Far above the City of Dreams, a golden Palace that could only exist in Dreams floated soundlessly.
Between the City and the Palace was an invisible boundary. Anyone or anything that tried to pass this boundary would find themselves back where they started, in the streets of Dream City.
This was how to this day, not a soul could enter this Grand Palace without going through the teleportation hub inside the city.
Inside the Palace, Zeki strolled into a certain room.
The room that held the imagined concept Hope!
Hope was no longer a small glowing light but a burning Orb of pure essence. It was the size of Zeki's chest and grew by the day.
"How is it?" Zeki called out to one of the attendants.
"Ah, Lord Zeki. Hope is growing in strength. It's incredibly healthy and is abiding by the rules Sir Cain initially gave it. So far we haven't found any ways of influencing it since its controller.....the controller is in such a strange state."
"Good. Keep studying it. The Lord wishes for monthly reports to make sure nothing goes wrong. Remember to get mental checkups. Who knows, it could be affecting you."
"Of course Lord. Thank you, Lord." The attendant bowed with courtesy.
Just as Zeki was about to step out of the room, the machines recording and studying Hope began to blare. He quickly turned back in surprise.
"What's going on?"
The attendant stammered, "I-I don't know sir! Hope s-seems to be struggling!"
"What?"
The attendant continued to read from the monitor.
"I-It's trying to affect something or someone. But it can't! I-I....."
Before Zeki could check the monitors himself, a massive wave of energy came from nowhere.
The wave crashed into the palace and caused extreme damage. Pillars broke apart, and parts of the roof caved in, even the golden glow dimmed
'What happened?!'
Zeki began to look around. Just as he set his eyes back on Hope, he watched the Orb crack and turn to dust.
"No.....No!"
...
Sitting in an enclosed room, the hazy and thoughtless Inquisitor sat on his bed at 90 degrees as always.
Only, his eyes soon became clear. It was like a huge burden suddenly found itself off his shoulders. The first thing Cain felt was exhaustion, but then it turned to confusion.
Then it became fear.
...
After Hope was destroyed, the invisible field around the city fell apart. Then, the shaking began.
Everything seemed to rumble as if a massive earthquake was happening throughout the Dream Realm.
If one looked below, one would see that strangely, the Abyss was acting weird. Before it seemed bottomless and empty, it now seemed flat like the surface of a lake.
From the lake, countless appendages stretched out beneath its surface, breaking the water's tension.
The appendages took many forms, all of which seemed horrifying and strange. It was a scene of Horror, handless hands and shadowy substances reached from below to grab at everything.
Many Dreamers took notice, all of them knew what they had to do.
Still under the lingering effects of hope, all of them dove down into the crack between the city and went to fight the strange limbs.
As they got closer, to the lake's surface, they could hear an illusionary prayer.
It was a chorus of prayers.
A symphony of Horror!
An Orchestra of Despair!
Many different beings and their voices resonated with one another, blasting into the city above.
"Oh, Great One!
"Oh, Sorrowful Soul of Despair!
"Devourer of the Abyss!
"Horror of Unknown!
"Free Us! Free Us from this Prison!
"Free Us at Long last!"
It was a call to action. The Dreamers did not know what it meant but the remnants of Hope could do nothing to stop their instincts from screaming to run.
Finally, from the lake, a strange and terrifying figure exited.
The water seemed to be unable to stop it, simply being repelled and expulsed from their beautifully woven cloak.
As the figure came out of the lake, the world seemed to become monotone. The sky turned red and innumerable stars started to litter the sky.
Everything became dark. Everything became horrifying.
At the sight of this being, surprisingly, none of the dreamers died. Yet, their skin didn't stop from producing goosebumps. Whatever that entity was, it was to be avoided, absolutely avoided.
This didn't stop one poor soul. Lacking in fear and whit, they neared the unknown being.
He laughed at first, then his mind finally registered what he was doing, and fear set in. But it was too late. With the flutter of wind, the cloak hiding the face of the figure was uplifted only the tiniest smidgen.
However, this was enough to cause the man to die instantly. Upon death, his corpse didn't turn to pinkish gas but mutated and bloated.
The amalgamation of bloated flesh and churning limbs morphed the Dreamer into a construct of Horror.
Looking at the creature, the cloaked figure watched as it tried to make a noise like a newborn babe. The creature choked on itself and expunged some of its bones.
In response, the cloaked figure let out a giggle.
The sound that exited the Horror was nothing short of a quiet and near-silent childish laugh.
Yet as the sound spread out and entered everyone in the vicinity's ears, their heads popped one by one.
The laugh reverberated in their heads before their minds promptly couldn't handle its profound complexity. The only correct response was for their heads to implode.
Watching more than half of their companions dying without a word, the rest of the Dreamers who didn't already run, began to.
They retreated to their illustrious city, but it wasn't going to save them.
Left alone at the edge of the city, the Horror laughed internally.
'So this is power? Destiny sure is a funny thing.'
With the power of Unknown at his command, this whole world could be destroyed at his fingertips.
'This should be even more power than that Ruler....the Occult King was it? I would have to fight him to know.'
The Horror quickly focused back on reality. It rose up and easily reached the city without resistance.
