other creative writing Red Moon Nightmare Prologue: The Red Moon Curse

[NyxAvatar69]

So before we get into it, let me just say that this is still just a first draft.  Any feedback or opinions on how it is or what I can improve on would be greatly appreciated.  I know there are some people who think that prologues shouldn't be a thing in writing, but since this does sort of bring up the central problem, I made a prologue and have no reason to just make this Chapter 1 since my plans for that chapter take place at least a year after this prologue's events.  I will also note that, yes, this is an original work by me.  It's actually a complete overhaul of the very first writing project I ever started...so yeah.  Please enjoy.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

 

'This world is a rotten place.  Mankind does nothing but kill and destroy each other and everything around them.  Such a world needs to be changed.  With the power gifted to me, I will create a new world to replace this terrible one.'

"The time has come for everything to begin," a man said to himself as he walked through the quiet nighttime streets towards the park in the center of the city.  He was wearing a long black coat and a hood to keep his identity hidden from the occasional person who walked by him on his way to his destination.

"There aren't too many people out tonight.  That's good.  It'll make this easier," the man mumbled while he walked into the park.  When he didn't spot anyone as he made his way towards the center of the park, the man smiled a bit.  At the same time, he was beginning to hesitate.  He stopped walking and looked towards the old wooden clock tower that sat in the center of the park, tightening the grip on the thick black book in his hands as he considered whether or not he was doing the right thing.  As his doubts began to rise, a voice began to ring through his mind.

'Why do you hesitate, Issac?  You have trained your body and mind for months to prepare yourself for this ritual.  Do you not wish to bring judgement to the humans?  Is it no longer your desire to take vengeance for the woman you cared so deeply about?  By giving up on this mission now, you are accepting her murder caused no harm to your own soul,' the voice explained.  Issac bit his lip while he looked down at the ground.  After a moment of silence, he raised his head again.

"N-no, you're right.  It's too late to go back now.  Using the magic of this book is the only way," Issac finally replied before he continued to walk.

'We must hurry.  The moon is nearly in position,' the voice pointed out.  Issac gave a simple nod and picked up the pace a bit in order to make his way over to the center of the park.  Sitting in the center of Star City's park was a large, wooden clock tower.  Hanging above the clock tower was the full moon.  All the conditions had been met for Issac's plans.

"There's no turning back.  Awaken, Circle of the Red Moon!" Issac said to himself before he called out the spell he had memorized. Responding to the spell, a large red circle appeared on the ground in front of Issac.  A second, smaller circle appeared inside the first one, followed by a series of strange symbols in between the two circles.  In the middle of the circle, a crescent moon shape appeared and began to let off a faint red glow.

Issac stepped into the circle and looked up towards the top of the clock tower.  With a deep breath, he opened up the book in his hands and flipped to a page he had bookmarked.

"Shadow of darkness, hear my call!  I offer my light to bring the crimson blight to this world.  Within this crimson circle, I ask of thee to spawn forth the cursed souls of the moon of red.  Spread their malice throughout this land, using this clock tower as your host," Issac began to read.  As he recited the spell, the words on the book's pages began to glow.  The circle also began to react as the symbols between the two circles began to release a black mist around Issac's feet.  Issac began to feel strange once the black mist began to swirl around him.  Slowly, the mist began to rise up his leg, covering his feet in darkness.

"W-what is this?  What's going on?!" Issac questioned as the mist slowly engulfed his legs.  At the same time, he began to feel a sharp pain in his stomach, causing him to drop the book to the ground and clutch his stomach.  Issac soon fell to his hands and knees, coughing up blood.  The mist took the chance to further engulf the man's body, covering his hands and knees.

'You must give yourself completely to the darkness for the ritual to complete.  Fail to do this and it shall consume you.  The power has already begun to slowly eat away at your body,' the voice in Issac's head said.  Issac bit his lip while he tried to endure the slowly growing pain he felt as the mist ran up his arms and thighs.  He couldn't feel his arms and legs by this point.

"This pain...is it like what she felt when she was murdered?" Issac asked.  He glanced up at the moon, the only remaining light among the slowly consuming darkness around him.  He wanted to reach up towards the moon and feel it's light on his hand, but such a thing was impossible in his current state.  Shortly before the dark mist took his entire body, Issac closed his eyes.

"I want to deliver judgement to the selfish masses.  I want to change this world.  Light, darkness, it doesn't matter anymore.  If I can bring back the woman I love, I don't care what happens to me.  Twist my body with darkness if that's what it takes.  Take my light away and lead me to a path I'll likely regret.  Just...allow me to see her again.  Mary...seeing her again is all I ask," Issac said.  For a brief moment, the black mist stopped it's assault of it's target's body.  Instead of trying to consume him, the black mist slowly seeped into Issac's skin until none of it remained, leaving the man alone in the activated magic circle.

Once the black mist was gone, Issac opened his eyes again.  He picked up the book from off the ground and slowly stood back up.  His hood had slipped off his head, revealing his smooth black hair.  Once he had gotten back on his feet, he stumbled a bit, but stood inside the magic circle.  He was unaware of what the mist had done to him, but he felt a surge of power he didn't have before.  He was unaware of it at the time, but his blue eyes had become red.  He had no time to guess what the mist did to him due to the voice in his head speaking to him once again.

'The time has come, Issac.  With the power of darkness, finish the ritual,' the voice ordered.  With a simple nod, Issac flipped back to his bookmarked page, cleared his throat, and continued the ritual.

