Chapter 1
It All Started With A Dream
'Is this all for real?... Or not?'
That was the only thought going through teenager Caelus Lumen's mind as he was falling through a seemingly endless void. He couldn't tell whether he was falling through water or empty space. All he knew was that he was falling into the unknown. That was until he slowly landed on an invisible platform. He started looking around, trying to figure out his surroundings right until the floor below him began to transform. From the emptiness, light blue butterflies began to form and ascend to the empty void above before fading away. As the butterflies began to fly away, they revealed that the floor Caelus stood on was actually an illuminated platform made up of stained glass much like church windows.
"Where… am I?" Caelus said, trying to assess what just happened.
"So much to do… so little time…" a mysterious voice said from the abyss.
"What!? Who's there?" Caelus asked, looking around for the source of the voice. It sounded like it was everywhere and nowhere all at once, jarring the boy.
"Don't be afraid… Take your time… The door is still shut…" the voice said.
'What door? Where am I? Hello?" the boy called out.
"Now start on your path…" the voice said.
As soon as the voice said that a stained glass walkway appeared in front of Caelus off the edge of the platform. Caelus crossed his arms, still confused by all that has happened so far. It certainly felt like a dream, not so often someone fell into a giant abyss onto a gorgeous platform. However, all of it felt too real to be a dream as well. No matter the case, Caelus decided to follow the voice's directions and began to walk towards the path.
He began to descend the pathway. As he did, he reached his hand off to the side only to hit a wall of energy of some kind. That put Caelus' mind at ease, knowing he won't be able to fall off. As he got close to the end of the walkway a new platform began to emerge the same way as the previous one, but it was different. Instead of random stained glass, this one showed a ring of crowns. Inside of the ring was an island setting featuring palm trees and a vast ocean with a setting sun in the distance.
Caelus took a few steps onto the platform, admiring it as he walked forward. When he got close to the middle, the voice spoke again.
"Power lies within you…" it said.
As it said that an orb of light manifested itself in front of Caelus. Hesitantly, he reached out to it. Upon touching it, it stuck to his palm. Caelus desperately tried to shake it off but it didn't move at all. Instead it began to wiggle and change shape and morph. It expanded and grew wide, finally transforming into a shield. It was large, but light with a heart design on it. Caelus inspected it, swinging it back and forth.
"Interesting… The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. That is what your power manifested as." the voice said.
"Is that good?" Caelus asked.
The voice ignored Caelus and continued to talk. "You have the power to fight. Use it to protect the ones you hold dear."
As the voice said that, something started to emerge from the ground across from Caelus. A black creature with large glowing yellow eyes. It had two large antennas and clawed fingers in its hands. It kept twitching as it emerged before it noticed Caelus. Like a shark out for blood, it charged at him. Caelus began to panic and hold his shield up. The creature lunged at the boy but collided with the shield, allowing Caelus to push it off.
"How am I supposed to fight with a shield?" Caelus asked.
"You already know how… Use that knowledge." the voice said.
The shadowy monster tried to attack again but Caelus stood his ground. When the creature got close, he slammed his shield into it, knocking it away. Caelus then grabbed the shield by its edges and ran at the creature, getting back up.
"Take this!" he said, slashing through the monster, causing it to disappear.
"Well done. There will be times you will have to fight. Just be sure to keep your light burning strong." the voice said.
"Uh, sure. I guess." Caelus replied, not knowing what the voice was talking about.
Suddenly, the platform Caelus was standing on began to crack and crumble before collapsing all together. Caelus began falling. However, before he knew it, he was already on another platform. He got up and looked around. Nothing changed except for now he saw a large wooden door. Caelus grabbed onto the handle and attempted to pull it open but it wouldn't budge.
"Damn, it's locked." he said to himself.
"The door will open to you soon but first…" the voice said.
A butterfly then descended down before Caelus. It then began to transform into a figure of a woman made of light, with large butterfly wings and glowing heterochromia eyes, one green and one red.
