The Dead Land Night
It was a cold night. The wind was brutal, and everyone with sense — and not doing something illegal — stayed indoors, huddled under the blanket. It was a night that even the dead felt the biting cold. You could practically see the misting breath, yet if you looked around you would see no one. Even the chimney was frozen, and no matter how hard you tried to light it, even pouring oil wouldn't help. It was a night the locals called *The Day The Living Live In The Dead Land* — the day the mortal world switched to the spiritual world and the spiritual world switched to the mortal world. On this night, those who belonged to the Dead Breath Again Coven chose their successor.
This had been going on for a thousand years, and it had been near impossible to break the tradition, because doing so would damn you and your entire family for generations.
Mila and the Cold
That night, Mila could feel the biting cold. She lay under her thin blanket, shivering, her teeth chattering without stop. She had heard that the night also claimed its victims as sacrifice — those who couldn't survive the cold were taken, and in the morning their families could be heard wailing.
She was just ten years old and she lived with her grandmother. She was a bit chubby with a running nose, dark hair, and eyes as dark as midnight. She had tan skin, yet no one could remember when she had ever stood under the sun. Her grandmother had forbidden it — apparently it was tradition that those chosen as successors should not be seen in public after their first year.
Mila could feel her hands getting frozen. She could feel the cold creeping slowly toward her heart. There was nothing she could do but try to survive. It wasn't easy, but she had always been a survivor. She knew what she had gone through all her life, and so she lay there, waiting out the night and counting the hours.
The Warm Hut
She woke up in a hut. It was dark and warm and she could no longer feel the cold. She looked around and saw a roaring fire at the far end. The hut wasn't that big — just the size of a small barn — with a bed she was lying on, a chair at the foot of the bed, and no window. Just the roaring fire and a pot bubbling on top of it.
She was surprised to be there, having never been in such a place before. She started breathing hard, knowing something was wrong. She heard the scrape of the chair, and when she looked, she saw that someone was sitting on it, making sure to stay covered by the shadow. She tried to scream, but her voice got stuck in her throat.
Then the person spoke. "Don't be afraid, Mila. I mean you no harm."
It was a man's voice. She shifted toward the far end of the bed, eyes darting everywhere, looking for a way to escape. The voice came again, this time more gentle. "I'm sorry for how I got you here, but I mean you no harm. It is for your own safety."
"Who are you?" she stammered, surprised she could speak after her first attempt.
"I'm known as the Dream Thief," the man said, shifting so she could see his face from the glow of the fire. She looked at him — a simple man with a plain face, nothing remarkable about his appearance except the red hair that was the only thing capable of drawing eyes.
"Why am I here, and what do you want?" she asked in her small voice, though she was surprised again when it came out strong and mature.
"You're here because I want to save you from the fate that awaits you," the man said, with an open palm showing he meant no harm.
"What fate?" she asked.
"From the Dead Breath Again Coven."
"Never heard of it," she said. "And where even is here? The last thing I remember was trying to sleep on my bed."
"We are in your dream, and we have no time. The world will soon switch when the time reaches the tenth hour."
"I don't understand what you are talking about. How would the world switch?"
"This is going to be difficult," the man muttered, shaking his head. He had no idea she knew nothing. He had simply been sent to save her.
The Story of the First One
"Let me tell you a story," he said, walking toward the pot on the fire and beginning to dish food onto a plate.
Now that she could focus, she could smell the meat and other spicy ingredients, and her stomach growled. "Are you sure we're in a dream?" she asked, rubbing her stomach.
The man laughed with a glint in his eyes. "Of course — after all, I am the Dream Thief." He brought the plate and handed it to her. She was reluctant, fearing the worst, but he just smiled and took a spoonful first. "See? No poison. I promise you no harm."
She took the plate and took a spoonful. It burned her tongue and she hissed, trying to blow on it.
"Calm down, let it cool small," the Dream Thief said with a smile.
She couldn't believe how tasty the food was — the meat especially. She couldn't place it, but it tasted so delicious. She blew on the second spoonful and ate it. This time it was manageable, and between mouthfuls she asked, "You said a story?"
"Right. Well, long ago the world was a simple place," the Dream Thief began, "and the land provided for the people. It was a time when you didn't have to work — all you had to do was give praise to the one who created it all."
"Who was he?" Mila asked, forgetting her food for the moment. The story seemed interesting to her. She liked stories a lot.
"He is known as the First One."
"The First One?" she asked, puzzled.
"An all-powerful being. According to him, he was bored, and so he created the world and the people in it so he could have something to watch and entertain him."
"Like a game?" she asked.
"You could say that. So the world was content and everyone was having a good time — no disease, no death, no sorrow. But even then, people weren't happy. They wanted to be in charge. And so they found a way to betray the First One. There was only one being who could give them that, and he was the opposite of the First One. To be honest, no one knows who created the First One, but when he was created, there was a check and balance — his reverse was also created. It was said that only his reverse could undo everything the First One had made."
"And so those who grumbled about being in charge created the Dead Breath Again Coven. The first thing they did was kill their firstborn as a sacrifice to the reverse, who used the power granted to him to try to break the world. But that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to rule. Yet his charm — whatever he attempted — backfired. Instead of ruling the world, he created a situation where, at a certain time each year, the world reverses: the living go to the spirit world and the spirits come to the living world."
