Apocalypse: The Ice King Returned

Chapter 1: Red Moon

The night was quiet as a still pond, and a full moon hung in the sky like a painting. Slowly, a dark cloud drifted toward the moon, as if to choke out the light it shined on the earth below.

Before long, a slow breeze began to pick up. In only a few seconds it had grown so strong that the people below were tearing up from the cool air. But the wind was only the beginning, as the harsh rain began to fall.

The people on the streets began seeking out shelter to avoid the rain. Only a few of them noticed the rain was different. It was bright red, like rust falling from the sky.

As awareness of the red rain grew, everyone assumed it was due to pollution in the air. A few of them joked that acid rain was a bad omen.

They laughed at the thought.

Luther stood on the rooftop of the International Trade Center in downtown Coldhaven. His brow-length hair was wet with rain. His white shirt was now stained red. The storm bathed his blue eyes, but he did not care. He only stood erect, clutching a bright crystal in his hand and looking up to the stormy sky.

Behind Luther was a beautiful woman caught in the storm. She called out, "Luther, don't be stupid! Go home, please. I don't want to see my brother get hurt like this."

But Luther stood still. His voice was cold. "Constance, do you see this rain? Looks just like blood, doesn’t it? Doomsday is coming. If you trust me as your brother, hold out your crystal and wait to be given your power.”

Constance looked down at the crystal in her hand and for a moment couldn’t decide what to do. Her brother was once the leader of an underground force before being overthrown by his followers. Could she truly trust him?

“But the color of the rain doesn’t prove anything!"

Luther simply replied, "You'll see."

As he said this, he looked up into the sky into the dense clouds where a faint red circle appeared, barely visible, perfectly aligned to the left of the hazy moon high above.

There was a sense of burden in Luther's face as he held up his crystal.

At that moment, in the center of the blood-red circle high above, a dark spot appeared. Like ink being dipped into water, spreading out to mix with the redness of the circle. Like paint being mixed, the colors swirled together in waves of black and red.

As the blackness filled the circle, it became brighter as if there was a second moon in the sky,

The people below were astonished at the sight.

"What's is that? Another moon?"

"What’s happening? Is something bad about to start?”

Everyone felt confused. If the blood rain was due to the imbalance of the natural environment, how could science explain the silent emergence of a second moon? If there was no explanation, something very bad must have happened.

Panic began to spread through the streets. Traffic built up as drivers ignored safety laws, driving up on sidewalks as pedestrians climbed over their hoods to escape whatever might happen next.

Constance, still on the rooftop, stared in horror at the blood moon and down to the mayhem on the streets.

Her twenty-three-year-old brother used to have a fiery spirit. But as he grew in power, he could not keep control over his followers, and finally, he was betrayed. Constance was the only one who stayed with him. He was depressed at the time, but Constance believed that he could come back strong. The way he used to be.

Soon, however, Luther found her, and she felt that he had changed. He seemed crazed and even said, "Blood will rain from a red moon. It’s coming. Doomsday is coming. Prepare two crystals and bring them to me on the roof of the International Trade Center so we can be given power."

Constance couldn't bear to see Luther like this, but she didn't want to let him down, so she went along with him to try and end his fantasy as soon as possible.

When the red rain fell, she thought it had to be a coincidence. What about the blood moon? Constance knew that Luther was only an orphan who had never studied astronomy. Could he be a prophet of the unknown? Or is there some real information she doesn’t know?

And now a stupid thought came to her mind. She started to wonder if it was all in her head. She could have been infected. But how could that happen?

Maybe….

Constance's thoughts were interrupted by a roar. "Constance, here we go! Come on, hold out the crystal, and accept your new power! Remember, hold on as long as you can, and don't let go.”

Luther became silent after this. He could only focus on the crystal in his hand. He could no longer waste time on brotherly affection. On doomsday, sentimentality is suicide.

Luther, who had lived in this hell for ten years. He knew that the cruelty of doomsday was not at all what people today could realize.

Thrown out of the colony, infected and reborn, Luther cherished the chance to seize this new power.

As Luther stared at the blood moon, it seemed to reflect in the light in his eyes. And suddenly it exploded, without a sound. A blood-red mass that spread across the sky and covered the earth at the speed of light.

In this explosion, Luther saw a bright blue beam of light hurtling toward his rooftop, a shocking contrast to the red of the sky.

Yes!

The ray that came down, surrounded by a shower of blood and thunder booming from the storm, left in its wake thousands of bodies being killed then reawakened. For every ten people that were killed, six corpses were brought back.

Everything happening had become something of a poetic contradiction, as the light of doomsday came, the light of salvation came down with it.

The light of salvation had been replaced now by the light of the blood moon. There was a 1-in-10,000 chance that a proper glass vessel could be used to contain the power of doomsday's blood moon. Those who had it would introduce a new power to their body. A superpower, of sorts.

The purer the glass, such as crystal, the greater the chance of success. If you brought your crystal to higher ground, you’d have an even better chance of gaining true power.

There were many kinds of powers. Those that manipulated wood, water, fire, earth, and other natural forces were the strongest. Others were known to control light, shadow, and other concepts of matter.

The roof of the International Trade Center, where Luther was, was the highest skyscraper in Coldhaven.

Knowing this, Luther had prepared everything to receive this new power.

The time had finally come. He could barely contain himself.

With a loud whoosh, a stream of light shot down to meet the blue crystal Luther held up, and he was suddenly weighed down by the power of the light pressing down on him. He was overcome with exhaustion as he staggered back two steps, trying to press the crystal forward into the stream as his consciousness began to slip away.

Luther watched with blurry vision as the light column began to shrink and fade.

No!

He was going to need this power to survive what was coming. Luther clenched his teeth and his fists. God gave him the opportunity; he would not allow it to slip away!