First Nightmare (3)

"PRIEST?!"

'This usually does the trick.'

Hope nonchalantly leaned forward off the ledge, glancing at the ground far below in which he was readily about to embrace. Usually, one would wake up from a dream when they jump from a high place. Well, it worked for Hope whenever he had nightmares, so it felt logical to go with this route.

However, the knight immediately dashed forward and swiftly grasped onto Hope before he could fall.

"Hey- What are you-"

"Priest, don't do it! You can't give up like this!"

Hope frowned and tried to shove the knight away, but the knight held on tight.

It was like some childish wrestle between the two. Hope squirmed in his grasp like a worm. "You're oddly passionate for someone not real-"

"Priest, please!" The knight's eyes trembled at Hope's indifferent attitude. Why was he making that face? It wasn't like Hope knew him.

Hope tried to remove his arms. "Can you just-"

"No!"

"Let-"

"There's still a chance!"

'The hell is this guy's problem?'

Did dreams always have such passionate characters in them? At least for Hope, it was the type of passionate character that chased him with teeth and fangs rather than begging for him to spare his own life. 

Why was the knight so reactive?

'Wait…'

Hope paused as he looked around.

Now that Hope thought about it, it wasn't just the knight but everything else seemed oddly detailed.

And uncomfortable. 

Why did the fire…actually feel scorching hot? Or the smell of smoke and burnt flesh actually clogging his throat? Or the knight so strong that Hope could barely breathe in his damn grasp.

"You can't! I won't let you!"

"Tsk. Yes you can just drop me."

The knight shook his head. "We can still try to escape by the river!"

The knight tightened his grip around his waist and Hope felt it becoming harder to let air into his lungs. The knight might actually kill him just by trying to 'save him.' How ironic that would be.

Hope let out an exasperated sigh. "What the hell. What a nightmare-"

Hope paused.

That sounded familiar.

"Nightmare…?"

'Wait…'

"Night…mare…"

!!!

Hope gritted his teeth and quickly looked off to the side.

The knight also paused and watched him with a puzzled expression.

"What are you-"

"Shut up." Hope tried to focus on one single word. "Status!"

'It's status right?'

Out of thin air, a foreign language lit in front of him. Ethereal threads woven into a strange dialect, yet Hope was able to understand them.

Runes.

He had only ever seen imitations of them a few times, but the style was distinctive in his memory. He could have looked at these supernatural runes in awe, if it weren't for the fact that they proved he was inside more than just a dream.

'How…unfortunate…' Hope thought.

Name: Hope

True Name: –

Rank: Aspirant

Soul Core: Dormant

Memories: –

Echoes: –

Attributes: [Black Sheep], [Keeper of Memory], [Chimera]

Aspect: [Interloper]

There it was. His own character profile appeared before him which didn't exist prior to his slumber.

His name was there… His strange list of attributes was there…and his aspect…?

'Interloper?'

An Aspect was some summary of who he was right? At least, that was what he assumed.

Hope summoned the aspect's description and new set of runes formed below.

Aspect Description: [You are a hermit who appeared out of nowhere to be involved for some unclear reason in places where you don't even belong.]

"..."

Hope's eyebrow twitched.

'The fuck does that mean…?'

"Priest…?"

"Sigh..."

Hope facepalmed as he fully processed the situation. 

How could he be in denial? For this long? So strongly in denial despite the fact knowing it was going to happen before he fell asleep. 

Well, Hope had to admit that deep down he never thought he would experience it himself.

Many people younger than him throughout the years were infected by the Spell yet he was able to somehow avoid it. And he just almost completely ruined his chances of conquering his Nightmare and would have jumped towards an outcome of becoming a Nightmare Creature instead.

'Nightmares…' Hope thought.

The thought of the Nightmare Spell system was ambiguous to him in many areas, but he grasped the idea of it.

Nightmares were trials that the Nightmare Spell had created. Not the regular nightmares one would dream of, but a Nightmare that meant life or death. 

Each trial was like a dream, an illusory of some sort that resulted in a person to rank up in power once they completed their trial. It all began with the First Nightmare in which the trial was tailored to a person individually. Once they complete it, they become a Dreamer, and then eventually become an Awakened.

'Although...the description of my Aspect is questionable.'

The process of the Spell seeing it fit for Hope was interesting to say the least.

Almost pathetic actually.

