A crimson moon hung alone in the black expanse. Beneath it's crimson light, Dream Crowne stepped through the gate of nothingness - and the silence welcomed him back.
The air in the void was heavy with whispers.
They spoke in tones that were not sounds but memory -- echoes of a realm that had once knelt before a god. Now it was but a hollow shell of what it used to be.
Dream walked slowly, his boots brushing against the ground. He could feel the hum of the void through the sole of his boots, faint but alive.
He stopped before the structure that was once his home- a small hut built from crystal fragment and remnant of old power. It has one chair, one table, and the emptiness of an unending night.
Now, in his hand, he held the dimensional crystal of the shard realm, pulsing faintly with light that felt foreign to the void, almost ... warm. He raised it before his eyes, and it's glow danced across his pale skin and the soft white hue of his irises.
" Finally," he murmured, his voice a little distant.
A faint chime answered him.
[ Dimensional energy detected]
[ Would you like to upgrade the void with the core from the realm of shards?]
Dream exhaled. " Do it"
[ The realm of shards will now partially merge with the void, is the host ok with this]
" Yes"
[ The void will now be upgraded]
[ Base will also be upgraded]
The crystal dissolved into dust, but not into air. It sank into the ground beneath him like a ink spilling through paper. The void trembled.
A low, resonant hum began to spread- deep and rhythmic, like the heart beat of a sleeping god.
Crimson light rippled across the glass plains, seeping into the cracks, crawling up the spires of crystal that pierced the air.
And then.... Silence.
A faint wind rose.
Shards began to drift upward, drawn into unseen gravity.
The hut before him shruddy, cracked, and fell apart... but rather than collapsing, it bloomed.
Fragments spiraled upward, rearranging themselves with deliberate grace, like pieces remembering the shape they were meant to hold.
The air rippled with faint, luminescent threads of energy-- glass bending and reforming, dust crystalizing mid mid-air.
When the hum faded, what stood before him was not a palace or a temple... Just a home.
A quiet, serene house, walls faintly shimmering, wide enough to breathe. It had a door, windows, space, and for the first time since awakening, a bed.
Dream stepped inside.
The interior smelled faintly of nothingness -- pure and sterile, yet strangely comforting. He brushed a finger along the smooth table by the window. Everything glimmered faintly under the light of the crimson moon, as if the moon itself was peering through the window to watch its lone god return.
He looked around and allowed himself a small, quiet smile.
" It's simple" he whispered. " But it's enough"
_ _ _
Outside, the void was no longer still
From the endless darkness, floating islands of glass had begun to drift across the sky, fragments from the realm of shards, now reborn within the void. Their undersides glowed faintly like molten silver, and thin waterfalls of light streamed from them, vanishing before they could reach the ground.
The reflection of that beauty shimmered in Dream's eyes.
[ Void Upgrade Successful]
[ New environment created: Realm of shards integrated]
. " New environment." dream said looking up at the floating glass islands through the window of his new home, " It's beautiful"
" Indeed it is" a beautiful voice came from behind him- smooth, velvety, carrying amusement and danger in equal measure.
Dream turned.
The king stood in the doorway, her silhouette framed by the dim red light. Her presence rippled through the air like the quiet thrum of predatory power held back by a smile.
Her crimson hair flowed like liquid under the dim moon, her eyes glinting with that same mischievous glow that never quite real sealed what she was thinking.
"You're doing a really good job" she said softly, stepping inside. " The void breathes again"
Dream nodded cautiously. " Yes, but barely"
Her gaze swept across the room, resting briefly on the bed. She smirked.
" What is your name" dream asked
" How domestic of you, my emperor. A bed?" She ignored his question. " Planing to sleep?"
" I'm I not allowed to sleep ?" He asked, not bothering to continue with his previous question.
" You are, but were you going to sleep without inviting me?. I mean, you are no longer married to her again" she said jokingly with a smile
' to whom?, what is she even talking about '
"Well do you wish to join me" he said, with no bad intention in mind.
" That's a bold statement sire" she said, a little surprised but also amused.
" Can I ask you a question" Dream said
"Hmm..." She didn't accept immediately, staring into dream's eyes as if trying to guess what he was going to ask. " Go ahead"
" Is it possible for me to return to earth"
" Yes"
" Can you help me"
" I could" she leaned against the wall, folding her arms. " But seeing you work is strangely... satisfying. Almost like watching the world try to remember it's god"
Dream didn't reply. He didn't even know what to say. He has a lot of questions but no one seem to want to answer them.
"You're bothered" She said
" Of course I am, I have a lot of questions, alot to ask but can't find any answer" he said
"... How about this, Echo, activate a new quest- The Moon's Oath"
[ Quest available: The Moon's Oath]
[ Description: A fragment of the void's lost divinity has begun to stir. Follow the crimson moon's call to uncover it's origin]
[ Reward: Unknown]
'..., did she just tell the system to activate a quest '
" That should help you" she said "if I'm being honest sire, I also do not have all my memories but I do have some ... Important once, and I'm working on recovering them all. I really want to be by your side and grow with you but you must evolve to make that possible, until then I'll work on recovering my memory and finding the others" she said as she began leaving.
" I see... wait...you call me sire. Who I'm I to you"
" You're my emperor, my master, the one I love"
" The one you love?"
She didn't say anything and just moved to the door as she prepares to leave
" It's Nyra by the way, my name" she said as she left.
" Nyra" dream repeated, but the he suddenly sees an image of her, along with 3 other beings that can't exactly be called humans. The aura around them commanded authority and power. He stared at these 4 beings who stood before an empty throne, staring at it... It's like they were waiting for something, or someone.