Dreams of Medusa

"IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Reigner shouted, putting all the blame on the reincarnation existence. His scream continuously echoed throughout the black room. Was it really Nightmare's fault though?

"If you only hadn't appeared, then this world hope wouldn't have had happened!"

It was not Nightmare's fault. The reincarnation on the other side just slightly widened his eyes as he knew the truth. The incoming World Hope had allowed Nightmare to attack Reigner prematurely. The incoming energies foreign to The Earth had allowed Nightmare to awaken and do his stuff.

It was not his fault that the world hope happened for real.

But Reigner was blaming him.

Why?

Because he is human.

A fragile human that had been living a pacifistic life for most of his time.

"You are hilarious."

"At least now... In this place... Before our death... I will personally end you..."

Reigner just had enough of this shit.

His eyes dilated slowly, then the unknown, to both him and Nightmare, power awakened. It was the Dream Set that had been awakened thanks to Paula whose dreams were vivid and so her heart. In the pursuit of his home and freedom, Reigner awakened the power to kill Nightmare, the last piece to his comeback!

[You have summoned The Dream Set.]

"Dream... Yeah... I have had a lot of dreams... lately... So this is the key to a nightmare... Ah, that's right... The opposite concept..."

The black room was within Reigner's body. It had a lot of limits, but as it shook, one of these limits has been temporarily erased. It was a strange occurrence, but both Reigner and Nightmare could summon the full potential of their origins!

In the black room, the white light shone.

It enveloped Reigner, forming a long white robe with a slightly pinkish hue that looked like cream. The robe was embellished with snake-like scales that were emitting soothing aura... The long robe fluttered as if carried by that aura, then from the long sleeves, two snakes in a similar color slowly hissed out.

They were popping their heads from time to time.

In Reigner's hand, the snake staff appeared. Yet again, its color was identical to the Reigner's dream set, with the snake eyes at the tip flashing with white light.

In an instant, Reigner turned into the white beam, slithering toward Nightmare at a speed that his real body had yet to achieve!

"IF YOU ONLY HAD NOT APPEARED!"

Beginning the battle with the annoying shout, Reigner swung his snake staff at the blade arm. Obviously, his reincarnation was already in his prime mode, the black monster and its disgusting mask flashing with white pupils.

His blade arm thoroughly stopped the staff, then the close constant battle ensued.

Both of the reincarnations began clashing against each other with an unimaginable speed that turned both of them into white and black beams of power crashing into each other. If there was a crowd, then they surely would be only able to look at the two energies crashing into each other.

Likewise, the crowd would be completely oblivious to the sharpness behind such attacks and the conversation that was ongoing amidst this confrontation.

"Do you really believe it is my fault? How fragile can you be, REIGNER?!"

"Of course I don't! But I have to put a blame on someone! It just makes me feel better, get it, NIGHTMARE?!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosions of raw energy would've had already shattered the world if it was the 'low' or even 'medium' world. Luckily enough, the black room of Reigner could be called the imaginary world so its rank was solely based on Reigner's potential.

The white set of his was also becoming more familiar to him.

"ENTRAP HIM!"

Thus, when Reigner got enough familiarity, his snakes hissed and rushed forth. Their scales, bodies, and even eyes looked so charming and gentle it seemed those fragile creatures might get shattered once they land on the nightmare's suit.

However, the white snakes proved to be outstanding individuals.

Just like their master, they weren't affected by the mental attacks and thoroughly clenched down the blade arm of the first reincarnation. The moment they did so, the battle stopped.

Both Reigner and Nightmare became visible to a naked eye.

And so, the white slap of Reigner's staff could be also seen.

"!"

He smashed Nightmare's head so hard his face fell down a little.

"Putting blame on me, huh... How about I do the same?"

Nightmare's face couldn't be seen, but his white eyes never lost its light. The incoming white glittering just shone brighter, then the white snakes got shattered by another portion of small blades coming from the blade arm.

It looked like the blade arm can become the chainsaw.

"If you focused on Nightmare element from the beginning, we both could've had enough nightmare element to get rid of that asshole! You can't even imagine how much torment the nightmare element would've done to him once we beat him!"

Both Reigner and Nightmare could've had fed so much on the divine child's soul that their losses would be compromised. Even more, the progress might have had been so tremendous that no one in this low world could pose a threat to them.

"But you focused on some shitty metal aura! Why? Because you wanted your own power without any ties to me?! REIGNER! Do you really believe a mere low world power can deal with me?! A LOW WORLD THAT NEEDS WORLD HOPE?!"

"..."

"I thought you were smarter, Reigner."

The battle increased at a pace then. The slashes, slams, and smashes kept descending onto both reincarnations that were lost in the heat of the battle. It truly felt like this is their last battle as the divine child simply couldn't be stopped.

They let out everything here.

Submerged in his own blood, Reigner's wounds were staining the white robe that was likewise cut open. His back was drenched in a cold sweat, his hair trickling a cold liquid onto his pale face. In the same state was Nightmare.

Cracks all over his Nightmare Suit exposed his pale skin. There was blood sipping out from those forming rather a horrendous sight.

