Moving through an infinite expanse of nothing, a cloaked figure was on a journey.
Their cloak was decorated with small and large lights, depicting the cosmos that no one had ever seen. The silk fabric extended into the abyss below, infinitely.
Around the figure were many eyes, which intensely watched the silhouette's every move.
Raising his hand, the cloak slid back, revealing a pale arm, stopping at the elbow.
Suddenly, everything stopped as they raised their hand. From their palm, energy spread outward and the darkness rippled.
Like a gong, the ripple created waves that extended far into the dark surroundings. One after another, the eyes peering at the figure extinguished. It was unclear whether they had simply left or had been killed.
Once again, Cain was left in silence, and the abyss was once more filled with nothing.
'Find the other two? How would I do that?'
The last words Death left for the sprouting Nightmare were to find the other Primordial Horrors that ruled the abyss. Doing so would grant him access to more information as well as their blessing, allowing Cain to develop into a Primordial Horror.
"I wonder if I will remain a Nightmare in Reality? Technically my powers are derived from the core... were cores the only source of power in the beginning too?"
Floating through the endless expanse, Cain was all too familiar with the silence and boredom. But now that he had things to do, he had no time to mess around.
So instead, he passed the time with questions.
'Hmmm, another thing I would like to know is how far did I fall? Will it take a long time to get back? How much time has passed? Ugh! That green bastard better not have done something to screw me over!'
Cain spent the majority of his travels giving himself questions to answer or scenarios that could possibly play out.
These scenarios included, but were not limited to: Death killing him or him not being revealed as the Seed. Returning to the City of Dreams and being noticed and killed by the Dream Lord. Meeting one of the two Primordials and being rejected, leading to his death, and even getting randomly expelled from the Dream Realm and dying.
These scenarios only continued to ramp up in his mind after he couldn't formulate any more questions to ask.
'Though being expelled might happen. I'm technically a Horror now, so it shouldn't be too bad. Death's fingerbone could also act as sustenance. If that's the case, I'm good for a few years.'
Ruminating over his thoughts, Cain forgot to check his surroundings and never realized that the expanse around him had drastically changed.
Before he knew it, Cain was no longer in the infinite darkness but in a house.
"Poorly constructed. Worse than the architecture in Netherane, but almost half as bad as those slums in the Ocean of the Deep Ones."
Cain heard the creaking of loose floorboards beneath his feet as he investigated the mossy and damp corners of the room to deduce where they could be.
"Humid climate, but this shack isn't built from any wood I know of. This isn't a memory of mine, so it must be someone else's."
He then added, "A Nightmare not belonging to me."
Indeed, Cain had wandered into a Nightmare. The only question was: Why was there a Nightmare pocket so deep into the abyss?
"There's a door outside. Might as well."
Pushing the door open, Cain walked into the light, and as his pupils adjusted, he found himself standing in a desert.
"This is completely different from the inside. How could the inside be so damp?"
Cain took a step forward, but his footing crumbled as the sand sunk and took him with it.
...
Opening his eyes, Cain found himself in a temple deep underground. Around him were statues depicting human-like creatures with wings on their back.
They wore loose clothing that hung horizontally, covering their lower portions but showing skin around their shoulders and parts of their chests.
The temple was supported by multiple chiseled columns and looked grand and holy.
"Beautiful."
Never having seen such artwork, Cain's curiosity burned.
As he stepped his footsteps echoed, sometimes sounding light, other times heavier than a giant. They were ever-changing.
Opening the large temple doors, ones that seemed to be for giants, Cain fell forward as the weight turned lighter than air.
Lifting his head, he found himself now in a tavern.
"Okay, what's going on?"
In the tavern was a single barman.
"Hey, do you know what's going on?"
The barman looked at them, "???? ??ℝ??? ᒪㄖҜ?? ?? ?เ?"
A bundle of strange syllables and incomprehensible words spewed from the barman's mouth. If Cain wasn't a Horror, they would probably have gotten a headache. If it were a normal Dreamer, they would lose their mind and die on the spot.
"What?"
The barman repeated himself, "???? ??ℝ??? ᒪㄖҜ?? ?? ?เ?"
'Not helpful.'
Seeing another door, Cain took one last look at the man cleaning a glass. His face seemed to glitch out, changing and warping into different faces and animals. It freaked the newly born Horror out.
Exiting through the new door, Cain walked into a field. A sun was hanging in the sky, the wind blew a cool breeze, and everything felt wonderful.
"Now this is nice!"
Cain found a nice spot on the hill and sat down. He took a few deep breaths and relaxed.
He didn't have a care in the world.
At some point, someone else was sitting beside him. But Cain continued to be nonchalant.
"Why do you not keep moving?" Their voice was soft and warm like the environment around them.
"Why? This place is nice. I will keep moving; I have to leave eventually. But I'll take a break first."
The voice seemed disgruntled, "I suppose this works as a form of change as well..."
Cain didn't turn their head; instead, they continued to converse with the person, "Are you studying change or something? You sound like you're experimenting."
"I am, unlike my siblings, I don't really know what I should do. So I'm studying people who wander here and putting them through ever-changing scenarios to see how they act. Then I'll compile everything and find a way for me to act using the abundance of data."
Still, Cain didn't turn their head upon hearing the voice's answer, "You're the owner of this Nightmare? Why do you need to study change?"
The voice turned even more childish; they sounded no more than 8 years old, "Because then I can get my strength back! But change is everchanging, so I run out of ways to act. I always end up like this."
Cain could no longer hold in his curiosity. He already knew the one next to them was Primordial Change.
Forcing his head to turn, his neck creaked.
He was undoubtedly surprised, entering his sight was a young boy with messy green hair and blue skin. Other than that, he wasn't all that horrifying like Death at all.
"Your change?"
"Not really, as I said I'm now stuck trying to find new things. Otherwise, I can't embody change."
"Why not? Change is change?"
The boy tilted his head, "Change is change?"
Cain chuckled, "Of course, every second is change. Everything is always changing, even people. New or not."
"Isn't change going from an old thing to a new thing?"
Cain responded like a charlatan, "It could be."
"Wait... it's not just new things? But... but... I've only felt change when people do something new."
Cain grew even more confused, "What are you going on about?"
"Oh, I forgot, Death told me to answer questions; you don't know how we Three operate, correct?"
"Correct..."
The boy continued, "Well, ever since our birth, wherever things with thought lived, we did. We get food... that's the right word, right? Anyway, it's like a tether, whenever subsequent actions of our names happen, we are empowered by it. It's how we are undefeatable and unkillable. Wherever Change, Death, or Failure exist, we will."
"So you always feel when people do something new, you connect it to change? And you never asked anyone else to confirm or for any help?"
The boy threw up his hands in defeat, "Why would I? I thought I was doing it right... until today."
'How could one of the three most powerful Horrors, a being that existed since the beginning, be this stupid?!'
"Forget it, can you answer my questions and give me that blessing that will give me more power?"
Change crossed its arms, "Why should I? You're laughing at me in you're head, right? I don't wanna! You have to help me first!"
'He has a childish temper too...'