"Is this really safe?" Asks the Trusted, concern and nervousness in their voice as they struggle to get a secure grip on me.
"You insisted on accompanying the Grand Priestess, so this is how we're doing it. Don't worry, I won't go full speed, and I've even secured you with my silk." I refrain from rolling my eyes at them as they fidget about on my back, surprised to learn that they're webbed stuck to me.
I'm carrying the sleeping Grand Priestess in my arms, her duvet wrapped around her and secured with silk. I secure her further with a harness of silk, just in case she thrashes about in her sleep and manages to wriggle out of my grasp.
"Okay, set, go!" I kick off, spreading my wings wide and take to the air. Oh, how I've missed flight! I'm still a bit stiff from my long time spent immobile, so I take it slow not just for the comfort of my passenger.
"Oh no! OH NO!" The Trusted cries in terror, threatening to cut themself on my scales by hugging my waist too tightly.
By the time we reach the grove, they've quieted down, but as I land, I learn it's because they've fainted. Really, I didn't even go that fast...
"Master!" Vir'ava calls out to me as I land. "Who's... this?" She looks at the Trusted with contempt.
"The retainer of this woman. I'll leave them in your care. Don't hurt them, even if they lash out in fright. I think this is all a bit too much for them at the time." I inform as two Spriggan remove the Trusted from my back.
"Millibelle, over here." Yggdrasil beckons from the entrance to the cave. She cannot step more than a few meters away from the trunk of her main body, lest the avatar ceases existing. It actually reminds me of the Dryad, and how it's bound to tending one tree.
I hurry over to meet her, awaiting her instructions on how to proceed. "Too bad your Shadow isn't awake yet. Her help would be invaluable, but I believe that as long as you keep your wits about you and remember that it's all a dream, it's going to go well."
Indeed, although I'm recovered physically, Shadow still sleeps within my mind. I worry about her, but there isn't much I can do on my end.
"The Nightmare will no doubt try to draw you in, to cause fear in you. That is how it maintains the upper hand, by torturing its victims with horrific visions." Yggdrasil warns. "I'm sure it will try to use your memories against you as well, but no matter what you see, focus on getting to the core of the dream."
"The core?" I ask, all this is new to me, but I suppose a Demigod would know better of the Dream than I.
"The center. It's where the Priestess will be. As long as you move forwards, you'll get closer." Yggdrasil explains as she positions the Priestess next to me.
"And once I'm there?" "You'll need to sever the link between the Priestess and the Nightmare. But beware, if the Priestess thinks she's died, all three of you'll be trapped in the Dream forever, becoming wandering Others. You don't want that."
So... worst case scenario, the Nightmare might take us all with it. Fuck.
I settle down next to the Priestess. "Here, drink this. It has a sedative effect, so you won't wake up too soon." A root descends from the ceiling. Pooled in an indentation is a viscous blob of liquid, most likely sap of some kind. I imbibe the sap, its horribly bitter, and my face contorts and my scales bristle in reaction to the taste.
However, almost immediately, I get very drowsy. Just barely remembering to access the Dream, I fall asleep.
Hm? Ah.
I'm awake? No. I'm in the Dream. Of course I am. The bright white expanse, and the floor showing my Domain. It's been a while. Is Shadow here?
...
There she is. S-She's different now. Curled up in a ball, my Goblin form. I know it's her though. As usual, I'm a human in the Dream, and she's the monster.
There's a glowing amber spot to the side of me. Is this the Priestess' Dream? I gently caress Shadow, the tightness of her curl relaxes slightly, so I think it helped her. Please rest well, Shadow, and come back to me soon.
I reach out for the amber glow, and feel myself falling into myself, just like that one time I tried meditating.
I-it's hot! Why are there flames everywhere? A burning village? People are running to all sides of me, fleeing from something up ahead. I run against the stream of villagers fleeing. Into the village center.
There, a little girl, her features quite alike that of the Grand Priestess. Towering above her, a monster. It's unidentifiable as any specific species, it looks almost like a childs' drawing. The monster brings one of its clawed hands up, preparing to strike the girl dead. Recalling the warning I was given, I rush in, putting myself between the monster and the child.
'twank!'
Eh? I-I'm wearing white armor now? The massive palm of the monster bounces off my shield? I'm holding a sword, poised to counter?
