Praise The Sun [Pilot Chapter]: A Prologue To Sunrise

They say it was because of a nuclear fallout following World War Three. They say it was due to the rampant accumulation of greenhouse gases from the industrial carelessness of humans. They say it was due to the eruption of a chain of volcanoes around the world. They say a lot.

“But they are mere records of the past. No one knows the truth anymore.” A mother read the records depicted on an aged scroll.

Seated on the windowsill made of stone, her dark brown eyes glistened amber as the light of the evening sun highlighted her. An oval face sporting a long nose, accentuated by a sharp jaw that cast a clear shadow deeper into the room.

Her braided hair was parted to her left, facing the window. Using it to partially shield himself from the glaring light was her eight-year-old son, his expression brimming with curiosity as he used her as his backrest. “Mother, what does a nuclear fallout mean?”

“Hmm…” The woman snuggled with her son as her mildly nasal voice resounded with a tone of confusion, “Who knows?”

She stared out the window, eyeing the sea waves washing over the sand on the beach, her expression dejected as she gazed upon the endless night stretching past the horizon, “No one knows.”

The waves upon the shore were a clear shade of blue, glistening. But gradually, the deeper one went, the darker the sea became. A few kilometres from the shore, it was jet black.

‘I wish to know myself.’ She thought and stared at the sky, observing a sea of clouds stretching endlessly, blocking out the sun.

Records stated countless reasons, but the cause could never be determined. The entirety of Earth was covered by clouds, resulting in an era of darkness. The landmass they were upon, considered tiny when compared to the scale of their planet, was the sole exception.

Their skies were clear and basked in the rays of the sun. It was on this landmass that life managed to barely sustain itself, somehow.

“Mother?” The eight-year-old boy observed his mother’s forlorn gaze and stared at the cloudy sky that stretched endlessly from the borders of their island, expressing firmly, “I’ll protect you from the cloud baddies.”

“Sure, you will.” The woman laughed as she ruffled his hair, “Once you reach adolescence and awaken to the Sun’s blessings, that is.”

“I’ll also inherit your power to fly into the clouds and vanquish them!” The boy began to giggle as he was tickled by his mother.

“My boy is strong!” The woman laughed alongside him, stopping once their session was interrupted by two brief knocks. Her tone became firm as she addressed the individual behind the door, “Is something the matter?”

“Madam Asani, please come to the public square.” A female’s voice, the tone respectful resounded, gradually turning into one of excitement, “The Young Lady has awakened!”

“It’s a Heroic Awakening!”

“Heroic?” The woman who went by the name of Asani was stunned by the news before erupting in joy, “Heroic Awakening? Right off the bat?”

“Sister!” The eight-year-old boy was already running in excitement. Awakening was the process in which one gained the Sun’s blessings, able to henceforth wield the power of the Sun. A Heroic Awakening is when one gets a second blessing from the Sun.

One in every ten people awakened during their adolescence. Only extremely talented people among them attain a Heroic Awakening, which happens in their thirties or forties.

‘But obtaining a Heroic Awakening is extremely rare!’ Her excitement brimmed as Asani accompanied her son and rushed down the flight of stairs of her tower-shaped home. Less than a minute later, she arrived at the public square where a group of people had gathered.

Their gazes varied from awe to envy as they parted to open a path for Asani out of respect, bowing a little in response.

“You’re amazing!” The eight-year-old boy exclaimed as he intended to rush towards the individual who was the centre of attention, only to be stopped by his mother.

“Don’t! You’ll be burned.” As her line of sight cleared up, Asani observed the figure of her daughter in the centre of the public square, “She cannot yet control her power.”

Aged thirteen, the girl wore a long gown that was currently fluttering, sporting scorch marks, displaying signs of flaring up from the sheer heat she released. Her shoulder-length hair danced in the wind and gradually rose up, forming spikes due to the heat waves.

“Keuk!” A flaming pattern appeared in both her eyes, signalling her Heroic Awakening. Her surroundings darkened rapidly as she was absorbing all heat and light incident upon the area—from the Sun.

Once absorbed, they were released from her head, shooting into the sky as a beam of light. Embers circulated around her body, gradually increasing in number as they seemed intent on becoming a burning sphere, similar to the Sun.