"I want to know more about you…" it said.
"So you're the voice, huh? I guess I'll tell you about me, but if you do the same." Caelus said.
"That deal is acceptable for me." the figure said.
"Alright, then ask away." Caelus said.
"What's the most important thing to you?" it asked.
"Um… I guess friendship. Yeah, my friends are very important to me." Caelus said.
"Friendship, huh? And what is your greatest fear?" it asked next.
"Fear? I guess… being alone…" the boy said.
"A valid fear. Now what do you want out of your life?" the figure then asked.
"Well… I don't know actually." he said.
"You don't know…" the figure said.
"Yeah. I don't know. I mean I had dreams of adventuring around the world and whatnot but now, I'm not so sure." Caelus explained.
"So you value friendship above all else, you're afraid of being alone, and you don't know what you want out of life, is that correct?" the figure asked.
"I guess that sounds about right, yeah." Caelus responded.
"I see. I'm starting to get a better understanding of you." the figure said.
"That's good, now mind telling me about yourself? Like who you are?" Caelus asked.
"I will sometime soon. For now, you must continue forward." the figure said, turning into a butterfly and flying up high.
"H-Hey! Wait! Dammit…" he said.
Suddenly, the door that was closed suddenly made an unlocking noise. Caelus walked over and tried to open it again and, to his surprise, it opened up. Behind it, however, was a mirror. Caelus saw his reflection. A teenage boy with spiky, medium-long brown hair. He wore a black tank top underneath a red and black short sleeved hoodie and black long shorts. He also had on high top sneakers. He wore a necklace with a crown shaped locket on it as well. Caelus couldn't deny that that was him.
The boy reached out to the reflection thinking it was a false panel or something. Upon touching the mirror, Caelus's hand went straight in, rippling as it did. He tried to pull it back out but the harder he tried, the more he kept getting sucked in. Suddenly, the mirror pulled Caelus in, landing him on another platform. It was similar to the last one, but this time, it showed Caelus in a sleepy state on the edge. It made Caelus even more confused.
As he stepped forward, he felt uneasy for some reason.
"The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes." the voice chimed in.
Caelus then heard a noise behind him and grew a shocked expression across his face. A large shadowy creature with twisted tentacles on its head with a hole shaped like a heart adorned on its chest. It grew larger and larger, making Caelus backup as much as he could. Caelus finally hit the edge of the platform. The shield from before manifested back into Caelus' hand. He raised it up to protect himself.
"But do not be afraid…" the voice said.
The large monster went to grab Caelus but the shield let out a burst of light, making it recoil. Caelus, now confused, looked at his shield and then the monster. He then got an idea.
"And don't forget…" the voice continued.
The monster slammed its hand into the ground, creating a portal of some kind. Out the portal, creatures from before emerged. Caelus gripped his shield and ran towards the hand. He dodged the smaller creatures and got to the hand. He jumped up onto it and ran up the arm. He got to the shoulder and gripped the shield now by its edge and swung it with all his might, smacking the monster's head with the face of the shield. Upon contact, the shield let out a huge burst of light energy, blowing parts of the monster's head away. The monster stumbled a bit before collapsing to the platform, bringing Caelus with it.
When the creature hit the ground, it started creating a huge puddle of black sludge. Caelus landed in it and struggled to escape it but it was fruitless. It grabbed onto him, sucking him deeper and deeper into the darkness. Caelus started grabbing for whatever he could but there was nothing but the sludge. He almost gave up when he heard the voice yet again.
"You hold the mightiest weapon of all. So don't forget: You will be the one who will open the door…" it said.
Caelus then saw a spark of light in front of his eyes. He reached out for it, causing it to become larger and brighter before blinding him, making him see white.
Caelus then jolted up in his bed in a panic. He was covered in sweat. He quickly looked around to gather info on his surroundings. Blue walls, a desk, clothes scattered on the floor, and multiple knickknacks on the desk. It was definitely his room. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"Just a dream… w-wasn't it?" he said to himself.
