Michael lazily collapsed back onto his chair and stared at the roof, holding his belly with both his hands. He was using all his strength to combat the tears flowing down his cheeks.
'What... was that?'
He just finished eating his pancakes, leaving him absolutely breathless. He had never tasted something so sweet, so delectable, so delicious. The most appetizing food he ever had was probably a sandwich back when he was very young, but that was nothing to pancakes. It made him wonder, how good were waffles?
'No, this is a trick. It wants me to let down my guard and eat me...'
…Is what he was trying to think, but his mind wasn't working from all the sugar in his body.
=====
A man and woman wandered the lively streets early in the morning, dodging kids flying kites and chucking a ball between each other. The beauty had her arm hooked around his, obviously causing him discomfort, evident by his robotic movements and shifty eyes.
The lady had a charming yellow dress that stopped just below her knees, designed with vivid floral patterns and designs. Her lustrous hair was tied into a messy bun with strands that lazily fell on her gentle face. The man looked quite average in comparison, wearing a navy buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a subtle black vest and black trousers. His outfit may have looked good on anyone else, but not so much him.
'Abominations everywhere. There's so many of them, I'm really going to die.'
Michael was sweating from all the nightmare creatures around him, especially the one in his arms.
The couple slowly strolled over to a stand selling what appeared to be jewellery. The merchandise was quite eye-catching, ranging from gold plated necklaces to rings that perfectly reflected the beauty of anyone who wore it. Michael noticed his wife's... the abomination's eyes shimmer at the look of it.
The merchant manning the stall took notice of her and rubbed his hands. His pesky voice matched his overendowed appearance. Michael really hated these type of people...
"Hehe, beauty looking for some jewellery, am I right? What seems to catch your eye? Judging by your... body, a nice, elegant necklace would be perfect. It'll really highlight your features."
Michael felt the abomination's arm wrapped around his grow tighter. Yet again, he thought before speaking.
"Hey, fatty. Eyes off the merchandise."
'...'
The merchant's eyes widened upon hearing Michael's words and his jaw dropped. The abomination that clung to his side glanced at him with an incredulous look, carrying a hint of something else that Michael couldn't pinpoint.
Thankfully, the deafening silence was utterly drowned out by the other clamorous traders and rowdy crowd around them. Otherwise, everyone would've heard Michael sobbing on the inside.
Neither of them moved until the abomination pulled Michael's arm, forcing him from his paralyzed state.
'Did I just piss off another nightmare creature?'
He was in absolute shock from the peril he was about to face. He could imagine that nightmare creature turning on him and eating him for acting out of line. What if these creatures stopped their facade and mauled him all at once? He may have been good at running down alleys to escape people, but an entire city after him?
His disparate thoughts were broken once he caught a glimpse of sunlight reflecting off his... wife's smile.
"Thank you sweetie, that was really funny."
Her delicate mouth was contorted into a beaming grin, perfectly highlighted by her pretty dimples and luscious lips. It emanated so much warmth that Michael couldn't feel the chilly breeze, even surpassing her touch. It was flawless, like a polished mirror that echoed the reflection of the sun's kindness.
He mumbled something under his breath.
"Beautiful..."
"What was that?"
"N-nothing."
=====
An hour or two passed within the blink of an eye and Michael finally sat down on a bench overlooking a park near the cathedral. The sun was high in the sky, eliminating all the treacherous shadows roaming about.
Michael was appreciating the view since that was all he could do. Currently, the abomination that wouldn't stop clinging to him finally let go a few moments prior to find something. What that something was, was beyond him.
Although he spent the past couple hours shopping, he took the opportunity to learn some interesting things. He was, in fact, in the dream realm. Michael had his doubts considering that even with his limited knowledge, he had never heard of a town like this in the dream realm, even the ruins it would be in the future. But after asking around, he discovered the people here knew about the six gods.
The six divine deities were called many names in the dream realm, but the most accepted one in NQSC was gods. Awakened explorers found and examined dozens of ruins and artworks in the past years, and many of them included those gods. Although they varied depending on where the ruin was, every god described was almost entirely unique, so it made sense that there were multiple at once.
The cathedral towering over him was used as a place to worship all of these gods, a neutral area that abolished all arguments and discrimination of other's beliefs.
Another intriguing thing he discovered was where this city, Oneiro, was located. Although he couldn't get anything concrete, Michael believed he was somewhere far west of a place even he had heard of... the citadel of the Song Clan, Ravenheart.
As he sat in solitude, he finally took the time to look at his runes. He focused on them once more and scared himself, he still wasn't used to them appearing.
He focused on his attributes, the only runes he had no idea about.
___
Attributes: [Cursed], [Stain of Divinity], [Dream]
Attribute: [Cursed]
Attribute Description: [You are cursed by the strings of fate, forever wandering as a source of calamity and hopelessness.]
___
'That doesn't sound too good.'
Cursed by the strings of fate? Does fate even exist? What does it truly mean to be a source of calamity and hopelessness, and why is it even there? How was he cursed?
Michael decided to think about it another time and looked at his other runes.
___
Attribute: [Stain of Divinity]
Attribute Description: [You are stained with the blood of divinity that is not yours to have.]
Attribute [Dream]
Attribute Description: [You cannot escape your nightmare, only dream of an end.]
___
'That's a lot to take in...'
First of all, divinity that wasn't his to have? Why does he have it in the first place? If divinity meant what he think it meant, how could he possibly be stained by a divine? Especially with their blood?
But, the last attribute is what truly nerved him.
'You can't escape your nightmare...'
