Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie

#081Reader Mode

#081

What do I want?

The question lingered on the tip of his tongue, a humble wish as thick as a stack of outdated phone books. Among his carefully curated desires, winning the lottery took the top spot, followed by reuniting with his beloved lost eye. And last but not least, he yearned to erase from the universe’s memory the cringeworthy words he had said in the past, words that still made him want to rip his mouth off.

“.…..”

However, Seojun, swallowed his words with a sigh that carried the weight of regret, disappointment, and a sprinkle of lingering attachment. Instead, he shot a sideways glance at the devil’s piercing red gaze and spoke up.

“Doade… I mean, not you, but the real Doade. Does she like you? Is that why she’s cooperating with this?”

The devil burst into laughter, while Doade looked like she’d swallowed a fly. Seojun nodded quickly, picking up on the cues.

“Yeah, it’s okay if you don’t want to answer. I can read between the lines.”

With a devious smile, the devil caressed Doade’s cheek, her snow-white skin yielding to her touch like a marshmallow.

“Wealth, fame, a harem of beautiful women and men… Well, people these days have evolved beyond such basic desires. But go on and tell me. I’m feeling generous and merciful. I can even make someone you hate suffer in hell.”

“Oh, really? Then Bo… Ah, nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

Seojun’s hands flew to his mouth, his quick reflexes saving Bobby, who was blissfully oblivious and safely tucked away in Wraithwood, hundreds of kilometers away from a potential trip to hell. He touched his lip, collecting his thoughts.

“My wish is to free Doade. Both her body and her soul.”

The devil cocked her head, intrigued, while Doade, who had been staring intently at the ground, suddenly snapped her gaze up. Even in the darkness, her doubtful stare cut through Seojun like a knife. The red-eyed devil flashed a grin, her pearly whites gleaming.

“Well, that’s unexpected. It’s not like you don’t have desires…”

Seojun, of course, had always dreamed of striking it rich. In other words, a winning lottery ticket that would pave the way to an easy life. But he knew better than to trust the devil’s offers. Any lottery ticket they handed over would come with a catch, probably cursing the original winner to an untimely demise and leaving Seojun with a bloodstained prize. The same went for any other wish. So instead of relying on the devil’s dubious gifts to heal his eye, Seojun pinned his hopes on the wonders of modern medicine. The devil leaned in close, her whispers sweet and tantalizing.

“Perhaps I was being too vague earlier? Many people go for the smaller, more instant-gratification kind of wishes. How about a cushy job with a fat paycheck? Or maybe a spouse with a substantial inheritance? If those don’t appeal to you, I’ve got access to knowledge that hasn’t even been discovered yet. Although, these days, it seems like everyone’s obsessed with the latest gadgets.”

Seojun could sense the countless souls who had fallen prey to the devil’s temptations. He tilted his head back, gazing up at the dark starless sky. This place was a far cry from the endless, scorching cornfields under the blistering sun. The air here had a cool bite to it, a refreshing change from the oppressive, dry heat.

“You know, I once met this little girl,” he said, as if a memory had just surfaced. Seojun, who had gotten to his feet and brushed himself off, held his palms out around his knees, indicating the child’s height.

“She was about this tall maybe? Anyway, she told me she was absolutely terrified of getting stuck somewhere and wasting away.”

The child from his past and Doade shared only their gender and the fact that death had claimed them both. Yet, for Seojun, that was enough to make his choice. Though the child’s face had faded in his memory, the image of her trembling hands and small, tired back, forever running, remained etched in his mind. He couldn’t bear to subject Doade to that kind of torment just to make his own life easier.

Knowledge, he realized, doesn’t always demand firsthand experience. He was simply a man with a selfish heart, a soul touched by empathy. And Seojun had already learned the weight of compassion, the power of caring for someone other than himself.

“Free Doade. That’s my wish,” he said, his voice unwavering.

The devil’s lips had curled at the edges, a sneer from one angle, a strange, satisfied smile from another. As the devil released her grip on Doade’s arm, the girl stood there, mouth agape and eyes wide with shock, seemingly the only one caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events.

“Very well,” the devil purred, her voice low and smooth. “If that’s what you want, then you deserve the reward that comes with being the winner of our little wager.”

In a flash, the crossroads stood empty, the devil and Doade vanishing into thin air. But the silence didn’t last long. The distant hum of life and the blurry shapes of the world began to bleed back into the once inky darkness. Seojun glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the restaurant’s lights flickering back to life.

“Ah.” The sigh slipped from his lips, soft and weary. He fished his phone from his jacket pocket, the screen’s cold light washing over his face, painting his sharp pale chin and nose in shades of blue. Lost in thought, he climbed into the truck, sinking into the driver’s seat like a stone. The engine sputtered to life, as if the strange events of the night had never occurred. Seojun’s hands gripped the steering wheel, his exhaustion long forgotten.

