Content Warnings:
-implied abuse
-violence
-terrifying imagery.
-beating with a ruler
-torture
-Vomitting
[A silver eye opened in the grey void. A portal was swallowed by pencil dust. The pair fell down a tunnel into darkness].
...…
[She fell to the ground, gasping for breath. The room was dark and her vision was blurry. Sweat poured down her face.
She looked up and saw a pair of glowing serpents watching her.
"Never get distracted on the battlefield, my child,"
A leather plated foot collided with her stomach. She held down vomit, rolled and dodged the next strike.
She pulled out her butterfly knife. She spun it around, countering many strikes she could barely see, only cutting herself on accident every few twirls or so.
Despite her efforts, she eventually collapsed to the floor, a knife pointed right at her throat. A businessman in a smiling mask loomed over her.
The Serpent barer narrowed her eyes, stood up, brought her claws together in an arch and clapped].
...…
Amara awoke in a pitch black room. She breathed in and out. The air tasted like lead. She was forced to cough it up.
"Oy, let a lass pretend to sleep in peace," A familiar voice called out.
Across from her, a pair of purple eyes slit through the dark.
"Reaper?! Where 're we- ow?!" Amara yelled before getting up and bumping her head.
"Good question,"
The darkness erased like it was made of pencil, leaving behind residue. A spotlight surrounded the pair.
[Lyn passed by Amara in the street]. Before Amara, was Lyn from the Reflect Realm, smoking a cigarette.
Amara's eyes widened.
"What….in Nigrum Cavea…,"
Chapter XXIV
Lynception
AKT V
Cruel Lessons
The pair were wearing green military shirts with long, black skirts, and white ties. On their heads they wore white military caps with green bands and black visors. On their arms were white bands that bore the symbol of the Dreschers.
"Yer a Med-,"
Lyn narrowed her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. Amara swallowed her tongue.
"What happened to ya?"
"No frickin' clue. I don't think they'd allow me in the Drescher Youths," she responded, smoking a cigarette.
"Oh, now ya answer my questions," Amara growned.
"I don't think ya know what an 'answer' is lass," she remarked, letting out some smoke.
"L-let's just get outta here, ya hear," she exclaimed, looking around the darkness.
Lyn pointed her right hand, "pew," she called out like a sound effect.
Her fingers flashed, but no portal. She shrugged.
"DON'T SHRUG!"
"Keep it down, Sludge Rats," a gravelly voice called out.
More of the darkness erased, revealing pencil drawn bars and a pencil figure behind them. It was a Drescher logo in a suit, with noodle-like arms that ended with jagged claws. In its hand it held a ruler with a bladed edge.
"It's time for class,"
"Ugh…really?" Lyn groaned.
The bars erased and the 'teacher' led the way. Amara and Lyn were pushed out by pencil dust. Amara could feel her heart pounding, while Lyn just looked tired. The pair followed along, Amara looking around nervously, while Lyn had her hands in her pockets.
The world was less school and more prison. It was hard to tell if the walls and floors were wood or stone due them all being messily drawn by pencil. The only white in the walls were eyes made of notebook papier watched them from all sides, each connecting through thin white lines to a darkness at the end of the Western Hall.
The Western Hall was one of four directions people could go. It was the most significant though, as it had a sign marked 'Principal's Office' pointed down it.
The halls themselves were multiple levels tall, with catwalks contained by those bars. Many of the 'teachers' watched, standing on the bars and crawling on the walls like monkeys. Each movement they made sounded like scratching on a chalkboard, practically bleeding Amara's ears.
Other students wandered the halls. They're heads were plain white circles with smiling masks. Amara looked closely at them.
[A woman in Boa Constrictor mask and suit picked her up by her back collar. She was taken away from someone]. Amara flinched, a weird whistling in her brain.
"Let's get this over with, Lass," Lyn urged, pulling Amara along.
"Reaper…were ya…always this grumpy?"
"Ya would be too if this mudstick place spoiled the fun,"
They reached a classroom filled with desks made up of giant blocks with stubby legs. The students had to squeeze theirs beneath them, and even then, it felt like having to hold multiple solid concrete blocks. Not helped by the legs holding said blocks up vanishing after they took their spots. Most of the students were shaking as they tried to hold on.