"My soul is one with darkness.  I no longer fear the darkness.  Grant me the immortal army!  Come forth, Red Moon Demons!  Return to this world under the light of the crimson moon, and follow the order of your new master!  Let this clock tower be the host of your power and be free once more!" Issac read off the page.  The outer circle responded to the spell by shooting a bright red light high up into the sky.  While the light was keeping Issac hidden, a ball of darkness formed in Issac's free hand.  A smile crept up on his face as he aimed his hand towards the clock tower and launched the ball.  It pierced through the wall of light and made contact with the clock tower, coating the entire wooden structure in an aura of darkness for a moment.  Once the curse was set, the light from the magic circle died down and the entire circle dissapeared.

Issac let out a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he could hear several voices behind him.  When he turned around, several men and women were gathered in front of him.  Some of them were clearly trying to go to sleep judging by their clothes while others had likely either been passing by or went to investigate the light shooting up at the sky.

"Who is that guy?  He's creepy looking," a woman asked

"Does he realize what time it is?" another man questioned.

"Isn't that guy suppose to be the new teacher at the high school?" a younger girl pointed out.  Each of the people had their own thoughts and questions as to why Issac was at the clock tower and what he was doing at such a late hour.  Issac bit his lip as he considered his options.

'Do not worry yourself about this filth.  The spell should be activating any moment now,' the voice said to Issac.  A few moments after Issac had been reassured, the bell of the clock tower began to ring, signaling it was now midnight.  The bell was extremely loud and echoed through the entire city.  With each toll of the bell, the air all around the city began to grow heavier.  By the sixth toll, the streetlights all around the city began to flicker on and off before abruptly turning off completely.  On the eighth toll, a light fog began to slowly roll in from nowhere.  As the bell tolled, the moon had slowly began to change.  When the twelfth and final toll of the clock tower's bell rang through the city, the moon and sky had changed completely into a dark red.  The eerie red light shone down on the entirety of Star City, lighting up the city a bit.

"What the hell?!  What happened to the moon?!" a man shouted.

"Forget the moon!  My phone isn't working!" a woman added.

"What's with this fog?  What's going on here?!" another man questioned while Issac simply stood and watched the group, looking down at the ground.  In the corner of his eye, he could see a hole of darkness slowly opening up in the ground near the clock tower.  Several more of the same holes began to open up all around the park which made the small group of people even more scared.  One by one, inky black hands rose out of the holes.  They grabbed onto the edge of their individual holes, as if they were attempting to pull themselves out.

From each of the holes came a humanoid figure, around the height of human adults.  Their bodies were an inky black with horns coming out of their heads.  With their five clawed fingers, the creatures pulled themselves out of the holes and looked around with glowing golden eyes.

"Monsters!" one of the men in the group shouted.  The rest of the group had their own moment to scream and shout before they split up in multiple directions.  Unfortunately for them, once the monsters had gotten their bearings, they gave chase right away.  The group stood no chance at all as the monsters began their ruthless assault.  While some were lucky to only have their necks sliced open, others were nowhere near as fortunate as the creatures pounced on them and tore them to shreds with their claws.

'Watch and behold, Issac.  These demons are your minions.  Take in the fear of these humans.  Let their torment make you strong as your soldiers deliver the judgement that will change the world,' the voice said to Issac.  Instead of watching the bloodshed, Issac turned away.

"All of your sacrifices are for the greater good.  Accept your death and let the woman I love return to this world," Issac said while he closed his eyes in an attempt to ignore the screams and cries for help.

"Do you honestly think it is that simple?  These powerless humans will not be enough for what you seek," the voice pointed out.

"What do you mean?  I did what you said and summoned the demons.  I accepted darkness into my body.  What more do I need to do?!" Issac questioned.

"Patience, human.  There is much we must do.  For now, let us depart from this place.  The demons shall take care of the witnesses.  You will need to replenish your energy," the voice replied.  Issac slowly began to move his free hand towards his head as the voice spoke.  He moved his hand away when he let out a yawn.  Issac shook his head a bit while he started walking away from the clock tower.  He didn't bother to look back at the chaos being caused by the newly released demons as he walked away.

'All of this will be worth it in the end,' Issac convinced himself.

[Sunstone]

This was very well written, I enjoyed reading through the prologue; especially the detail you have put into the passages of writing, which I felt it really sets the viewer into suspense and anticipation to the evil that slowly unfolds, as you have described. 

I won't pry too much, and if you'd rather not go into detail, that is fine, but, I'm curious about the main character, Issac, and his need for avenging the murder of her. I'll just ask, does Issac know who/what killed her? The possibility of a mysterious, unknown killer might make for a rather thrilling tale, maybe. Either way, I did like, and am interested in the story so far! It's Issac's realisation, resistance, and regret as to what he has ultimately summoned that has taken my interest~.

Thank you for sharing your story, Nyx. :)

P.S. I was imagining some of the characters from Fullmetal Alchemist while I was reading through this. Dunno why. xD

[NyxAvatar69]

To be honest, Issac isn't the main character.  He'll be making his first appearance in Chapter 1.  As for your question, he doesn't know who the killer is, but the same killer has plans to screw up our main character's life and throw him into the problems taking place in Star City.  Now, I just gotta make a Chapter 1 that I think doesn't absolutely suck.

[Sunstone]

I see~. This antagonist sounds very evil and is out to wreck havoc. 😈

Take your time writing up more, there's no rush~. I look forward to seeing this story develop!