The heat being released by her was strong, worrying her. Afraid of harming her surroundings, the girl tried controlling her power but was not faring well, for she had just obtained it.

“Don’t suppress it, Amala.” Asani said as she motioned for the crowd to distance themselves further, “Let the Sun’s blessings course through you. Feel it and familiarise yourself with it. Soon, it’ll become your second nature, similar to breathing.”

“Yes, Mother.” The girl, Amala nodded as the heat around her intensified, transforming into a spinning Sun with her body serving as the axis of rotation. Sonorous echoes were generated as fierce gales formed.

“Help!” One of the bystanders shouted in a hurry upon observing a solar flare waft out from Amala, on track to slam into him. As a regular human, he’d be turned into ash if that were to touch him.

“It’s alright.” Asani extended her hand as the solar flare curved into a stream and flowed into her. She had absorbed it in the same manner Amala was absorbing the Sun’s ambient heat and light.

Her control was precise, keeping the bystanders from harm while not interfering with Amala’s absorption.

It was a spectacle as fierce winds were generated amidst rampant solar flares while the rest of the region darkened under Amala’s voracious absorption.

Asani stared at the widened eyes of her son, smiling upon seeing his expression of awe, “It’s amazing, right?”

“Sister’s extremely talented!” The eight-year-old boy said as he held the helm of his mother’s clothes, flinching every time he felt the heat radiating from the solar flares launched by his sister. “Isn’t she the best, Mother?”

“Rude!” Asani pinched his cheeks, “Didn’t you claim I was the best until now?”

“You’re switching sides, brat?”

“Ahh…ehhh…mmhm…” The eight-year-old boy flinched as he alternated gazes between his sister and mother, worrying about making a decision, aware that the one he didn’t pick would subject him to nonstop tickles until he changed his mind. It was a dead-end either way.  

“Don’t mind your mother and speak the truth without fear, Atreya.” A calm voice resounded from Amala as the Sun retracted into her body, causing her flailing hair to settle down. She appeared like a normal human except for the flaming patterns in her eyes, lithely approaching the eight-year-old boy, Atreya, and pulled his cheeks, “You can safely claim that I’m the best.”

“This girl…” Asani chuckled and ruffled Amala’s hair, speaking in praise, “Congratulations! You’re one of the very few in our history to receive two blessings right off the bat.”

“This calls for a celebration!” Asani was overjoyed as she patted her son, “Go, call your father. I’ll be cooking a feast tonight.”

“Okay!” Atreya nodded chirpily and sprinted through a familiar route, hearing the arguments between his mother and sister as he ran.

“Once I fully become a Scorcher, I’ll join your cause. Maybe I’ll even become the team leader.”

“You’re a century too early for that. This mother of yours was a talent before the word was even invented.”

“Just accept that you’re ancient, Mother.”

‘Are they going to fight?’ Atreya hid behind a house farther away and peeked curiously, wanting to see how his sister would fare against his mother, ‘Mother is insanely strong, but it’s not night yet. Maybe sister can force her to use her actual strength in a fight.’

He observed for a few seconds and noticed that the duo only continued to argue, ‘It’s the same as usual…’

He pouted a little in disappointment and resumed his sprint, running past various stone houses before reaching the village’s exit. Their village primarily cultivated sesame, which was their major source of oil, known by the names of Sesame Oil and Gingelly Oil.

After the majority of the world was covered by clouds, plunging it into darkness, a curse appeared. If any living being remains in absolute darkness for a certain period of time, they’d start turning into an undead.

To avoid that, having a light source during the night was a necessary means of survival. Oil lamps took the place of illumination, and the most economically produced oil was Sesame Oil.

It was evening time; a shadow loomed over the island, gradually beginning to cover it, despite there still being a lot of time for sunset. The culprit was the clouds blocking most of the sunlight.

One of the oil lamps near the village’s border was already lit. The lamp was a metre wide while the cotton wick sported a large flame, boxed by a lantern. Its glaring light fell on his face, reflected by the countless mirrors slapped all over the outer walls of the stone houses. This worked best in illuminating all the areas without missing anything.