That was something that even someone like him could understand, it was something that he desperately wanted, and that never changed. Who doesn't want to escape a nightmare? Right now, his priority was to gather information and keep a low profile, but once he found even the smallest chance to escape this nightmare, he would do it without hesitation.
He didn't know much about attributes, but he doubted they made much of a difference. Perhaps the Spell only made them for flavor text, who knows?
His train of thought was derailed when he noticed a couple abominations posing as children kick a ball, laughing and smiling, It wasn't long until the ball quickly rolled his way and hit his leg.
'Suspicious... I sat down and the ball suddenly came my way?'
Michael coldly glared at the ball until he heard a young voice pierce his ears.
"Hey! Old guy! Can you pass the ball?"
'Old guy!?'
Michael's eyebrow twitched and he hastily stood up.
"Yeah! I'll pass the ball."
He kicked the ball up with his foot and performed a couple tricks. Before he had to work at a factory, he had way too much free time on his hands, and there wasn't much to do besides play. All he used to do was find an open alley and kick a ball with other outskirt rats. These kids had nothing on him.
Michael looked at the kids before finally kicking the ball towards them.
'That'll show them.'
Their admiration was clear, judging by the looks on their faces... obviously faking as bait. They weren't going to fool him.
Michael sat back down on the wooden bench until he noticed a familiar abomination walking in his direction. Her yellow dress perfectly resembled the sun, as if she was a nexus of warmth. In her hands was a tan, wool cloak that looked way too big for someone like her.
'Where did she get that?'
She calmly walked before stopping right in front of him, blocking the sun and casting him in a cool shade. She placed the cloak in both hands and presented it to him like a gift.
"Here you go darling. I bought you a gift."
Michael kindly took the cloak and looked at it curiously.
"Why did you get me this? I didn't get you anything..."
The abomination leaned in to his level... her face was way too close.
"It pains me to see you cold, and since you keep forgetting to stay warm, I thought this may help."
She gestured to the cloak and awkwardly looked away.
"I, uh... I hope it fits, I wanted it to be a secret so it may not fit well."
'Umm, what do I do in this situation?'
Michael hesitated for a moment before awkwardly standing up and grabbing her shoulders.
"It'll fit well, I'm sure. Thank you."
Her smile was worth the risk of touching her and possibly incurring the abomination's wrath... wait, why was it worth it? Why would it ever be worth it?
Michael moved away and looked at the cathedral towering over him, praying to the Spell he didn't just doom himself.
"Wanna go inside the cathedral?"
=====
Michael and the abomination - who would barely leave him alone - walked in the darkness after a full day of exploring the city.
The quiet shadows were dispelled by incandescent lanterns, stopping a cool mist from touching them. The city looked quite beautiful beneath the moon, with the pale stone perfectly highlighted by the faint starlight.
The two sat down on a bench in silence, but Michael didn't mind, he had too much to think about.
He learnt some fascinating stuff related to the history of the Dream Realm today.
First and foremost, his knowledge regarding the gods had improved drastically after visiting the cathedral. It felt almost weird that the cathedral offered information on all six gods while other places in the Dream Realm only had information on one or two at most. Michael learnt the authorities of the Gods and who they were themselves. The War God, Beast God, Sun God, Storm God, Shadow God and Heart God.
Among the useful information, the priests also went on and on about how the gods were merciful and kind, though Michael doubted those words. If they really were kind, death wouldn't have stopped them from helping mortals. They wouldn't have given people the Spell and forced them to fight hideous abominations.
The other considerable detail he learnt was something completely unknown to him, the existence of beings that rivaled the gods, Daemons. There were six... no, seven daemons each having an authority like the gods. They included fate, destiny, desire, oblivion, dread, imagination and repose.
Despite the priests talking about them in a neutral tone, Michael begged to differ. Why would the gods receive authority over aspects similar to mortals, like storms and beasts, but the daemons receive authority over aspects so existential?
Some didn't sound terrifying, like the Daemon of Imagination, but Desire? Desire could be associated with positive emotions like hope and passion, but it could also be associated with lust, greed and envy. It bewildered him as to what else the Daemon of Dread could be linked to besides fear and apprehension.
'Don't even get me started on fate, that was probably the worst one.'
Michael sighed and turned his head to the abomination beside him.
'Maybe, just maybe... these aren't nightmare creatures.'
Michael felt his confidence of the people around him being beasts, dwindle. Maybe they were just regular people, the ancient humans that lived in the Dream Realm long ago.
That thought festered inside of him the entire day, and seeing how these people went about their daily lives talking, arguing and playing, it gave him an odd sense of nostalgia about his home... about his family.
Maybe he would just have to risk letting his guard down.
It would be quite ironic if the abominations were more human than the humans in the outskirts, even if it was just an act to lure him in.
But, the one thing that he couldn't get out his head was that this was his First Nightmare. To his knowledge, there should've been a trial he had to overcome to pass it, like escaping a nightmare creature or saving someone important. What was his trial? There was nothing here to escape from, so was this even a nightmare? It was more like a dream than anything.
The people, the city, his... wife. All of it was perfect. If this was a nightmare, than he didn't even know how to describe his past, what's worse than a nightmare? Reality?
'Why should I even escape, I have nothing to return to... no one to return to.'
Michael's thoughts collapsed when he noticed that he was staring at his wife for way too long, and it seemed she did to.
Even her sly grin was dreamlike.
"Got something on your mind? Are you lost in my beauty?"
Michael leaned in slightly and gently kissed her delicate lips, washing that smug smile off her face.
'If this is truly a dream instead of a nightmare... then I don't ever want to leave.'