Dream

Seeing the letters he didn't know but understood in front of him, his thoughts wandered for a moment before focusing on the Register's description.

[Wedding Ring]

Register description: [A simple wedding ring that once brought peace of mind to a wife while her husband was away]

Lucien invoked the register, and a silver ring appeared in his hand. There was nothing impressive about him. He put it on his ring finger, and instantly, a tranquility flooded his mind.

Something he needed very much at this moment. So he looked at the next register.

[Silver Crucifix]

Register description: [An ancient crucifix was once the symbol of a forgotten church. Whenever it is pressed in faith, it gives off an intense warm silvery glow, removing all darkness]

Lucien looked at the description of the register with interest. Is it activated when pressed with faith? He found that very interesting... But what is faith?

However, he was too exhausted to get into thinking about a subject as complex as faith... so he simply went on to look at his Attributes.

[Fire of Destruction]

Attribute description: [It is a black fire coming from calamity, which once burned for centuries over this dead land, embodying destruction. It burns everything to nothingness]

"Interesting."

Lucien looked at the description fascinated. He didn't activate his attribute because it was too obvious how it would be: a black flame. He didn't want to test it in the house because he didn't know what would happen once he made contact with an object.

So he refrained from using it and looked at his last attribute before going to sleep.

[Son of Calamity]

Attribute description: [You are the son of all disasters, the symbol of Calamity. Your presence brings calamities, which could be infinitely small or infinitely vast]

With a smile on his lips, Lucien closed the Soul File and looked at the old ceiling of the room, full of dirt and cracks. His eyes began to slowly close until they were completely shut.

…

The winter snow fell silently over New York City.

It was late at night, a light breeze was blowing with the snow.

However, New York City was not plunged into darkness; from the sky, one could see, thousands of small bright lights, like a glowing band.

These lights shone from the different buildings and houses. The streets were full of life. Couples intertwined, groups of friends laughing loudly, families sharing moments of warmth.

Lucien walked through the lamp-lit streets, the sound of cars filling his ears. He had had a long day's work after implementing an exhausting program.

His feet carried him almost by inertia towards the house where he lived with his parents. With a tired smile, he entered the house.

The interior of the house was fairly normal, with nothing too extravagant or of much value. Only a few familiar pictures hung on the wall: one showed a small, black-haired, brown-eyed Lucien; another captured him at school, and yet another at college.

They were memories of a life that now seemed so far away.

"Mom, I'm home."

However, she got no answer. The house was eerily silent. No noise of any kind could be heard: not the ticking of the clock, not the sound of the television.

Only a dense, oppressive silence, which stabbed into his chest like a dagger.

Frowning, he made his way to the kitchen, with several questions running through his mind, Had his parents gone out? Why hadn't they told him?

His parents always warned him when they went out so that if an accident occurred, he could react quickly... Something was not right. The house was too quiet.

As if there was no living being inside, except for him.

As he approached the kitchen, the anguish he felt increased, and his breathing became faster. Did something happen to them? Were they hurt? Or worse...? He couldn't get those thoughts out of his head.

'God, I just hope my parents are okay.'

Lucien with his heart racing, feeling that at any moment it would burst out of his mouth, swallowed dry saliva and turned right after leaving the living room.

Entering the kitchen, he saw them.

There were his two parents with their backs to each other. His mother with frizzy brown hair, and his father bald due to alopecia, seemed to be chatting happily.

But something was wrong. Voices weren't reaching Lucien's ears...so he approached them with trepidation.

"Mom, Dad, arrive"

He put his hand on his mother's shoulder as he called out to her. His mother turned around, and Lucien's face filled with horror.

His mother's face had dark bowls, from which tears of pus streamed. From her mouth fell maggots of the dead, and from her throat came out her tongue dripping with blood... His father, with his brain exposed, fell sickeningly to the tiled floor, staining it with blood.

The two spoke at the same time in a bizarre and distorted manner.

"Why did you kill us...why did you kill us...why did you kill us...WHY DID YOU KILL US?!"

"No! I didn't kill you... those people were not you!"

Lucien recoiled in terror, his face aghast, as his parents approached him, repeating the same, "Why did you kill us?"

He wanted to run, but his legs seemed to have lost all strength. They were getting closer and closer to him... just inches away from his face.

"WHY DID YOU KILL US?!"

…

Lucien sat up suddenly as if the air in the room had become unbreathable. His chest rose and fell with each gasp, and a cold sweat drenched his skin.

His eyes were wide open, wild as if he could see his mother's rotting face and his father's exposed brain... his hands were shaking with strength and he brought them to his face, trying to convince himself that it was all a dream.

'Yes, this was all just a bad dream'.

Lucien awoke, realizing that it had all been just a bad dream... but the feeling of terror was still anchored in his body, and the face of his parents... He couldn't take it anymore and vomited.

As he had not eaten anything, he vomited bile, while coughing violently, with tears coming out of his eyes.

After a few minutes, Lucien sat up again, drool running down his lip, and lay back on the bed drenched in sweat. This time, however, he did not close his eyes; he was afraid of dreaming the same thing again.

So he spent this whole night awake, as he sat in the fetal position, trembling with fear, afraid of falling asleep again.

Without him noticing, due to the state he was in, a shadow came out of the room.