Farmland stretched out for kilometres from the village border. Moving about in one of the farms was Atreya’s father, a respected farmer in the community who worked tirelessly to improve crop yield and sustainability.

It was a route he had traversed multiple times as Atreya ran with familiarity, tripping all of a sudden when he ran through the fields, finding himself at the bottom of a pit, “Aah!”

“How come there’s a pit here? It wasn’t there yesterday…” Atreya looked around, judging the pit to be freshly dug based on the traces. It was only three metres deep, so he could climb out of it with some effort.

Thankfully, there was hay at the bottom that cushioned his fall. But just as he got up, a bony hand stretched inside, and held his head, applying force, “H-Help! It’s an Undead!”

‘How come there’s an undead here? That’s impossible! And it’s not even nighttime yet!’ Atreya was terrified upon staring at the unnaturally long bony hand. Fumes wafted out of it due to the sunlight, beginning to vaporise it gradually.

“H-Help!” Atreya gasped as he punched the bony hand, failing to dent it. A second bony hand entered the pit and grabbed his necklace, the locket of which held a tiny, glowing stone. “No! Not that!”

Atreya felt a shiver through his spine spontaneously as the locket was removed from his possession. He tried to grab it, but instead was slammed into the bottom by the bony hand, “Help! Father! Mother!”

“There’s an undead here!” The pit was sealed with a lid. The pair of bony hands carried a rock and placed it over the lid, ensuring Atreya wouldn’t be able to break out. A pile of hay was thrown atop it, hiding the scene better.

The bony hands retreated into the covers of a robed individual who looked around, observing that the hay seemed odd lying there in the midst of a Sesame field. “That should be enough. It’s hidden enough at first glance but can be discovered if one pays attention.”

“It’s enough to serve its purpose.” Faint vapour continued to rise from the hooded individual as it instinctively shielded itself from the sunlight.

“Who are you?” An alarmed voice resounded as a man carrying a shovel arrived after hearing screams from the location.

“None of your worries,” The hooded figure sprinted towards the man, condensed a blade of shadow and plunged it into him. There was a soft clang as the blade of shadow pierced through the shaft of the shovel that was brought up in defence and punctured his chest.

The hooded figure dragged his corpse and dug a hole in the fields, using his body as a cover for the hole. It planned to wait inside until it was nighttime. It severed the stalks of some Sesame plants and haphazardly covered any open spots of the pit, a barebones effort at best.

Its goal wasn’t to hide perfectly but to act as bait, and that it did, as the scent of blood spread across the fields, alerting the farmers returning home. It didn’t take them long to discover the corpse as commotion spread. The region darkened in the meantime as light from the lanterns soon filled the place.

In one of the towers overlooking the ocean, Asani was preparing a feast with the help of a cook. Her daughter, Amaya lounged around in the living room, embracing her laziness. She frowned upon seeing that it was almost nightfall, “Why aren’t they back yet?”

As if to answer her question, the door burst open as a neighbour shouted in a hurry, “Someone’s been murdered in the fields!”

“Wait here!” Asani ordered Amala upon seeing the latter’s intention, “It’s safer at home.”

“But mother…” Amala shouted, noticing Asani disappear after a flash of light, causing the room to brighten as if it were daytime for a fraction of a second.

A glowing figure flew overhead the clamouring people and landed in the fields, glaring at the corpse, “Any witnesses?”

“No, we didn’t see anything.” One of the villagers in closeup said in a hurry.

“Hmm…” Asani crouched before the corpse and touched the wound on his chest, “It’s cold…”

“Koff!” She stared in aghast upon seeing a shadow in the form of a spear pierce through the corpse and stab her in the stomach, causing her to cough out blood.

“Madam Asani!” The villagers exclaimed in shock, clearly able to see the shadow due to the gentle light emanating from Asani that illuminated the region.

“It’s alright,” The light around her intensified as Asani leapt back, hovering at a height of four metres in the air as she glared at the pit, “Why don’t you show yourself before I vaporise you?”

“Strong, but kind, even against your enemies, Asani. You’re a Celestial Seeker for a reason.” The corpse was diced into two as the robed individual crawled out of the pit, revealing a face the right side of which had fully transformed into a skeleton. The left side still retained human resemblance, one on a path of deterioration.