Hope shook his head and tried to quickly recall the account of him and his teammates before he fell asleep. They were escaping the wave of monsters. He was climbing up the rear of the vehicle. He ordered his teammates to open the cargo...And that was where his memory cut off. 

Considering that it was a moving convoy and maybe, most likely, his teammates didn't catch him, he had a nasty fall as well. That would mean he was probably at a disadvantage in the waking world just sprawled out somewhere open for the taking. He would have to finish this Nightmare quickly before any monster found his unconscious body. 

"Uh, Priest…?"

Hope blinked at the runes one last time before staring back at the knight. 

He'd have to check on the details of his attributes later. Right now was a matter of action.

'First thing's first: survive.' He thought.

But also…

"Sigh…At ease, soldier." 

"What?"

Hope tried to shoo him away. "Get off."

The knight opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. After staring at Hope for a little while, he slowly let go of his waist and took a few steps back. His arms were still slightly raised as if anticipating to snatch him at any moment.

Hope couldn't blame the guy.

Especially when at one moment he was about to jump off but then the next act as if nothing had happened.

Hope climbed down the ledge and wiped off invisible dust from his garment. 

"What's the situation, soldier? A mob? A raid? Terrorism?"

Now it was the knight's turn to blink in confusion. "P-priest, do you…do you not-"

"Possibility of imminent death at our door? Well, it literally seems like it actually."

The knight stared dumbfounded, but Hope was talking more to himself now so he didn't pay mind to the knight's bewildered expression.

Hope hummed in thought. 

'Each Nightmare has some objective, I think. That would mean I have to find out the purpose of mine or someone else's objective and complete it…?'

Hope paused. 'Or just have to survive the night?'

Kuuoong!

As Hope was collecting his thoughts, a loud bang came from below like some wood being split open by a canon.

Hope and the knight quickly peered down from the cathedral's balcony and noticed a small group of six hooded men in silver robes break through the entrance with a huge log they carried between them. Their celebratory cries rang out as they started to enter through the broken shard door one by one.

'It is a cult…and a raid…'

Hope's eyebrow twitched.

"How really unfortunate…"

***

There was no way Hope could outrun those cultists. Especially with an inferno right outside their walls and no proper navigation through the streets, he wasn't going to risk it. 

Hope had to ultimately reason that he had to encounter these people. As terrible as it was to be held against his will with spears pointed at his face, this seemed like a plausible option.

Hope was seated in a dark sanctuary leaning against an altar, along with seven other priests and the one knight at his side. The only light source came from the outside.

Both fire and moonlight illuminated through a dozen tall stained glass panels rendering mosaic images onto the polished marble floor. Images of a goddess or a saint glanced down, or 'up' in this case on the floor, at them. Her eyes were made into a gentle expression; others fashioned into a more noticeable expression of happiness. 

It was quite a sight. It seemed to be a grand and tranquil contrast to the chaos and bloodshed just outside those walls. 

But what was more out of place was the threatening cult inside the cathedral keeping a group hostage.

'No one mentioned cults in Nightmares.'

Hope stared at a spear's blade nonchalantly that was inches away from his nose. 

It looked crude, however, he should not underestimate its wielders. One should never underestimate their opponent without knowing all the facts first. Even if he was a soldier himself, Hope knew these men were somehow capable of wreaking havoc and hellfire throughout the whole village.

That was another thing he had to inquire about. 

How could they possibly destroy so much with so little they have? It could have been bombs, but there didn't seem to be signs of multiple explosions. Instead, there were…claw marks.

Hope looked up and faced the windows again.

Right. Before time reversed, Hope remembered he saw claw marks throughout the ruin site.

Hope's lips were stretched into a straight line.

'Did…they release a fiery beast in the village…?.' Hope blinked. 'Seriously?'

At that moment, Hope made a silent prayer in the sanctuary that he would not have to face such a monster.

"Young boy, you seem like a devout follower of faith." 

An old man stepped forward with a spear held close to his side. Hope could only make out the bottom of his face under his hood and noticed wrinkles being pulled back into an ominous smile. 

That elder seemed to be the leader of this group. He wore a silver robe like everyone else, but he had a thin black shawl around him. Even the beads and the crescent moon that hung around his neck were black. Those probably symbolized the tribe he was from, but Hope had no idea of what kind.

Hope wished he knew a little more about the Dream Realm, but not much was known. At least, to the best of his knowledge. The company he was under in didn't care about their soldiers' education for another realm when their sole duty was to protect the real one.

