The connection weakened at a rapid rate, and soon enough, darkness engulfed him. Moments later, the last embers of their connection were extinguished.
Hollow? Perhaps.
The time he spent with Artemis, the newborn soul, wasn't so simple. Her emotions, curiosity, hardships and fun were all so clear to him.
He knew better than anyone what each second of her life felt like. It felt like he was the one being shot.
Yet, his rational part knew. Those humans were not guilty of anything, and even if he could take revenge right now. Would it change anything?
So far, he knew that lifespan might not be a thing for him, or at least it was very long. On the other hand, the surrounding life might last a few decades at best and a few weeks, if not that at worst.
"Morality is so damn complicated." He said, wishing to punch someone, something. Take anger on whatever he could, but his only way of expressing grief was his cries into the infinite void.
Who would hear? A living entity might not even be the cause of his current state. After all, no one truly knew what lies behind the gate of death.
As much as he'd want to shout and beat up the duo. They wanted to live. Their options might be just hunting and foraging as they play with death every time they venture out.
One hidden snake bite. Even a scratch could lead to a nasty infection and death. He'd be a damn hypocrite he always hated with passion.
Spout justice whilst doing the thing you stand against. Both obvious options led to hell one way or another.
So, he decided to accept it. Accept, but never forget. A memory that would last much longer than any human made record.
If he ever possessed the power to do so, he'd immortalize her image and turn her into a real God somewhere above.
Her story into an epic and a legend from a young doe to the Goddess of Purity and hunt. Right now, everything seemed just like a dream.
A foolish thought ought to be impossible. So, he has to tread forward, be it for himself or those he cherished.
...
Years flew by and the presence of humans became much more common. Sometimes Andromeda would spot a young child playing nearby and her encounters with hunters were already in dozens.
Ever since Artemis died. He gave himself the name Morpheus thanks to his newfound ability.
When someone slept and he had a deep connection with them. He'd be able to almost communicate with them.
Not very powerful at the moment. Still, he gave Andromeda a few nightmares of humans and how their tracks look like and what do they did.
Due to that, she was much more cautious when it came to humans. By no means was it perfect.
But it was the best he could do. Orpheus sometimes visited places close to the hill during the mating seasons, nevertheless, the two never got back together.
Andromeda never left. She seemed content with the life around these parts and her only annoyance were humans from time to time.
Unbeknownst to her, she grew famous in the nearby villages for her ability to spot and avoid humans like a plague.
On the other hand, Morpheus kept thinking. He revisited the moments again and again, yet he came to no conclusion.
Neither was good nor wrong, and neither would he be able to just let it go. Maybe that stubbornness was one of the last pieces of humanity he had.
It never occurred to him how he just accepted his new life. No existential questions or the need to return to Earth.
Needless to say, it didn't matter. He eventually focused fully into 'training' that ability he possessed.
The one gateway to the world. From his experiments, he couldn't form bonds with simple beings like small bugs or microorganisms.
Though the communication didn't progress at a rapid speed. The ability to form bonds did accelerate to some extent.
Especially with humans. One day, a family of 3 had a picnic on the peak of the hill and he almost established a solid connection with one of them during those few hours.
Andromeda also fulfilled her role and gave birth to a couple of fawns. Morpheus chose not to bond with them too much.
He'd rather lose one meaningful bond at a time than three at once. On the 5th winter, since he came to this world through Orpheus.
Their bond broke in an instant. Morpheus offered his prayers and hoped that the guy would live another good life.
In the end, the Death came for Andromeda as well. This time it came in the form of a brutal snowstorm that yielded almost 3 meters of thick snow.
The triplets didn't make it any better. With so many mouths to feed and the thick snow, she barely managed to fight through winter before she laid down exhausted and hungry.
Of the three triplets. Two managed to survive and lived on.
Morpheus grieved for a few days before he used his newfound 'ability', or rather, a skill.
Hibernation. He knew that he could sleep for a long time, however; he didn't dare to try it due to the company of Andromeda, Artemis, and Orpheus.
Now, nothing held him back. He gave his last wishes to the twins and slept...
...
The sky alternated between light and darkness and the inhabitants lived their lives. Among humans, a first dynasty had been born and everything began to accelerate at a rapid pace.
Wars were waged over territories, and common people suffered. Then, a genius came and shocked the entire world...
...
Over the years, Morpheus had felt multiple bonds call to him, but none felt quite right.
Some lacked potential depth in his opinion, and some seemed to repulse him one way or another.
One day, that changed. The potential bond held so much strength that it forcibly woke him up from hibernation.
Just in a few moments, he could establish a connection. And when he did, he found himself in a body of a scrawny teenager.
His clothes, although tattered and full of small holes and tears, were made from silk and embroidered in purple and gold.
The boy seemed to be very determined. Something burned deep inside. Be it desire for revenge or something similar, Morpheus would find out.
Few days flashed by. The boy, surprisingly, knew how to forage and, with the rich fauna and hot weather, collected a lot of berries.
Moreover, he possessed the knowledge of hunting, although he severely lacked the experience to execute them.
"I wonder how long will he last around these parts..." Morpheus said to himself, out of a habit.
The boy jumped and hurled out a couple of incomprehensive words.
"€÷|Ł [|$ß< [Đ [\\|÷×#!!#&&#ߤ¤]]] > "The boy said in a rapid succession.
Morpheus had heard him talk to himself a couple of times these past few days, but this time, something was wrong.
"Can you hear me?" He asked with a trembling voice. The boy reacted once again and spent a few minutes fumbling around.
'Does he think he is possessed?' Morpheus thought to himself as the boy seemingly gave up with a pale face and trembling eyes.
Another two days passed by. In just 3 hours, the boy seemed to accept the reality and gave up on himself.
On the other hand, Morpheus was ready to throw a party if he could and brainstormed ways to learn his language.
Shouting words seemed to make the poor guy even more terrified than he already was. Other methods didn't seem to work that well, too.
Though one kind of method seemed to bear some results. Not through words, but with the use of tone.
In the beginning, the boy didn't understand, but a few hours of annoying tones and sounds motivated him and they finally clicked.
When he finally pointed at something. Morpheus let out the most excited sounds that would make him bury his soul and body in his old world if anyone ever heard them.
Though time had stripped any resemblance of shame that hid within him. Or was it the state he was in? Didn't matter, really.
What did matter was that he learned his first word!
The rock.
Pronunciation in this world seemed to be on the more blunt side, where vowels had quite the punch packed behind them. Quite the vibe...
From then on, their happy cooperation skyrocketed. In just a few days, Morpheus and 'Halvar'.
When he pieced out the defender and rock, he didn't know if he should laugh or cry. His name was a bit too perfect...
Halvar himself told him that he came from the North. Anything more than that still needed some time, though Halvar tried to draw some pictures.
They... Could be given A+ for effort at best and expulsion from kindergarten at worst.
Dreams showcased their worth soon enough too, though that applied mostly when learning the other way.
During the time where Halvar and Morpheus talked, the boy showed his more immature side and quickly accepted his presence.
Adaptable was quite right in this case...