Amon trembled, his eyes wide as his pupils dilated from the sheer terror flooding his heart.
His entire body was drenched in cold sweat, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He couldn't control the overwhelming despair crashing over him, nor the premonition of looming doom that pressed against his soul.
W-What… the h-hell… is that?
He could barely form the thought. Chills crawled up his spine as his teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Every instinct screamed at him to run, as fast and as far as possible, from the silhouette calmly walking toward him.
Amon had never felt fear like this. He was a coward, yes but he had never truly despaired or given up. Yet right now… he did both.
The air thickened with the stranger's presence as Amon crouched behind the debris, clutching his head and squeezing his trembling eyes shut. That same unsettling sensation crawled up his spine. Every shadow stretched unnaturally, and the silence pressed in from every direction.
Then…
A voice slithered through the room.
It was wrong, unsettling and horrifying, like the mad ravings of a lunatic. Like hundreds of mouths speaking at once. Like a thousand shards of glass shattering… or nails scraping against stone.
"What a pathetic sight… The mere look of your astral projection is disgusting, flickering and trembling like a filthy rat."
Amon froze. His face drained of color, turning corpse-like as he barely comprehended the silhouette's warped words… and his blood ran cold.
"What? Can't even look at your own self? Open your eyes… Come on, I don't think I was this pathetic. Maybe this world finally broke you."
Amon's eyes snapped open, his expression crumbling even further as he looked back. His fingers trembled, his body shaking with fear.
"W-What… are you?" he asked, voice filled with dread.
The silhouette stepped out of the shadows, revealing itself.
It was a tall young man, around 1.90 meters in height with an athletic build. He had long brown hair pulled back, exposing a strikingly handsome face. In fact, he was as handsome as the average Awakened of this world, which already spoke volumes about his appearance. And, his deep blue eyes were filled with mockery and disgust. He wasn't outrageously beautiful, but there was something about his features that made him undeniably appealing.
He wore long, oversized black pants and a white shirt, the top two buttons undone to reveal his muscular chest. A black coat was draped casually over his shoulders.
A faint yellow glow burned at the tip of his index finger, indicating that he was a smoker. His half-lidded eyes were framed by dark circles, the kind that would normally suggest sleep deprivation. But in his case… it was clearly from smoking weed and drinking far too much alcohol.
Amon frowned, trying his best to remember this person but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall anyone with such an appearance. Not to mention… no one wore casual clothes, from his era, in the Dream Realm. So who the hell was he!?
"Just who the fuck are you!?" he shouted in frustration, anger momentarily overpowering his fear.
The young man raised an eyebrow in surprise, then laughed. Amusement danced across his face as he shook his head. He was undeniably handsome, even his simple actions seemed almost… captivating... And unsettling.
After satisfying his humor, the young man smiled faintly and took a step forward.
Amon flinched, collapsing backward onto the cold stone.
"What? Did you already forget your own face?"
Huh…? Amon's eyes widened in disbelief. He was about to snap back, not in the mood for some idiotic game, but then he paused. His expression tightened with concern as he struggled to remember his previous body's appearance.
What the fuck? That doesn't make sense. What the hell is happening!?
His eyes burned with frustration. What did I look like…? Just remember. It's not like a decade passed, it's only been three years…
The young man, who had just implied that he was Amon, sighed, an unsettling smile stretching across his lips.
"Seriously? Already forgot your family? Your parents? Grandparents? Friends? Cousins? Uncles? Aunts? What about your sister? Your brother? Did you forget your own name as well?"
Amon trembled. He was having a hard time remembering anyone close to him. He couldn't even remember his own name.
What the hell is going on…?
Wait… why was Luna calling me Amon too? Sure, I was just fooling around when I named myself that, but… she would never call me Amon. She wouldn't just accept it. And even if she did, she wouldn't get used to it that fast. She'd still call me by my real name most of the time until she adjusted.
But no… she called me Amon from the very start…
Which makes no sense…
And why the fuck am I only realizing this now!?
Amon gulped. This was unsettling… this was too much. His teeth started chattering as the man took a step forward. His heart tightened, seized by a very familiar sense of dread, dragging it down into an abyss of despair.
Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!
With every step the young man took, a strange sensation settled over Amon's mind. It felt as if he was sinking deeper into an ocean, pressure building around him, slowly suffocating his breath.
"Such an amateur mistake… It's so contemptible that I feel sick. Didn't you learn your lesson after Lazare died? Don't you know that the smallest mistakes might have terrible consequences?"
Amon struggled to stand, but his legs wouldn't obey. He continued crawling away from the man, desperately thinking of a way to escape.
I need to run. I need to run. I need to run. I need to run…
Where? Where? Where? Where? Where...? Just where can I run!?
Meanwhile, the young man continued casually, not caring at all about Amon's condition.
"Oh, it was nothing, right? Just a little incident… Ahh, of course. You were just chilling with Luna, drinking beer, laying on her lap while watching the game. Then 16-year-old Lazare came into the room… Do you remember his face, bastard!?"
The young man spat in disdain, his expression twisting into cold, merciless contempt as he kicked Amon's crawling body, staring down at him like he was filth.
Amon was blasted away, crashing into the debris. His rib cracked, and he fell, gasping for air and coughing while the young man just walked forward, taking the next step, unbothered and expressionless.
