Dream Realm. No-Man's Woods.
The creature's disguise shattered like glass, revealing the deceiver's true face hidden beneath. A shapeless mass of blinding light and countless eyes. And all those eyes were staring directly at Lucius.
As if driven mad by the bright light and the presence of the Somnisian, the shadows danced, trying to hide from its radiance.
"Why am I so sleepy?"
A heaviness in his body and unbearable fatigue overtook Lucius as his body was illuminated by the gleaming figure before him. His knees trembled under his own weight, his stance wavered, and his grip on the stick noticeably weakened. With blurred vision, he looked at the shapeless being and spoke in a strangled voice:
– What… What are you doing to me?..
As if mocking his question, the living sun remained silent and began moving toward him. Fighting the feeling of weakness with all his might, Lucius shook his head and backed away.
– Don't be silent, damn it! Fuck, don't come near me!
By a cruel twist of fate, his body gave in under the influence of her aura. The stick slipped from his hands, and he collapsed onto his back. Not wanting to be at the mercy of the unknown, he propped himself on his elbows and tried to get to his feet. However, his futile attempt ended in failure. Having succumbed to the light once, Lucius's body could no longer find the strength to rise.
In despair, he rolled onto his stomach and, like a worm, crawled away, desperately clawing at the ground.
Finally breaking the silence, the Somnisian spoke:
– Child. You're tired, aren't you?
The crawling boy's entire body instantly froze at that honey-sweet voice. The already unbearable fatigue grew into something more, making every particle of his being go numb from exhaustion.
Suddenly, a soft touch covered his shoulder. A gentle push on the shoulder made him roll onto his back.
– The world is cruel and merciless. Especially to defenseless children like you.
With these words, the hue of her radiance changed noticeably. A gentle, yellow light replaced the blinding white.
Slowly, the Somnisian extended several unnaturally long arms and placed them on the ground next to Lucius. Suddenly, the elongated limbs began to pulse. Under the influence of her power, the breathing earth seemed to come alive and begin to change. Granules of black soil began to clump together, change color, and reshape. Soft fabric, like nothing he had ever felt in his life, replaced the ground beneath him. Growing out of nowhere, a pillow soft as a cloud lifted his head, shifting Lucius's gaze from the starless sky to the being before him.
– There now, everything will be fine. Just… relax.
A powerful urge to sleep clouded the mind of its red-haired prey. Despite everything, he kept resisting. If his mind followed the fate of his body, only the gods knew what would become of him in this cursed place.
Soon, he noticed her hand gently pressing against his temple, and at that moment he felt more exposed and vulnerable than ever before. The creature was invading. Invading his mind, the deepest depths of his spiritual heart. All the years of his life flashed before his eyes, forcing him to relive every moment of his existence.
– S-Stop! – a desperate scream escaped his lips.
– Don't resist. It's pointless. Don't you see? Your life is terrible. Reality is painful and not worth it. It's not worth the struggle and effort. Just let me give you a gift.
As soon as she said these words, the torturous stream of memories changed into something else. Softer, warmer, more pleasant.
Slowly, Lucius's consciousness began to collapse, gradually drowning in sleep. As soon as that happened, transparent threads began to sprout from him and curl around the Somnisian's glowing hand.
***
???
Lucius found himself at home again. But everything was different.
The sacks of musty hay were replaced by soft, cozy-looking beds. The decrepit dining table now looked brand new, covered with a snow-white tablecloth. The ever-creaking wooden walls had been replaced by cold stone.
Lucius felt like he was in a home that didn't belong to him. He felt like he was in paradise.
With a limping gait, he stepped outside and was, to say the least, bewildered by what he saw.
Lush green grass tickled his bare feet. A gentle breeze warmed his face with hot air. From a clear, cloudless sky, the sun gently warmed his face. Squinting from the unusually bright light, he looked around. The thick, twisted trunks of the Dark Forest, in which he had lived his entire life in the village, had become rare, lush trees.
Suddenly, a surprisingly familiar, playful voice called out from behind:
– Hey! There you are, you red-haired little devil. Finally deigned to grace us with your presence and wake up?
Valeria's ringing laughter made Lucius turn around and look at his own mother in surprise.
