Illusory dreamscape

During his deep slumber, young Orion had a dream. He walked along the road toward the forest, kicking rocks with his leisure steps. A basket woven from wood fibers hung from his shoulder and contained a parchment.

As the son of an alchemist, he often went into the woods to gather herbs. By now, he could traverse it blindfolded.

The list in his basket contained the ingredients required by his dad. Three stalks of a cinder bloom, two snakeskin lilies, and a single four-ringed spider. None of the requested items had any medical uses, confusing Orion. Thinking that his father had to have his reasons, he didn't question it for too long.

Along the way, the loud galloping of horses often passed him. Carriages filled with merchants and their wares often took the shortcut through the forest. It carried substantial risk, but time was money. If they could sell their things even a second earlier by jumping a cliff, they would.

His hand brushed against the tall grass lining the edges of the stomped path. Orion was in love with the surrounding nature. When his mother asked him what he wanted to be in the future, his answer was, "A flower!" And although years had passed since then, the laughter of his mother still made a smile bloom on his face.

Arriving at the entrance, a small creature placed itself in his way. It looked like a branch that grew legs. "Halt, you need to pay the toll," it said, stepping on a rock, trying to look imposing. "What are you talking about?" Orion never had to pay when entering the forest, so what changed? "The toll, as decreed by me, the future king of Thimbers!" Orion didn't know how he should react to its wannabe intimidation.

Their race was very reserved, keeping themself out of any trouble. The one in front of him didn't do that.

"But you don't own the forest," Orion claimed, wondering where the upstart got his confidence from. The area belonged to the fairies who were kind enough to let anyone pass through. So long as they had no evil intentions toward it.

"Hmph, what do you know, human? It's not like you can ask the forest," it scorned, pointing its middle leaf at Orion. Shortly after, something about its tone shifted. "But," it said, "since I found a shiny rock this morning, I'll let you pass. You may thank me later."

Orion couldn't keep it together anymore and burst into laughter. The nonsense the figure was saying kept getting more and more incredulous. "Oh my, how magnanimous of you! Should I bow down and pray to you?" His sarcastic voice resounded through his laughter, mocking the Thimber.

It raged at his disrespect. "That's it, I will tell my father!" The branch stormed off with its short legs but didn't make it far before Orion lifted it. It wiggled, trying to break itself free from his grasp. "Wait, I lack the status to dare accept your grace. Please take my toll," Orion joked, not hiding his sarcasm. The Thimber in his hand shivered at his ominous words, sap coming out of every crack. "Please don't hurt me, it was a joke," it begged and pleaded.

"Why would I hurt you," Orion asked confused, holding something in his other hand. Just as confused, the Cher turned its head to see something glitter in his grasp. "It's so shiny," it mumbled, hypnotized by the object in question.

"I guess you like shiny things. Take it and stop harassing people." After placing the childish branch on the ground, Orion handed it the gold coin in his hand. Its leaves shook when it held his present, almost breaking off.

As Orion wanted to leave, the Thimber grabbed the hem of his worn cloak. "Thank you, and sorry for earlier," it apologized, bowing its figure. Removing its hand, Orion smiled, "Don't worry, next time just ask for something shiny instead of threatening people."

Holding the coin close to its chest, it nodded. "I will." It turned around and waved goodbye to Orion, "Oh right, my name is Brax. What's yours?" After answering its question, the two parted ways. Soon, they couldn't see each other anymore. 'Strange little guy.'

Orion trekked through the lush environment of the forest. Large trees with moss-covered trunks and king-like crowns surrounded him. A wide variety of colorful foliage spanned the ground. Flowers of different shapes and sizes bloomed, invoking life in the woods. A light breeze of fresh wind blew past him, messing with his hair.

A river came into view, flowing like the passage of time. The water carved away at the rocks inside, breaking through someday. Schools of fish jumped in and out of the water, splashing water at him. "Snakeskin lilies should grow nearby," he claimed, turning his head.

Soon, he noticed a bright purple flower with six scales for petals. After walking closer, he took out the knife he strapped to his belt. With one swift motion, he sliced through its stem. Since its poison wouldn't let him grab it by hand, he had to use a piece of cloth.

"Next up, cinder blooms. His memory told they grew in the eastern parts." Since the kingdom was east, he needed to head further away from it. Along the way, he passed by a small cliff.

Ring spiders loved the sides of rocks. He had a splendid chance of finding them here. "They might be asleep right now." Since they were usually nocturnal, he would be hard-pressed to find them right now. But he had a secret weapon. He removed the pouch he brought along with the knife and untied its opening.

A powerful scent of lavender mixed with burnt hay escaped from it, filling the surroundings. Only a few moments after, a few of the insects he needed came crawling out of their holes. Ring spiders hated the smell of it more than anything else. Grabbing a jar, he took a few more than needed to be sure. "Great, ticked that off the list too."

One last item to go and he was for the day. Orion heard a light whistle in the air and jumped on instinct. A knife impaled the place he stood at, penetrating its whole blade. With his fight of flight instinct choosing the latter, he ran as if his life depended on it. Considering what happened, it most likely did. His dream turned into a nightmare.

He didn't know where the attack came from and he didn't intend to find out. Orion leaped from tree to tree, hoping to get some distance. But his pursuers were relentless. He couldn't see them, but their attacks scraped him at times.

He tried everything in his power to escape. Cold sweat dampened his cloak. They outmatched him at last. Through broken bones and an exhausted mana root, they stabbed through his heart. After performing their task, they left him laying there.

As if that wasn't bad enough already, he found himself shackled to the ground in a mysterious temple right after. With no knowledge of what happened, twelve towering statues ordered him to confess. He didn't know what sins they were talking about. Orion lived a good life till now, never doing anyone harm on purpose. And if ever something bad happened, he would amend it to his utmost abilities.

They didn't even let him ask about the sins they accused him of, instead having lightning rain down upon him. It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared out of his wits. Being stubborn and resilient wasn't the same as being fearless, after all.

Having no other option, he confessed. He didn't know what exactly, but he did it anyway. Everything stood still for a moment, leaving Orion breathless.

The mountainous crystal figures used strange magic to open a portal within the clouds and a creature, instilling bone-chilling fear, emerged. A translucent tentacle with razor-sharp scales covering it. Its creeping descent had the world bow down to it. Even the overbearing figures bent a knee at it, displaying reverence.

Orion silently begged for the nightmare to end. Pleaded for anything to come to his rescue. But nothing happened. His prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Salvation finally come when something spoke to him. He didn't know what it was, but its voice was as soft as his mother's. It said something about not being god and being a god at the same time. In the end, it vanished, promising to meet him again. It didn't say when, only that it would if he continued to fight on.

The frightening creature cut his shackles and encased him in a mysterious bubble. Without wasting any time, it brought him with it into an endless expanse of void.

As if dropped into cold water, his body jolted. His breathing was rough and figure shuttering, he came to his senses. 'Is it over?' His eyes sprung open, embracing the view. Stuck in the same bleak darkness, realization dawned on him. 'It wasn't a dream.'