"Caelus!" he heard a voice call out from downstairs. No doubt it was his mother. "Are you up? You're gonna be late for school."
"I'll be right down." Caelus replied.
With the craziness of his dream he almost forgot about school. He quickly got up and went to take a shower before getting dressed in his school uniform which was a black blazer over a white collar shirt and black slacks.He then took his pair of lucky goggles and threw them into his pocket. Caelus then put on his necklace with the crown locket at the end of it before running downstairs. Upon reaching the main floor, he smelled something absolutely delicious coming from the kitchen. He peeked his head in to see his Mom behind the stove. She was a slender woman with long, spiky brown hair held back in a ponytail by a red ribbon and blue eyes. She wore a blue shirt with a white skirt as well as a few bracelets on each wrist.
"Smells great, Mom." he said.
Caelus's mom turned around, smiling at her son. "Of course it does. Otherwise I should hang up my apron for good." she gloated.
She placed some of the food on a plate and put it on the table. Caelus sat down and looked at what was on the plate. It was a simple omelette over rice, however, it was probably the best omelette to ever grace the earth. Caelus began chowing down on it, savoring each and every bite.
"Mom, I still can't understand how you get an omelette to taste this good." Caelus said, talking with his mouth full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, hon. And you make good omelettes too." his mom replied.
Caelus swallowed the food he had in his mouth before talking again. "Sorry. Anyway, I do make good omelettes but nowhere close to yours. Heck, nothing I make can match up to your meals." he said.
"Well maybe if you go to culinary school like I did then you'll catch up. But be proud of what you can make in the meantime." she said.
Suddenly, Caelus' mom's phone began to ring. She went over to the counter where she left it and picked it up, answering it when she did.
"Hello?... What?... It's my day off, can't Ren cover?... Oh for- fine, yeah I'll come in." she said before hanging up.
Caelus scooched past her to wash his plate. "Bri called off again, huh?" he asked.
"3rd time this week. Man, and I was so happy to finally have the house to myself for a little while." she said.
She headed upstairs, passing by Caelus's dad as she did. He was a tanned muscular man with medium-short light brown hair and a beard minus the moustache and green eyes. He wore a white v neck shirt and brown pants and boots. He looked up at his wife, confused.
"What's the rush, Leilani?" he asked.
"Mom got called into work. Bri called off." Caelus replied.
"Again? That's the 3rd time this week." he said.
"Um Arthur, where are my earrings. The ones shaped like hearts?" Caelus's mom asked.
"The dresser I think." Caelus's dad yelled back.
"Can you help me look, please?" she asked.
"Fine. I'll be right there." he said.
He walked upstairs to assist his wife. Just as he did, there was a knock at the door. Caelus got up from the table and opened it up. Standing there was a girl with shoulder length lavender colored hair with matching eyes. She wore a grey version of Caelus's uniform except for slacks she wore a grey skirt. Caelus immediately recognized her as Maria Hime, his childhood friend.
"Mornin' Caelus!" Maria greeted.
"Morning. You want something to eat? We got plenty." Caelus asked.
"Tempting but I don't wanna be late. So I gotta decline." she said.
"Alright, lemme grab my bag." Caelus said.
He walked over to the living room and retrieved his backpack, putting it on. As he did his parents both came down, his mom dressed in her work attire.
"Headed off?" Caelus' mom asked.
"Yeah. About to walk out with Maria now." he replied.
"Okay, be careful and stay close to each other. There has been more people going missing lately."
"Okay Mom, we will. Love you. Bye Dad!"
"Bye hon, love you too" Caelus' mom said.
"Later kiddo, have a good day." his dad chimed in.
With that said the two friends left. They chit chatted like usual about things that happened in school or what they saw online or television or whatnot. However, Caelus couldn't get the dream off his mind still. He questioned what it could have meant. He wondered what this door he needed to open was. Or holding the mightiest weapon of all. It all didn't make any sense even if it was a dream.
