Mystic Gates

Chapter 1: Ashes Rise

Ok. So what I'm about to tell you is completely crazy.
But every bit of it is true. What if someone told you, the monster under your bed is real? Or that beasts like werewolves, vampires, and even dragons really walked in this world. Some taller than skyscrapers. Some as small as a fly. Some bring wonder and hope, while others bring darkness and destruction.
Sounds pretty
scary right?

But, if I'm going to tell you about all the dangerous monsters and beings that exist, I might as well say that my best friends and I are some of the good ones.
My name's Dawn Avelino, current gatekeeper
and the one who is destined to balance the monster and human worlds.
This is the
~ beginning of ~
my story.

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Chapter 1: Ashes Rise

A girl.

She had ebony locks that twisted along the dry wind that seemed to whisper tales of anguish. Tresses of raven hair spun and whirled in this stale air, framing her stained face, that was marred with anger, frustration, despair. One emotion shone most of all out of the spiraling twist of passions.

Betrayal.

She was silent, wordlessly stretching her arm forth, as if to signal the gods of her next action. She sought the arrows she had strapped on her back, bringing it to her already drawn bow, plucking the delicate string with the flint on the end.

She breathed, and the arrow seemed to envelop with a warm silver glow, that seemed to encompass the light of the moon itself. She drew the arrow and her fingers tightened on the string.

Words seemed to tumble out of the other's mouth. She couldn't hear them.

Breathe.

A brief moment of hesitation. The words continue to fall on deaf ears, a mere indecipherable echo.

Exhale.

She let go, the arrow speeding through the air, the friction bringing the glow to a hue of furious red. Without giving the other person a chance to react or dodge, it impaled his stomach.

The figure made no noise, instead falling to his knees, his limbs slowly disintegrating into a grainy substance that contrasted with the stone before him. His mouth struggled and twitched, as if trying to make one last request before the inevitable finally occurred.

Before his face faded into the ashy sand, he made eye contact with her. His molten golden eyes seemed to alight with a fiery determination, but his body was crippled in a state of deterioration.

His mouth opened.

She gasped. Her neck was slick with sweat from being too immersed with the dream world she found herself in. She heaved and immediately found her hand closing on the cold glass screen of her phone.

5:32 A.M.

She groaned. Getting back to sleep after that acid trip of a dream was not going to be easy.

She grabbed her phone and blinked wearily at the bright light that emanated from its screen. She swiped to unlock it only to see fifteen missed notifications on her messenger. She used her thumb to launch the app, while her other hand busied itself with wiping her bleary eyes.