"What… in tarnation is that?"
Ahead of her stretched a vast circular clearing. It seemed more like a crater than an opening, although it did not appear to have been made by the impact of anything. It looked more human-made than natural.
Even from where she stood, she could see the center of the crater. In the middle lay a human figure, or rather, a humanoid one. It had four long arms and a long, muscular body, and it was using its arms to play what seemed to be a harp. She could not tell clearly from this distance, nor could she make out any other features, but the fact that she could distinguish its body at all from so far away meant that the thing was pretty huge.
Aside from its features, the being appeared to be bound in chains. Four chains were wrapped around its wrists, two were linked to its legs, and one encircled its neck, making a total of seven chains. They were familiar golden chains, and as she traced them to their origins, she noticed they were connected to giant obsidian pillars in the distance.
She observed a little longer, unsure how to proceed. She was certain that thing was a nightmare creature, it had to be. Nothing human had four arms. Yet the origin of that voice was definitely coming from it. She had never known of a nightmare creature that could speak or communicate mentally with others.
They were known to be unintelligent compared to humans, beasts that sought only the destruction of the human race. Yet this one was singing.
"Oh mother, why don't you love me…"
Suddenly, the music stopped. Its hands halted mid strum. She saw its body shift and turn, and a chilling feeling washed over her, it was looking directly at her.
"Come here, child of the sea…"
A sweet voice rang inside her mind. Suddenly, a strong desire to obey filled her being, and before she realized it, her body began to move on its own.
'What's happening?... Stop… damn it, STOP.'
Not understanding what was happening, she fought against the voice with everything she had, repeating those words in her mind, hoping her body would respond. Yet moving her limbs felt like trying to move a mountain. After struggling for what felt like an eternity, her body finally stopped. She was using all her willpower to resist the voice. Slowly, she managed to turn herself around, attempting to walk away. She was not staying a second longer near that thing.
"…Oh, child of the sea… I mean you no harm. I apologize for that, it has just been so long since I spoke to anything, my will must have leaked."
The voice echoed again in her mind. She was now certain that the thing was not human, although she doubted it was a nightmare creature either. Whatever it was, she had a bad feeling about it. She needed to get away.
"Listen to me, child of the sea… I truly do not seek to harm you…"
She tried her best to ignore the voice as she continued walking away, until she suddenly stopped.
What was she doing? She had come all this way to seek clues about how to end her nightmare, and she was running away the moment things became dangerous. If she kept doing that, how would she ever end it? She gritted her teeth. Fine. She would play along, at least until she learned more about what was going on.
"What are you? A nightmare creature?" she asked. She hoped the answer would be no. If not, she would have to find a way to kill it.
The voice was silent, and for a moment she thought it might not have heard her from such a distance, but the creature answered anyway.
"A nightmare creature?… oh, I assure you, I am not a corrupted one, far from it."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Again, silence.
"I am… Rethen, one of the musicians of the gods, more specifically, the musician of the Goddess of the Black Skies," the being called Rethen said. Though it answered her, it seemed to hesitate.
Elizabeth was taken aback. She had not expected to find anything related to the gods in her nightmare.
In the dream realm, there were six gods, the War God, the Beast God, the Sun God, the Storm God, the Shadow God, and the Heart God. According to the history awakened had managed to extract, the gods were ancient, powerful beings who existed during the golden age of the dream realm.
No one knew what had happened to them. They no longer existed. They had disappeared, and from the clues gathered, it seemed they had died somehow.
Nightmare trials were the only way to learn about these beings and their past. That was why she was so surprised. The being at the center of the crater claimed to be a musician of the Goddess of the Black Skies, another name for the Storm God. She was skeptical, but had no reason to doubt it. Nightmares were said to be recreations of the past, after all.
Now that its identity was revealed, more questions rose within her.
"If what you say is true, what are you doing here?"
What would a musician of a goddess be doing here, chained at the center of a ship?
"Uh… well… I am being punished. The goddess chained me here. I was supposed to be freed after learning my lesson, but she never returned. Apparently, there is a war going on, a rather large one, since she is involved, and she is too busy to come back."
A war? She was not well versed in the history of the dream realm, but she knew something monumental must have happened for the gods to disappear. A war would explain it.
"What are you being punished for?"
The voice fell silent for longer than before.
"…I committed a grave sin. I… let's just say I insulted the goddess."
'Wow.'
That was unexpected. Still, for the punishment to be this severe, the gods must have taken the offense seriously.
She had one last question.
"What happened to the people on this ship?"
After a pause, he replied,
"Oh… the guardians of the ship died protecting me from…a dangerous being."
Before she could press further, the voice returned, weaker this time.
"Come down here, child… I do not have enough strength to keep speaking to you mentally."
With that, the voice faded. The being at the center of the crater remained motionless for a few seconds before turning back and continuing to play its harp, though this time, no sound came out.
For a moment, Elizabeth stood still, unsure how to proceed. Could she even trust the words of this so called Rethen? Then again, she didn't have any other options, and she was sure none were going to present themselves in the near future. She looked at Rethen's towering form in silence, then sighed and walked toward the crater.
This was connected to her nightmare trial, she was sure of it. She had a feeling her answers lay with this being. And if the worst happened, she would fight.
When she reached the edge of the crater, she looked directly at Rethen.
The sight was overwhelming.
The being looked like a statue, a giant living sculpture, at least seven meters tall. Aside from its four arms and immense height, the most striking feature was its beauty. Long, flowing white hair framed a face sculpted to perfection, without a single flaw. Its body was shaped like a work of art, like an ancient Greek statue brought to life. Everything about it was beautiful.
Rethen slowly turned its head toward her. Its hands continued to move across the harp, and its eyes widened slightly.
"You… are a mortal?"
Elizabeth was too mesmerized to fully process the question. She had never seen anything so beautiful. Even her brother, whom she had once considered the most striking awakened she knew, was nothing but a toad in comparison.
"Hey, no need to insult me," a voice protested loudly in her mind. She ignored it.
"Child of the sea…"
She snapped out of her trance, but was almost drawn back into it when she heard its sweet voice again.
"Y-yes?" Her voice trembled. She really needed to snap out of it. She was trying hard not to admire it despite it being naked, she tried extra hard not to let her eyes wander around, this being before her could be an enemy.
"What is a mortal like you doing on this ship?"
Her mind snapped out of her trance at that. She could not tell him the truth, she could not tell him this was an illusion created by a spell with the sole purpose of testing her, and her being on this ship was really not by her will.
"I… don't know," she said.
The being studied her silently. Its stone-like eyes were piercing, as if they where looking through her rather than at her.
"You don't know?… To power the ship again… what a strange and powerful soul you have… how alluring."
A shiver ran down her spine.
'Please don't tell me this is one of those things that want my insides.'
Her grip tightened around her dagger. Noticing this, the being smiled.
"Child of the sea, I mean you no harm. harming the goddess's favored creation, a child of the sea, would only earn me further punishment… although, I do have one request."
Elizabeth frowned slightly, then nodded.
Rethen extended one of its hands, showing the golden chains wrapped tightly around it.
"Free me from this prison. I must go and aid my goddess in the war."