“That’s exactly why you need to die!”

“You’re…big brother Cakora?” Asani muttered in disbelief before expressing her sadness, “I feared the worst when you disappeared. You became an undead.”

“Save your pity for your son,” The hooded figure, Cakora grinned and pointed to the rock partially covered by hay while dangling a necklace attached to a luminous stone, “He’s been trapped in darkness for a while now and without any source of light at that.”

“That’s Atreya’s!” Asani grunted as she clenched her hand into a fist and opened it, revealing a miniature sun. Intense heat and light billowed out, causing vapour to rapidly gush out of Cakora’s body, “You’ve gone too far, brother!”

“Do it!” Cakora laughed, “I’ve lived under your shadows for all my life. That was suffocating. So, all I did was embrace the shadow.”

“I heard Amaya experienced a Heroic Awakening. What a pity. Atreya will experience through Amaya what I experienced through you.” His jaws produced clattering sounds as shadows seemed to crawl all across his body like serpents.

“Farewell!” Asani didn’t bother putting up with his bullshit and grunted, causing the miniature sun to expand in size and slam into Cakora, vaporising him in a matter of seconds.

She rushed towards the rock and kicked it away, illuminating the pit inside to shout in a fluster, “Atreya!”

“M-Mother? It’s c-cold!” Atreya said with a pale face as patches of his skin began to fall off. The process of turning into an undead had already begun as he had been trapped in total darkness for sufficient time. “Am I…am I turning into an undead?”

“It’s not too late yet!” Asani jumped into the hold, grabbed him and brought him out. With a snap of her finger, the field they were upon burst into flames.

“Move away from her range! Don’t interrupt Madam Asani!” The villages were cooperative as they brought out dry hay from nearby locations and threw them onto the field, creating a bigger flame.

The intense flames flowed into Asani as she shone a beam of light onto Atreya, “The only way to survive this process is to become a Scorcher!”

“Seek it, Atreya!” Asani shouted, “Seek the Sun’s blessings!”

“B-But, it’s nighttime.” Atreya wheezed, “The Sun…isn’t here.”

“No! It’s always there!” Asani shouted, “The Sun’s eternal! Seek it with all your being and you’ll receive it…”

Her words arrived at a halt as the burning heap next to her began to douse rapidly. The culprit was the sudden rain that poured upon her location. And one after another, mysterious projectiles flew from the ocean and slammed into the lanterns across the village, snuffing out their flames.

In a matter of seconds, the village was plunged into absolute darkness, with the sole source of light being Asani.

“Relit the lanterns!” One of the villagers shouted and shone with sunlight, illuminating his vicinity. The light he emitted wasn’t bright but was at least enough to regain sight. He ran to the nearest lantern, shocked to see a skeleton get up from the broken remains of the lantern.

“There’s an undead here!” He shouted, only to see dozens of skeletons bombard the village like an artillery strike. The rain intensified further, making it harder to set the leaked oil on fire.

The villages intended to rush to the safety of their homes, raising screams as scores of undead slammed into the buildings, beginning to damage them.

“Be calm!” Asani’s shout resounded across the village as she hovered forty metres in the sky, carrying Atreya in her arms, and shone with enough light to brighten the village, “Gather everyone to safety. We’ll flee from the village. As for those who can fight…”

She glared at the ocean, observing large, skeleton clusters spanning dozens of metres in height walk ashore one after another, “We’ve got company!”

“Mother…I’ll be…fine.” Atreya observed the situation and expressed firmly, “Please don’t distract yourself. That…”

He hesitated a bit before saying, “Even you cannot face them alone. I’ll evacuate with the rest while you can fly in the sky to protect us…”

“Seems that isn’t an option either.” Asani sighed as she observed the skeleton giants hurl a handful of regular skeletons towards the village, littering the place with them. Many of them landed in the fields, sandwiching the village between the ocean and an army of skeletons.

“Can you act as a pair of eyes on my back?” Asani asked, smiling in pride upon seeing Atreya accept spontaneously, “That’s my brave boy!”

“There’s a lot of enemies.” She muttered and condensed another miniature Sun while pointing at the sky, “But first, this annoying rain must be stopped.”