By now, all the citizens were staring at Cain with absolute fear. He could feel their emotions only empower him more.
He was now a Primordial, not only a Primordial but one created by the Three, with the sole purpose of destroying the Dream Realm!
When he awoke, he felt the Abyss rush into him as the two became one. His cloak no longer endlessly reached down and was more dark and ethereal. It was quite literally the abyss.
His pupils were completely black and his skin was whiter than white, creating an incomprehensible and unbeknownst color.
The stars on his cloak transferred to the sky and he could feel the whole Realm in his grasp.
He felt like a God!
'On another note, being Unknown, I now have some understanding of my powers. Those Three left out a lot of important details....'
Along with waking, Cain instinctively heard a strange voice. From that voice, he heard: "Whatever Unknown shan't be known. Whatever known is not unknown!"
From this, even his own powers told him everything unknown was his domain. But what this also hinted to him was that Cain himself could not know his new powers!
If he did know what his abilities were and how to use them then they would be known to him.
Being known was not unknown, even to himself!
Cain sulked, 'Relying on only instincts is a bit annoying but it doesn't matter. Now! Time to clean everything up. Hopefully, that idiotic me is still alive. I hope he didn't do anything too stupid.'
As Cain was beginning to unleash his prowess, he could see an old man in a wheelchair rush towards him. Cain didn't feel fear from the group, but he could even sense.....devotion?
Being a Primordial, Cain had an amazing sense of emotion in prey and could categorize them perfectly.
Nearing the end of the city, Leon was right before his Lord. Piously, he fell out of his wheelchair and kneeled along with his followers.
"LORD! I have been waiting for your return! I have created tools to help you take what is yours! I am here to help with your every wish and desire!"
Cain was undoubtedly surprised seeing the sack of bones in the wheelchair.
'Leon?! Didn't he get corrupted? What a pleasant surprise! Such a loyal helper!'
Making sure to adjust his voice to not kill everyone, Cain's voice projected outwards. The vibrations gave off the very meaning of profundity and power.
"Hehe, you have done well Leon. As I am now it might not be a good idea to join back with me, I'll need to expunge some of it first. As for these.....believers. Their lives are not needed in the slightest. Their sacrifices though will speed things up nicely. Good Job."
Leon's completion was restored to normal with a flick of Cain's wrist. His skin disappeared and he regained his original appearance.
"Ah! Ah! Thank you, Lord, thank you! I will not fail you!"
Turning to his followers, Leon was filled with enthusiasm.
"Believers! The Lord will do as foretold! Sacrifice your flesh, sacrifice your entire being! Join with the Lord as his lambs! He will take us away to his holy kingdom! We are saved!"
The pious and insane believers instantly grew wide and crazed smiles. They immediately followed Leon's orders. Even those with second thoughts only had to look at Leon's appearance before regaining their crazed states.
One by one, they imagined ritualistic daggers and began to cut at each other's flesh. It was one big horrid sacrifice. Disgust was the only word for the barbaric ritual.
The daggers acted as artifacts that allowed Dream to turn into reality. They didn't know this though, it was Cain's doing, otherwise the knives would only be cutting out clouds and concepts.
The cultists cut and pierced their own and others' flesh, it was a profane and unholy bloodbath. Men, women, children, and babies, were all dying in a frenzied cluster! Their blood seeped out of the pile, their guts spilled out and if they still lived, would form their intestines into 'God's' holy symbol before dying of blood loss.
Watching it from afar, Derek felt the bile rise and he bent over to puke.
He knew many of the people who were now killing their sisters and mothers. They were filled with madness as they ripped each other apart. It was hell, it was insanity.
'Did they not hear him? He is no God! You are nothing to him! The High Priest said it himself!..... We were only tools....'
Derek couldn't fathom it, he looked up to stare at the being his friends called god but could only see a Demon.
'This.....this.....'
He paused.
'We're all going to die...this is the end of the world!'
Despair riddled and rummaged deep into Derek's bones.
Why did he live in such a world.....why? What was the point of this? Where was the rationality and common sense? This.....this is something that shouldn't happen. Why was it happening?
Derek began to laugh.
It was at first only a giggle before it turned into hysterical and maniacal laughter.
As he crazily laughed, infected by the others, Derek walked over to the edge of the bloody pool still spreading out, not all the cultists were dead just yet.
'I.....I.....'
Derek lifted his head and looked at Cain again. He saw a mysterious cloaked figure that gave off dread and a feeling he could not understand, but it was similar to fear.
He made a decision at that moment.
In front of him was one of the daggers, it was slowly turning to pinkish dust, its owner somewhere in the cesspit of irrationality.
He reached down.
He picked it up.
He raised it.
Then... he slit his own throat.
Collapsing into the pool of his blood and many others, Derek felt the coldness of death creep in. He lost feeling in his legs and the warm blood turned cool.
His vision dimmed. His final thoughts spun.
'This....this is for the best.'
'I just want it to end.'
'I want to see father.....I don't want to see reality, I promise.....I really don't.'
'If this is only a reflection of reality, then...I would rather not exist to see reality at all.'
With his last thoughts, Derek died. He died surrounded by mania and despair, only coldness embraced him as his vision turned black, and he was no more.
But he was at peace. Peace that couldn't be taken away.