Some white, but a bit dirty, seagulls were flying around the ship. Calm waves rhythmically hit the hull and a weak breeze slightly filled the sails. It was clearly not enough to pull the ship but for some reason it still moved at a very high speed powered by something else.
Inside everything was quiet apart the snoring of the hundred people sleeping there.
"Wake up, dogs. There is something interesting to see outside."
A thunderous voice brutally teared the sleepy atmosphere inside the ship.
"Damn!", "What is it?", "I don't f*cking care!", "Let me be."
"There is a Nightmare Emissary outside hahahahahahaha." – This time everyone became silent. Some people became pale, and others only trembled for a second before regainig composure.
James nodded approvingly and grinned. – "If someone wants to see the demise of a legendary Nightmare Emissary then you're free to come on the deck." – There was an infinite amount of scorn in how he pronounced the world "legendary".
Some people slowly made their way following James. Nameless was amongst this brave group.
'What are the Nightmare Emissaries? Well, lets have a look…" He was even more curious seeing the exaggerated reactions of some people around him.
The first thing he noticed outside was the strange grayness and stillness. The sea was grey, and the drops of water spilled by the crashing of waves stopped mid-air. – "There are the bastards." – James pointed north. Everyone looked in that direction but there was absolutely nothing.
"Just wait. They already overlapped the Incubus Realm with this piece of ocean to trap us."
He spat on the ground. – "Delusional bastards."
Suddenly a wave of chillness spread through the ship. Nameless got hit in the face and his surroundings became completely white. There was nothing apart the infinite whiteness. 'Where I am?'
He made some steps in front of him. *Bam* An unexpected barrier made him fall backwards.
'What is this…A wall? I suppose it's still better than nothing.' Nameless stood up and went towards the barrier. He started to examine it through the touch. 'If there is the wall, there can be also a…' He wasn't very hopeful but suddenly his hand found something. '…a door-handle? Seriously?'
He pressed on it and without any noise opened a hypothetical door. A rectangular, two meters high and one meter large, piece of the wall directly disappeared. The odor of fruit trees and flowers invaded the white space. Birds were singing, and the warm sun was shining outside. Nameless stepped outside. And the white space behind him exploded into an infinity of white particles who disappeared e few seconds after that.
"Where I am. I was on the ship which got attacked by a Nightmare Emissary, and now I'm here." – He mumbled.
"Reg! Come here! Look at the flower I found!"
A girl's voice woke him up from his thoughts. He turned around. On the side he was looking previously, the sun was shining overflowing with golden majesty and he subconsciously assumed that the world behind him will logically be the same.
An enormous blue moon was suspended in the sky adorned with infinite stars. A single star couldn't compete against the golden radiance, but if it were thousands upon thousands of stars the starlight became blinding.
"Beautiful." – For one second, he became breathless, surrounded by boundless starlight from the east, and by sundering sunlight from the west.
"REEEEG! Come on hurry. I've accidently plucked it so I don't it will survive for too long without starlight!" – The same girlish voice called to him again. Nameless finally spotted a humanoid figure in the distance. 'Who is she?' He thought, but his mouth moved by itself. – "Yeah, I'm coming Eli!"
'Eli? But I know no one named Eli. What's going on here.?'
Meanwhile his body ran quickly towards the girl.
*BRRRUUM*
Before he could clearly see the girl a rumble of thunder brought him back to reality. He suddenly found himself on the wooded floor of the Sorrow of the Black Sea.
Everyone who went on the deck to see the Nightmare Emissary were around him. Some were foaming and trembling, while others were screaming something cryptic and incomprehensible. He sensed something hot on his face. He touched his nose. It was some blood.
Nameless stood up.
Just in time to be hit by a bolt of white lightning.
James was covered in a web of electricity. – "Oh, you've already been awake? Sorry for the hit."
'Bastard!' Thought the boy convulsing from the shock on the ground.
After a few minutes everyone woke up, and somehow managed to stand up. – "That a basic attack of the Nightmare bastard. He pulled your mind in the Incubus Realm where you were faced with your worst fears." – Explained James.
'Hmmm. I am not sure about my worst fears, but I don't think that the encounter with some girl was one of them.'
Nameless was confused for a second but quickly dismissed these doubts as "useless".
'Probably the nightmare guy messed something while pulling us in.'
"Now you should be able to see it. The Nightmare Ghost."
Everyone looked in the same direction as before. The water was still gray, but there was something else. An enormous and gloomy ship was advancing towards them at high speed.
It was somehow ethereal and ghostly.
Nameless could see the motionless sea, and the gray horizon behind it.
"Shouldn't we shoot them with cannons, or something?" – Asked someone.
"No need. Do you know why they overlap their world with ours and attack only after that?" – Asked James.
No one answered. At the end and old man's voice interrupted the embarrassing silence. – "Maybe it's because they are more powerful with the help of their realm?"
"Well, yes you are partially right. The main reason is that they can't even materialize a stable form here without the help of their realm. But even this one that you can see is very unstable, and partially immune to physical attacks."
The same old man thought for a second. – "So, we can't damage them, and they can't damage us?"
James grinned. – "Not quiet. They can harm our souls and mind like you've just experienced, and we can…"
Suddenly a cold voice sounded from the captain's cabin.
"SHATTER!"
The grayness that chained the see immediately was covered by a million on small cracks. Some gray pieces fell of and disappeared. Under the gray surface appeared the normal colorful world and a lot of seawater flooded in.
Once the crack appeared the nightmare ship became even more blurry and, after a few seconds, vanished.
"See? Our captain shattered this small overlapping fragment of Incubus Realm and the Nightmare Ghost disappeared."
"Now, return to you living quarters."
[…]
The rest of the journey was without accidents. After a few days a loud voice attired everyone's attention.
"BLACKWATER ON THE HORIZON!"
No-one particularly cared about the announcement, but Nameless was still curious.
On the horizon the first thing he saw was an enormous mountain. It had the shape of an extremely sharp claw. If one had enough imagination, it would seem the it was tearing the sky apart.
'That's Blackwater?'
Doc was as stealthy as ever when he appeared on his right, also looking in the direction of the claw.
"Someone thinks that the mountain on the Blackwater island is a claw of some ancient beast fallen in our Ocean. Even if I don't believe in this theory, I still don't think that it formed in some natural way."
Nameless didn't said anything and continued to silently look towards the claw-like mountain.
"In a few minutes you will be able to see our destination, the Blackwater City." – Doc pointed towards the part of the island covered by the shadow of the mountain. Indeed, the boy could already see some lights in there.
And truly after some time Nameless could already see some constructions, an enormous number of houses paces one on the top of another. They had some bizarre shapes, but the chaotic aesthetics of this place gave of some sense of beauty.
Single houses were connected by ropes, and one could individuate different "levels" of this agglomerate of constructions.
The highest point was a round tower just in the middle of the city.
"What is that tower?"
Doc didn't answer, seemingly lost in thought, but another voice intervened. – "It's the Church's of the Deep main headquarters."
It was James.
"The have brunches probably in every big city both of the Upper Ocean, where we are now, and the Lower Ocean. Instead in every small city one could find one or two of their priests."
Now Nameless noticed a black banner on top of the tower. In the center of it there was a huge purple sun, and from the bottom side five tentacles were extended, trying to drag it away.
The ship entered inside the shadow of the mountain.