Never ending nightmare

Everything goes silent. The other members are trying to talk to me, but I can’t hear anything. Just a loud ringing in my ear.

I look at myself and I’m in a pool of my own blood. I feel like I’m about to lose my conscience at any moment.

They wrap my arm in bandages and begin carrying me while applying some healing. As we leave, I look one last time at Olivia’s body. The door to the infirmary closes. As one of them carry me the other two are holding medical supplies.

They bring me to the library and leave me on top of a blanket on the floor, next to many other members who seem to be injured. They try to tell me something, but I still can’t hear anything. It is hard to stay awake.

I close my eyes and go unconscious.

“…eek him out…” Sonalas voice is faint.

I can hear her again, but I can’t speak no matter how hard I try.

“Akihiko, seek him out!” Her voice gets louder.

(What? Him?)

“Someone is responsible for this. He’s still in the headquarters. Seek him out before things get any worse!”

I open my eyes again. I’m not sure how much time has passed, but the pain I’m feeling is immense.

I get up and start to wander around. The library was turned into a makeshift infirmary. There are dozens of people lying on the ground. Some are covered in wounds, while others are huddled together crying.

(Someone did this…)

The sadness inside me vanishes and anger starts to boil over.

I close my eyes and ignore everything going around me. I focus on everyone’s presence, and I start to remember Sonala words.

(Seek him out.)

Everyone around me is emanating a warm light, those blessed by Sonala. I try to expand my focus and I start to be able to see beyond the walls and ceilings of the headquarters. I feel creatures emanating a cold presence. They move around wildly and next to them I can see others with Sonala’s light. That must be the slumberwalkers and the guild members fighting them.

I focus more and sense something weird on the entrance to headquarters. More slumberwalkers seem to be entering the guild but one presence is different than the others.

He isn’t emanating anything. In fact, is quite the opposite, he’s presence is like a void, draining all the light and warmth around it.

I start to run toward him and on my way out of the library I bump into two familiar faces, Lumiere and Ruina.

“Oh, my Goddess Akihiko, are you okay?” Ruina says.

“Where are you going?” Lumiere asks.

“I have to go.” I ignore their concern and run past them.

“Where are you going you idiot?! You’re hurt!” Lumiere screams.

I run out of the library, across the HQ inner building and up the stairs that lead outside. There are many fights happening all around me and now that I can take a better look, I realize something . Almost every slumberwalker is wearing the orange and purple clothes associated with the resting guild. I fell sick, and want to throw up, but I don’t have time for this.

I focus only on the presence near the entrance and rush there.

“Akihiko, wait up!”

I can hear Ruina voice from behind me, but I ignore her once again.

I head to the entrance running past everything that’s going on around me. And as I get there, I see a familiar face.

The eyepatch orc kin.

He’s just standing there looking at all the destruction and chaos.

“Oh, it’s you! Are you okay? You look really hurt.” He says with a grin on his face.

It is getting hard to control my anger.

(Is he the one responsible for this?)

Lumiere and Ruina finally catch up to me, and now the four of us face each other.

“Why did you run you idiot! Look at the state you are in! You want to get yourself killed?” Lumiere says. “And what about you? It is dangerous here! We are building a base at the library with all the injured, come quick!” He speaks to the orc kin.

“Good to know” He smiles “Can you help me out man? I hurt my leg and can’t move very well.”

Lumiere goes over to him, but as Ruina takes one step forward she hesitates.

“Lumi-Chan, wait!” She says.

I can see as Lumiere gets closer to him; it is like his light is getting sucked by the orc kin presence.

Before Lumiere can touch him, I raise my right hand.

“Dawn Flame!”

I shoot a firebolt that flies past Lumiere and gets a clean hit on the orc kin.

“Akihiko, what are you doing?!” Lumiere says.

“GET WAY FROM HIM!” I scream in desperation.

Lumiere jumps back, scared by my sudden outrage.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING HUH?!” He screams in rage.

We look at the orc kin. The blast from my fire bolt burned away his eyepatch and we can take a better look at his other eye. He has heterochromia.

One eye is yellow, a common color for orc kin, but the other one, the one he was covering, is dark brown. An identical color to mine, and a very common color for everyone else back in my world.

“You are the one turning everyone into slumberwalkers…” I say.

He makes a look of surprise, like I’m making an outrageous accusation but quickly drops the facade.

“I was right after all. You are the guy that Sonala brought into this world.” He says with a smirk.

“YOU BASTARD! Dawn flame!”

I fire once again at him.

“Cursed Nightmare Arts: Night Veil”

He puts his arm in front of him and a dark cloak appears in front of him, blocking my shot.

“I have a name you know? It’s Tanaka by the way. I’m telling you since we’re both from the same world. Well, now the jig is up. I wanted to have more fun before the end, but oh well. Time to leave.”

“WAIT!” Me and Lumiere scream in unison.

The orc kin begins to sink into the shadows on the ground and vanishes.

The fights all round are reaching their end, and everything starts to quiet down.

Lumiere and Ruina look at me in disbelief.

“Who was he Akihiko?” Ruina asks.

“I don’t know.”

As we stand there, Gora sees us from the distance and runs over.

“Guys! Thank goddess you’re all alive” She gives all of us a hug. “Akihiko. I need you to come with me to the information hall.”

“What happened now?”

Gora doesn’t say anything and only asks me to follow her.

The four of us reach the information hall and as the door opens, I’m hit by a freezing wind.

As I look inside almost everything is covered in ice. The slumberwalkers inside are all frozen solid. But in the middle, I see a frost salamander, encased in its own ice, wearing the same orange and purple clothes as the rest of the guild members that are surrounding it.

(Not again)

“He’s… calling for you.” Gora says with tears on her eyes

I watch as the other guild members try to approach him, he tries to attack them with the limbs that are not encased in the ice. They are bloodied; his skin is ripping apart trying to get out. He then mumbles.

“Ri… val…”

I feel my stomach drop again and I throw up right there.

Gora, Lumiere and Ruina all rush to my aid as I’m knelling on the floor.

“Gora… I don’t want to do this. I can’t take it anymore.” I say sobbing.

“Akihiko, please. He won’t let anyone else near him. He’s holding himself back to not hurt us. Please, you can’t leave him like this.” Gora is crying.

I look at the dreamcatcher and the start fragment around my neck.

This is what I signed up for.

I walk up to Salazar, but he doesn’t try to attack me. I look him straight in the eyes.

“My… Ri…val…” He speaks softly.

He closes his eyes and exposes his neck to me.

“Dawn flame slash”

I swipe my arm across it in one swift motion, slashing his throat with fire.

“Thank… You…” He says his finals words as his body goes limp.

(This is too much)

I can’t take it anymore. I fall on my back.

I hear everyone rushing over to me in desperation. Calling my name.

But I can’t keep myself awake any longer.

I pass out.