Chapter 22: The Nightmare and the Alarm
Location: Prince Morpheus's Dreamscape (The Field of Eternal Peace).
Time: Timeless.
Status: Combat (Dream Logic).
Ren charged through the field of white flowers. His boots sank into the earth, which felt less like soil and more like memory foam, trying to slow him down.
The Dream Eater didn't move. It simply watched him with its eyeless face, smiling.
"Why run?" the creature's voice echoed, sounding like a lullaby. "The destination is the same. We all return to dust. Why not rest on the way?"
The flowers around Ren's legs elongated. Their stems turned into white vines, wrapping around his ankles, dragging him down.
Ren stumbled. The vines tightened, pulling him into the earth. It was warm. It was comfortable. It felt like being tucked into bed after a long day.
[ Status Effect: Sedation (Stack x5). ]
[ Mental HP: 90% -> 85% ]
"Grim," Ren gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to close his eyes. "Index."
[ The Index Activated. ]
[ Source: 'The Psychology of Nightmares'. ]
[ Borrowed Skill: Lucid Trigger (Rank E). ]
Ren pinched his arm. Hard. The pain spiked, cutting through the sedation.
"I don't like your garden," Ren growled.
He activated [Rewrite].
He touched the vines wrapping his legs.
"Property: Plant. Rewrite to: Glass."
CRACK.
The white vines shattered instantly into a million glittering shards. Ren kicked his legs free.
He sprinted forward.
The Dream Eater sighed, a sound of infinite boredom.
"So noisy. If the flowers won't hold you... perhaps the sky will."
The creature looked up.
The perfect blue sky cracked. It fell.
Imagine the sky as a heavy blue blanket. It descended, pressing down on Ren with the weight of an atmosphere. Gravity increased tenfold.
Ren fell to his knees. His bones creaked.
"Just lie down," the Dream Eater purred, stroking the sleeping Prince's hair. "Let the weight go."
Ren trembled. The pressure was immense. He couldn't stand.
If I can't stand... I'll slide.
Ren looked at the ground.
"Rewrite."
"Property: Friction. Rewrite to: Negative."
Ren didn't push against the gravity. He pushed backwards.
Because the friction was negative, his push accelerated him forward with impossible speed. He slid across the grass like a hockey puck on ice, defying the downward pressure by converting it into forward momentum.
He rocketed toward the Dream Eater.
"What?" The creature's smile faltered.
Ren drew his Shiv of Gluttony. In the dream, the Shiv looked massive—a jagged fang of pure darkness.
"Wake up!" Ren shouted.
He drove the Shiv into the Dream Eater's flank.
SHUNK.
There was no blood. Instead, grey mist sprayed out.
The Shiv drank greedily.
[ Mana Drain: Dream Essence. ]
[ The Shiv glows with blue light. ]
"AAAAH!" The Dream Eater shrieked. It swiped at Ren with a claw made of nightmares.
Ren rolled away (sliding endlessly due to the friction rewrite). He cancelled the skill, digging his heels in to stop.
The Dream Eater stood up, abandoning the Prince. It grew. Its fur turned into spikes. Its mouth opened, revealing a black void.
"You ruin everything!" the monster roared. "He was happy! He was safe!"
"He was dying!" Ren yelled back.
Ren looked at the sleeping Prince. Morpheus was stirring, disturbed by the noise.
"Morpheus!" Ren shouted. "Look at the ground! Look at what you're sleeping on!"
The Dream Eater lunged to stop Ren. "Don't look!"
Ren activated [Void Presence].
He blasted the illusion.
The field of white flowers flickered. For a second, the glamour failed.
Beneath the flowers, the ground wasn't dirt.
It was corpses.
Thousands of soldiers in Oakhaven armor. The men who had died in the failed Crusade. They were piled high, their faces frozen in eternal sleep. The flowers were growing out of their eye sockets.
Prince Morpheus opened his eyes. He saw the face of a soldier beneath his hand.
"No..." Morpheus whispered.
"This is your peace, Prince!" Ren shouted, dodging a swipe from the beast. "You are sleeping on a graveyard! You are hiding while your people rot!"
Morpheus scrambled back, horror dawning on his face. "I... I didn't want to see..."
