The sun had arisen, and a certain girl stretched her body upon waking up. It was Sunday morning, and Lumina decided to begin her day with a nice breakfast. She rushed down to the lower floor of her hotel room then began preparing her meal.
Whilst she was preparing for her ingredients, her doorbell rang, taking her attention from her chores. Lumina had been living on her own for almost two years now, due to her dedication that she would only return to her family if she could prove that she is better than her siblings.
She cautiously opened the door and to her surprise, there was no one outside, but an ivory invitation letter resting on the floor. The hallway was empty so she never had a clue to who left the letter on her doorstep.
The young girl immediately picked the letter and closed the door behind her. The letter shimmered with a hint of glitters when she looked at it. Maybe it is an application letter from one of the prestigious schools that she enrolled? A letter from her parents or siblings perhaps? Lumina didn't know and with her intrigue, she opened it without any second thoughts.
To her surprise, the letter was empty with only a few words on it saying 'The Prophecy has begun.' She scanned the paper and noticed that there was no indication to where or to whom it came from. Lumina's brows furrowed, "Who sent this?" Baffled, she abandoned the letter on the table and continued cooking.
That day became less ordinary after she received the letter. She cleaned her apartment, watch a couple of movies then sleep until the sun went down. Lumina dressed in her pyjamas and pulled her mattress, positioning herself to sleep, but the thought about the letter hadn't left her mind making her a bit uneasy.
She lay her head on her pillow and crouched, grasping her mattress tightly. "I wonder if anybody knows about it..." Being unable to let go of the letter in her head, she threw her mattress then picked up her phone. Her search history suddenly filled with 'weird letter,' 'letter with prophecy' and 'prophecy letter' yet to no avail, none of the searches that appeared were the ones she was looking for.
Everything was all about either short stories, novels or prompt and none about a real letter that she had. Lumina messaged her closest friends and also made an anonymous account on social media platforms asking about the prophecy letter yet again, she gained nothing.
"Of course, it's just a prank," she groaned irritably, "who would send a letter on Sundays?" Lumina dropped her head on her pillow and began staring at the ceiling, her stomach swirling with curiosity. "Or is it?"
Lumina jolted and groaned more as she scratched her head. "I can't keep it off of my mind!" She marched out of her room and stayed on a sofa in her living room.
She turned on the tv and began watching some reality shows until she stumbled upon different documentaries. Lumina stayed watching television until her eyes grew heavy. Being comfortable, she didn't realise that she drifted to sleep.
The atmosphere suddenly changed from cosy to frozen still. Lumina gradually woke up from the cold and stood. "Where am I?" she asked herself as she rubbed her eyes, scanning her surroundings.
She noticed that the place was an extremely absurd, more likely a dream. Teacups and cards had been floating upside-down, roses had been sprouting in every wall, and a twisted stairway that leads to a wooden door. Another thing she noticed was her clothing. She was sure that she changed clothing into a pyjama, not a ball dress.
"Am I—dreaming?" She took a couple of steps, back and forth as she recalled her memories. "Yeah, I should be dreaming. What is it again? Pinch yourself to wake up? Hit yourself? No, no wait that's dangerous." Lumina sighed, "Here goes nothing." As soon as she said so, she pinched her cheeks until it turned pink.
"Ouch! Okay, so this is real. Gosh, why did I even bother pinching myself?"
Lumina shook her head the returned her attention to her location, she spun around, allowing herself to be mesmerised by the scenario in which she was in. "I can't fathom how and why but the pain sure felt real. Now, all I have to do is to find a way back to my apartment before the night ends. But first, I have to calm down." Lumina took a couple of deep breaths and counted to three, then with all the courage she had, she followed the stairs that leads to a huge wooden door.
Upon making her first step, she noticed the presence of an individual within the room, accompanying her lonely stay. She glanced on her shoulder to take a peek and found out that there was indeed a figure behind her. It immediately leapt and slammed an object at Lumina's head, her consciousness slowly fading.
