimmer of city lights still flickering even though the sun was supposed to be up.
His reflection in the glass looked… tired. Dark eyes, short curls slightly messy, the faint shadow of sleeplessness under his gaze. "Bomboclot…" he muttered, shaking his head as if to chase the fog out of his mind.
Something was wrong with the air again. That strange ripple, faint and electric, brushed against his skin — like static that shouldn't exist.
He brushed it off. "Just my imagination."
His family had already gone out again — they always did. His mom left a note on the table: Don't forget to eat. It felt like a small kindness, but even that couldn't shake the growing emptiness in his chest.
He made himself some toast, half-burned as usual, then left for a walk. The streets seemed duller today. Even the chatter of merchants had dimmed.
When he passed by his girlfriend's workplace, he caught a glimpse of her — laughing with another guy. That same warm laugh that used to belong to him alone. His chest tightened, but he turned away without a word.
"Not my business anymore," he whispered.
Yet it still burned.
As he crossed the intersection, the faint hum in the air spiked again. The same strange energy — a pulse, stronger this time. It made his hair stand on end. He looked around, searching for a source, but everything looked… ordinary. Too ordinary.
The sky darkened suddenly, the clouds pressing closer. A chill ran through him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking.
He couldn't know that every step forward was leading him closer to the end of this life — and the beginning of something far greater.
That night, he lay awake, unable to sleep. The ripple in the air had followed him all day, whispering something just beyond understanding.
He stared at the ceiling and sighed, "What the hell's wrong with me?"
Outside, lightning flashed — silent, distant — but Ruko could swear, for just a second, he saw a pair of eyes in that flash, staring back at him.