Followed by a soft whistle, the miniature Sun flew towards the sky and exploded into a sea of flames, scattering the raincloud that had been gathered over the village.

Once the rain stopped, the villagers with the power of the Sun wielded it against the horde of undead, beginning to gain initiative as they first torched the fields, using the flames as nourishment to chuck fire at their foes.

Unfortunately, their advantage was short-lived as scores of undead were constantly hurled at them, with some of them slamming directly into the villagers, resulting in their deaths. In a matter of minutes, the casualties became severe while the villages with the power of the sun were running low on power.

“Dammit!” A villager grunted and swung an axe on a skeleton, watching in frustration to see a layer of shadow cover the skeleton. It was hard as steel, deflecting his attack. “We need a Scorcher!”

Boom!

A miniature sun arced across the sky and hovered two hundred metres above their heads, illuminating the region. The sheer heat and light it released caused the shadows covering the skeletons to vaporise, which made it possible for the weapons of the villagers to damage them.

“Run! Run faster!” They roared and helped each other while a bright ball of fire flew across the sky and hurled dozens of suns towards the skeleton giants on the shore.

“It’s…cold!” Atreya shivered, despite being in her flaming embrace, noticing faint strands of shadow flicker out of his hands before being vaporised by the heat. “Mother! Behind you!”

“Good job!” Asani evaded a shadow sword and flew towards her house, clutching her hand into a fist as she roared, “Come out! There’s a feast for you!”

A crystalline shaft three metres long punctured through the stone walls of her damaged tower-shaped house, emitting a faint light. Asani grabbed it and emitted sunlight from across her body, watching the shaft absorb it all.

And then, she pointed towards the shore, condensing all the sunlight she could emit into a laser beam, “Vaporise!”

Clattering sounds resounded across the shore as all the skeletons, whether they were big or small, vaporised as the laser beam flashed across the region. The shaft spun in her arm as Asani pointed it towards the skeletons attacking the villagers, destroying them all.

“Mother! Are you alright?” Atreya shouted in a fluster upon seeing Asani collapse onto the sandy shore, extremely pale. The sunlight she emitted began to flicker and turn dull over time. Only now did he notice her bleeding stomach, “You’ve lost too much blood.”

“I won’t die, brat.” Asani was weak but her expression remained steady. She applied pressure on her wound and spoke, “I’ve cleared out all the undead. So the villagers can return. I’ll heal after a few days of rest once the village doctor checks up on me.”

“You…promise? Atreya asked in worry and intended to fetch the village doctor when Asani grabbed him by the arm, “We need to treat you, Mother!”

“No, your condition takes priority.” Asani emitted intense light for a second as she grabbed Atreya by the arm, “Seek out the Sun spiritually, with desperation. I’m sure you’ll succeed! In the meantime, I’ll keep your progression into an undead in check…”

She stopped speaking, trembling instinctively upon feeling a terrifying presence draw upon her, turning her face in the direction of the ocean as she bellowed in a hurry, “Run, Atreya! Run away!”

“Celestial…Seeker…Asani…” A grating voice resounded as the water levels rose up. Emerging out of it was a titanic existence, surpassing a hundred metres in height. Its existence couldn’t be perceived, jet-black, capable of swallowing all light.

Asani pre-emptively launched a laser beam onto the entity’s head, only serving to illuminate the latter. The layer of shadow covering it was thick to an unrealistic level, capable of easily resisting the heat within the laser beam that ranged in the thousands of degrees in Celsius.

‘There’s a number carved on its head?’ She grabbed Atreya and took flight, intending to flee, ‘That’s not an existence that I can face!’

“Argh!” She shouted in pain and slammed into the ground, rolling to a stop.

“Mother!” Atreya screamed upon seeing his mother’s limbs fly past his line of sight. The monstrous entity had targeted his mother’s limbs to prevent her from carrying him away to safety. He dragged himself, ignoring the pain of his fractured legs to hurriedly prop her up, “Mother! Please, run! You can escape if you’re alone! Please…”

“Shut up!” Asani growled in anger, “No mother will ever abandon her child.”

Light radiated out of her as her body gradually floated, “Even if I have to drag you with my teeth to safety, I will do so.”