"On different rooms, different people had been summoned as well like what Lumina had experienced," multiple voices spoke in unison narrated, "The problem is, will they even survive?"
"Uhmmm hello? Is anybody in there? This is not funny at all." A girl with long brown hair muttered in fear as she looked around for some light. Tapsi-chan was about to lose her sanity until she noticed that she was wearing a different outfit, triggering a different emotion.
"Wait a second," she stomped her feet and stood on her footing. "Seriously where am I and why am I wearing this kind of dress? This is nuts! I was with senpai in an amusement park then this!" she exclaimed. "Can my day be any better? I hope this is not a waste of time."
Tapsi-chan brushed her dress and explored the area she was in. It was a similar room like Lumina's, yet with a bit different theme. Lucky for Tapsi-chan, there was no one with her in the locked room, and escape is her only problem.
On the left side of the room, she found an object reflecting the dim light that the room had. She picked it up and examined it. It was heavy like a metal bar but only had a size a bit larger than her hand. "What is this?" She pulled a part of the object.
"BAM!" Echoes erupted until it reached the nearest rooms.
"What was that?" A young prince halted in a distance. Nicholas was about to open one of the doors in a huge hallway when he heard the gunshot. The ceiling of the infrastructure was tripled his height and covered with ancient carvings and sculptures similar to the decorations on the walls.
Nicholas grasped his sword tightly. "Has she finally arrived?" Nicholas asked himself. "If I am not mistaken, she is one of these rooms, but then where? Perhaps in the origin of the sound?" He stood in front of a huge black door with a statue of angels in each side. When he was about to touch the handles of the door, shadows suddenly burst out of it, startling him to take aback.
"Maybe she's not here. If the prophecy doesn't want it, it will not happen," he muttered and check the other doors.
Inside a different room, Freezzy walked near to the girl at the corner of the room where she was settled. When she was about to touch her, the girl suddenly grew aggressive, pushing Freezzy's shoulders and began pulling her hair.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Freezzy called out as she pulled her hair back. "Let me go!" she cried.
"What do you think I'm doing?" The other girl snarled, having multiple voices speaking at once, "I'm going to kill you!"
Freezzy panicked, then suddenly as adrenaline filled her veins, she remembered that she had a knife in her pocket when she roamed around the room a while ago, salvaging it as it rested on one corner of the room.
She had also found a doorway out but unfortunately, it was locked. Freezy did her best to avoid her enemy's assaults but the girl scratched Freezzy's left cheek with her dangerously sharp nails, as sharp as a cat's.
Back to Lumina, once again, she reached for a weapon and hit her opponent after battling for quite some time. She stepped back as she felt the pain pinning her down due to her enemy's sudden attacks.
She took the chance that it was stunned to stand up and smashed the stranger's torso with her weapon, a metal bar which was used to knock her down until the creature fell lifelessly to the ground. After it did so, it became ashes and vanished. Lumina gasped for air and dropped on her knees to the ground after gaining a gruelling victory.
A shimmering object was the only evidence that her opponent left behind. Lumina regained her strengths and stood up, picking the object and examined it carefully. It was a strange key, upon recognising it, she immediately remembered the stairway that leads to a wooden door.
Lumina walked towards the door and insert the key into the keyhole, with a bit of luck, it successfully worked. The moment she opened the door, the walls behind started to move forward towards her.
At this moment, fear had only started devouring her, not even before she engaged in a deadly battle. The thought of her being compressed in a tight space shivered her spine, and with that enough stimulus, her feet moved as if they had a mind of their own. She went out running, catching her breaths until she bumped into a person running in her direction.
Lumina gasped, her trembling body dropped on the floor.
Nicholas paused and lent his hand to Lumina. "Pardon me, I did not notice you." He helped her stand back on her footing and he couldn't help but steal gazes at her.
"Is there a speck of dirt on my face?" Lumina asked, a bit terrified as she hid her face under her long, brown hair.
"No, that's not it. I--"
"Uhmmmm hello! Is there anybody here?" Claudia shouted from the hallway where Lumina came from. Still traumatised by her claustrophobia, Lumina flinched.
