PROPHECY | Paul Atreides

CHAPTER 1

His all-seeing eyes looked at me intensely. A prison from which nothing can escape, not even me. I could feel his soul tugging at mine, his body vibrating in my rhythm, and I had no doubt what was going to happen next. The air between us was crying out for it, but I wasn't willing to give it to him, I never would be. It didn't matter, not when he could take anything he wanted and destroy me in the process.

Destroy us all.

His lips came close to mine, his eyes enveloping me like a hurricane and making me spin uncontrollably until I collapsed. I could feel his hand on my hip, holding me tightly, like a shackle to the golden prison that was his love for me. Possessive, victorious blue eyes were all I could see...Until it wasn't.

As a warning, there always came a time when those eyes disappeared, with them the fear of him went but the absolute terror of his presence and the consequences of being with my soul mate remained.

Blood and death. Eternal pain and suffering. Entire civilizations in flames and a war that encompasses everything and everyone. And at the center of all that destruction, he was always there.

People calling out his name as a harbinger of death, fierce soldiers idolizing him as if he were their god. A religion that has him as its god and dark emperor, and that only expands throughout every known world. Death that takes all unbelievers until all that remains is the eternal fear of an almighty god who has no mercy.

There is no uprising that is not seen dissolved in blood. There is no peace with an emperor who enjoys cruelty. Just the stability of knowing that on that throne will last forever.

And I as a beacon of light in his darkness. The culprit of ensuring that future, of giving eternal happiness to the monster that least deserves it.

I open my eyes with my heart beating uncontrollably. The fear still overwhelms me, but over the years I have managed to get used to it. I no longer wake up screaming, although I still can't stop myself from shedding tears at the horror of my nightmares.

Yesterday I had decided to accompany my father on one of his diplomatic missions. Now I know it was a bad decision and I can't attend with him. The nightmares overwhelm me, but they guide my path.

At first there was only him. I didn't know the boy in my dreams, but I loved him; I was still too innocent to recognize the darkness in his eyes and I didn't understand the connection to the nightmares of death and suffering. I knew I shouldn't mention anything about my dreams, although I didn't understand why, so I kept silent.

I would be empress, the visions were clear about that, and I had decided to prepare myself as best as possible for the role. My goal was to be the best empress for the empire, a beacon of light in conflicts, but I was too young to understand that the current emperor must fall if I was to rise.

As time went by the visions became clearer, more terrifying and I understood better who he was. Of course he was my soulmate, the perfect person for me. That meant he was everything I had seen that made me love him, but also the man powerful enough to cause such devastation.

With understanding came answers to some of my previous questions. I couldn't talk to my parents about it because their own agenda would push them against me, even though in their eyes they were doing it for my good. They wouldn't respect my choice, and neither would he, so I had to make sure I prevented my dreams from becoming a reality. I wouldn't leave my home planet; I would make sure I didn't draw attention to myself as much as possible and I would listen to the signs. And that's what I did.

The dreams stopped, in response to my actions, but fate always seemed to find a way to ruin everything and rewrite the course of history. Sometimes I made decisions, believing they were the right ones and that they would have no consequences, but the next day I would wake up crying. So, I knew that my decision would lead us to misfortune and change the course of history.

He had great power, but he tried to use it as best he could. It was a game in which my opponent seemed unaware of the moves I was making against him. I was sure of that, because if he had the same ability, he would have tried to thwart my plans. It had never been done before, no one responded to the forced changes in history. I was still the hidden light, but I knew that at the end of the road there was always the risk that he would become aware of our strange dance of destinies. My dreams were clear, if I failed, he would be able to see everything, and the board would cease to exist.

So many paths, but only one ensured that war would never happen.

Paul Atreides must die.