Submission (#6450) Approved

Mio slowly woke up and looked around in confusion. He didn't recognize the ceiling above him. ...and how had he ended up in a house? The last thing he remembered was the crazy pocket dimension... flowers and crystals everywhere... in the middle of the forest.

Did that really happen?

Or was it all just a dream?

It seemed so unreal to Mio. Feeling unsure about everything, he slowly got up and surveyed his surroundings. Yet, the room was unfamiliar to him as well. Outside, he could hear wind chimes by the window and the rustling of leaves. They were still in Kyendis deep forest it seemed. Everything was a blur for the white elnin and he carefully took a few steps, happy to see his body was supporting him. He needed to find River.

[...]

As it turned out, River had found him after he had collapsed from being in the pocket dimension. But the other one was worried and unsure on what to do next. How could he help Mio when they were both lost in the wilderness? After all, they were still in overwild territory and completely unprepared for the journey. Thankfully, during the early morning hours, they were both found by an older Elnin who was patrolling the borders to their home.
Callisto was kind enough to invite them to her home, where Mio could heal and get rest. A safe haven near the overwild border.
Mio was listening to River explaining everything while they had lunch; Callisto nodded here and there and told them how lucky they were that everything turned out okay.
“It could’ve been a lot worse~ Especially for you, little one.”, she said, her voice dark and mellow, while she eyed Mio, who was still feeling under the weather.
He hadn’t noticed it at first, but he was exhausted so much quicker and his mind kept playing tricks on him. His experience in the pocket dimension had left its invisible marks on the Nestling.
“Don’t worry~ You’re safe here now, I have a mana well near the house. You are welcome to spend a few days here until you’re well enough to travel again, you should be able to recover here without problems. I will show you the way out of these woods.”
“Thank you so much!” River was beyond thankful, while Mio quietly nodded. They were indeed very lucky that their new friend had found them.

[...]

It became clear that Mio very much needed rest and recovery time. He had a hard time getting restful sleep though; horrific nightmares made it impossible for him to relax. Every hour he woke up, more exhausted than before he went to sleep. Over time, he became easily irritated and moody and he was unhappy with himself. He kept apologizing to River after snapping and arguing with him. After a particularly bad nightmare, River had been a bit too eager to cheer him up and Mio glared at him and hissed that this was all his fault - none of all of this would've happened if River would’ve just admitted that he was in over his head during the time they first got lost!

But the instant Mio saw the hurt in his friends’ eyes, he regretted everything and his heart started to ache. He stepped back and lowered his head, avoiding Rivers’ worried gaze, before heading out into the garden.

He needed to be alone for a bit, some space to cool down, and the cool night air might help calm his nerves. The Nestling collapsed under one of the big trees. Under the silver glow of the moon, the forest around him transformed into something unknown. Unlike last time though, Mio felt safe within the compound of the protected garden. The tall trees cast long shadows that stretched upon the forest floor and white blue moonbeams filtered through the dense foliage, creating soft light spots on the grass.

Mio slipped back into unsettling sleep; but the nightmares were just waiting for him again. Welcoming him into the familiar darkness. It was always the same; his homeland being corrupted. This dream was no different and started all the same.
In the chilling landscape of Mios nightmare, the bloody fullmoon cast an eerie pallor over snow-covered hills and an empty rocky desert. Strynhalde had merged with the vast emptiness of Zevija - with a frozen lake laying eerily in the middle of it all. Snow was falling with a haunting slowness, and the once serene winter wonderland now bore the scars of corruption, specks of miasma floating inches above the ground and broken crystals lying shattered, their fractured forms reflecting a distorted glimmer. The air was heavy with an oppressive cold, each breath forming a visible mist that hung in the frigid night. The ground beneath Mios’ paws crunched ominously, the sound echoing through the valley. The silence was broken only by the occasional howl of a distant, icy wind.
The white elnin shivered; he was freezing, and he could feel ice forming on his legs.
As he fought his way through the corrupted snowscape, Mios every step echoed with a sense of foreboding. The once vibrant crystals, now dull and lifeless, created a stark contrast against the oppressive darkness. The landscape appeared frozen in time, a haunting display of decay and death. In the distance, twisted, skeletal trees reached out like grotesque specters against the starless night sky. The landscape seemed to stretch endlessly, offering no solace or escape.