"That is Sloth!" Ren roared. "Sloth isn't laziness. It's Cowardice! It's refusing to see the truth because it hurts!"
The Dream Eater screamed. Its power was weakening as the Prince's belief in the illusion shattered.
"Silence him!" The monster lunged at the Prince to put him back under.
Ren moved. [Flash Step].
He appeared between the Prince and the Monster.
He raised his Gauntlet.
"I told you," Ren said, his eyes burning violet. "I'm the alarm."
He grabbed the monster's face.
[ Skill: Nightmare Devour (Grimoire Special) ]
Ren didn't just drain mana. He drained the concept of the nightmare.
The Gauntlet opened a vortex. The Dream Eater was sucked in, limb by limb, turning into grey smoke.
"I... am... eternal..." the monster wailed.
"You're breakfast," Ren snapped.
GULP.
The monster vanished into the Gauntlet.
[ Victory. ]
[ Boss Defeated: Dream Eater. ]
[ XP Gained: 3,000. ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ You are now Level 23. ]
The field of flowers dissolved. The sky shattered like glass.
Ren turned to the Prince. Morpheus was sitting on the pile of corpses, weeping.
"It hurts," Morpheus cried. "The reality... it hurts so much."
Ren walked over. He offered his hand.
"Yes," Ren said gently. "It hurts. That means you're alive."
Morpheus looked at Ren's hand. He looked at the grey eyes that held no pity, only resolve.
The Prince took the hand.
"Take me back," Morpheus said.
The dream collapsed.
Location: The Clock Tower (Safehouse).
Time: 1:00 AM.
Ren gasped, opening his eyes. He slumped forward in his chair, sweat soaking his clothes.
"He's back!" Kaelith caught him.
Across the room, Prince Morpheus jolted awake. He coughed, ripping the gas mask off his face.
"Your Highness!" Caelum bowed instantly.
Morpheus looked around the dusty clock tower. He looked at the ragtag group of rebels—a noble, an elf, a merchant, and a servant.
"You..." Morpheus looked at Ren. "You were in my head."
"I was," Ren said, standing up shakily. "And now you are in the real world. Where the King is missing and your uncle Valerius is knocking on the door."
BOOM.
The heavy oak door of the clock tower shook.
"Open up!" A voice roared from outside. "By order of the Duke!"
Vargo peeked through a crack in the window. "We're surrounded. The Lion Guard. And... the Commandment."
Ren checked his mana. [ 50 / 350 ]. He was spent.
"We can't fight them," Ren said.
He looked at the Prince.
"It's your turn, Your Highness. Are you going to sleep? Or are you going to rule?"
Morpheus stood up. He smoothed his rumpled ceremonial clothes. He looked pale, terrified, but awake.
"Open the door," Morpheus commanded.
Caelum unbarred the door.
It swung open.
Duke Valerius stood there, sword drawn. Behind him stood Sister Silence and fifty knights.
"There they are!" Valerius pointed his sword at Ren. "Kidnappers! Assassins! Seize them!"
The knights surged forward.
"HALT!"
The voice wasn't loud, but it was Royal.
Morpheus stepped into the doorway, shielding Ren and Caelum.
"Your Highness!" Valerius lowered his sword slightly. "Step aside. These traitors drugged you."
"They saved me," Morpheus said firmly.
Silence fell over the square.
"Saved you?" Valerius frowned. "From what?"
"From the Fog," Morpheus touched his temple. "The Sloth took me, Uncle. Just as it took your soldiers. These men... they pulled me out."
Morpheus looked at Sister Silence.
"And you, Commandment. You stood by while a Demon possessed a child in my ballroom. Is that the Church's protection?"
Sister Silence stiffened. She bowed her head. "I... apologize, Highness. The situation was chaotic."
"Chaos is no excuse," Morpheus said. He looked at Ren.
"Ren Arken," Morpheus announced. "Step forward."
Ren walked out. He knelt.
"For saving the Crown," Morpheus said, his voice gaining strength. "I grant you a Royal Pardon for all crimes committed tonight. Including the... destruction of the ballroom."
Valerius looked furious. His vein throbbed in his temple. He had Ren in his grasp, and the Prince had just snatched him away.
