Cyrus walked slowly through the suffocating darkness, his breath shallow and uneven, with each step sending a wet squelch through the silence, as his boots pressed into the thick pools of blood that coated the floor. The stench of iron and decay clung to the air, making it heavy, almost suffocating.
Corpses lay in twisted, unnatural positions around him, their lifeless eyes staring into the abyss, mouths frozen in silent screams. Some bodies were fresh, their wounds still glistening under the faint flicker of dying lights, while others had already begun to rot, their flesh peeling away like paper.
His hands trembled, fingers slick with something warm. He didn't know if it was his own blood or someone else's.
Shadows danced along the walls, shifting with his every move, as if the darkness itself was alive, watching, waiting.
Cyrus stumbled forward, his heart pounding as his eyes scanned the sea of lifeless bodies. The dim, flickering light barely illuminated the horror before him, but then—he saw it. A familiar silver necklace, and a hand outstretched, frozen in time.
His breath hitched as he fell to his knees, his trembling fingers reaching out to brush against the cold, blood-streaked face of his friend. His body was heavy, unresponsive, as Cyrus then pulled him up, cradling him like a fragile, broken thing.
"No… no, no, no…"
His voice cracked, barely more than a whisper. His chest tightened as a sob ripped through him, raw and desperate. Hot tears streaked down his face, mixing with the blood smeared on his skin.
He gripped his friend tighter, rocking slightly as if holding on could somehow bring him back. But the body in his arms remained still, empty. The warmth that had once filled those familiar eyes was gone, replaced with a hollow stare that saw nothing.
The silence was deafening, broken only by his ragged breathing and the quiet, shattered sound of his own grief.
As if responding to his despair, the corpses began to shift. Slowly at first, a sickening slither of flesh against flesh, then faster—bodies piling onto each other as if drawn by some unseen force. Limbs tangled, heads lolled at unnatural angles, their empty eyes staring into nothing. The air grew thick with the putrid stench of blood and rot as the heap of the dead swelled, rising higher, taller, until it loomed over him like a grotesque monument to slaughter.
At the peak of this twisted throne, a figure sat, draped in shadow. His posture was almost lazy, one arm resting on a broken body like an armrest, fingers tapping idly against decayed flesh. His eyes—piercing, hungry—glowed faintly in the darkness, locked onto the lone survivor below.
A grin stretched across his face, too wide, too cruel. His clothes were soaked in blood, fresh and old, the fabric clinging to his powerful frame.
The air felt colder. He leaned forward slightly amused, his voice a low, bone-chilling whisper.
"Yours looks interesting as well... be sure to cultivate it properly, because one day, I'll take it from you too."
**
Cyrus jolted awake, his breath ragged, sweat clinging to his skin as his eyes darted around. Leather seats, a sleek dashboard—he was in a jeep. His pulse thundered in his ears, the nightmare still vivid—blood, corpses, a towering figure watching him. He exhaled shakily, rubbing his face, but the dread lingered. Even here, awake, he wasn't sure if he had truly escaped.
"My Nightmare was never over, was it?"
He quickly got up and out of the Jeep, and was once again thrusted into that grey, colourless world filled with nothing but Monochrome.
At the top of a dirt mound, he saw Kalane looking down below at something with deep interest. She looked just as stern as ever.
Hearing Cyrus climb up, she turned her head towards him, but then a rare glint of worry appeared in her eyes.
"Are you okay?"
Cyrus looked paler than usual.
"I'm fine. This one was just a bit more rough."
Once he reached the top, he was finally able to see what had her so interested. In fact, he was excited to see it too.
Before him there was carnage. A sea of bodies laid scattered around, with dozens of white daggers like feathers lodged into each of them. Unlike his Nightmare though, these weren't the bodies of humans, but countless grotesque Nightmare creatures.
In the skies above soared a brilliant white griffin. It's eyes glowing with a mystical yellow light, as it watched out for danger.
Since Nero was hospitalised, he couldn't exactly go out and fight Nightmare creatures himself. But it's not like it was him who had to do it, he had an Echo which could help him instead. Since the Echo was much more powerful than himself too, it could go fight a bigger herd of Nightmare creatures, as it got closer to the Nightmare gate.
It had already slain a decent amount of Awakened creatures.
**
Echo: Erlking's Agent
Echo Rank: Ascendent
Echo Class: Devil
Echo Attributes: [Mark Of Passage], [Lightweight], [Ferocity]
Echo Description: [As the King of the forests, Erlking could never leave. And so instead, he gifted his friend with one of his servants.]
Attribute: [Mark Of Passage]
Attribute Description: [A barrier blocking all surrounds the hidden kingdom, but this Mark grants safe passage to those who bear it.]
Attribute: [Lightweight]
Attribute Description: [Erlkings Agent is swift, and boasts unmatched speed.]
Attribute: [Ferocity]
Attribute Description: [Erlkings Agents claws and talons are sharp, but its mind is too.]
Echo Abilities: [Bladed Wings], [Watchful], [Link]
Echo Ability: [Bladed Wings]
Ability Description: [The feathers of Erlkings Agent posses sharpness that can cut through the hardest of metals. They may even be fired like arrows.]
Echo Ability: [Watchful]
Ability Description: [Nothing can hide from the gaze of Erlkings Agent.]
Echo Ability: [Link]
Ability Description: [Erlkings Agent isn't just a servant, but a partner in battle. As such it can forge a special bond with its master.]
Master: [Noble Demise]
**
Nero was greatly interested in the last ability of Erlkings Agent. Its [Link], allowed it share all if its attributes and abilities with its master, and it also connected their senses. Currently, Nero was watching the battle through the eyes of his Echo, gazing upon his wonderful works.
Unfortunately though, there was a necessary compatibility that needed to exist for an attribute/ability to work.
Since Nero didn't have any wings, the ability [Bladed Wings] could not be applied to himself or his weapons.
Kalane looking up at the Echo from the surface, suddenly asked,
"Why are you helping him? You've been doing too much for just a sleeper."
Cyrus hadn't thought about it too much. All he did was do what he thought was right, but thinking about it now...
"He reminds me of Balin."
She looked confused by that answer, and quickly she shook her head.
"I don't see any kind of resemblance in him. Actually, I see the total opposite."
Cyrus inquired,
"What do you mean?"
"Just look at it, that's an Ascended Echo. Nero looks like no legacy, yet he has something so powerful."
Kalane could still remember how she felt when she saw it for the first time. Her stern demeanour was actually broken, but thankfully no one was around to see it.
"Do you know what that means, Cyrus?"
He nodded. Before you challenged the First Nightmare, you had no connection to the spell. This meant you couldn't wield memories, or gain rewards from killing Nightmare Creatures. But inside the Nightmare, all of this was possible, but the usual sleeper would only get 1 or 2 items.
Afterwards though, someone could receive even more memories from a close awakened, but typically those of Legacy Clans benefited from this. However, both Kalane and Cyrus ran a background check on Nero. He had no Awakened contacts apart from them.
And so their last conclusion was...
"He killed it in his first Nightmare."
In Kalane's hands, a small storm of sparks shimmered before transforming into a small dagger. She then said,
"You're raising a monster. If that person finds out about him, he will be in great danger. I already had to tell a few people that it was my Echo, but I don't know how long people will buy that lie. So keep his Identity a secret, understood?"
Cyrus nodded.