A Lost Soul
Nurhana Septerina Budiarto, Group 3: Fiction, Korean International School
Prologue
he night has come, darkening the sky like the closing curtain of a show, the darkness was absolute with
a pinch of light, slicing throughout the gloom, borrowed from the Sun casted down by the moon. The
people snore their night away, indifferent to the sound of distant rumble of thundering hooves, the cries
of rage, the moving dots of golden sparks caused by burning torches chasing a fleeing shadow.
Chains rattling, the sound bounced along the walls, piercing her ears. Moving closer to the
stone wall, attached with iron rusting bars of a window, showing the coming of dawn. Purple lilac tinted with
baby blue, downed with white wispy clouds high up in the sky. Huddled in the corner, she was hugging her
knees, head between them, pressing herself to the wall and into herself, as if trying to disappear.
Her head swam with flashbacks of what had happened that sent her into the depth of imprisonment,
under tones of rocks weighing above her, shaping into the shape of a long barrier of unstoppable wall, The Great
Wall of China. Screams, shrill pleads, ringing cries, were muffled by the distance but not yet inaudible to her
ears which echoed on until she had lost her mind. The shadows pressing closer to her and she screamed as
memories flooded back before eyes, trying to drowned them out with it. Her throat burned with thirst, twisting
her insides in knots with hunger, her finger topped with razor claws began digging into her steel-like skin
without much effect. Her blood red eyes darted around the cell, scanning for any possible distractions so that she
won't remember, remember everything she had once cared about.
There was only one world , it was her only world, the only world she had ever known until the great
disobedience happened. There was only two rules among the others that the punishment was worse than death,
No Interaction With the Mortals and Do Not Cross "The Gate". She hadn't known anything then, she had spent
all her life in the Underworld, her father the High Emperor while her mother was someone close to a perfect
stranger since at birth.
On Red Moon Festival, her intensified curiosity of the Mortal World had drawn her toward the gate. It
wasn't just that. Since she was young, her dream had been full of a boy. Not a just a boy but an angel, she wasn't
sure who he was but every time she tried to reach him, he always was further than he had been, out of her reach.
He has something that someone in the Underworld could never give her, it was the feeling that came along
whenever she saw him. It was as if she has woken up from a long unconsciousness and saw life for the first time
and knew what it meant for her. Most Demons and Shadow Beasts have gathered up around the Plaza, a bonfire
tinged with violet, blue, and green, where everyone began chanting in a chorus of hissing, growling, whispering,
followed by a series of regular beat of drums which was joined by other unnamed instruments and everyone
began their wild, irregular dancing around the bonfire which was raising into the sky. Its tipped licking the red
moon above with blackish smoke curling from it. She had slipped away from the crowd before her father arrived
and gave his usual routine of speeches and congratulations, she creeped toward the forest without looking back.
However, she hadn't known what Mortals had thought of Shadow Beasts like her and other millions of
possibilities of dangers she might face in one trip.
She ran. Dodging moving trees, tangled vines, bushes with great agility and speed as she ran, her hair
flying behind her like a black flag with the wind carrying the sweet scent of blood. Her pace slowed as the Gate
arched above her as soon as she reached the edge of the forest. It was tall, black heavy metal with barbed wire
curling around it, there weren't any Demon Guards as they were in the Plaza, celebrating. Much to her lack of
surprise, there was a padlock fixed in the center, intertwined the two gates with thick chains. She had expected
and it was no challenge, she took out a key she had stolen from her father's study and jammed it into the hole.
The padlock open with a click and the chains rattled before vanishing into puffs of smoke and the Gate opened
with grinding sound. Before her was complete darkness and taking a deep breath, she descended into it,
blanketed herself with shadows.
It was a twisting narrow tunnel of limestone with carved Demon Language, glowing softly in scarlet. It
was about time that she had finally reached the end of it and found herself in a cave's mouth. The far end was
blocked by vines and leaves woven curtains which she hesitantly drew back, revealing a forest. Tall trees, soft
grassy field with wild flowers growing here and there, their scent hanging in the air, the wind blowing gently
carrying the smell of soil and flowers. The Sun was shining its rays down in golden instead of silver. She
couldn't believe how ordinary this world was, unlike the stories she heard around when she was growing up.
Boldly, she took a few quick strides and stopped in her tracks, she heard the rushing fluid from somewhere to
her right and instantly she ran toward it, not knowing what to expect. A stream of clear, greenish water flowed
T