"Your Highness," Valerius growled. "This boy is a Null. A danger."
"This boy," Morpheus corrected, "Is my friend. And as of tonight... my Royal Advisor."
Ren looked up, surprised. Advisor?
Morpheus looked at his uncle.
"The King is gone, Valerius. I am the Regent now. And we have a war to fight."
Morpheus pointed North.
"We are going back to the Continent of Sloth. And this time... we aren't sleeping."
Location: The Arken Estate (Two Days Later).
Time: Noon.
Ren stood in the library, packing his books. The Royal Pardon had cleared them, but the tension with the Duke was at an all-time high. Valerius had practically kicked them out of the Palace.
"Royal Advisor," Caelum laughed, leaning against the doorframe. "You moved up in the world, stable boy."
"It's a target on my back," Ren muttered. "But it gives us immunity from the Church for now."
Ren picked up the Map of Sloth.
"The Prince wants to launch a second crusade. He wants us to lead the vanguard."
"Are we going?"
"We have to," Ren said. "The King is trapped in there. If we don't save him, Morpheus falls, and the Kingdom collapses."
Ren looked at the map.
"Besides... I need something from that Continent."
"What?"
"The Key of Sloth," Ren said. "And the Fragment of Scorpio."
"The Zodiacs?"
"The lore says the Scorpion guards the Sloth," Ren explained. "If I can find the Star Fragment... I can upgrade the Archive."
Ren turned to leave.
But suddenly, the shadows in the room deepened.
Grim popped out of the Archive. He was holding a sign. It was shaking.
WARNING. INTRUDER.
Ren drew his Shiv. "Here? Now?"
"No," a voice spoke from the corner.
It wasn't a threat. It was a statement of fact.
A man stepped out of the shadows. He wore a cloak made of stars. His eyes were not human; they were galaxies swirling in sockets.
[ NPC: The Oracle of Ophiuchus (The 13th Zodiac) ]
[ Level: ??? ]
[ Status: Awake. ]
Ren froze. The 13th Zodiac. The one who watches.
"You have awakened the Lion (Pride)," the Oracle said, pointing at the Royal Crest on Ren's pardon. "You have agitated the Serpent (Envy). And now you seek the Scorpion."
The Oracle walked closer.
"The Librarian," he whispered. "Do you know why the Sages built the Archive?"
"To hold the Sins," Ren said.
"No," the Oracle smiled. It was a terrifying sight. "They built it to hide the God they killed."
Ren's blood ran cold.
"What?"
"The Sins are not the disease, boy," the Oracle began to fade. "They are the symptoms. The Corpse of the Creator lies beneath the Seventh Seal. If you open them all... you don't save the world."
"You end it."
The Oracle vanished.
Ren stood in the silence.
The Corpse of the Creator.
"Grim," Ren whispered. "Did you know about this?"
Grim shook his ink-head frantically.
Ren looked at the Key of Chronos in his hand.
"Solon knows," Ren realized. "The Headmaster... he wants me to open the Seals."
Ren gripped the key.
"The game just changed," Ren said. "We aren't just fighting Demons. We're fighting the plot of the story itself."
[ QUEST UPDATED: THE TRUTH OF GENESIS ]
[ Objective: Find the 'First Verse' in the Continent of Sloth. ]
Ren picked up his bag.
"Come on, Caelum. We have a God to bury."
End of Chapter 22
Summary:
Dream Battle: Ren enters the Prince's dream. He fights the Dream Eater by using [Rewrite] to alter dream physics (gravity/friction) and revealing the gruesome truth beneath the "perfect world."
The Awakening: Ren wakes Prince Morpheus, forcing him to accept the harsh reality of his failing kingdom.
The Standoff: Duke Valerius and Sister Silence corner the group. They prepare to execute Ren.
The Pardon: Prince Morpheus intervenes, asserting his authority as Regent. He pardons Ren and appoints him Royal Advisor.
The Setup: Morpheus plans a Second Crusade into the Continent of Sloth to find the missing King.
The Twist: The Oracle of Ophiuchus appears. He reveals the Archive wasn't built to trap Sins, but to hide the Corpse of the Creator God. Opening all seals will end the world.