Thrusting my sword forwards, I pierce the chest of the monster. A bright white light erupts from within the wound, and the monster dissolves into smoke. Is this a memory of the Priestess?
"Oh boo, we were just getting to the good part." A disembodied voice pouts, echoing around me. I turn to see the girl clutching her head, tears streaming down her face.
"Oh Divine, save me now and I'll serve you with my life!" The voice throws its tone, appearing mocking. "Oh, how many times hadn't we heard it? How the Divine saved the life of this runt by sending a Hunter to save her just in time? Bah!"
The scene of the burning village melts away, like running paint. "So, I though, whilst waiting for your eventual arrival, I'd replay some of her memories, just that this time they'd go in a direction I honestly think would have been for the better." The runny colors pool and coalesces into a humanoid shape, leaving the surroundings a white expanse.
The Nightmare stands before me, taking the form of a heavyset, older man. "You know, you'd have been a lot scarier if you just stayed a voice." I quip, making sure to keep an eye on both the Nightmare and the little girl.
Red pools in the cheeks of the figure, my insult seems to have worked. "Just you wait, this will seem like a sweet dream once I'm through with you!" It stamps its foot, and I quickly move to grab the little girl as the ground vanishes beneath us, and we fall.
Visualizing wings on my back, I maneuver through the air, dodging jutting rocks and grasping shadows as the girl and I fall through what now resembles a great hole in the ground. Although I'm able to move through the air, I'm unable to stop our descent.
"Hey, Grand Priestess, remember, this is all a dream." I reach out to the Priestess via Telepathy, hoping that she'd be able to exert some control over the situation. "It can be whatever you want it to be, don't let the Nightmare scare you. It can't actually harm you." I keep reassuring her, and I feel myself gaining more control over my flight.
As the ground rushes up to meet us, I manage to stop falling entirely, and gingerly set the little girl down onto the floor. "You promise?" She asks, her voice quivering with fear.
"Of course she doesn't! Look what she did to me! The same fate awaits you!"
I recognize this place. The dream-cave where Shadow and I first met. Lurching out of the darkness, a figure that makes my breath catch in my throat. It's a nightmarish version of Shadow, her head lolling about as she moves, it's just barely hanging on by a few strands of flesh.
Her entire form is swollen and purple, much like the limbs that were the most infected with Malice. Malice oozes from sores covering her body, dripping onto the floor and pooling around her.
I move to get between the deformed Shadow and the little girl. "Don't listen to it. It's not real. It cannot harm you." I speak calmly, firmly, trying to reassure myself as much as I'm reassuring the Priestess.
"Would something that's not real do this?!"
Not-Shadow lunges at me, its claws extending drastically, seeming to swallow up all available space in the cave. I do not move, I fill my heart with the love I've come to have for the other half of my mind.
The claws pass right through me, but as they exit the other side of me, they shimmer and turn to smoke. Glowing cracks travel up Not-Shadows' arm, and in just a moment, its entire body is covered in them.
"Wha- I-"
It looks at itself, seeming to be quite befuddled by this event.
"I- I-"
"Thank you, for saving me from the Malice, even if I ended up hurting you in the process. I... I hope you can one day forgive me for forcing you to do that." I don't know if the real Shadow is able to hear my words, but I hope she does.
The Not-Shadows' face contorts with sorrow as it begins weeping. As it cries, it starts to melt just like the village scene before had.
The little girl grips my hand. "He's overwhelmed. Hurry!" She drags me with her, past the melting Not-Shadow towards a glowing spot in the cavern wall.
Pushing through the wall, it gives way as if it was made of fabric. Stumbling through to the other side, I can see a glowing amber light in the distance. "Once I get to the center, the Nightmare will probably try to kill you. He can't. It's a dream. Remember that, or else all three of us might be forever trapped in the Dream." I warn the girl. She nods with determination before disappearing in a flash of light.
Although I worry, I'm sure she's retreated to the core to wait for me. I hurry forwards, towards the light.
"How clever, pitting overwhelming positive emotions against me, but no more! Suffer the horrors of your mind!" The Nightmare's voice seems to come from all over, and the area around me darkens.