"Lift with yer legs, Sludge Rats. Did yer parents teach ya common sense?" the 'teacher' exclaimed, scratching on the black chalkboard as if it were writing something.
Lyn tried putting her feet on the desk, but they just sank through beneath the block. In annoyance, she tried to hit the block and quietly screamed, as that hurt her hand. Otherwise though, she was unfazed by the block.
Amara wasn't so lucky though.
Her legs gave way, and the block crashed through the floor. Everyone looked at her.
"I-I'm-,"
The dull side of the ruler slapped her in the face, leaving a red mark, "That was a warnin', Sludge Rat. Refrain from causin' trouble. How're ya supposed to contribute to society if ya can't carry yer weight,"
Her ears were ringing, she could barely hear that Lyn was speaking to her.
"(Play along fur now)," Lyn urged from her left.
Amara nodded. The 'teacher' returned to the board, gesturing as if it had written something.
"Now to test yer basic knowledge of Adlernesti society, who among us can answer this question(aside from me of course)?" {Reference to the hit online game: Among Us}.
The children looked at each other confused. One of them nervously raised their hand.
"W-what does it-?" they asked before their head was cut clean off.
Their body fell to the ground and disintegrated into pencil dust. Sweat dripped down Amara's face. The ringing was happening again.
[The smacking of a ruler. Tears. The metal end. Blood].
"DO YA SLUDGE RATS NOT EVEN KNOW HOW TO READ?!" the 'teacher' screamed. "YA CAN'T PLAY *DUMB* WITH ME!"
There was a thumping in the distance. The sounds of chalkboards screaming.
The 'teacher' pointed its ruler at a child four seats down the row from Amara, "Answer the question,"
"I don't-,"
Cut.
Three seats.
Cut.
Two seats.
Cut.
One Seat.
Cut.
The ruler pointed towards Amara. It was sharp like a blade.
Sweat poured down Amara's face. Lyn leaned over.
"(What are the Nine Spheres of Adlernesti Government)?" {Reference to Dante's Paradiso}
Amara stood up, "Sphere IX is the Mondgreif. Sphere VIII is the 11 of her Pack of Drescher Overlords. Sphere VII includes the 36 Drescher Lords with Sphere VI being made up of each of their 3 Vassals. Sphere V includes special positions like the 26 Doctors. Sphere IV includes minor government officials, III includes security captains, II includes lieutenants, an' I includes grunts,"
"Very good. I'm glad someone here knows somethin'," the 'teacher' responded, wiping the board and writing something new. "Can ya tell me the answer to this question then?"
"(What's the difference between Adlernest ahn most other Aeternum Governments ahn why does this make Adlernest better)?"
"In most Aeternum Governments, Sphere IX includes two Aeternum an' the position is mostly meant for when all 12 have to coordinate together directly in battle. In most cases Spheres VIII an' IX are equal in discussion. In Adlernest though, the Mondgreif carries absolute rule at all times an' this is better, cause of its improvement to government efficiency,"
"Very good, Ms. Auer. We'll make an Adleresti Citizen of you in no time proper," it responded, writing a new question.
"(What other nations are similar, ahn what makes them lesser still)?"
"The Zvezdan Krylo Family is led by the Rasputen an' Twilight Holdings is led by Taipan Twilight. They're lesser, cause their nations' leadership are based on Family rather than merit. Moreover, their leaders are weak willed, unlike 'r great Mondgreif," she answered, a sense of confidence radiating from her core.
"Excellllent. Answer one more question an' class will be dismissed,"
"(What's the name of the woman who works the front desk at the Raisenest Government Building)?"
Her core froze over.
The ringing screamed.
The world twisted around.
"Answer the question, Ms. Auer," it insisted, a claw placed on her desk, its head leaned over.
"Um…I haven't been there…in…some-," she tried to answer, trying to hold herself back from hyperventilating.
[She sat across from that woman. She was speaking, but Amara couldn't hear her words].
"Ya should know her name, right?"
"Th-the previous one quit, I…I-I-I…th-,"
"Then name the previous one. Go ahead," it urged, placing its claws on her shoulders, its ruler fairly close to her throat.
An explosion of pencil dust came in from the hallway.
The 'teacher' leapt onto its desk, ruler at the ready. Lyn placed her cap over her face and looked down. Amara breathed a sigh of relief.