“You’ll…be…dangerous…as…a…flying…Celestial…” The monstrous entity exited the ocean and towered over the mother and son duo, “You…need…to…die…before…that…happens!”

“Go!” Asani shouted as she bit onto the edge of Atreya’s shirt, spun in the air to gain momentum and threw him away, “Run!”

“Mother!” Atreya shed tears as he rolled over the sand farther away, observing flashes of light and darkness as his mother began battling the monster.

‘I…need to help her!’ He grunted, barely able to even stand, noticing the flashes in the night rapidly growing weaker. Dozens of Suns slammed into the monstrous giant but the damage wasn’t significant enough.

‘Please! Please! Please!’ He was aware that he was only a burden to her. To avoid turning him into ash, Asani had to be extremely precise with her control so that even the weakest heatwaves didn’t touch him. That only made her attacks weak against the monstrous entity who his mother would have a hard time fighting even in her optimal state.

But now, not only was she in a severe state of blood loss but had also lost her limbs. So, the only thing he could do now was to flee, ‘If I’m not here, mother can fight at her full strength.’

Tears continued to stream from his eyes as he desperately dragged himself away from the battlefield. His body grew increasingly colder. Shadows sprouted like tentacles out of his limbs as his skin began to peel off. He couldn’t resist the process anymore, turning his head to stare at the battle one last time, crying in despair to see the burning sun disappear, plunging the region into darkness, “Mother!”

Boom!

A figure slammed into him, tumbling him to the ground. He instinctively wrapped his hands around the entity in an effort to cushion them, shouting upon feeling warm blood trickle upon him, “Mother! No! No…nono! Please, reply!”

“Dammit! Damn you! It’s all your fault! HOW DARE YOU HARM MY MOTHER?” Rage enveloped his being as Atreya felt his body turning hot, the coldness from before dissipated rapidly.

“I’m not dead…yet.” A faint glimmer appeared around her body, illuminating their surroundings faintly as she stared at her son, focusing on his eyes as she smiled in pride, “You did it…”

“Koff!” She got up, coughed out blood, and increased the intensity of the light she released, illuminating the monstrous giant who approached their location with thunderous steps.

“Mother! Don’t exert yourself! I…I don’t feel cold anymore! I’ll bring you to safety!” Atreya said, able to gather strength in his legs as he intended to run away with his mother.

“Tens of thousands of lives will be lost if that thing heads deeper inland.” Asani gasped as she glared at the monstrous giant, “All the normal people will turn into undead. Our nation might not survive until sunrise.”

“No, please, don’t do it. I’ll think of something to save us. I feel strong now. I will save us!” Atreya trembled in fear as the monstrous giant stepped foot a mere few metres away, spilling sand in their direction. Although his body trembled instinctively, he intended to fight, to protect his mother.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to save everyone in the future. You’ll become stronger than anyone and kinder than everyone! I know this for a fact.” Asani began to float faintly as she kissed Atreya on the forehead, “And for you to do that, you must survive this night. So, I’ll pave the way for you.”

“Mother…” Atreya sobbed.

“Farewell…Celestial…Seeker…Asani…” The monstrous giant cranked its hand and geared up to unleash its strongest punch. 

“Darkness is eternal. It’s fearful and seems endless. But the faintest spark can destroy darkness.” Her voice brimmed with resolve as Asani grinned peacefully, “So, whenever your heart is gripped by absolute despair, pat your chest and whisper to it in your loudest voice, the motto of Scorchers,”

Her heart melted to form a miniature sun, one brimming with the hottest flames. It instantly expanded in size to envelop everything in the region, creating a terrifying phenomenon of heat and light as the voice of a woman erupted thunderously, “Praise the Sun!”

There was a resounding explosion as a wave of heat rippled out, melting everything in its path, including the monstrous giant. Standing in the epicentre of the explosion was a burning sun forty metres wide, spinning rapidly for a mere second before vanishing.

Lava poured on him from the sides of the crater. Kneeling in the centre, unaffected by the lava and even nurtured by it was Atreya, crying as he hugged a luminescent skeleton of his mother. “Aaahhh!” 

His right eye glowed with the same pattern as his mother, a sign that he had awakened to the power of the Sun, at the mere age of eight.