Before Nicholas could even speak, two girls arrived with a mixture of annoyance and irritation painted on their faces. One appeared to be strict and a professional, whilst the other was a young girl that seemed to be spoiled based on her attitude. Nicholas was about to ask the strangers who they were and again, he was interrupted when they heard footsteps.
"Who are you, people?" Freezzy asked as she glared to all of them, "Are you also enemies? Shadow creatures that want to kill me?" Alert, she aimed her weapon.
"Calm down," Nicholas raised his hands in defence. "We are not your enemies and we do not wish to kill you. Please drop that dagger and calm down."
Freezzy stiched her brows, a bit convinced about what Nicholas said, but she remained her composure. "So what? Maybe this is one of your ways to fool me, huh?"
All the girls shrieked in terror as they witness their ally threatening them. With quick thinking, Nicholas took a couple of slow steps toward Freezzy's position.
"Calm yourself, lady, this is not a good way to start our first meet-up. Why don't we—" he soothingly said. Nicholas touched the tip of the dagger and gradually lower its aim. "Begin our meeting all over?"
Tapsi-chan immediately cut the tension by speaking first. "I'm Tapsi, and I want to go home," she said in a cheery yet sarcastic tone. "But you know, we can be all be friends right?" she winked at Nicholas who only smiled with a brow rising.
"Claudia here," the confident girl raised her hand and everyone looked back at her. "In the middle of practising my dance moves for my upcoming debut when I got invited by a prophecy letter and here I am wearing something else and I can tell you that I am dreadfully tired of these games," Claudia exclaimed.
Tapsi-chan looked at Claudia with amazement. "You're an idol? Woah, I never imagined I could meet one day! Can you teach me how to dance? Like this and this and this." She performed a weird hand and body gestures. Claudia couldn't help but giggle.
"I'm Freezzy," the girl with a dagger announced. "16 years old and still studying for my midterms. I noticed the letter when I was getting my books from my bedroom," Freezzy spoke with authority.
"Seems capable for a sixteen-year-old girl," Nicholas commented.
"So?" Freezzy scowled, ending her answer quickly.
"Oh, I guess I'll announce myself as well," Lumina spoke at the crowd. "I am Lumina, a working student. I was watching some documentaries and didn't notice that I fell asleep. When I woke up, I saw myself stuck in a huge room and things happened, now we are all gathered here."
All the girls eyed Nicholas, thinking if he was an actor or a cosplayer for wearing a princely outfit. "Oh, of course, my turn." He bowed his head, "I am Prince Nicholas of Xouthermore Kingdom and I am here to escort the destined princess and the prophecy tells that she is one of you."
"What?" Freezy made a grimaced expression, "Is this a joke?" She walked at him and began pushing his chest with her finger. "Do you think that I would even care? I have to go home." Then she walked out.
"Wait! You can't." Nicholas said.
"What do you mean I can't?"
"You cannot return back to your world unless I am wedded with the destined princess. That is the only way," Nicholas explained.
They all look at each other waiting for anyone who would react. "So, uhm, Nicholas-- I mean Prince Nicholas, tell us who is this destined princess then we can all go home now, how about that?"
Nicholas beamed, "Of course, but the problem is that I don't have any leads to who she will be. The prophecy only said that she will one day arrive in the Northern Temple but since there was four of you, I do not really know who she is." He looked down, disappointed to himself.
"It's fine!" Lumina reassured him, "Are you sure that there will be no way to know who she is? Maybe you are just missing something."
Nicholas made a half smile. "I hoped so. But then, there is no much information about her, only that she will arrive one day and satisfy the gods. The story was marked throughout my palace even here," he pointed out the carvings everywhere. "That is her story but then take a better look, everything was all wiped out carelessly as if somebody had purposely erased the prophecy with force."
Claudia groaned. "Okay we get the backstory, hopeless prince, now tell us where to meet these gods of yours so we can negotiate with them."
"Sure, they rest in the Temple nearby and luckily they were actually preparing for the destined princess' arrival."
