Chapter 315 Nightmare Realm

Either way, he felt himself out of questions he felt the need to ask; part of him was curious about many things, but another part feared the sort of answers he would find.

"What happens now?" He asked.

"Yes, I was getting to that," Adam told him, "For now, you may rest in the garden; find the tree bearing gray fruit and you will find the place of hospice I have arranged for you and your friend."

Being told that, he was quick to nod and go over to where the unconscious elf was laying, hoisting him up with his singular arm and finally venturing into the serene garden.

Truthfully, he had grown incredibly fatigued mentally in his conversation with the Primordial, seeking to leave his presence.

Losing an arm sucks, but I have my own plan…You've underestimated Blimpo, Primordial. You can keep that arm–I'll just get myself a better one, he planned.

From the get-go, once the Primordial had issued such a payment, he already had this plan in mind; if he would be prevented from recovering his limb, all he had to do was replace it. And with that thought, he had the singularly most perfect candidate to assist him with that, drooling on his back.

"..." Blimpo snored against him.

There were several bridges around the circular perimeter of the garden, each allowing one to cross over the abyssal ponds. Crossing the arching, stone bridge to one side, he was careful not to step on any of the flowers in his path, finding there to be osmanthus flowers plentifully gathering in that one section.

A "tree bearing gray fruit"...Where is it? He thought, looking around.

Glancing around, it was difficult to single out one tree among the many that stood in the quiet sanctuary, though he eventually caught sight of the cedar in question by the somber, gray fruit hanging from its branches.

It was a tall, white-barked tree, found from a brief walk through a path between thorn bushes, forcing him to carefully step through it to avoid him or his slumbering friend from being poked.

As he arrived in front of the peculiar tree, he looked at it for a moment, glancing around it for the place of rest that the Progenitor claimed was waiting.

"Err…"

Where is it? He wondered.

Accidentally nudging the trunk of the tree with his shoulder, he found himself surprised at the outline of a door appearing along its snow-white bark.

"Woah," he quietly remarked.

A wooden door manifested itself, unveiled from whatever illusions it was hidden under, opening for the guest to the Garden of the Abyss.

Stepping in, there were clearly magical shenanigans at play; the interior of the tree was far larger than it made any sense to be, expanding into a home in tune with nature; wooden walls decorated with flowers. There were already two beds prepared, set with blankets made of vines and intertwined leaves.

Comfy, I guess, he thought.

He carefully set Blimpo down on the bottom of the bunk bed, rolling his shoulders afterwards as he felt his body yearning for some rest. As he unbuckled the scabbard from his belt with his right hand, something caught his eye as he set his sheathed sword down by the beds.

"--What the?"

It was a tiny humanoid figure, no larger than the palm of his hand; pale and devoid of clothes, yet no genitals to make any sort of gender clear. The androgynous, miniature human with wings and bright, green hair looked up at him with a smile.

"Oh, don't mind me!" The shockingly tiny humanoid said, flapping its glowing, verdant wings as some sort of mystical pollen cascaded down.

"What are you?..."

"Isn't that a bit rude to ask somebody? I'm a faerie! This is my home, ya know–you're just a guest, so mind your manners," the tiny figure pointed up at him, standing on a log-made nightstand.

It was definitely an oddity, though in his time through Arcadius and the even more abnormal realm of the After, such encounters were par for the course for the young man.

"Yeah, well, I'm Emilio, nice to meet you," he introduced, too tired to argue with something the size of a mosquito.

"Now that's better," the faerie crossed their arms, "I'm Nin–'member that. I'm one of Master Adam's top workers in this garden!"

"...Workers?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, there's a few like me living in the garden, too! Didn't see my coworkers? Well, guess we're easy to miss," Nin said, walking along the surface of the nightstand, "Anyway, what's up with your arm, pal? Oh, Master Adam probably…Sorry I asked."

"It's fine," he assured.

Placing himself on the top bed of the place akin to a treehouse, he couldn't help but feel as though he was missing a large part of himself; sitting there for a while, he could feel a phantom sensation of his lost arm.

…Looks like I'm going to need help making that new arm soon, Blimpo. I feel thrown off completely, he thought.