His eyes were widely opened and each time he shouted, his jaw was spread so much it looked like he wants to devour Reigner's head alive.

"I have had enough of this world... What can not you understand?"

The battle then changed. From the close to the distance one with the snakes going around Nightmare. They were following their own instincts, trying to shatter the reincarnation to the death.

As for Reigner, he stood with his snake staff clenched tightly.

The rough breathing of his couldn't stop him from speaking.

"I am... just a human... I don't want to live in this world... I want to quickly get over it... Come back home and begin the same lifestyle anew... What can you not understand here?"

A metal snake creation was that of a weak origin, but because it got born so easily with his awakened power, Reigner had hope and ignored the weak origins of the metal aura... It was a low world, but Nightmare himself was lacking the nightmare element.

If everything went smoothly, then the comeback would be roughly in a few months at most.

"End school... get some job and live without worrying about tomorrow... Free of any worries, a fulfilling life with family..."

"..."

"I would work... then at the end of the day rest... At the weekends, I would spend some time with friends... Something like that? There is a lot of fun to do in the world... But what about this one?"

"..."

"I wake up... and immediately get reminded about this disgusting world! Everything reminds me of killing and blood... even Paula's smile! Why? Because I know that to keep this smile unblemished, I have to kill! I have to make her kill others! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF IT! I just want raw power, to get it fast and get over it! I am a human!"

What about you, Nightmare?

The earthling asked such a question, then lunged himself forward. The battle of the two came back to the peak form, spreading its light throughout the whole black room! In this confrontation, Nightmare was contemplating his life goal.

His blade arms were no longer blades, but chainsaw as he waved those around.

"My goal..."

He was the existence born out from the resentment. To become a divine race, his 'mother' had discarded Nightmare and his two other siblings that had different concepts. Of course, Nightmare was not a human nor normal living being.

He was just an existence abandoned by the creator.

His path was filled with calamities as he couldn't control his power. Then, when Nightmare became aware of his existence and got a tight hold of the nightmare element, he began growing up in strength... to come back.

"I am the same."

The truth is that he isn't the same.

He can not be longer the same.

When he was the existence without proper form, Nightmare had a way of coming back to his creator. To ask the meaningless question and find the purpose of his. Before that, he was keen on being alone, feeding on others his second goal.

However, Nightmare understood.

That no matter what, the answer is the same.

If he comes backs to his creator... he will be abandoned yet again or even caught up alive to become an experiment or source of another energy.

"How strange... I knew all of it yet I put it aside..."

And the one to bring out all the thoughts was Reigner.

"Fuck you, Reigner."

The Nightmare titled his head so hard it looked like it can tear off at any moment. He was so close to the earthling that he himself momentarily froze. Then, the light within Nightmare's eyes began leaving his body.

The eye sockets became void of any light...

This very light blended into Reigner's dream set.

[Your first reincarnation, Nightmare, has assimilated with your soul.]

[Nightmare and Dream Set are assimilating.]

[Dreams of Medusa has been completed.]

"You just disappear like that..."

The memories of the first reincarnation assailed Reigner. He felt like he aged at least ten thousand years by experiencing everything that Nightmare had gone through. Reincarnation is not a thing that one can look down upon.

Now, Reigner truly had aged a lot and became a tad, different person.

"Khaaaa..."

Even the sigh of Reigner had a little resemblance to the black monster.

"Because I am a human, I knew I can not back to her... and ask for guidance..."

Instead of guidance, Nightmare(Reigner) would get endless torture.

"So what... I am going to die anyway..."

Reigner's body fell backward. His back hit the ground strongly, then he puked a little blood that was pretty meaningless in this black room... He looked at the black ceiling with the memories from the past flashing through his life.

He currently had gone through two lives.

And because the awakened power of his had called Nightmare the first reincarnation, then Reigner fairly assumed that there are more within him.

"At least this... Don't make me hate life more."

Nightmare's life was even more pitiful, Reigner couldn't even use his most favorite word to describe it.

His eyes then shook and his consciousness came back to his body.

The moment Reigner opened his heavy eyes, the familiar ceiling greeted him. It was one of the emperor's chambers where the divine child had been sealed. Of course, it was a part of his blood. A mere blood drop!

Seeing this, Reigner felt like he is going to end up in the endless torture anyway.

"Khahaha!"

His laughter, which was already a mix of the two lives, rang out, but no one answered it.

The divine child... Paula... His troops... The silence was kinda eerie, but Reigner's body couldn't move. He was so battered it was hard to move. However, no matter what, Reigner couldn't just lie on the ground forever.

Mustering every bit of his strength, he slightly turned his body and then...

"..."

The sight of the divine child being petrified revealed itself... He was like a stone statue with a shock sculpted on his face. The shock was oddly satisfying for Reigner and a soft smile unconsciously crept up.

"Fucking idiot... Did he use his power so much he forgot about his own state?"

If he is a mere blood drop, then he should be careful about his own state. Too much energy utilization can make him explode or just like now, turn him into a statue!

However, Reigner's head suddenly shifted to the side.

And this is where he saw Paula being in the same state... Not only her, but every living being was also turned into a stone statue void of any energy.

At this very moment, Reigner's face sunk.