"GET OUT NIGHTMARE THAT DON'T BELONG!" it screeched.
The dust settled. From it stepped Taipan.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for my child…where can I find her?"
It cut at her, its arm stretching far and its blade getting close at rapid speeds.
She easily stopped the blade, slamming it against the wall with an echo hand. She easily wiped the 'teacher' out with a serpent.
"It would be nice if this was one of the schools where the parents bullied the teachers into doing whatever they want," She commented, walking down towards the Western Hall. "I guess I'll check where the bad children go,"
The classroom was quiet. They could hear the battle in the background, but none moved an inch.
Amara took a deep breath.
She ran over to the doorway, where the ruler had dropped to the ground. The outside halls were filled with piles of pencil dust. In the darkness to the Western Hall, she could see Taipan's faint light and hear the boom of battle.
"Let's find me stuff ahn get out of here," Lyn commented, running up to her. "Preferably away from that nightmare,"
"No," she responded, walking out into the hallway. "We need to follow her,"
[The two of them had arrived in an apartment in a grey void].
"If ya want to reset the dream, sure, but I don't know how we-,"
[Taipan and the silver eye appeared from both sides].
"She was right, the principal's office would be the best place to look. If they confiscated yer stuff, that'd be the place to check," she insisted, walking that way.
[The pair went into another portal to escape].
"Then let's find a way around, I enjoy thrills, but this seems like a tad too much of a risk dontcha think lass?" she urged, grabbing her arm.
[They found themselves inside the school].
"...I guess yer right, you've led me this far,"
[Lyn made a portal].
Amara walked towards the Northern hall. Lyn followed her along.
[The pencil dust stole the portal away].
"Hey, I was wonderin' lass, what was the name of-,"
[The ground caved in, sending the pair spiralling down].
Amara turned to Lyn and stabbed her with the ruler. Her eyes were sharp, and Lyn's wound leaked pencil dust.
"Dontcha mean Patridiot?"
"Oh, Lass…ya should've run instead…,"
Lyn's face morphed to resemble the Drescher logo.
Amara was grabbed from behind, picked up from the ground and SLAMMED BACK DOWN!
The Fake Lyn's body had changed. She held Amara by a claw made from her black pencil dust hair. She laughed and screeched as she coughed up pencil dust.
"Didja think that ya could take me out lass!"
She tried to cut its arm. It grabbed the ruler with one of her stretched claws, trying to wrestle it from her.
"DON'T GET AHEAD OF YERSELF LASS!"
She was barely holding on against its strength, the ruler shaking in her hands, her muscles straining. She shook her head, tears forming in her eyes.
"REAP-!"
"SHE'S NOT HERE LASS!" it exclaimed, grabbing her with its other claw.
It lifted her up and slammed her to the ground, lifted her up and slammed her to the ground, lifted her up and slammed her to the ground, lifted her up and-.
"Awww, she finally dropped the ruler," it laughed.
She reached for it, but she was slow. It grabbed the ruler and stomped on her stomach. She vomited.
"That seems like it hurt, but the lesson ain't over!" it exclaimed, raising up the ruler.
"WHAT?!"
Slap.
"IS?!"
Slap.
"HER?!"
Slap.
"NAME?!"
Slap.
"WHAT IS HERE NAME!?" It repeated as it slapped her over and over until her face was red.
Again.
Again.
Again.
"CARINA!" she exclaimed, just before the ruler hit again, her face purple and bruised.
It stopped. Its eyes widened. The name echoed throughout the dream.
She ripped the ruler from its claws and cut its head.
"CARINA!" She repeated, getting up and cutting into it again.
"CARINA!" and again
"CARINA CARINA CARINA!" she kept going until all left was a pile of dust.
She fell to her knees. Tears streamed down her face.
There was scratching in the distance. Her eyes widened.
There were more headed her way. She wiped off her tears and got up.
Taipan's light was still there. She rushed after it.
---
"CARINA!" travelled deep into the recesses of the dream.
There was a dome. It was surrounded by metal, with only three entrances: a purple road, a grey skylight, and a white tunnel. Those three colours filled the floor in a cloudy mist.
At the centre was a grey fetus. A pair of metal hands held it up towards the skylight.
It absorbed some of the grey from the sky, and a silver eye opened within it.
To Be Continued...…