Basement

Time moves quickly as you strive with a goal in mind. Two days were left for the decisive decision that would change the whole Kingdom of Vocisklesma as a whole.

"Are you ready?" Y said to me while we stood in front of the door inside the tabernacle that leads to the basement.

"Do you think I am ready?" I replied to his question with ambivalent feelings regarding the situation.

"Nobody is ever ready, it is just confidence and preparation that makes them ready," Y replied to me in a solemn tone.

The past few days were nothing but anguish and agony as I experienced pain time and time again. There were times when I thought that I would break but my determination prevailed.

"I don't really understand what that means but I'll guess that's your motivational quote for today" I made a remark.

Opening the rusty and dirty door. We walked towards the basement, where it was dark and gloomy. Every step carried terror and fear that something of unexpected would come from the walls.

'This is taking longer than I expected' I expected it to be just a five-minute walk downstairs.

However, it took more than ten minutes and still counting to actually get down and reach anything.

"Hey, how deep does this go? I don't think it's supposed to be like this." My honest thoughts were said.

"No, it is Nocturne's tricks again, the second dream," Y replied in a low voice.

The steps became steeper and much sharper and soon only the edge of my sole was able to take a step.

The dark environment didn't help with the situation, it made it much more difficult to actually do anything. And even if I can see well in the dark, it was certainly difficult to always look down trying to get accurate steps.

"Slowly take thirteen steps with three spaces between each step. Don't mess this up or you will have to take sharper steps." Y instructed with a cold demeanor.

I took did as he instructed carefully and meticulously looking at the steps that cross three spaces in between with the last step filled with relief and a sense of trepidation then coming over me.

It was difficult but I made it due to Y's instructions. When the final step was touching the ground the front changed in a slow hazy form like a mirage that transforms in the sea just as they say in books.

And what I saw was a revolting scene that caused my innards to collapse from the gore that was displayed in front of me.

Intestines hang from the ceiling like meat, bodies decimated on the ground that was unrecognizable down to their clothes. Their faces writhing in agony as they died.

Some faces were dried up like water was sucked out from them. Horror engulfed the scene, missing arms, heads, and others from the waist down. It was truly revolting it was to be the most terrifying scene that I have yet witnessed.

"Don't falter now Enzo. This is the last trial brought upon you by Nocturne. It is the augmented reality in which he shows the broken conviction of an individual"

Y looked at the scene with emotionless eyes, his hallowed sockets glimmered with the floating flame.

"This is what would happen if the seven figurative voices continue to live in the same era. However, this is a bad representation of it. This is just the mildest result of what would happen." Y lamented as he said this statement.

'This is just horrible, it's inhumane there is no way this is just a mild result from the seven voices' I thought as I heard Y's statement.

"Let us move on Enzo, there are more things that need to be done before we reach near him. Or rather the scene would continue to worsen as we go deeper" Y stated as he continued to drift off farther from me.

He is always right, it wouldn't make sense if it wouldn't be right. The scene became more grotesque and unbearable that I almost puked inside but why said to keep it in?

There were entire villages razed and ravaged by monster attacks. Half bodies surrounded the houses as they lay down on the ground with dead-eyed expressions. There were children, adults and other people with different ages that was mixed among the corpses that floated along my path, blood continued drip from their hands and soon flooded the area.

Many things continued to sprout out from the depths of despair and agony. Knights that were cut in half, intestines rolling out from their stomachs.

It was a normal thing inside this basement, much worse it made me think that a headless body was better than seeing this monstrosity in front of me.

It was then we reached a castle interior filled with torches that were hung to the wall lightly illuminating its surroundings.

I walked with caution and began to think about possibilities that would continue to haunt me even in the smallest of movements.

Everything felt surreal about all the disembodied figures that were flung to the side, sitting down without hands, if not feet, or even having a hole in the

stomach.

It was very difficult to walk through with each step placing a burden on my back with the hopes of people that would be soon placed upon me.

Step by step I realize the weight that my oath brought, the people that were expecting to continue and die of old age would soon die in a disgraceful manner.

Men with lacerations on the chest and face scattered upon the land as we switched scenes once more. But this time it was a barren wasteland.

There was nothing except the red soil that was present on the ground. The sky looked red-orange. That was the sky of apocalyptic books that I read.

Reddish smoke filled the area that was blown around with strong desolated winds that carried the presence of dust as it swallowed everything.

I continue to walk forward with Y beside me as we continued to venture deeper towards the basement.

Every once in a while Y would tell me to stop and walk in specific steps and in specific orders, this lasted for a couple of trials until my last step changed everything in the world.

It was dark, gloomy, isolated from light and everything. Even with my eyes, I found it difficult to actually see anything. I listened to the instructions Y gave me as they varied from one environment to another.

This lasted for a long time until we reached the area that looked like the continuation of the basement.

Through the other side of the basement was a pedestal. The pedestal was carrying a Long Black Scythe that was the length of me twice. It had a curved edge that was showing black light as I continued to stare at the magnificence it brought.

The scythe radiated supreme darkness from all around. Pure, dangerous, and fear-inducing, it represented the darkness of the night.

It was then shadows on the pedestal began to move in an unconventional motion that would not be a normal case for a normal shadow.

Slowly the black mist crawled from the ground reaching its hand outwards. The thin lining was seen from its outline as it continued to be hazy from afar, the smoke that seemed to dissolve was reconstructed back to the black apparition.

It has an empty face but followed the figure of a man. I was expecting a fight with a hundred shades or so but this is not a shade it was something else. I didn't care if it was shades but this time I had to be extra cautious with how I approach things.

"Nightmares, those things are called Nightmares" Y shouted at me with great volume.

"What exactly are they? They are very different from the shade that I have seen" I asked about the new term that was spoken to me.

"They are fundamentally different with each having unique abilities. The main difference is that they come from a different source, and the similarity they have is that they can both kill you" Y gave a light joke in this tense situation.

"Not helping right now, Y, give me something useful" I replied to his mockery with a serious tone.

The fiery shadow alone in the dark began to motion in a way that would call other companions to it's cause and soon enough something began to happen. The ominosity of the situation permeated through the air with glaring shadows adjacent to the Nightmare slowly converge near it.

It was then more shadows around the pedestal began to furiously shake. After a while of incessantly ferocious movement, more Nightmares emerge from the ground with their hazy appearance.

I knew that something was different I just didn't know what it was. For they are capable of, I would be able to find out for myself. No questions ask. It was something that I would soon experience.