"Let's go to an adventure!" Tapsi-chan exclaimed. "To the Temple! Lead the way, Onii-chan! Everyone, follow us!"
"That's nonsense!" Freezzy accused Nicholas, preventing them from taking any more steps away from their position. "You're just an old pervert trying to hit on multiple girls!" She pointed her finger at him. "I know your schemes! You planned this all along and use us with your personal desires! Maybe that's why you're the only guy and seemed to be the oldest!"
Lumina's brows snapped together. "That is a wild conclusion, Freezzy. You do not have any proof for that matter! And you don't have the rights to accuse him of being like that."
"Oh yeah, then how can you explain all these things, huh? What if he only kidnapped us then bring us here? You're just siding him because he talks like a nobleman but he is just delusional!" Freezzy spat.
"That can't be true! You said you arrived here during studying, how can he kidnap you in a split of seconds without a trace? I know this seemed absurd but what harm would it cause us if we believe in him!?"
"Enough!" Claudia screamed, ending the fight that was about to get worse. "We arrived together and we leave together. Lumina and Tapsi will stay beside Nicholas whilst I will stay behind with Freezzy, how does that sound? And Freezzy, if you don't want to be cooperative fine, now break these accusations, we will follow Nicholas, meet the gods and end this mess so we all can go home immediately. Are we all clear?" Claudia spoke with dominance. Everyone looked away.
The group began walking, serving Nicholas as their guide. Freezzy was hesitant at first, but she had no choice. The bright and heavy sunlight was the one that made Lumina widened her eyes and filled her heart with ecstasy. The sky had been blanketed by a calming shade of blue. She roamed her vision around her surroundings and she found herself in an unfamiliar place, a picture perfect to be exact.
As she looked around she noticed that they were at the hilltop. All the trees that enveloped the hill were huge enough that made Lumina feel that every tree had a tale to tell.
Lumina stayed beside Nicholas like what Claudia instructed them, then she noticed that the liking she had to him grew more than she could think of. Yet she always witnessed how Tapsi-chan tried her best to take his attention. Her assumptions that Tapsi-chan liked him as well made her heart swelled, thinking that Nicholas would soon have an interest to Tapsi-chan and maybe, she was also the destined princess.
Throughout the journey on the way down the hill, Lumina acknowledged her love for Nicholas knowing that her hopes for being the destined princess were slim but probable.
Later, when they took a break under a tree after travelling for quite some time, Nicholas informed them that he will look around for good firewood before the night comes. Everyone agreed and decided to help but he made them stay only round the tree or else they might encounter a wild forest beast.
Lumina sneaked behind Nicholas close enough so whenever a danger arrived, she could immediately ask for help. All she wanted was to ask him more about the destined princess yet she could not deny the part of her that wanted to know if she was the one.
The moment she lost him in her vision, Lumina left her hiding spot and wandered around. Before she could even find Nicholas, she saw a huge wolf growling its pointy fangs at her. Lumina attempted to ran away and head back but her speed failed her to save herself. As she lifted her head to look at the wolf, her eyes widened, seeing Nicholas fighting the wolves with the sword he was carrying.
Nicholas, himself, was shocked in what he had done. He was glad that he saved Lumina from danger, yet he did not know how he did that. His body moved on its own.
Every moment that passed had reoccurring events being played even though she made sure to stick with the other girls. Whenever Lumina was in danger Nicholas was always there to save her. Nicholas mentioned his body's sudden movements without his will to the group and she announced the same as incident as well, justifying her actions for being reckless though she knew she was not.
Freezzy, on the other hand, made her mind. She did not wish to witness this type of game any longer. She made a plan, a plan to quickly end the prophecy. She was smart enough to understand that killing the girls one by one will cause a lot of trouble and her chances of being the destined princess are the same as the other girls. She had decided to kill the only man in the group, Prince Nicholas.
