The Redeemer

Prologue

Roxanne

I see nothing but darkness. That's not normal for me. I'm special, so I can see in the dark as well as I can see in daytime; better even. If all I see here is darkness, then that means there's nothing here for me to see; which also means I'm not in my room anymore.
Great. Just wonderful, I think to myself.
A light blinks into existence before me, making me jerk back. And in a matter of moments, something strange wells up inside of me. An amazing feeling of serenity flows within me in a tiny part of my being. The rest of me begins feeling submissive and reflexively, I find myself on my knees with my head bent down.
What the heck is going on here?
"Roxanne." A loud voice calls. It's a man's voice.
"W-who is it?" I manage to ask.
"I cannot tell you my name yet. As you are now, you don't know the true value of it."
His voice...it's so calm and soothing that it makes me want to just lie down and sleep, yet it also carries an huge aura of authority; the type of authority that I can't deny or flout. I feel like it will hurt me to disrespect him. I know I've never once seen this guy before, or heard his voice...but he sounds so familiar. Like someone I always knew, but never acknowledged.
"What do you want?" I ask politely, which is not common for me.
"I come with a message. Everything in your life is about to change. What you are, the things you do...everything. And a time is coming when you will have to leave everything you know and save yourself, those you love and more."
"What are you talking about?"
"Believe it or not, this world is going to end quite soon. The moment you wake up, you will have stepped into a new stage in your life. You will have answers to unanswered questions, find things you've been looking for and gain so much more. But...you will also be stepping into the greatest perils and trials of your life. It will be like nothing you've ever experienced before. And finally, a time will come when you will have to make a choice. A choice you and everyone you love will have to make...that is if they want to be saved."
The latter part of His words create in me an emotion I don't feel very often; fear. I don't get afraid easily, so if what this voice is saying is true; and I can already feel that it is, then I am in for the worst moments of my life.
"Saved? From what?" I ask, curiously.
"The Graceless Era." The man replies.
"The-w-what?"
I try to look up at his face, but his radiance is too much for my eyes to behold, so I look away. The light surrounding him is a lot brighter than anything I've ever seen before and I've seen a star blow up right in front of me.
"You cannot possibly understand at this moment. That's alright. Enjoy your life for now. But I will return with a message to prepare you for the day of The Choice."
"Forgive me for pointing this out, but...you're not making sense."
"No, I don't suppose I am. But you will remember these words when the time comes. For now, wake up, you have a long journey ahead of you."
With that my eyes open up. I blink a few times before my brain registers that I am back in my room, staring at the ceiling. I slowly sit up and yawn, the duvet covering my body falls to my laps. I stretch a bit and crack my neck. I sigh and I run a hand through my hair.
"It was just a dream." I conclude.
No. It can't have been just a dream. That strange feeling I felt in the dream is still lingering a bit in my body. A little part of me feels so at peace. But the rest of me seem to be against that tiny part. It's almost like there's a war going on inside of me, like there are two enemies glaring at each other. But one is bigger than the other. Way bigger.
I come with a message. Everything in your life is about to change. What you are, the things you do...everything. And a time is coming when you will have to leave everything you know and save yourself, those you love and more. Believe it or not, this world is going to end quite soon. The moment you wake up, you will have stepped into a new stage in your life. You will have answers to unanswered questions, find things you've been looking for and gain so much more. But...you will also be stepping into the greatest perils and trials of your life. It will be like nothing you've ever experienced before. And finally, a time will come when you will have to make a choice. A choice you and everyone you love will have to make...that is if they want to be saved. You cannot possibly understand at this moment. That's alright. Enjoy your life for now. But I will return with a message to prepare you for the day of The Choice, the man's words replay in my head.
I sigh and I scratch the top of my head.
"What have I gotten myself into this time?" I whine.
First dreams of a white fox asking for help to end my father, and now this?
"Is it a crime to have a good night's sleep?" I cup my face in my hand.
I make tiny groaning sounds. But then, I realize it's morning already when I hear birds chirping and singing their morning songs.
I raise my head and I look out the window, staring at the light from the sun that is peaking in.
"It's morning already, huh?" I say silently, I stare at the duvet covering me, "Guess it's time to go back there."
I stare at my hand, before balling it into a fist.
It's time to get some answers.