Prologue: Nightmare

Here's how it is for everyone.

You know how it goes.

You have a nightmare and all you have to do is get a shock and wake up. For some, it may even be much more long-lasting with sleep paralysis. All these can be simply explained with science, saying that the affected individual's brain is fully awake, but the body is still in stasis.

Experts would say the leading causes are insomnia, narcolepsy, PTSD or even just disrupted sleep patterns. Well, I'm here to tell you that is half true. What you see up there are just the symptoms of a massive underlying phenomenon.

You are probably thinking to yourself right now that this is utter nonsense and there is no phenomenon of such magnitude that researchers in that field have not come across. I'm not stopping you, but are you not curious what is that very thing at the back of your mind saying that there is definitely more to it? I was once just like you till I came face to face with one of them.

A Degenerate.

Just imagine a normal human being with an immense amount of negativity emitting from him. Pretty much that is the first impression you would get from any mentally unstable person, even if it is unintentional.

What is different is when you delve deeper. That black, murky figure perched on the person's Psyche. Ominous enough to make you nauseous.

However, that's only the beginning...

It would slowly shift to a much clearer and monstrous form. It may manifest as a vampire or zombie to a flesh-carving two-headed Horseman. Whatever the Soul fears, it takes up a prominent feature of that Fear and incorporates it into its own Degenerate form.

Look at the time. I fear that I could not stay any longer to tell you more about the Degenerates.

Till we meet again on the other side...