24: Bad reception

[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Grey!]

Grey expected something similar to the beginning of his first nightmare, where he could at least see the place he would appear or get some hint of his fate.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. In fact, he saw absolutely nothing. All his eyes could perceive was pure, impenetrable darkness. However, his body sensed something different.

The cold air brushed against his skin, the wind echoed in his ears, and then he understood: he was falling.

"This is not good!"

In an instant, Grey activated his ability to enhance his body. His muscles tensed, growing stronger; his skin hardened, and his body grew slightly as his arms gained more strength and endurance.

He curled up in a fetal position, shielding his vital organs with his arms and legs, bracing for the inevitable impact.

It didn't take long for him to feel the brutal collision against his limbs, and the impact reverberated through his body.

His arms cracked under the pressure, and his legs went numb.

He had landed on a hard, rocky platform that greeted him without mercy.

"Damn spell, this hurts!"

Grey lay on his back on the rock, feeling his body. Fortunately, nothing was broken, though his legs and arms remained numb.

He sighed and began to assess his situation.

He looked around and then up at the sky—or at least where the sky should have been. In that dense darkness, where he couldn't even see the rock beneath him, he might as well have been inside an immense structure, staring at its ceiling.

It was a "sky" without stars, and the place was immersed in total darkness.

'It doesn't seem to match any zone discovered by humans… Damn it.'

As time passed, his limbs started to regain mobility. Grey stood up, moving slowly, and began to explore his surroundings with more attention.

It seemed he was standing on a rocky surface several meters in diameter, irregular with asymmetrical edges. However, what he discovered next was even more alarming than the lack of vision.

There was water, a sea in all directions. Grey walked around the rock, realizing that he was completely surrounded by the ocean. The waves occasionally hit the rock, splashing and roaring.

"It's cold."

His body had already begun to feel the freezing wind. He shivered, with constant chills.

'It shouldn't, should it?'

He could enhance his body with the warmth of his aspect, facing the cold that enveloped him, but that would turn him into a beacon of light in the middle of a world surrounded by darkness.

'How many creatures could come if I do that? I probably don't want to find out...'

With a long sigh, he summoned Odyssey and sat in the center of the rock.

'Something might change over time, it's not like I have anything better to do now.'

He closed his eyes and focused on his other senses. The sound of waves crashing against the platform echoed in his ears, along with the cold wind brushing against his bare skin. He felt how the icy air surrounded his body.

Over time, feeling more confident that nothing would attack him in the short term, he decided to check his soul sea.

…

When his senses captured the surroundings of his soul sea, he was no longer greeted by the viscous, black platform that used to sink under his weight.

Now, he stood on a grayer and firmer surface, much less repulsive and far more stable. The dense crimson clouds that had once covered the skies were now thinner and a more normal shade of white.

The sky, though still dark, seemed brighter than before, and the horizon, once tinged with red, now showed a pale blue hue.

He looked up and saw his glowing core, where the darkness had receded, allowing pure light to occupy a third of the entire core.

Things seemed to have stabilized.

"I like it much more when it's not so gloomy."

Curiously, he observed the ocean that surrounded him. The calm waters held a lighter and less sinister color than before.

Intrigued, he approached the edge of the platform and touched the water.

It was warm, enveloping his hand with an almost supernatural softness.

'What could be beneath this? An endless void or a sea that stretches as far as the eye can see?'

Determined, he leaned towards the sea, gazing at his reflection with those hypnotic silver eyes of his.

The closer he got to the water, the more his curiosity burned, as if something truly incredible awaited him beneath its calm surface.

His face was inches from the water.

He was almost beginning to submerge his head when…

Something disturbed him.

He immediately withdrew from his soul sea and stood up. His still-closed eyes snapped open, as all his senses intensified with the urgency of the moment.

Something else had been heard, something that wasn't the sound of the sea.

CRAAASH!

'It's coming from there!'

He directed his attention to the source of the noise, coming from a distance, several hundred meters away.

'Something is happening… A fight between creatures?'

The echo of a great battle between colossal sea beasts persisted, with blows resounding through the water, shaking the air.

He felt cold sweat trickle down his back as he heard the sounds of the struggle, his heart racing, and his body freezing. Those creatures could crush him without even knowing Grey was there, and he could do nothing to stop it.

The mere thought chilled his blood.

The sound of the battle lasted for what felt like hours to Grey. And when the sea finally returned to its previous calm and silence returned, broken only by the soft splashing of the waves, the vast expanse was once again plunged into an unsettling tranquility.

The following hours passed without any other incidents, but Grey remained on high alert at all times, fearing another fight between those creatures, without the luck of being so far away this time.

When a pale but warm light began to peek over the horizon, Grey let out a long and heavy sigh. He was witnessing the sunrise once again.

However, something unexpected occurred besides the sun on the horizon: the sound of the waves intensified, and it seemed as if the very black sea roared in fury at the arrival of the light.

Grey approached the edge of his platform, watching the sea with a mix of curiosity and caution, his spear in hand, ready for whatever might come.

It was then that he noticed something strange in the water... it seemed to be receding.

'I'm not imagining things, am I? The sea is retreating... It's lowering.'

Minutes passed quickly as the sun continued its ascent, and the sea, as if fearing the pale light, retreated.

Grey witnessed something as unique as it was colossal: an entire sea withdrawing before his eyes as the sun rose.

The water kept receding little by little, revealing more of the platform he was standing on. After at least half an hour, the sea had disappeared, and the only thing left was the residual moisture, the only proof that a colossal ocean had covered this place not long ago.

'Fascinating.'

However, his amazement soon turned into something else as he examined his new surroundings. His face, already pale, lost even more color.

Around him, towering mountains of what appeared to be crimson coral rose, forming sharp peaks and crossing each other, creating an intricate labyrinth.

But that wasn't what made Grey tremble slightly. No, what chilled his blood was the immense amount of giant webs covering that entire labyrinth.

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Note: AAHHH! I could only write two chapters this week! 😵

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