The Dreamer's Epilogue-Chapter 34: Second Dream
Chapter 34 – Second Dream
"I knew she was strong, but this much?" Emrys complained while diving into his bed. He regretted it an instant later, his face aching at the sturdiness of his bed.
He suppressed a curse, trying to soothe his aching body by writhing restlessly like a crawling worm, wishing to find a spot where it hurt less.
After minutes of that embarrassing display with no success in sight, he gave up and just accepted his fate.
He lay on his stomach, his face buried under.
After his first duel with Victoria, there had been more following up. And in each of those, Emrys was humbled beyond measure.
The simple fact of remembering those moments made his face cringe. Victoria was truly like a beast, literally. He couldn’t find a difference between her and her hound which she affectionately called Raya.
That little bitch of a beast hated him, Emrys was sure of it. And she showed it by attacking as mercilessly as she was allowed to.
’I know it’s just the beginning,’ Emrys mused, ’but it’s still annoying to see a girl younger than me beating me without breaking a god-cursed sweat.’
He didn’t like it, and his natural competitive spirit was taking over his rational one.
Emrys hated losing. No matter the situation and what was at stake... he always wished to win.
He didn’t know why, but maybe it was because he had grown up without a mother. Maybe he wanted to prove to his father that he was not a failure, despite indirectly causing the death of the person he loved so much.
Yet there was a part in all this he rarely acknowledged. The one he wanted to hide from himself, to openly lie even... and it was that it was never for his father.
It was for himself. It had always been for himself.
To prove to himself... that he deserved to live despite ending the life of another.
And the only way he found was to win. Constantly, relentlessly.
Always...
’...win. Always first. Never second, let alone third. That’s you, Em. Don’t forget it.’ Emrys added at last, promising himself to train more and win, before his mind slipped into the dream realm.
He expected total blankness like the last time.
Well, it was not.
...
Emrys let out a small, irritated sigh as he looked around him. Once again, he found himself in a strange place.
But this one, at least, he could relate to. Albeit not that much.
The space he spawned in was one of terror, blood and bile and piss and shit. The ground was littered with corpses — some whole, but most mutilated beyond understanding.
The blood was so deep and numerous that the ground could no longer be seen, transforming into an ankle-deep blood puddle.
The air was rotten with dread and anger and indignation. Smoke billowed all over, curtaining the whole world as if wishing to hide this horrendous tragedy from the gods.
Crimson fire flickered here and there, showing remnants of attacks that sent chills down the back of Emrys.
However, that was not the thing that made his knees buckle, almost slamming into the ground.
His eyes went wide, blood pumping inside his ears, seeing what was buzzing all around.
Flies.
Withered, dried crimson-black flies.
"No..." he whispered, terror riding his voice, "don’t tell me?"
Emrys was doing his best to keep his calm, but it was not easy. However, this was his second time, making the fear lessen a bit more.
The feelings of anger, sadness and frustration from around were flooding inside of him, as if the dead wished to make him understand their suffering.
They succeeded.
Emrys’s face was twisted into one of pain, tears swelling inside his eyes. Voices began to whisper inside his mind. They were faint, but he could guess what they were trying to tell him.
To tell him what happened here.
Emrys was tempted to block them, at least try to do so. However, after the last time, he came to learn some things.
That young girl had attacked him when he refused to help her. He had thought about this over and over again, making him come to one single conclusion... did he have to help or do whatever the owner of the dream wanted in order to get out?
He didn’t know. He could only try.
So he walked through the land of the dead, making splashing sounds, his head trying to keep himself together with the whispers.
’They killed me!’ A voice whispered, yet it was not only that.
’We are innocent! We die no—!’
’They raped me! Th— in front of my so—!’
The whispers were fragmented, but the emotions flooding Emrys were not.
He just bit his lip and continued his walk, trying to find the owner of the dream. The flies were following him all around, buzzing in a strange way that made him think they were trying to talk to him.
But whatever they were saying was lost to the cornucopia of whispers inside his mind.
’Ah Vorn’s cursed eyes were on us!’
’The Lord of Death! Vorn’s Gate! Vorn’s Gate was ope—!’
’Ah cursed are Vorn’s Heralds! They are many! They are too many!!!’
Emrys’s cries increased without even knowing. He began to slow down, wobbling, his body stooped as if bearing too much sudden burden.
’Vorn’s breath on all of them! I curse them! I curs—!’
He finally fell down, sobbing and crying, taking hold of his head as if it was a watermelon he wanted to crush.
Yet the moment he did...
"my sister..."
A young voice erupted in front of him. And instantly, all the whispers ended, making Emrys regain a semblance of his mind.
He lifted gingerly his face smeared by snot and tears, seeing in front of him a young boy around 12 years old holding a green-crimson herb inside his bloodied hand. He was clenching it tightly.
And he was looking at him.
"My sister," the boy repeated, smiling hopefully despite the horror surrounding him, "I can finally save my sister, right?"
Emrys was dazed. He was no longer looking at the young boy.
He was looking at the mutilated corpse of a young girl lying on the boy’s lap.
’Oh gods below...’
The withered crimson-black flies buzzed even more.
And this time, Emrys could feel their feelings.
It was delight.
Delight at seeing death, horror, pain and sadness.
—End of Chapter 34—