As a result, he only ever heard invaluable information from Awakened's testimonials.

Some boasted about conquering a great beast or slaying down foes during their First Nightmare. And then there are the other few who were too traumatized to speak of what they experienced. 

Who knew what unspeakable horrors Hope would have to face himself.

He wasn't too thrilled to find out.

Hope restrained himself from letting out an annoyed sigh in front of the elder. 

"I suppose I am…"

"Then it seems we can be on negotiating terms!" The elder's eyes narrowed. "Will you show us the way?"

Too vague. 

'I need more information than that.'

Show them the way where? Was this some sort of treasure hunt? The hell kind of faction was this?

Hope kept silent in his thoughts, however it was long enough for the elder to read it as a refusal.

The elder let out an annoyed sigh himself, raised his spear and then-

Swoosh!

Hope felt a warm liquid splatter on the right side of his face.

Hope heard a gurgling sound beside him.

He turned his head and noticed the priest next to him choking on his own blood. The priest grasped desperately at his sliced throat as he fell forwards, thrashing around as if he were having a seizure, bleeding out on the floor.

The poor man's eyes darted back and forth at the priests then at the ceiling, as if some omniscient presence was watching him from above.

Seconds later, his body went still.

Then voices rang out all around Hope. 

"You bastard!"

"My god!" 

"Oh Heart Mother…"

Hope blinked as he looked down at the body in front of him, ignoring the clamor as he observed the gash on the priest's neck.

He actually seemed quite peaceful.

It wasn't the first time Hope witnessed someone dying in front of him, be it stranger or comrade. 

He didn't feel much emotion when he saw the townsfolk being burned alive either. Maybe it was because he first thought this world to be fictional, a dream. Nothing of value to his own world.

But the same could be applied to this Nightmare. Everything and everyone could be just an advanced version of an illusion. If that were the case, then a bit of blood spilt here and there shouldn't affect him. A scenario like that was always a question back in the waking world.

Should they put value on these people during their First Nightmare?

No matter what one saw, what one felt, what one heard, as long as they conquered their Nightmare then it didn't matter what they did in it. 

Right. It shouldn't matter.

The elder shrugged. "You test my patience. What's one nameless priest worth?"

'Nameless huh.'

Hope continued staring at the corpse. No matter how he looked at him, he looked very much real. And his life only ended in mere seconds over a simple miscommunication. How poor of the guy.

The priests began whispering prayers among themselves, their bodies swaying back and forth as they called to whatever god that listened. The knight on the other hand was stiffened with rage and had a dark gaze directed at the elder.

Hope glanced at him with an indifferent expression.

He couldn't help but think that the knight was a sheltered one. He may be around the same age as him, but he seemed more emotional, which to Hope made an inexperienced soldier. It was quite a leap of a conclusion, but he his mind naturally connected those dots.

Especially when the cult first entered the cathedral, the knight was easily subdued by them. Maybe he was an imposter as well. Who knows. 

Maybe wars weren't common in this region. What use was it in praying to a god if they didn't live in such strife?

Was the goddess on the panels even still around?

Hope felt something gnawing in his chest. He wasn't really emotional. Was it fear? Regret? 

No. It was much simpler than that.

He was just slightly annoyed.

Annoyed at the circumstance he was in. A simple soldier thrown into a fantasy-like world without much knowledge of his enemies and no weapons at his arsenal, naturally one would go mad because of it. Especially when no one coached him before on how to handle these sorts of obstacles.

Luckily, Hope didn't have that frenzy passion. But it just felt very inconvenient.

Inconvenience to Hope equaled 'annoyance.'

And if this was really all fictional, he knew it was out of the question to be attached to anyone or anything. 

He did feel a little uncomfortable to be partially responsible for the priest's death. 

It didn't benefit him in any way.

His gaze moved up to the elder who still wore that ugly smile.

'Tsk.' He wanted to carve that grin off his face.

The old man chuckled and waved his hand in dismissal.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like a request. Let me rephrase that." He knelt down in front of Hope.

Hope could now clearly see his face in the moonlight. Hideous lines decorated the elder's features like that of a stone-golem that perched outside on the cathedral's terraces. Deep creases crossed his eyes and temple. He had a sagging jowl, a crooked nose, and a long 'U' shaped scar that crossed his eyes down to the corners of his lips. 

A pungent smell of rotten berries came from his breath as he spoke. 

"Young boy, show us the way to the Tears of the Heart God."