The woman before him looked exactly like his mother, and yet completely unrecognizable. Her usually messy, dirty black hair was now clean and neatly arranged behind her back, falling to her waist. Her facial skin was smooth and well-groomed, with no signs of prolonged malnutrition. The old rags of a housewife's dress, which she had worn for years and patched every time the fabric was on the verge of tearing, were gone from her body. In their place was a sturdy, solid fabric that fit snugly against her curves without accentuating them too much, and the skirt fell to her calves, swaying freely in the wind.
Noticing her son's expression, her lips curled into a grin.
– Hey, Luci, – she called him again and gave him a light flick on the forehead. – what are you staring at, hmm?
Questions. Countless questions filling his mind slowly faded. His mind grew cloudier by the second. With each moment, all his worries faded into the background.
Smiling, Lucius scratched the back of his head and answered in a voice hoarse from silence:
– Oh, nothing. You've gotten your clothes dirty again.
– Huh?
Valeria's playful expression turned to annoyance as she looked down. All this time, the hem of her black skirt had been covered in dried mud and grass.
– Oh for… Ah, screw it. I'll wash it when I have time. Such a fucking hassle.
– So… need any help?
Examining her soiled clothes, Valeria nodded and headed toward the house.
– Yeah, help wouldn't hurt. Run to your father's lab and call him home. I'll start cooking.
With those words, the beautiful woman disappeared from sight, muttering curses about her ruined clothes.
Smiling, Lucius walked to his destination. Just as he was about to open the door, he caught a whiff of something that made him freeze. His father's warning immediately resurfaced in his memory.
"If you smell musty hay while I'm working in my shed, do not enter under any circumstances, or you'll die a horrible death."
Goosebumps ran down the boy's spine at the thought of going inside. Not wanting to test the potency of his father's poison, about which he refused to give details, Lucius knocked on the door and stepped back a few paces.
– Dad, come out!
– Coming!
A few seconds later, the door opened and his father came out, having undergone no noticeable changes. Except for one, of course.
He didn't look tired and desperate.
– Lucius? Why are you staring at me like that?
– H-Huh? Oh, nothing. Just marveling at how strong your immunity to poisons is. That's all…
The boy felt it. His voice was beginning to tremble slightly. Emotions, building up like a bubble, threatened to burst and spill out.
Not now. Not in front of him or Mom.
– Pfft, you flatter me, Luci… Ahem. So why did you call me?
– Mom's making lunch, told me to get you.
– Lunch? Then tell her I'll be there soon. I still need to wash the poisons off my hands.
– No way, tell her yourself. – saying this, Lucius turned to face the forest, hiding his expression from his father. He was losing control. – You go ahead, I'll c-catch up, want to soak up some sun…
Asa wasn't a fool and didn't fall for his words. Realizing his son needed to be alone, he just nodded and headed home, stealing glances at the boy's back until he could no longer see him.
Feeling his father's gaze disappear, Lucius finally let his emotions loose. His lips stretched into a genuine smile. His eyes began to blur, shedding tears full of emotion.
Happiness.
Relief.
Bliss.
Maybe things aren't so bad after all…
***
Dream Realm. No-Man's Woods.
Enjoying the fulfillment of her duty as a weaver of sweet dreams, the Somnisian sensed with difficulty that something was wrong.
"What's happening? This… This is bad. I sense someone else's aura."
Worried, she opened all her eyes wide, peering into the surrounding darkness.
"Is it one of the Aletherions?"
At the mere thought, her entire body flickered. Involuntarily, she stared at one of her hands, realizing what she would have to do.
"Damn it, I don't want to use this magic. Fragmenting the soul is too painful and risky…"
Her hesitation was interrupted when one of her eyes caught a swift movement of something formless and dark.
"Argh, I have no choice."
Gathering her strength, she grabbed one of her hands and tore it off with a crunch. From the wound, from which blood should have immediately gushed like a river, not a single drop fell.
Trying not to be distracted, the dream weaver turned the severed hand into a small puppet. "Good, halfway there…"
Bracing herself for the worst to come, the dream weaver shuddered and continued her work.
Several times, the Somnisian's entire body emitted a pulse of light, absorbing something into the puppet's body. An agonizing feeling pierced her entire being, making the Somnisian's body convulse in pain.
Enduring the torment, the Somnisian finally installed a fragment of her soul, which was to serve as the puppet's core. A moment later, the creature awakened in its creator's hands and reached its tiny arms toward the sleeping boy. Seeing this, a soft feeling spread through the Somnisian's core and eased the pain of tearing off a part of herself.
