Prologue
Everything was dark...
Gloomy...
Poison-breathing tormented souls from the underworld are freely roaming everywhere...
As if the whole land has been abandoned by the God.
An eerie atmosphere spreads across all five Kingdoms - people are seeing a nightmare that came to reality.
Families locked themselves inside their home that they call their safe place, kneel into the corner, and hope that the inhumane ritual will appease the God.
But in this state, it is more like a ritual to appease the Demons instead.
It’s one of those moments in your life when you feel the need to say your prayers to spare your life - like a matter of a “life or death” situation. But who’s going to listen to your “prayers” now?
Heavy steps come forward the dark, cold altar.
If it’s not for the five lit torches hanging on the wall, the whole room will be pitch black.
Five couples slowly approach the altar. They are wearing long, black cloaks. Their eyes were covered by their hoodies.
Each pair has a unique elegant, regal, yet dark design pattern across their long cloaks.
Each woman carries an infant in their arms and placed them on the wide, sturdy, and cold marble table in front of them.
Each gentleman draws a long, sharp sword and hands it over to their partner.
They accept it with a blank look on their faces. Each woman holds the sword with its tip pointing on top of each innocent infant...
And...
**************
TIT! TIT! TIT!
I grabbed my cellphone from my bedside table and turned off the alarm.
Just like what I see every day, a lot of notifications popping up on my screen - especially about the automatic payments that I get from different transactions of my business - which only an average and poor person can dream of.
It was 6:00 in the morning.
I don’t know why I need to set up an alarm clock. Besides, I am the one who’s making the rules on how I want to do my job as a Copywriter, Business Consultant, and Business owner.
I feel something on top of my tummy. Out of curiosity, I grabbed it with my left hand and lift it towards my face where I can easily take a look into it.
Oh... I fell asleep while reading this novel.
It was so dark, creepy, and scary!
I lightly toss it on the left side of my bed - away from me.
Well, I guess not all endings are happy endings. I’m not a fan of this type of novel, but Cloe recommended this to me.
I can still remember that excited look on her face when she told me to read this...
...I WAS DECEIVED!!
Maybe she’ll stop recommending me this kind of story when I tell her I just had a nightmare because of this.
I put my right arm on my forehead and released a deep sigh.
Suddenly, there’s something moving beside my left foot...
I wonder who it is?
I’m not the type of person who gets scared easily because of a silly dream.
There’s only one who I can think of who will sneak into my bedroom every morning.
I get up and grab my comforter...
And...
“...AHA!”
A big, fluffy, and cute St. Bernard puppy flashes before my eyes!
It ran towards me and licked my face like there’s no tomorrow while petting him and giving him a good scratch.
“Aw...you really know how to brighten up my day, Cuddles,” I said. “Did you feel that I was having a nightmare that’s why you’re here?”
“Arf!”
I hugged him again while he’s panting and wagging his tail.
His soft and thick fur feels so good to touch. He’s one of my pets - the happy pills of my life.
It’s been a year since I started living this life of luxury. A St. Bernard dog is one of the things that I can only wish to get that was posted on my “vision board” five years ago.
I get out of my bed while holding Cuddles in my arms like a baby.
“So, are you ready to start a new day?”
“Arf! Arf!”
I put him down. He scratches his ears and roams around my bedroom like a rolling cotton ball.
My bedroom door has a pet door, always open so that my pets can go in and out whenever they want to.
It seems like he wants to wait for me to get ready so that we can leave the room together (so cute!).
I grabbed a remote controller that was placed on my bedside table and pressed the button.
The thick and expensive-looking curtain on the right side of my bedroom slowly reveals the beauty of the whole city.
It’s just a few minutes past 6:00 AM and people are starting to get busy.
It will become chaotic in a few hours. Traffic will become heavier, and more people will be crossing the streets...
...but in my world, I live my life on my own terms.
No traffic...
No rush hour...
No boss telling me what to do...
No toxic client who’s nagging about how they want me to do my job.
Nonetheless, this is a view that only a few people can afford to see every single day when they get out of their bed.
The gentle ray of morning sunlight softly kisses my rosy-white skin in my short-skirt nightgown.
A smile appears on my face.
Wow...this is something you don’t see every day when you’re living in the squatter’s area just like we did before.
I walked towards my dresser, and I lit the lights around the mirror.
I saw a gorgeous, sexy woman staring right back at me.
She has natural glowing skin, rosy cheeks, and plump lips that complement her ruby red eyes.
Maybe this is why my parents named me the way they did.
I grabbed my long, wavy silver hair and I lightly brush my fingers to the soft strands of my hair.
I never adore myself this much before!
Believe it or not, this is not how I looked 5 years ago.
I was overweight, neglected my own health and all aspects of my personal appearance.
My skin was okay. But I have lots of pimple marks on my face.
I was buying skincare sets with enough effects to improve my appearance - but not at this kind of level that I have right now!
My trail of thinking was disrupted when my cellphone glows up and vibrate.
“Miss Rose, this is urgent!” Exclaimed the voice on the other side of the line. “I need you to come and see this.”