"Do you remember him…? I asked you, mongrel. Do you remember what you did? What we lost!? Destroyed by our own hands!?"
His boot crashed into Amon's chest, forcing blood from his mouth as he groaned and rolled across the dirty floor.
"It was nothing important, right? We always loved seeing our little brother happy… so we gave him the key when he asked. He was just a kid, wanting to brag and show his friends the car. But haaaa… what happened then? Why don't you remember? Why? Just why don't you remember how we killed him?"
Amon froze. His trembling stopped, his expression went blank. His eyes grew glassy and distant as the old, painful past clawed its way back.
He remembered it… and with it, he remembered his own face. He remembered why he had become lifeless, why he stopped living and started just going through the motions.
He remembered the sirens.
He remembered his mother and sister screaming.
He remembered his father almost beating him to death.
He remembered sitting by that tree for days… in front of his brother's grave.
"Good... that's good. Remember it well. And don't you dare forget. If we hadn't given him the key… he wouldn't have crashed into that fucking truck, and he wouldn't have died."
The young man smiled, grabbing Amon's hair and yanking him up so they were face-to-face.
"But I guess it doesn't matter anymore. You'll disappear… Didn't the Spell already tell you? 'You trace the edges of a truth better left unseen.'"
He grinned, a hint of delight in his eyes while Amon stared ahead blankly.
"So? How do you feel now that you've seen what was better left unseen, hmm?"
Amon didn't answer, but the young man didn't seem to care. His smile only grew wider.
"Just disappear already. I'll replace you. It's not like someone as pathetic as you could accomplish much."
Amon's form began to grow faint and illusory. His face turned completely blank, void of any emotion. His eyes were dull, lifeless… his breathing strangely calm.
His flesh peeled away as illusory maggots crawled out, squirming and writhing as if struggling to escape. The young man's grin twisted into something deranged and ecstatic as his own form began to mirror Amon's but in his case, his maggots were calm, pulling Amon's illusory body toward them, trying to devour him.
Just before the merging reached the point of no return, a golden light exploded from Amon, blasting the young man backward. He crashed to the ground, his form flickering and unstable as he gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Are you seriously going to intervene, old man? This isn't your concern! It's business between fellow fragments, so why don't you go back to writing your little fantasies, huh?!"
No answer came.
Instead, the darkness of the spire shifted. The golden light spread, illuminating everything.
From the golden dust, words formed in front of Amon's hollow eyes. His skin was pale. His expression empty.
[Your story isn't over… Stand up.]
Amon didn't move. He continued lying on the cold stone, motionless.
Seeing this, the young man threw his head back and laughed in pure exhilaration.
"Hahahahaha… maybe that girl who inherited the legacy of that vile Sun God was right. Life is not a story. It only ends when you die."
He waited for a response, but when he didn't get any reaction, he just shook his head. His expression grew calm and composed, his unsettling eyes filled with mischief as a crystal monocle manifested from the sparkling white light in his palm. He placed the monocle over his right eye, adjusted it, and smiled pleasantly.
It was as if all his anger and disdain had vanished, like they had never existed. His mental state felt alien, and horrifying.
"I already suppressed his psyche to the point of breaking. There's no use in telling that boy to stand up. What, are you going to..."
He froze.
"...Wait a second."
His eyes narrowed.
"Do you think "He" will allow that? Don't you dare touch his sea of collective subconsciousness... Old man."
He said calmly, a small smile playing on his lips as the shadows stretched, flickering in and out of existence as if someone were turning the sun on and off like a switch.
The golden dust stirred again, swirling in front of them, this time reshaping into different words.
[How can you live but have no story to tell, Evangelo?]
The young man's… no.
Evangelos' eyes widened in exaggerated surprise as a pleasant chuckle escaped his lips.
From his body burst countless transparent worms, each marked with eight circles, spiraling rings, and three-dimensional patterns that bent time itself. He gathered his final drop of mental power and spirituality to create the Error by subtly influencing the corresponding environment and using the mystical connection formed between the owner of the golden dust and Amon. Since "His" consciousness was deeply integrated into Amon's spirit body, "He" would be able to reach "Him" from the Dream Realm.
But before he could finish, something unexpected happened.
BOOM!!!
A purifying radiance detonated, annihilating the mental corruption formed by "Him" as if it were nothing. Every corner of the Dark City and the Labyrinth of the Crimson Coral was illuminated, bathing the entire region in a blinding, warm, and beautiful light.
the evil spirit, Evangelo, was the one banished instead.
As "His" form began dissolving, as if it were nothing but smoke, he smiled, leaving behind the echo of "His" distorted voice.
"Unshadowed Domain, huh? Hmm… Would you consider this a reasonable development?"
***
[A/N: Well, Amon survived… barely. I'm sure there are a lot of questions regarding this chapter, but all of them will be answered as the story progresses. We also learned about the appearance of Amon's previous body and his true name. We also found out how Lazare died and what happens when Amon reaches his limit.
I said his flaw was far more complex than it seemed and shrouded in mysteries… Like, duh, it's from the Mystery group, so… Anyway, his flaw still isn't fully explored yet, lol. But that's fine, we'll fully learn about it in the second nightmare, probably.
That's it for now, guys. Stones and reviews plzzz.
And if you have any questions, ask here.
[Questions]
Enjoy the meal.]
***