Whilst they were spending a night under a hut, Freezzy was awake guarding their place against any danger. She carefully layout her ideas in her mind
"Freezzy, do you want a drink? This is not like coffee but Nicholas told me earlier it can keep you awake,
"Drink it, whatever. I'll check the perimeters for wild beasts." Then Freezzy left. Tapsi-chan tapped Lumina's shoulders. "I'll go with her just to make sure she does not do anything reckless," Tapsi-chan whispered to her ear before leaving.
Whilst Freezzy and Tapsi-chan were gone, Lumina felt that her energy was absorbed away from her body.
She hadn't heard what Tapsi-chan whispered and crawled inside to rest. It was a small hut, enough for all of them to fit in and sleep on the ground. Because of the darkness, Lumina didn't notice the man sleeping at the side. She laid beside him, making his arm as a pillow.
The young maiden faced the thing that she assumed her pillow and saw Nicholas' face. She was mesmerised at the only man they had in the group.
Eventually, she noticed something about it, she felt fervent. Lumina's heart is beating so fast the more she laid her eyes at Nicholas' face. At first, Lumina find it a bit weird, thinking of something that she shouldn't feel but on second thoughts, why would she think that it was weird? She was a grown woman and he was a tough man, it is normal for her to feel this warmth.
Lumina felt a flame gradually igniting in between her chest. Staring at Nicholas' face sleeping peacefully made her heart burst in delight, and she couldn't help but allow her feelings to grow more than a simple infatuation.
For a brief moment, she completely lost her rationality. She followed the rhythm of his breathing as she closed the gap between her and Nicholas, making a sensational touch with his bare lips, not minding on their surroundings. After Lumina made her move, he responded by returning a deep and gentle kiss until both of them drifted into sleep. On that night, the two knew that their feelings was mutual and that kiss sealed the love they had for each other.
The next morning, Lumina saw herself relaxing alone inside the hut. She rubbed her eyes the head outside, walking like a zombie.
"Good morning!" Tapsi-chan greeted with enthusiasm.
"Good morning," Lumina replied.
"Hurry up," Claudia hit Lumina on her back. "The Temple is right around the corner."
Lumina grunted due to pain.
"Good morning, Lumina."
Lumina immediately recognised the voice, her face rushing with blood. "Morning," she replied, fixing her hair.
TFreezzy hadn't returned since last night. Tapsi-chan asked Claudia for help but it was no use. They even disturbed Nicholas from his sleep but then again, they hadn't succeeded into finding her.
"I have to check something," Nicholas said, leaving the three girls. "Stay here and don't leave until I came back to find Freezzy. He reached the depth of the forest finding Freezzy and fortunately, he did.
"What happened, Freezy? Why did you leave? I have to keep all of you safe before you meet the gods," Nicholas spoke, rubbing his nape. "I do not think this place is safe. We have to hurry up and return with the others."
Freezzy was taken aback when she saw that Nicholas had his sword. She was positive that she hid it, so her reaction was natural. "I am here to end this. If you ever try to escape, I will follow you in the depths of this forest until we all can finally go back."
"I think they're lost!" Claudia shouted behind a nearby bush. The other three girls had been scouting for quite some time to find their other missing members.
"We're here—" Before he could even finish his sentence, Freezzy pushed Nicholas on the tree trunk behind him, aiming the dagger in his chin. "Tell this and I will surely kill you."
Nicholas pushed Freezzy enough for him to break free. "I do not understand why you are trying to assassinate me, Freezzy. Why?"
Freezzy crossed her arms. "You don't really get it, do you?"
He froze for a couple of seconds, "I don't think so."
"The gods you are saying, tell me. Do you really think they are the almighty gods that you think they are?"
Nicholas bit his lower lip, "I do not understand what you are saying."
"I found a way and understood the prophecy you were saying. It is not like what you thought it is. I don't want to be selfish but you can't marry the destined princess. If you do, we will be stuck in this world forever and it can cause havoc to your whole land." Freezzy walked in circles, "I tried to piece out the scribbles left in the Temple and wrote it before we leave."
"Then how can we change it?"
Freezzy smirked, "By eliminating the main character."
