The journey back to the underground city was tense. Rey clutched the Dreambinder, feeling the strange energy coursing through it. The relic was their only chance at stopping Seth, but he knew that Tailon's betrayal had changed everything.
"He was with us for years," Elsa muttered, her fists clenched. "And now he's serving that monster?"
Jasper shook his head. "Tailon was always ambitious. Seth must have promised him something beyond mortal power."
Rey exhaled. "Then we take the fight to Seth before he gets any stronger."
But as they neared the city, a deep tremor shook the ground. The sky above was no longer normal—the stars had vanished, replaced by swirling, black clouds.
"The merging has begun," Gabriel whispered.
And then, the screams started.
The underground city was under attack.
Twisted figures—nightmares pulled straight from people's minds—roamed the streets. Some were grotesque monsters with shifting forms, others were illusions of lost loved ones, their eyes hollow and empty.
And above it all, a massive rift had torn through the sky, revealing a glimpse of the Nightmare Realm bleeding into reality.
Elsa gritted her teeth. "Seth is breaking the barrier faster than we thought."
Rey didn't hesitate. "We need to find him. Now."
But then, the air grew thick, and the city fell silent.
A slow, mocking clap echoed through the streets.
And then, he appeared.
Seth Alexander stood at the center of the chaos, his form shifting between reality and nightmare. His black coat rippled like liquid shadow, and his eyes burned with infinite darkness.
But what sent a chill down Rey's spine was the way reality itself warped around Seth. He didn't just manipulate dreams—he bent the world to his will.
"Ah, Rey," Seth said, his voice smooth and amused. "I was hoping you'd make it."
Rey stepped forward, gripping the Dreambinder. "This ends now, Seth."
Seth chuckled. "Oh? You think that little trinket will stop me?" He snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the world shattered—and Rey and his allies fell into darkness.
Rey gasped as he landed on solid ground—but it wasn't the city anymore.
They were standing in a warped dreamscape, an endless void filled with shifting illusions. Mountains floated in midair, rivers flowed upward, and creatures born of pure nightmare watched them from the shadows.
Seth hovered above them, arms spread wide.
He said
"The darkness devours all
The night births terror
Where shadow lingers, my legion waits
A place of nightmare, where reality fractures
A dream? No. A graveyard for the waking
PRIVATE – NEXUS – SANCTUARY
DREAM WORLD".
"The battlefield of the mind. Here, my thoughts shape reality."
Rey's eyes widened in fear and excitement at the same time "So this is a fully enchanted and mastered PRIVATE NEXUS SANCTUARY."
Rey felt the Dreambinder pulsing, trying to stabilize the world.
Elsa gritted her teeth. "So we're fighting on his terms?"
"Not if we take control," Gabriel said.
Seth smirked. "Then let's see what you can do."
And with a flick of his wrist, the battle began.
Seth thrust his hand forward, and the entire sky collapsed into a black vortex. From the void, creatures of pure nightmare lunged at them.
Rey reacted instantly, slashing through the beasts with the sword he pick on their way earlier. But they reformed instantly, their bodies twisting back together.
"Rey!" Jasper shouted. "Seth is creating them from his imagination! He can make as many as he wants!"
Seth grinned. "Exactly."
He raised his hands, and suddenly, copies of Rey, Elsa, and the others formed out of thin air.
"You can't defeat yourself," Seth whispered.
Rey turned just in time to block a sword strike from his own doppelgänger. The copy had his face, his stance—his memories.
"You're not real!" Rey shouted.
"Then why do I know every thought in your head?" the doppelgänger sneered.
Rey clenched his jaw. Seth wasn't just summoning illusions—he was creating perfect copies of them, forged from his own mind.
Gabriel gritted his teeth. "We can't fight him like this. We need to break his concentration!"
Rey glanced at the Dreambinder in his hands. The relic pulsed faintly—it was still connected to reality.
A plan formed in his mind.
"We have to make Seth doubt himself," Rey said.
Elsa smirked. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Gabriel nodded. "Let's make his nightmares real."
Rey slammed the Dreambinder into the ground, and suddenly, the dreamscape shifted.
The illusions wavered. The doppelgängers hesitated.
And for the first time, Seth frowned.
"What...?"
The Dreambinder wasn't just a weapon. It was a counterforce—a relic capable of undoing dream constructs.
And now, it was forcing Seth to face his own nightmares.
The sky cracked open, revealing the Upper Realm of the Dream World.
Seth's breath hitched.
The illusion of the King who had rejected him stepped forward. "You failed, Seth."
The voices of the people who had shunned him whispered from the darkness.
"Monster."
"Demon."
"You don't belong here."
Seth staggered back, his form flickering.
"NO!" he roared.
Rey saw his chance.
With a battle cry, he lunged forward, the Dreambinder glowing with pure energy.
Seth raised his hand, trying to reshape reality—trying to undo Rey's attack.
But this time, his power faltered.
And Rey struck.