He paused with a sigh. "It has been so ever since. But what no one ever knew is that there is a certain place in the mortal world where, if you are standing when the reversal happens, it will not affect you. That is why I was sent to you — to make sure you are there."
The Dream Thief's Identity
"Who are you?" she asked him again.
"Does it matter? We will never meet again, and you will not remember my face — only the instruction."
"Then I see no problem in knowing who you are right now."
"Very well," he said reluctantly. "I'm known as the Dream Thief."
"Not that again. Just tell me who you are, please."
"Okay," he said with a smile. "I'm the first servant of the First One."
The Instructions
"So what should I do?"
"You need not worry. That food you ate will protect you from what comes next." He froze suddenly and looked up. She followed his gaze but could see nothing — just the thatch roof. She turned back to look at him and hissed. His eyes had turned pure black. She watched him, and when he blinked, they returned to normal. He stood up and sighed.
"It seems our time is up. When your grandmother wakes you, say these words to her: *I BELONG TO THE FIRST ONE.* That will free you from her spell. But first she will feed you a meat — the bone of your mother. Don't worry, just go along and eat it. This food you already ate will protect you, and it will change to cold water in your mouth. When you say those words, she will be frozen in time. You must leave the house immediately. Go to the outskirt of town, to the crossroad, and lay down there — let your limbs point in the four directions. You will be safe there until morning when the world reverses back to the mortal world."
With that, he touched her forehead — and she woke up in her cold room, her grandmother's face looming over her.
The Woman Who Never Blinks
The woman who never blinked stared at her granddaughter as she slept. *It's time*, she thought, knowing there would be no going back.
She was known as a ruthless woman who had sacrificed her own daughter and son-in-law to the reverse — the opposite side of the First One — to prolong her life. She had not blinked at their pleading and tears. She had been the one to hold the knife. And now she was ready to send her granddaughter to the Coven as her successor. Her real name was Hannibal, but now she was known only as the woman who never blinked.
Her granddaughter opened her eyes at that moment. Hannibal nodded in satisfaction when she saw the way the girl's eyes widened.
"Here, take this," she said, thrusting a plate into her granddaughter's hands. It was cold, but the woman who never blinked never felt the cold. No one from the Dead Breath Again Coven ever did — it was their time, their moment of power.
"What is this?" Mila asked, looking at the chunk of meat floating in a thick broth. Even the color of the broth was repulsive.
"Shut up and eat. Have you ever asked me such a question before?" she snapped.
Mila remembered she was to eat it and it would turn to cold water — though she couldn't recall who had told her. She ate it, and it turned to cold water in her mouth just as promised. Yet when she looked inside the plate, everything appeared exactly as it had when her grandmother first handed it to her.
I Belong to the First One
Hannibal grunted when she saw the plate empty. She collected it from her granddaughter and started tapping her index finger on her forehead. It was said that after three minutes, the substance in the food would take effect — and that was when she should bring her granddaughter forward as the clock struck the tenth hour sharp.
She grunted something unintelligible when the time came and reached for the girl. Mila stood frozen — until she remembered, and blurted out:
"I BELONG TO THE FIRST ONE."
She watched as her grandmother froze and began bleeding from her nose. Mila hurried out and ran to the outskirts of the town. She lay down at the crossroad exactly as she had been told, limbs pointing in the four directions — though by whom, she had no idea.
The First Servant's Watch
The first servant smiled when he saw the young girl follow his instructions. He had been given the power to begin a process that would create individuals who could be used to fight the reverse — since the First One would be locked in battle with his reverse the moment the clock struck the tenth hour. The crossroad would be the place where the residual power from their battle was dumped, and young Mila would emerge as the most powerful individual in the mortal world. Hopefully, he would be directed to other individuals to create a force of many.
He watched as the battle began to unfold — lightning and thunder, the sky darkening, the cold air turning erratic. He watched as a whole city was destroyed. Thanks to his earlier warning, most had been evacuated, though he knew many would not have left, and he prayed for their souls.
He watched as the mortal world started going transparent and the world of the spirits began taking form. He saw the angry spirits start devouring those whose firstborn had been offered as sacrifice. It was a grim time, this period in the year — and it would remain so until the superpower he was creating would be the ones to finally restore the balance and return the world to what it was when the First One first made it.
- The Halloween Sacrifice – A dark ritual on the most dangerous night of the year. Not everyone chosen for the sacrifice is willing to go quietly.
- The Curse of the Anderson Bloodline – A family curse passed down through generations, just like the Dead Breath Again Coven. Some bloodlines carry a darkness that never lets go.
- The Curse Land – A land where the ground itself holds ancient power. Those who enter unprepared do not come back the same.
- The Evil Forest – Some places exist at the boundary between the living and the dead. This forest is one of them.
- The Two Gods – When the God of Life and the God of Time go to war, an entire people are caught in the middle — just like Mila's world when the First One battles his reverse.
- The Curse of the Red Eye — The Truth Revealed – A family curse, a selfish ancestor's bargain, and a young man who must decide whether to end it all — even if it costs two lives.
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