_Crack!
The land tore apart,
vast slabs of stone drifted through space like shattered islands.
Where the blue sky should have been, fragnts of moons floated aimlessly, and broken planets collided in slow, silent ruin.
The energy from their collisions still shimred across the void, painting the darkness in ghostly light.
On the surface of a nearly destroyed world lay a land of unnatural colors.
One side glowed under a false daylight born from the scattered energy above, while the other drowned in endless shadow.
A little distance away stood the remnants of a broken civilization; beyond that, a wasteland stretched to the horizon.
It looked as if soone had stitched fragnts of different worlds together,
a calm, yet horrifying tapestry of stories.
Amid this fractured land stood a tree of impossible height.
Its leaves shimred a brilliant green, and small fruits glowed faintly along its long, unyielding branches.
Bathed in light, the tree seed almost divine...
Almost beautiful.
Except for the dark figure clinging to its trunk like a parasite.
Its body was bound in a web of violet strings, plastered against the bark, forming a festering wound upon the trunk.
The figure’s eyes were closed, but its body twitched now and then, as if trapped in a nightmare.
Its face, at first that of an old man, began to shift and ripple.
The wrinkles smoothed into the features of a black-haired girl.
Then it morphed again, into a blond young man.
With every change, the world around it seed to flicker and rewrite itself,
more scenes bleeding into the background,
as though reality itself was rembering too many dreams at once.
Then,
The figure’s eyes snapped open, revealing colorless pupils.
"Haa... Haa..."
It gasped for breath, even though it no longer needed to.
"A creature who feeds on people’s dreams is scared of their nightmares."
The blond young man jerked his head toward the voice.
A few paces away stood a man in black,
black hair, red eyes, a plain face. Everything about him seed ordinary.
Except it wasn’t.
Nothing about this creature was normal.
"How laughable," the man in black murmured.
The blond man’s jaw clenched.
"Nightmare!!"
"Shhhh..." The man raised a finger to his lips.
"No yelling. I don’t like noise."
A faint smile tugged at his mouth.
"Or do you want to go for another round?"
Fear flickered across the blond man’s face before he quickly masked it.
"You can’t do this to !"
"Why not?"
"The other Lords won’t—"
"Why are dream creatures interfering with the real world?"
The man, Orran, tilted his head slightly.
"You don’t have to answer. But this ti... we’ll be exploring childhood traumas."
The blond man’s eyes shook violently.
Orran smiled.
"You know how vivid they are... how terrifying they are..."
He stepped closer.
"And how innocent they are."
The Dream Eater trembled.
Orran stopped right before him.
"So, once again, why did you take over the sacred tree? What is the purpose of... Dream?"
He raised his hand.
"Once again, you don’t have to answer."
The Dream Eater thrashed but couldn’t free himself from the trunk.
His eyes widened as Orran’s hand neared his face, then suddenly, he laughed.
"Pffft—HAHAHAHAHA!"
Orran paused.
"Go ahead, kill !" the blond man howled.
"You’re not what you once were! I’ve already sent the ssage! Once they learn of my demise, they’ll co for you,
they’ll hunt you, and that boy! Once they learnt what he is capable of, there’s no saving you!"
"Ah." Orran tilted his head.
"So that pathetic ssenger was yours. Well, thanks to that, I was able to get here."
The Dream Eater’s laughter faltered.
"W-What... do you an?"
"It ans there’s no saving you now."
"That’s... impossible—"
"Nothing is impossible," Orran said softly.
"This is a dream, after all."
The color drained from the Dream Eater’s face as his manic energy faded.
"As for killing you..." Orran pressed his hand against the man’s head.
"Don’t worry. I don’t kill that easily."
"No... no..."
The Dream Eater scread.
"NOOO!"
But it was too late.
The nightmare returned.
Orran watched silently as the Dream Eater fell asleep once more.
For a mont, he stood there, listening.
Then, as if sensing sothing, he looked up.
"Haa... what a lively neighborhood," he murmured.
"Well, at least he managed to escape."
His form shimred, feathers unfolding where shadows had been.
"Guess I should go too."
And just like that, he vanished, leaving behind the Dream Eater,
the one who fed on others’ dreams,
now trapped in an endless spiral of their nightmares.
*******
_Eeeeeee!
A strange vibration rang in my ears.
"Is... workin... ell."
"There... blood..."
Low whispers, strange, broken words buzzing inside my skull.
"Everyth... norma..."
"Argh!"
I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes...
and was greeted by two bald heads in scholar uniforms, hovering over like vultures in lab coats.
’What the...’
"There are no signs of abnormal activity," said the elder one calmly.
Slowly, their words began to make sense.
"The mana pathways are stable," the younger added, his tone clinical.
"All limbs are present. No body parts missing."
"Have you checked his genitals?" the elder asked.
’My what?’
"They were missing from the last experint."
My heart dropped instantly.
"I’ll check right away," the young scholar said, without hesitation.
’These MOTHERFU—’
"W–wait, wait, WAIT!"
I shot up so fast the bed screeched against the floor.
Both scholars froze, blinking at like I’d just interrupted their tea ti.
The elder adjusted his monocle. "Ah. You’re awake, young master."
My voice cracked. "Don’t give that crap! You were about to inspect my missing—"
"Genitals, yes," the young one said matter-of-factly.
I stared at him. Then at the elder. Then down at my very, very endangered lower half.
I gulped and slowly touched my pants.
Everything was fine.
I let out a long, shaking sigh of relief.
"Fascinating," the elder murmured.
"He displays emotional responses appropriate to the situation."
"That’s new," the younger said, scribbling on a clipboard.
"The last one laughed."
"The last one was missing a head."
"Oh, right. Then it must’ve been the one before him."
"He was just a skeleton."
"Right, right. Then maybe—"
"Enough!!" I snapped, cutting through their idiotic chatter.
I rolled off the bed and stumbled backward.
My legs barely worked, but I forced them to move.
"Young master! You need to rest!"
"Don’t touch !!"
My head was still buzzing, my vision swimming, but instinct scread one thing loud and clear,
Stay away from these lunatics.
"Reckless as always," said a voice from behind.
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