He was all alone.

A deep sense of isolation gripped him, and the chill of the nightmare seeped into his bones. Each passing moment intensified the feeling of being pursued by unseen forces, and a desperate urgency consumed him. As he walked through the corrupted snowscape of his nightmare, the frozen lake loomed ahead like a foreboding abyss. The ice, once pristine and untouched, now bore the scars of corruption, with jagged cracks marbling its surface like ominous fractures in reality. Something pulled him towards it.

A calling.

A dark whisper.

Arriving at the edge of the frozen lake, Mios unease escalated, while slowly walking out onto the ice. The air around him grew colder, and a deafening hush settled over the desolate landscape. Suddenly, a deep, resonant rumble reverberated through the frozen lands, echoing thunder from the hills, sending shivers down Mio's spine. From the harrowing depths below the ice, a sinister presence emerged - a Daeva. The creature bound from dark violet energy, its body covered in blackened plates that seemed to absorb the very essence of the black water around it and swallowed every light. Parts of the Daevas body were ringed by halos, casting an unsettling glow in the depth. And it only had one target - Mio.

The elnin started to hyperventilate and paralyzed by fear, he watched in horror as the Daeva rose from the dark depths, its gaze fixated on him. Panic gripped his heart as he realized the malevolent nature of the creature below him. He wanted to move but realized he was frozen to the ground.

“NO-!” He screamed in fear and desperately tried to break free. Pain shot through his body, as the ice kept clinging to his body, holding him in place. Meanwhile, the Daeva came closer and closer. The once silent lake now became a harrowing stage for the emergence of the Daeva. Mios breath caught in his throat as the ice beneath him began to tremble, the cracks widening like sinister veins across the frozen surface. With an unnerving intensity, the Daevas dark violet form pressed against the underside of the ice, distorting the frozen reality.

Mio knew what came next, but he desperately hoped to be wrong.
To no avail.
The nightmare continued.

As the Daeva sent shockwaves through the freezing water, the ice yielded with a deafening crack, sending shards scattering in all directions. Mio ducked but still felt the ice scratching him all over. The creatures’ emergence was swift and violent, a manifestation of ancient darkness breaking free from the confines of the frozen lake. Mios ears rang while he could hear a loud rumble that sounded like thunder and laughing combined. No laws of nature seemed to bind this creature. Its form was massive and ever growing. A dark void, that just wanted one thing - spread out and corrupt everything in its path. The Daeva fixed its mind bending gaze upon Mio, who was shivering uncontrollably - a gaze that seemed to pierce through the very fabric of his being.

But while the Daeva closed in on Mio, the frozen surface gave way, and the white elnin crashed through, plunging into the icy abyss below. He didn’t even have time to scream. The shock of the freezing water was overwhelming. Panic surged through him as he fought against the numbing cold, his limbs flailing in the suffocating darkness. The corrupted waters seemed to conspire against him, dragging him deeper and deeper into the endless depths. The distorted echoes of the Daeva were drowned out by silence, and the Nestling knew he was lost. His movements grew sluggish as the icy grip of the nightmare tightened its hold. In the final moments before his consciousness slipped away, Mio could feel the immense weight of the water pressing down on him.

This was the end...

[...]

With a sudden gasp, Mio jolted awake, his eyes wide with terror. The remnants of the nightmare clung to him as he frantically gasped for breath.

“Hey-, hey hey hey-”
River was sitting beside him, carefully rubbing his back. “It’s okay, you’re okay, it was just a dream. You’re safe. You’re safe now.” The voice of his friend was quiet and reassuring, while the echoes of the nightmare in Mios’ mind slowly faded away. He hastily looked over to River, wondering how the other one was here. “C’mere…”, the older one whispered softly, and carefully tugged Mio into a warm embrace, careful, trying not to apply too much pressure, while still letting the younger one feel safe. Just like in his nightmare, Mio was still trembling beyond his control and he pressed himself against River, trying to hide from the demons in his head.
“You’re freezing. Let’s get you inside…try to rest somewhere warmer, okay?…”, River worried and Mio just shook his head, unable to form words.

He was afraid of going back to sleep.

Afraid of what new horrors would wait for him.