Doomsday

On Adam's chest were three faint, distinct tattoos. These tattoos, when stared at, exposed one to distant, illusory worlds that seemed layered in countless incomprehensible barriers.

One of the tattoos was a single eye with strange markings. Contained in the vertical pupil was a faint fog that made one's head ache when looked at. The scene that came with it was a distant, seemingly unreachable realm.

On a certain mountain top, there was a colossal beast with five heads. Its features were shrouded in fog, but one could spot various humanoid entities below the mountain giving praise to the beast.

The second was a fractured hand reaching from the depths of the void. The image that came with it was a realm of clouds. And far above, a single, incomprehensibly large arm descended with absolute dominance, as though its sheer purpose was to crush the entire world.

The final tattoo was a door-like object. Nina's eyes narrowed as she seemed to be pulled into an unknown space. She looked around, and all she saw was copies of herself. Some were expressionless, some had sinister grins, while some carried the warmest smiles to ever exist.

Around her and beyond, various versions of Nina stood. Some were elderly, some were children, whilst some were toddlers.

At that moment, Adam lowered his shirt, snapping the girl out of her dazed state.

"Woah…" She muttered and swallowed hard. Her eyes appeared unfocused for a while, as she seemed unable to shake the scenes she had seen.

Adam, after calming down considerably, said, "The dreams started after the runes fixed themselves onto me. I think they're causing this endless nightmare. I never asked for this– I see terrible things, I can't!"

Nina remembered the words of the mysterious old man and shook her head pitifully. "I don't think you have a choice."

Her words ran deep and Adam plunged into despair once more.

Nina quickly added, "But, our fates seem to be intertwined. So, maybe we'll work this out together. You don't have to worry, you aren't currently in a dream. I'm as real as pain."

Adam settled once more and exhaled slowly, shutting his eyes for a grasp at tranquillity.

"Where's your sister?" He asked after a while.

"My sister?" The girl seated across from him asked in puzzlement.

Hm? Adam frowned and opened his eyes. "What do you mean? I'm asking about Nana–"

He suddenly stopped when he saw the girl's expression twist and contort. She transformed from the beautiful, doll-like girl she was, to a beast with four horns. The beast had a goat-like appearance.

Adam initially opened his mouth to say something, but he eventually slowly closed his lips.

"Oh?" The beast suddenly spoke. "You aren't scared?"

Compared to the gruesome image of his sister's brutal murder? This was nothing. Adam didn't respond and sighed instead. He glanced around and noticed that the people that were initially in the Cafe had faded into dust.

Another dream… He shook his head helplessly. His pale eyes seemed drained, like life was slowly leaving his grasp.

The beast with four horns kept staring at him. It said after a while, "It's here.." Then, it pointed to the sky above the city streets.

Adam's eyes slowly followed the beast's grotesque arm. His gaze fell on a colossal tentacled-monster that loomed above the city. It had quite the terrifying appearance, but Adam couldn't care less.

He looked at the beast seated across and raised a brow, "So?" This was, after all, another dream.

The beast sighed pitifully.

"You have been bestowed the full capabilities of a being that transcends what is and what is not. You are slowly devolving into madness, and there's only a very tiny chance that you'll persevere."

"Child," The beast said in a lofty tone, "Find anchors. For as you are the single light in the darkness, they shall be the light in your own darkness."

Then, the scene shattered rapidly and Adam opened his eyes. Before him, Nina stood with a worried expression. When she saw that he opened his eyes, relief washed over her.

"I kept trying to wake you up… did you fall into another dream?"

Adam remained in a daze for a while. He looked around and saw everyone going about their daily life.

Another dream? I don't know. This could be a dream for all I know. I could still very much be on that damned sofa in the living room. I don't know.. I don't know…

"I don't know!" He suddenly yelled, and every eye in the Cafe landed on him.

Nina turned around and glared at everyone. Then, she turned back to look at Adam. She could see the exhaustion on his face. At this rate, she feared he would go completely mad.

Was he going in and out of dreams at random moments? Making it hard to tell reality apart? Such a cruel fate.

Though she was usually apathetic towards a lot of things, Nina felt genuine fear and concern for Adam.

"What did you see in the dream?" She asked.

What did I see? I saw… Adam suddenly sat up. He turned and looked out the window with a frown on his face. His eyes focused on the sky, as though searching for something beyond what the human eyes could perceive.

"Adam, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm not sure.." Adam muttered and rose from his chair. With slow steps, he walked out of the Cafe. Nina followed closely behind.

"I can feel it…" The boy said.

"Feel what?"

Adam swallowed and pointed to the sky. He said with a trembling voice, "There's something there. It's indeed here!"

What? Nina followed his arm but failed to see anything in the sky.

Adam turned to look at her, grabbed her shoulders and shook her vigorously. He asked, "Are you sure this isn't a dream?!"

"No, this is real." The girl answered with a slightly puzzled frown.

"Oh, no…" Adam slumped to the ground and slammed his fist on the concrete road. "We're all going to die! Those weren't dreams.. Those weren't dreams! They were warnings!"

Just as Nina was about to crouch and try to comfort him, a loud, irritable shriek exploded in the minds of everyone in the entire middle ring.

It was like insanity. Everyone grabbed their head in pain, either falling unconscious immediately, or bleeding from every orifice. The shriek gnawed at their body, mind and soul, as if aiming to tear them apart from the inside out.

Far above, in the sky, a gargantuan creature suddenly revealed itself.

It had a grotesque body, with over seven tentacles swaying in the wind. It had a single eye that observed the humans below.

…

Marshall Mathew Bates had just returned from the Upper Ring, preparing to head home for a good bath, when he suddenly heard a loud, resonating shriek that pierced into the depths of his essence.

His face contorted in pain and he quickly retrieved enhanced ear plugs from his coat. After wearing them, he looked around in confusion and saw everyone falling to the ground and grabbing their heads in pain.

"What In the star stream?" He muttered and wiped the blood that trickled down his nose.

At that moment, something in him stirred and he raised his head to look at the colossal shadow looming over them.

Their Doomsday.