𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐘 | 𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳 + 𝐭𝐱𝐭

1

PROLOGUE 🌀

The story begins in Duskmor, a small town with busy people and secrets that are hidden deep in the shadows. This town is a place where things are kept out of plain sight. Forbidden desires tempt the streets as you walk through them. Whispers of dark, dangerous things happening. People are going missing at night, their pleads echoed from every corner of the shadows. The cause of these tragedies is unknown to the people in Duskmor.

There's one man in town who believes in the Incandescents and their legend. This man is known as Mr.Kim. He's a well-known professor that teaches Ancient History in a university. Mr.Kim strongly believes that the darkness is a parasite eating away all of the vivid memories.

The redness of an apple would turn brown. Every memory of vibrant colors would be dull. The creatures from the darkness would twist and manipulate the memory cells of innocent civilians. Then they would possess humans and morph them into one of their own. The only way to stop the darkness is to consume and destroy it.

The blessed ones with a heart from the stars are the only ones who can resist its evil power. In order to conquer the darkness is to find the hidden prophecy. The prophecy foretells how to conquer the darkness and where to destroy it permanently. Thousands of years ago, a prophecy was written just in case it returned. The Incandescents before were afraid to consume its power.

They feared that the one who consumed its power would become corrupted. In the wrong hands, all hope would be lost in the world forever. But they knew that the only way to destroy the darkness is to consume it. Therefore, the Incandescents decided to write and hide the prophecy that contained this information. Just in case another disastrous day occurred where the darkness returned.

There's a cult known as "The Dark Ones". They were created to mock the Incandescents and work for the darkness. These species are able to shape-shift into shadows and possess regular human spirits. Mr.Kim was made aware of these people and witnessed them firsthand. Mr.Kim said that it was only a miracle from God that he was still alive that day.

Ever since he experienced that situation, he wanted to look more into the legend. And so he did, and now everyone in the town thinks he's crazy. Except for six of his favorite students who were majoring in his class. These students were freshmen in college and didn't know each other at all. They all just happened to be one of Mr.Kim's favorite students.

All six of them seemed to be struggling. Whether it was from trauma or financial problems. Another fun fact about Mr.Kim is that he owns his own antique shop for extra money. He offered these students a job at his shop and surprisingly, all of them said yes. Some were reluctant about it but how could they say no to their beloved teacher?

It's been two years and now the students are juniors in college. They still worked at Mr.Kim's shop and grew closer to each other. Within the time passed, the population of Duskmor decreased drastically. Every shift the students worked, they would hear their teacher tell them about the legend repeatedly. The students didn't believe in it personally, but they did believe that something was going on behind the scenes.

It wasn't normal for people to all of a sudden disappear with no trace. But the legend about the Incandescents seemed too much like a fairytale to them. That was until one day during their shift, something happened. The world turned dark. The world was taken over by the dark creatures who appeared to be humans but were complete monsters.

The sky was taken over by black clouds, no sun to be seen. Countless amounts of lives have been taken and possessed. The creatures invaded the shop and the students screamed in horror. They panicked and tried to run out of the shop but various objects were being thrown at them. Luckily, Mr.Kim barged into the shop and shot all of the creatures using an odd gun.

The bullets from the gun were made out of small rays of white light. Each time the light reached the creature, it disintegrated. The students gratefully thanked him for saving their lives. He said if they wanted to save their family members, maybe even the world, they had to help him find the prophecy. Some students refused and thought that they weren't capable of doing it.

But after some persuasion and pleads, they hesitantly accepted. Mr.Kim lead them to the storage of his shop and moved some of the boxes. He grabbed a piece of the wooden wall and pushed it up. A silver keypad was shown and he pushed the PIN number in. "We don't have that much time."

Mr.Kim said as he watched a door opened and revealed a secret room. They all walked in the room to see books, computers, and a glass display of weird looking weapons. He opened the glass door and said "Gear up." He walked away to some place in the corner and the students glared at each other. After observing the weapons, each of the students grabbed a weapon that seemed useful to them the most. Mr.Kim then returned to them holding several utility belts. "Put this on."

They cooperated and hooked their utility belts to their waist. "Just in case you guys somehow lose your weapon, each of your utility belts have some sort of defense mechanism attached. For example, attached to your utility belts are knives made from pure light. It'll take a couple of jabs to kill them." The students took in the information. Some were scared, others were determined to save the ones they loved.

Mr.Kim motioned for the six to follow him and sat down at his computer. "Whatever you do, do not split up. The creatures feed the most on whoever's alone." A map then appeared on his screen and he pointed. "No one knows exactly where the prophecy is, but one of the Incandescents buried a letter that may hint to where the prophecy could be."

❝
The key will come through a path unseen, to restore to halves and hope shall spring.
The key will come with bravery and might. The key will bear the burden of the darkest night. The key will come with knowledge, and heal the past from sorrows damage. The key will come to embrace death, but only
one
sacrifice can restore life's breath. 
❞

While the students were reading, a big thud could be heard outside of the door. Demonic voices whispered and continued to bang on the door. Mr.Kim stood up and rushed the students towards the emergency exit. "You've got to hurry!" He tossed one of the students his car keys. "Listen, there's going to be a van parked outside. It may seem like a regular van but from the inside, there's generations of advanced technology stored inside. There should be some extra equipment and supplies and—" Mr.Kim was interrupted by one of the creatures breaking down the door. "I'll explain the rest in the monitor of the vehicle, go, GO!" He pushed the students outside of the exit and they all ran outside to search for the van he spoke of.

None of them looked back and later, they would regret it. The students finally found the van and didn't waste any time climbing inside. One of the students got in the driver's seat and drove.

✰INSIDE THE VAN✰

It's been an hour since they last seen Mr.Kim. An hour since they left everything behind and drove on the empty expressway. Then, a small ringing sound came on one of the larger monitors. And there appeared Mr.Kim, adjusting the camera. Five of the students gathered around the large monitor.

"Hey, I'm glad you guys are still safe. Please be careful." The professor said as he looked around the room he was in. "Alright, there's going to be a few stops because there's several keys. Each of the keys once belonged to the Incandescents. Each of the keys were buried in a place that represented their star, their power. First stop is Alcyone's key, the star of the moon and light. One of the brightest stars.. It's in the 'Temple Of The Moon,' the temple is located in a village. I'm going to put the location up in the screen.. good luck." Before the students could even speak, Mr.Kim's screen disappeared and there appeared a GPS to their first destination. Now they were on their own, driving to their first key.

Are they ready?