The Dream
Darkness. The sensation of falling into an endless abyss. A long tunnel stretched before him, filled with an eerie howling. From the shadows, slimy, grasping tendrils reached out. Gray ran, but they overtook him—wrapping around his limbs, squeezing tighter...
— Not this nightmare again, — Gray gasped, jerking upright.
His heart still pounded violently. He wiped cold sweat from his face with a trembling hand.
"Need to move. Heard there are monsters rampaging in the south. Good chance to test my skills."
He gathered his gear and set out. The forested terrain gradually gave way to scorched wastelands. The songs of birds were replaced by the wind's mournful wail as it tore through jagged cliffs.
Blood and Fear
The settlement Gray approached greeted him with screams—not battle cries, but pleas for mercy.
"Monsters?" he wondered.
No. Worse.
— Where's the money? Don't tell me you've got nothing again! — A thug pressed a knife to an old man's throat, pinning him against the wall.
— Hah! Check out these girls! — Another bandit dragged a young woman by her hair as she kicked and scratched. — This one's coming with us!
— No! Please, we'll give you everything! — the old man croaked under the blade.
— Leave them alone, — a calm voice cut through the chaos.
Everyone turned. Gray stood ten paces away, hand resting on his sword's hilt.
— And who the hell are you? Oho, look—he's got a fancy blade! — The thug grinned. — Probably one of those hunters.
— I'll teach him some manners, — the second bandit spat, charging forward.
Clang!
The bandit's sword flew from his grip. Gray moved like lightning—grabbing the man's head and crushing it into the clay wall. A sickening crack echoed as the structure splintered, dust and blood spraying outward. The thug's body slumped, leaving a crimson smear on the cracked surface.
— I said: leave them. Or the rest will join him.
Five attacked at once.
— You're worse than the monsters I slaughtered yesterday, — Gray muttered.
The air around him rippled. His blade ignited with that familiar glow, growing longer, sharper.
They struck—he parried, dodged, carved through them like wheat.
- The first—bisected.
- The second—decapitated.
Blood soaked the dusty ground.
"Trash. No better than beasts."
The two survivors scrambled backward, pale.
— Y-you're dead! This is Pike's territory! He'll—
"Pike? One of the Griefers who rule these lands..."
Aftermath
— Are you hurt? — Gray turned to the villagers.
But their faces showed no relief—only terror.
— You don't understand… Now we're all doomed.
Gray gritted his teeth.
— Then leave. Or fight back.
— Where would we go? — The old man gestured helplessly. — They say only the Savior can stop them.
— Savior? Bullshit. No one's coming to save you.
— The Prophet's vision was clear! The Savior walks among us!
— Then where is he? — Gray snarled. — Why did I have to kill these rats instead?
— He will come. All we can do… is pray and believe.
"Hopeless."
— Fine. I'll stay. There's a monster here anyway, according to rumors. Let's see if your 'Pike' shows up.