"Yo, earth to Caelus." Maria said.
This snapped Caelus out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh sorry."
"You alright? You were out of it for a while there."
"Yeah… Actually, I don't know. I just had this weird dream last night. But it felt way too real."
"A dream? What was it about?"
Caelus began explaining his whole dream. About the weird platform, the voice, the monsters, all of it. By the time he was done, Maria put her hand to her chin.
"That is a weird dream. I wish I could help interpret it but I don't know much about dream meanings." she said.
"Still. It was so weird. And it felt so real. Like I was in between dream and reality… or something." Caelus said.
"I mean dreams can seem real too. Like the one I had about being able to fly."
"Yeah, but still. I feel uneasy when I think about it."
"What are you uneasy about?" a voice behind the two asked.
The friends turned around to see their other best friend. He had long, messy dark grey hair with glasses over his green eyes. He wore the same uniform as Caelus as well.
"Hey Tellus, we were talking about Caelus' dream he had last night." Maria said.
"Felt so real." Caelus added.
"Most likely it means nothing. Just your brain creating images and scenarios." Hayato said.
"Yeah I guess you're right." Caelus said.
The trio made it to their high school. Unmei High, named after their island home of Unmei Islands, was a highschool set up like Japanese highschool even though the island itself was a mix of japanese as well as american cultures. After he exchanged his shoes he walked with Tellus and Maria to their first class when something tripped him, sending him crashing to the ground. He looked up to see a red headed boy with orange eyes. It was the school's bully Neo Kasai and his group of delinquents.
"Oh Caelus, didn't see you there. Oh wait, I did. Don't care though." Neo said, making him and his cronies laugh.
"The hell's your problem?" Tellus asked as Caelus got back up.
"What? We got a problem?" Neo asked, getting in Tellus' face.
It was evident a fight was about to break out but luckily Maria got in between them. "Break it up! Break it up!"
The two boys took a few steps back. Neo looked at Maria who gave him a stern stare back. He gave a "tch" before turning away and walking away. His delinquent group followed behind him.
"Man, what an asshole." Maria said.
"You're telling me." Tellus said.
"And you! You better be careful. You are already in the probation program. One step out of bounds and you're expelled." Maria lectured.
"I know I know. I'm sorry, it's just he pisses me off so much." Tellus said.
"Forget him, man. Let's just get to class." Caelus said.
Tellus listened to his best friend and began walking to class with them.
"Um, excuse me, Cae?" a voice said.
Veritas turned around to see a girl with golden blonde hair and brown eyes. It was Autumn Rosemary, a classmate of theirs. In her hands were Caelus' goggles. Caelus felt around his pockets to realize that they were indeed missing. He realized that it must have dropped out of his pocket when he was tripped by Neo.
"Oh thanks Autumn, I owe you one." Caelus said, grabbing his goggles.
"Oh, don't worry about it, Cae. So, um, are we still on for our tutoring session?" Autumn asked.
"For Saturday? Of course."
"Great, I can't wait."
"Autumn! You coming or what?" Neo said from down the hall.
"Coming! Bye Cae!" Autumn said before running down to Neo.
Maria walked up next to Caelus. "How'd you become friends with her of all people? Didn't she bully you with Neo?" she asked.
"Last year when I was tutoring her, we got to know each other more. Kinda became friends after that." Caelus explained.
"Uh huh. Kinda vague answer if you ask me."
"Vague for a reason."
"Whatever. Come on, let's get to class."
Tellus and Maria began walking to class together. Caelus pocketed his goggles and was about to follow them when something caught his attention. Outside the window he was standing next to he saw something in the distance. It was fast but it was a creature of some kind that ran into the bushes near the school field. A creature that looked like the one from Caelus' dream.
Thank you all so much for reading! I wanted to redo this story in order to properly introduce new characters, plotlines, and many other things without it feeling to retcon-like. But anyway enjoy and stay tuned for more!
-C