The Dawn of The Lightning Goddess

One

Thunder rocketed and flaxen streaks of lightning rumbled across dark ashen skies, syncing with screams of human voices crying for help; eaten by waves of distressing rumbles as they blurred into one. Below, desolate streets were decorated with rotten leaves pushed by flurried winds, whilst wilted bodies were laid heavily upon them. The stench of death lingered in the air.

My body stumbled, bringing me towards my knees, but the hard concrete didn't rocket against the skin of them. Instead, two hands held me, and I shakily looked up at a cloaked man, whose face couldn't be seen in the blur. He shouted something but the words never made it to my ear as the sounds around crescendoed and died within an instant. A clatter above and my head jolted passed him, as I looked up towards the skies once more, seeing as they began to fracture at its core. The fissure grew larger and, inside, I saw nothing except pure, mind-consuming darkness.

Chills caused hairs on my body to rise, and a cold shiver tingled down the back of my spine until it wrapped around into the pit of my stomach. My anxiety and fear bubbled like never before as the sky rumbled once more.

The reptilian arm of a winged black demon appeared, before the creature crawled its way out of the sky, bigger than anything to have ever existed before, looking around for its prey. Its heavy yellow eyes stopped, landing in my direction, before it stretched its three long necks as it dropped out, landing perfectly with a waft of its wings in the air.

It was ready to eat, and I was the feast.

With a loud whoosh, my perception of the creature pulled back and I was suddenly miles away, watching it at a distance as it began to soar in my direction. I tumbled backward, breath catching in my mouth, panting in fear of it. Pushing back on my hands, I had just enough strength to lift myself up but, as I turned to run, I was halted.

There, in front of me, I stared at a version of a frail woman so familiar to me. Myself. Except my naturally blue eyes were mystified in darkness and black blood was pouring down cheeks that were unnaturally pale, a contrast to my normal golden skin. As though staring in a mirror, I lifted my hands to my own cheeks to feel for the blood, but I quickly understood that this figure wasn't a reflection of myself.

It was another impression.

Arraetta. The voice echoed from her, without once opening her mouth.

Stepping back, I planted against a brick wall, that had somehow appeared behind, and shook as she moved forward. I was trapped. I watched as the blood poured onto the floor, slithered across it, and crawled up my static legs like a tsunami. It stuck to my skin as it began to consume me, but no matter how much I attempted to flee, to break free, I couldn't move.

The sludge burnt my flesh as it reached my throat, tight enough for me to be unable to catch my breath.

"H-elp... me-e!" I managed to scream, shutting my eyes tight, but no sensation ever came. Instead, a familiar voice pulled me from the darkness.

"Arri, Arri, wake up!"

My eyes bolted open, and I jolted as I looked in the face of my best friend, Genie. My heart was pounding heavily in my chest, it hurt so much that I thought I might be going into cardiac arrest. A wet, cold, unwanted cloth swept my forehead and I winced, closing my eyes, "you're okay... you're okay."

But no matter how much Genie tried to calm the situation, she knew that it wasn't going to be alright - that this was just the beginning.

Ever since I could remember, strange things have happened to me. Unusual, otherworldly things.

For most of my life, I have slept without dreaming, without my imagination wildly creating stories. I don't think it was for any reason other than, I would guess, my body would never truly enter a state of REM, I would just linger on the edge. But, every four years, my dreams would trickle in. At first, little flashes that would jolt me from my slumber, over a period of weeks, getting deeper and deeper until I was trapped in hallucinatory nightmares.