All of a sudden, I'm back at the cave where I was born. I... I know what awaits me. I steady my breathing, holding onto the feelings of adoration and love I have for them, even now.
"You let us be killed!" One decayed Goblin cries out as it spots me. A whole swarm of them is gathered before the entrance to the cave. I recognize each and every one of them. My heart aches and I fight tears as I approach the horde of zombified Goblins.
"Let me pass. I couldn't have prevented your death. If anything, you brought it upon yourselves." I order them. They do not move. Hostility becomes apparent on their faces. "You could have prevented this!" Another shouts.
"You let your entire family die!" "The Divine intervened so that I could not save you! What would you have me do about that? Travel back in time?!" I shout back. I feel anger welling from up inside me. Perhaps love isn't the answer here.
"Let me pass or I will make my way past you by force!" I shout at them. They seem taken aback. Good. It's obvious that it's the Nightmare controlling these actors. But they stand resolute.
I steel my heart. It's not real, it's all a dream. I take a stance as if I'm wielding a large weapon. In my hands, a massive blade manifests. It's almost comically large, but that's the way dreams work, is it not? I take a deep breath, and plunge the weapon into the middle of the crowd, utilizing the momentum to vault over the survivors.
Landing on the other side, I sprint into the forest that surrounds the cave, towards that ever present amber glow in the distance.
As I run, the colors fade, most likely because I've moved far enough away from the Nightmare. I'd hoped I would be able to get to the center before it caught up with me, but that's just not how nightmares work.
Jutting spears, reaching shadows, falling debris, a veritable obstacle course of lethality. I ignore most of it. I'm past the point of caring. Using my own family against me was the last straw. My own insecurities, sure, that's fair, but to bring up something I had no possibility of avoiding...
I grit my teeth as I plunge headfirst into a wall of water positioned in front of the core. Too bad I was an avid swimmer in my previous life! Even as my monster instincts scream of the danger, I swim towards the amber glow. Just as I touch it, everything falls away, and I drop straight down onto the floor beneath me.
I get up, feeling like I should be out of breath, but I'm not, because this is a dream. Encapsulated in a crystalline shell, the Grand Priestess lays, curled up, much like Shadow was. Her expression is even similar, but with more wincing in pain. A thread of energy connects the sphere that contains the Priestess with the Nightmare.
"So, here we are. Just like He said we would be." The Nightmare seems out of breath, no doubt from that last onslaught of things it threw at me. It makes the motion of drawing a sword, and a long katana-like blade appears in its hands. "So, what exactly is your goal? Besides, you know, mentally torturing an innocent person?" I ask.
"Phah! Her? Innocent?" The Nightmare guffaws. "Oh, but my dear Monarch, she's the very reason we're here in the first place. If she'd done like her predecessor, and just let me carry on, we'd not be in this situation, now would we?"
"I remember now, you were the High Priest that was Banished for failing to provide that village with an Acolyte, nearly destroying it in the process." The pieces had been there for a while, but the Nightmare's words just confirmed it.
"And you, you nosy monster, you laid the whole thing bare, all the while convincing the Church that you'd been sent by the Divine." The former High Priest hisses as he thrusts the sword in my general direction.
"Well, little does it matter. With this sword, I'll be able to slay the Grand Priestess, and although I too shall be turned into an Other, I find it a fitting end to you two." He shrugs, before he raises the sword over his head. A surge of nausea threatens to overcome me, as I sense something familiar drawing closer.
Just like that time I tried meditating, and the entire time I was asleep whilst combating the Malice. Time seems to slow down.
The Dream shudders and tears in a spot just behind the Nightmare as he prepares to bring the sword down upon the sleeping Priestess. I too ready a sword of my own, but I'm too far away. I don't dare to rely on the Priestess resisting the blow, but I fear I might have to.
The hole widens and darkens, and a massive hand emerges from it. Snatching the Nightmare into the air, I rush to keep the Priestess from being dragged with, as the crystalline shell jerks towards the hole when the Nightmare is pulled into the air.
'tch-ing!'
I cut the connection between the core and the Nightmare. The massive, oozing hand jerks backwards as the resistance is gone, and quickly retracts into the hole its made, dragging the screaming Nightmare with it.
A bright light emanates from the core, sealing the hole and wiping away the Dream.