Nicholas and Freezy went past the bushes, then Tapsi-chan immediately spotted them. "Onii-chan! Freezzy!" She dashed and embraced them tightly. "Where have you been? Freezzy, why were you gone?"
"I—" Nicholas scratched his nape, "Freezzy and I had thought a way to end this without doing the prophecy."
Lumina's eyes widened. "What? Uhm, can it take us home?" desperately, she asked.
"Exactly," Freezzy announced after finally lifting her head.
The four girls' eyes beamed with glee. They started talking about missing their real lives and plans on how to meet once they returned to their world.
"Then what is it?" Claudia asked.
Nicholas smiled sheepishly. "You have to end me." With that being said, everyone gasped especially Lumina.
"I am the main protagonist of the prophecy. I am the only one who had met the creators of this world and as the puppet of their story, my strings are more fixed to them than anyone else. If you could end me, maybe the story can come to its end and you can all go back to your lives. This is the best solution we come up with. Besides, it is such a dishonour to force a lady to marry her only because some ancient writings told me so," he gazed at Lumina with pain piercing his chest.
Everyone grew quiet. "Now, now, don't cry. We only met a couple of days inside the Northern Temple, it should not be a big deal," he smiled again at them. "I know how much you wanted to go home, I am too but you were only dragged because of some creators wanting you to be a part of their story. Freezzy, as what we planned."
Freezzy nodded and stood in front of Nicholas with his own sword aiming at him.
"Can't we find a way where you will not die? Just do the prophecy and maybe we can go home after this, please! Marry all four of us! You never said that it isn't impossible!" Lumina plead between her sobs. "I don't want us to end before we could even start," she murmured, face burried on his chest.
Nicholas couldn't help but cupped her cheeks. "Thank you for everything, Lumina. You made me feel special. You made me enjoy listening to my own heartbeat whenever I steal gazes at you from afar, especially when we kissed." He lowered his head and caressed her hair. "Everything you taught me was incomparable to what I experienced. I am sure that you will meet someone who will love you in your world as much as I did. Thank you." He ended his farewell with a kiss planted on her forehead and let her go.
"This is the best way. This will cause no more feud to any of you. Just push the sword right in my chest," Nicholas ordered.
The tension grew more irritating yet Freezzy had her mind set on the only goal. She aimed the sword on his chest and Nicholas helped by adjusting the blade so it could directly aim his heart. All the girls helped Freezzy and Nicholas by pushing the metal piece, Lumina helped, but her tears couldn't stop from swelling her eyes.
The forest suddenly vanished into thin air, only them standing in a theatre floor with five silhouettes watching them. "What have you done?!" All of them said in unison having an unearthly voice. "You must follow the prophecy, that is your role, Nicholas! What you did destroy the whole story!"
"They are not your actors to watch on!" Nicholas shouted aggressively as he tried to cover the girls behind her back. "They are real people that you kidnapped in order to entertain yourselves! You are pathetic!"
"You don't deserve the story! This is unacceptable!" After the silhouettes said those words, the world they were in started to grumbled and turn into clouds of dust. Strong winds pulled everything in the vacuum. The girls one by one became dust as well, seeing this, Nicholas hurriedly embraced Lumina, her doing the same.
"I don't want you to go," Lumina cried, grasping him between her arms tightly.
"I will be fine," Nicholas gave her an encouraging smiled. "You can finally go back to your home."
Lumina closed her eyes and felt her lips warmed when his lips touched hers for the final time.
She woke up gasping for her breath and noticed that she was back in her living room. The documentaries that she had been watching was still playing. Her cheeks were wet due to the traces of tears when she touched it. "Nicholas..." she murmured.
All the other girls returned to their lives and continued to leave normally except Lumina. She had grown pale and less energetic than before after the incident. Her friends advised her to live in a different country. She did not bother to disagree and usually walk having nothing in mind but Nicholas. When she was taking a stroll in a nearby park, a man marched in front of her.
"Miss, are you all right? You seemed down."
When Lumina looked up, she saw a familiar man, wearing his cheeky smile just like their last meeting. "Nicholas..."