Hunger wasn't felt despite failing to consume anything for as long as he could remember, finding himself falling into a peaceful slumber atop the bed covered with a blanket of leaves.

–

Tz. Zzt. Zzzt.

Static formed in his subconscious, sinking into it amidst his time of rest, falling through that void of slumber as he always did, yet something interfered with it.

Zzt. Zt. Zzt.

It was grating; though he felt simply like sinking into the sea of darkness that was his subconscious, that interference only grew stronger, more persistent, and more violent.

PZZZT. ZZZT. ZZTT.

"Wha…?"

Thoughts were difficult to coherently form in the space of dreams, though he was clear of mind suddenly as the static filled his ears and obscured his vision. That dreamspace suddenly was torn apart, revealing the scenery of the endless cosmos; blankets of nebulae and the swirl of galaxies close, yet far.

…What is this?...Wait, he thought.

In the sea of the cosmos, he drifted, finding a colossal nebula–the clouds of creation which rose above all else–forming in front of him like an approaching storm of genesis. It shaped itself, shifting into a humanoid shape, looking at him with a faceless head, yet holding a familiar smile.

"Long time no see, Ethan."

–It was "him". The "Faceless Man"; The "Disgraced One".

This time, however, amidst an encounter that was always enigmatic in nature, he felt something else: dread. The intentions seeping from the entity shrouded in mystery was nothing of virtue, only malice.

"You've been getting around, haven't you? Death? Well, it's only a small bump in the road, isn't it?" The faceless entity spoke with a grin that spanned solar systems, "Just the beginning; it's only the start. There's so much ahead of us. So much."

I can't move. I can't speak, he realized.

Just telling himself in his head that he was dreaming wasn't enough; he knew such thoughts held little power in the face of something akin to the Primordials. Dreams themselves were not a blockade against such entities; that much he knew well as he felt the true, certain fear of being face-to-face with something so grand in scope.

I can't breathe. Wake up…I have to wake up. Can I wake up? He questioned frantically.

"I can smell it, exuding from you like the spray of a skunk; that primal fear. Why is it you're so frightened, Emilio?" The faceless man asked with his ever-widening grin as the nebula continued to blossom with life, light years away, "Perhaps you've learned something. Do tell me. You see, you're in my mindscape, not yours. Here…We have all the time in the world."

Every word was as mighty as a supernova, breathing waves into space that could shatter words and create rocks of life, yet it all flowed directly into his mind nonetheless.

His mindscape?...What? He thought.

The smile of creation and destruction, formed of the corpses of planets and stars, drew close, filling the frozen young man with such imposing scale he felt as though he was shrinking away–

"Begone."

A powerful, familiar voice emitted with a force that sent shock waves through the cosmic mindspace.

That's…He realized.

"Nobody invited you, human," the Faceless One spoke, grinning.

Emilio could see it by turning his eyes; a nebula in the vague shape of the six-armed Primordial who was providing him hospitality.

Adam? He thought.

"Human? Your attempt to insult me is amusing, Disgraced One. Unfortunately, this child is in my domain right now. Begone, lest we should invoke the wrath of the Elders."

With a repeat of the same word, this time Adam's demand came through as the mindspace crumbled away, leaving the colossal apparition of the Faceless One smiling before fading away.

"...I'll see you soon enough, Emilio," the faceless figure said farewell.

–Darkness resumed, but only for a moment as the young Dragonheart jumped up, startled awake by the suffocating dream.

"Haah…!"

Clutching his own chest, he could feel his heart beating wildly; he was soaked in sweat, sitting there for a minute as he caught his breath.

"You okay there?"

The somewhat high-pitched words came from near his shoulder as he hardly felt the light-weighted faerie land on his right shoulder, looking at him worriedly.

"Yeah…I'm fine," he replied.

Breathing out, he could still feel that gripping fear from his nightmarish experience, looking over as he found himself focusing on his vacant right arm again.

As I am right now, I'm weak. I'm in a realm where fighting should be the last choice on my mind. Even if I still had my arm, I doubt it'd make a difference. Still…He thought.