Placing the puppet on the boy's chest, the Somnisian watched as the creature lay down and immediately became covered in the same threads from his body that had covered her own hand.
"That's it, little one. Keep his dream going, while I deal with the intruder."
Reassured that the channel connection between them was established, the Somnisian stepped back from the unconscious body and turned her many-eyed gaze into the depths of the surrounding No-Man's Woods. She could feel it.
An Aletherion was watching her.
After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, she saw movement again.
Her entire body began to pulse and slowly shrink in size. One of her eyes detached from her, turning into a small likeness of a blazing sun.
The Somnisian's concentrated gaze was fixed on the direction of the No-Man's Woods, watching for any movement. The hit had to be precise, because she couldn't use this attack twice without risking death from exhaustion.
And at that moment, she noticed a mass of black mist flickering between the trees, circling her like a vulture.
"Got you, tormentor of sleepers!"
With that thought, she aimed and released her attack. The dwarf sun flattened and rushed forward, turning into a wide beam that destroyed everything in its path. Dozens of leathery trees fell victim to her attack before it reached its target.
At the moment of impact, a huge cloud of dust rose into the air,signaling a hit.
Confident in her easy victory over the dark enemy, the Somnisian used the remnants of her eye to transform it and blow away the dust.
What she saw next was not at all what she expected.
Surrounded by dozens of fallen trees and rivers of flowing blood, stood the figure of a knight, from whose body emanated a black aura.
The beam from her dwarf sun, which she had shot at him, helplessly circled around the Aletherion, controlled by the space he was distorting.
At the sight, immeasurable fear gripped the dream weaver's heart.
It was then that the Somnisian understood. She was facing someone older than her, more experienced than her, more powerful than her.
Suddenly, a hoarse voice belonging to the Aletherion came from the forest:
– Is that all?
"What the?! When did he…?!"
Shaking his head in disappointment, the knight waved his hand, directing the Somnisian's beam into the air.
As the empty sky was illuminated by a bright explosion, the bottomless void instead of the knight's eyes showed that his gaze was not directed at the Somnisian. He also wasn't looking at Lucius. No, he was looking at what lay on the boy's chest.
The knight's target was the puppet.
Step by step, the Aletherion began to slowly approach them, like something inevitable. Every movement was a mockery of her talent.
She couldn't allow this. The mere thought that the boy's dream would be destroyed, that he would become this monster's victim, ignited a multitude of emotions in the Somnisian.
"What do I do?! How should I act?! That spawn of black bastards… He's too strong for me. But I can't run away, or only the gods will know what becomes of this boy! Damn you, nightmare spawn!"
Snapping her out of her thoughts, the Aletherion stopped and spoke:
– You know, before we begin, I want you to tell me what's happening in the boy's dream right now.
This request truly shocked the Somnisian. What game was he playing?
In a trembling voice, she answered:
– Why… Why do you want me to do that?
– Why? Indeed, why would I…
Mockingly pretending to think, the knight tilted his head, and the emptiness of his eye sockets flashed.
– I ask because I want to know what lie you're feeding him. What poison you're using to taint his mind. And then? Then I'll decide whether to let him rot in your paradise, or show him everything as it is.
Tired of the Aletherion's arrogant words, the Somnisian snapped.
– Lie?! Poison?!
Her entire formless body began to contract into a single point.
Within seconds, the Somnisian began to take on a single form. On the formed, feminine face, anger was clearly written.
– You black bastard! You and your kind understand nothing! And you never will!
Soaring into the air, the Somnisian exploded in a flash of light that dwarfed the explosion of her beam.
When the blinding whiteness faded, the figure of a white-winged angel towered in the sky. Her entire body was clad in form-fitting, golden armor. In the angel's hand blazed a fiery spear, constantly fed by her energy.
– I will not let you do whatever you're plotting, mad Aletherion.
Pointing the tip of her spear at the black knight standing on the ground, the angel shouted.
– You will not lay your hands on this boy! And you will not interrupt his dream!
Watching her, hovering in the empty sky, the Aletherion only shook his head in disappointment.
– Ah, just a pathetic imitation. You couldn't even recreate the true aura of angels… What a complete disappointment.
With those words, the Aletherion waved his hands, and from beneath the ground, stone spikes began to grow, aiming at the angel.