In the rearview mirror, his haggard reflection stared back at him, the crossroads a tiny image in the glass. But Seojun looked straight ahead, his gaze fixed on the horizon that had emerged from the darkness. He hit the gas, and the blue truck sped towards the dawn breaking on the horizon, leaving the mysteries of Utahpia behind.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

It was pure chance that led the yellow Beetle to roll into Utahpia in the dead of night. Unlike the flashy billboard at the town’s entrance, the streets of Utahpia were eerily quiet, a fitting ambiance for the late hour. Johan’s golden-brown eyebrows knitted together in concern.

His tight schedule had been derailed by the landslide that blocked the road. In Wraithwood, landslides weren’t even on the radar, let alone a common occurrence during traffic accidents.

“I guess that’s what happens when you leave home,” Johan muttered to himself.

The delay had thrown his meal and sleep schedules out of whack. While a consistent diet was crucial, the reality was that it was tough to stick to it on the road. Johan’s eyes grew misty with frustration.

He had set out from his hometown with a single-minded determination: to reunite with his beloved. The journey had been relatively smooth sailing until then, and he’d even stumbled upon a lucky break at a gas station – a video of Seojun that felt like a reward for his travels. He beamed with joy at the memory.

But as fate would have it, bad luck followed close on the heels of good. The blocked road forced him to take a detour, and Johan’s plans were sent into a tailspin. He knew Seojun’s final destination, but he wanted to stage a chance encounter, as if fate had brought them together. If they could travel together, Johan wouldn’t think twice about sending his current car to the junkyard. A sly smile crept onto his lips as he sighed, and the mere thought of it lifted his spirits.

“It would be great if Jun was thinking of me too, wouldn’t it?”

Johan wasn’t yet officially off the market, but weren’t the odds in his favor? As he gazed into the rearview mirror, he noticed the small teddy bear that used to hang there was gone. A surge of energy coursed through him, and he shook off the gloomy thoughts that had been weighing him down. Staying up way past midnight was clearly taking a toll on his mind and body.

Just as he finished his introspection, a neon sign caught his eye. The vibrant colors flashed so boldly that he couldn’t ignore it even if he tried. He pulled over in front of the sign.

“Utahpia?”

Johan read the signboard slowly, surveying his surroundings. The sign didn’t give away the town’s size, but he figured there had to be at least a motel.

What drew him in was the name itself. He was certain Seojun would’ve passed through a quirky place like this. The man he adored had a peculiar sense of humor and often found himself attracted to these kinds of things. He’d deny it, but whenever Seojun flashed that comical grin, things usually got interesting.

Johan’s yellow beetle cruised into town, the poplar trees lining the road like sentinels. As expected, the late hour meant the streets were deserted. Not only were the regular stores closed, but even the bars that usually stayed open late were shuttered tight. The darkness was oppressive, thanks to the lack of streetlights. Even the moon was hiding behind clouds, leaving only the car’s headlights to illuminate the streets of Utahpia.

Johan drove with a relatively clear head, until suddenly, a crossroads materialized ahead. As he hesitated over which direction to take, the car came to an abrupt halt.

“Huh?”

Johan’s eyes widened in surprise. Flustered, he first checked that the car key was properly inserted, then scanned the vehicle to see if Cynthia’s mischievous guinea pig had somehow snuck in. That guinea pig often tried to escape, and weirdly, the car it was on always stalled before leaving Wraithwood. Johan had left Wraithwood ages ago, but this just showed how terrifying old habits could be. However, when he peeked under his seat, he found only the toolbox Christina had given him, no guinea pig in sight.

“Strange…”

The hazard lights didn’t kick in, and when the car stalled, the headlights died too. Johan was torn about whether to call a tow truck. Just then, someone started banging on his window like crazy.

“Hey, get out of the car! I said get out!”

The demand was brazenly rude. Johan settled back into his seat, relying on the reinforced glass to protect him. But thanks to the noisy troublemaker, his careful thoughts were shattered. He gazed at the aggressive pedestrian, who was literally hammering his fists against the window, and muttered,

“Wait, was it only the front windshield that was reinforced?”

Normally, Johan would’ve ignored the guy and driven off. But with his car stuck in the middle of the road, his options were limited. He forced a smile, as if accepting a tough situation, and opened the door. The troublemaker, who’d been yelling at him to get out, took a step back, looking hesitant, as Johan unfolded his towering frame from the car.

Two identical-looking men stood before him. Their hairlines had receded severely, but the hair at the back of their heads was super thick, creating an unbalanced look. They had the same pitiful faces and the same sloppy clothes.

“Help me! Please help me!”

“Help me! Please help me!”

The two men were like mirror images of each other. Their similarity went beyond just looking alike. When one got angry, the other got angry too. When one cried, the other cried too.

It was a truly bizarre scene.