"Where am I?"
Everything was pure darkness, as if I floated in an abyss.
Suddenly, two orbs of light materialized before me. One purple, the other black, as the abyss surrounding me. Somehow, it didn't make sense, yet I could still see the black orb even in the abyss. Both the black and purple orbs pulsed with faint light.
Looking down, I noticed a crimson orb hovering steadily in front of me.
"It probably represents myself. The other must be Stella. But then… what is the third orb?"
Two of the orbs shot into the sky, leaving mine behind. Dozens of unfamiliar memories flashed through my mind — places I had never visited, people I had never met, tragedies that had never happened to me — and then, just as suddenly, they stopped.
"What was that? I don't even remember what I just saw."
As I blinked, I was in a whole different location. I blinked again and again, hoping I was imagining it. Before me, hundreds of soldiers clashed with creatures — disturbing things, as if animals and monsters had been mashed together into living atrocities.
The sharp, metallic stench of iron invaded my nose — the smell of fresh-spilled blood. The grass was stained red across the field. Only one tree stood amidst the carnage, its crown still green, but half of its trunk drenched in blood.
My eyes widened in pure horror.
Bodies of fallen soldiers lay scattered across the battlefield, some piled high in grotesque mounds. Atrocities fought over the corpses, tearing at them like scavengers.
There, the land stretched endlessly before me, scarred by trenches that cut across the earth like veins. They weren't filled with water.
No — a dark, sluggish river of blood ran through them, the stench of iron clinging to the air, thick enough to choke on. Each canal branched into another, splitting and weaving until the horizon itself bled a deep, rich red.
I followed their course with my eyes, watching as they all converged, streams of crimson rushing toward some unseen point in the distance. The flow carried scraps of things I didn't want to recognize — tatters of cloth, fragments of bone — bobbing along the surface before vanishing downstream.
The sound was worse than the sight. Not a gentle ripple, not the soothing whisper of water, but a wet, gurgling rush. The kind of sound that gnawed at the back of my mind, whispering of slaughter and endings.
'Where is it all going?'
I looked down as something struck my armor.
"That's disgusting, I might—"
Before I could finish, I vomited where I stood. The world spun around me. The thing that had struck me was a soldier's severed head. Its lifeless eyes seemed to stare into mine, frozen in the horror it had witnessed before decapitation. My legs buckled beneath me.
'I need to calm down. This is how I get killed. I don't even know where I am.'
I wiped the vomit from my mouth, forcing my mind to pull itself back together. The earth shook, and something was hurtling toward them at a great speed.
An atrocity charged toward me. Its body was covered in white fur, splattered with blood. Tentacle-like horns writhed atop its goat-like head. Its pupils stretched horizontally, its feet were hooves, yet its massive hands were grotesquely human. Its head resembled that of a goat.
'I don't even know what to think of this vile thing.'
Before it reached me, it stopped, standing only a little taller than I was. I stepped back, grabbed the metal hilt from its holder, and surged Ki into it. Crimson sparks flared, shaping into a long sword as I took my stance.
I couldn't tell what it was looking at—until it opened its massive mouth and roared, nearly stunning somehow.
I've fought Stella and survived, I know I can survive this, I have to try, at least.
The atrocity kept lunging to grab me, but I refused to let it. I knew a single grip would crush me instantly. Each time it reached for me, I slashed it, carving fresh wounds into its vile body. It only grew angrier, unleashing another roar that rang in my ears.
'Ah, crap, I can't lose the flow or I'll die.'
It lowered its head and charged straight at me.
'Move, move body! Why can't I move?'
Its skull slammed into my chest, sending me ragdolling through the air.
"Damn it!"
Everything spun, shapes blurring together. I coughed up blood, gasping, my breath stolen from me. It had knocked it out of me, as I kept trying to breathe. My heart pounded faster and faster. An image of Stella and Noelle smiling at me filled my mind. That alone was enough to push me back up.
"I can't die, not yet, not when people are waiting for me."
As the atrocity lunged, I sidestepped, tightened my grip, and slashed deep across its torso. I had killed its body, splashed into a pool of blood, and some even got on my face. More blood flowed from where I cut it. Its intestines slowly crept out of its torso.
I quickly looked away as my stomach started to turn.
"Wow… my first kill, and it doesn't even feel good. Not rewarding at all."
"Now to find somewhere safe. Or maybe Stella… she should be fine, but I want to check on her just in case. Then again, my back healed—Stark was right, she's probably fine."
"Guess I'll just ignore the atrocities and follow the streams of blood. It might lead somewhere worse, but what else can I do?"
I started to walk along the stream.
'I wonder if there's anything in that stream?'
Dark red bubbles rose from it.
'Yeah, I'll make sure to keep my distance.'
The battlefield seemed to quiet the farther I went. I passed more bodies—some alive, some dead.
I squinted, a smile tugging at my lips.
'A castle! It has to be safe. Right?'
I couldn't stop staring—atrocities were closing in. Not one, but three, each twisted and different.
'No no no.'
I had no time to process before they all lunged at me. One had a long snout, moving on all fours. I parried its strike, only to face the next—some birdlike humanoid that weaponized its feathers. I slashed through them, decapitating the creature. The other two didn't wait. Both struck me—one tearing into my back, the other slicing my shoulder.
"Argh!"
Another atrocity latched onto me with its mandibles—a massive centipede, its back lined with dark fur. It was tearing my shoulder trying to eat it. I switched my grip and drove the blade into its head.
It squealed as blood spewed, its eyes bulging and bursting with a sickening crunch. I tore free from its mandibles, feigning distraction. When the last atrocity lunged, I tightened my grip and rammed my sword into its skull, pinning it to the ground.
I dismissed the sword before I had to tug it free. More atrocities were already coming.
"Bring it on, cow-"
I collapsed, the world spinning. The centipede must have poisoned me. There was no pain—just a strange calm, as if I could let go and die. I tried to stand, wobbling, until two figures cut down the attackers swarming me.
I collapsed again, voices echoing around me.
"It's D!"
"Pick him up and let's go back to the city."
As those words faded, I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.