The meeting then carried on and led to no real conclusions and all members were dismissed. Just like the others, they found themselves a secluded spot and rested.
Erika didn't move anywhere and tried to flip through the stone book again, making groans ever so often. This sight reminded Jean of the years after the fall of the Haven.
It was midnight, and although Jean could still go out to train, he was afraid of things happening to this place once he left. Afterall, the people often complained about the fact that Jean was never at the Base when there was an attack.
Jean's eyelids suddenly felt heavy, incredibly heavy. He braced himself as he was falling asleep.
***
The ground shook intensely and Jean opened his eyes. He heard screams of terror echo throughout the whole place but looking around, he saw no one, not a single soul.
'Shit.'
He got up from his spot and went to find the missing people. Starting with Erika, the book was still on the ground, however he saw nothing except a trail of blood.
'Definitely a trap.'
But what could he do? This was the only and most prominent evidence he had right now. Following the trail, the blood became more and more fresh until suddenly cutting off. Looking up, he saw a hole on the ceiling and the full moon over it.
Then he saw a slight movement and everything went black.
***
The ground shook intensely and Jean opened his eyes. He heard screams of terror echo throughout the whole place but looking around, he saw no one, not a single soul.
'What?'
He got up from his spot and went to find the missing people. Starting with Anastasia, he saw nothing except a convulsing maggot on the ground. It was trying to move somewhere.
'You're Abel, huh? The biggest one.'
Seeing this, he picked up the maggot and went in the direction it pointed him to. It bled profusely but eventually led him to a broken door and a flight of stairs that looked like it led to the abyss.
"Much appreciated, Abel."
The maggot then lost all life and fell to the floor. He took a deep breath and started descending down the flight of stairs, everything got darker and darker, as if the flight of stairs devoured all light.
He then heard something drop and then everything went black.
***
The ground shook intensely and Jean opened his eyes. He heard screams of terror echo throughout the whole place but looking around, he saw no one, not a single soul.
'This feels familiar.'
He felt he had been through this experience before but that had to be left for later as he had to find to missing people.
He got up from his spot and looked around. He then went to the place he last saw Aceso. The screams suddenly stopped and he felt something press against his back.
Then everything went black.
***
The ground shook intensely and Jean opened his eyes. He heard screams of terror echo throughout the whole place but looking around, he saw no one, not a single soul.
'Ah, it's the precognitive dreams again.'
This was an ability he got from Tyche, though it wasn't complete, it still was able to save him a couple of times. The most recent one he had was of the Haven, just right before going to escort Andre back to the Base.
It seemed that this one was of a very near future.
'Let's see, when I went to find Erika, I saw the moon, something moved and then I died? When I went to find Ana, I heard something when descending the stairs and died. As for Aceso, the screams stopped and I died.'
This dream was of the puzzle type and wouldn't let him go if he hadn't yet 'cleared' it. Everything until now had nothing in common, except for the fact that he died each time.
'Wait, there is something.'
In all three, he went to find someone. Though it gave him insights to what he was faced with, it didn't give him what he was faced with.
Closing his eyes yet again, he concentrated on all things around him. The previous three times he didn't notice but now, he felt terrifying presences around him, the air was full of these terrifying things.
The screams then stopped and he felt something move, it was fast, very fast. It was definitely not a crab, so the only logical conclusion was
'A grade I jellyfish.'
The thing then stopped moving and suddenly he felt more things move. He then felt shivers down his spine and he heard maniacal laughter around him, they were laughing at him.
He tried to open his eyes but died immediately.
***
Without wasting a breath, he ran out of the place. Crawling on all fours, he quickly ascended the stairs that led out.
'The stairs I saw when I looked for Ana is suspicious but I can check that later.'
Moonlight suddenly shone on him and he saw nothing, literally nothing around him, darkness surrounded the stairs and he died.
***
This time, he checked the stairs but was surprised when it wasn't there.
'I have an idea as to what I'm faced with now.'
It was definitely an illusionary spell, based on the fact that he had to pick up Abel to be able to see the stairs, but what he couldn't figure out was how a grade I could use abilities.
He then died.
***
He then checked the the hole on the ceiling, and as expected, he didn't see it.
He then died.
***
Despair washed over him as he remembered all his attempts at trying to clear this dream. If only it showed him what happened before everyone was gone, he would have been able to deduce what would happen in the near future.
The screams were still there but why screams? The moon was still there, shining down upon all.
'Wait a minute, moon?'
Remembering the two times he saw the moon, he grimaced. There never was a moon, not after year 70000, so he was quite disappointed in himself for being tricked like that.
He then ascended the stairs that led out of the place and looked at the moon.
"I have no idea how you did it, but it's you right? Mimicry."
The moon suddenly smiled at him. And he heard laughter all around him, the darkness receeded back and he could see the terrain again. The moon cracked and disappeared.
'There's no way that's it, the dreams only tell me the problem, not the solution to the problem.'
He successfully cleared the dream.
***
Opening his eyes, he saw everyone in their rightful places. It didn't matter if it was an illusion or not, the mimicry could definitely kill everything in this place.
He then walked over to Anastasia.
"Ey."
"Hm?"
"Let's talk."
"Did I do something?"
"It's the dreams again."
"Oh fuck."