Nightmare

To My Dearest Ebbie,

Now you know I've met lots of weird people, had a lot of weird experiences, and more weird encounters. But that dream I had the other night was too frightening and was almost too real. I really don't know what happened before I experienced that nightmare, but the last thing I remember was that this hooded woman in black left the pub at Libra where my friends and I usually hang out.

Well it probably wasn't liquor because I don't drink much. (Remember what happened the last time I got drunk?) Anyway, I remember the barkeep serving these peanuts as my buddies and I exchanged stories and other tales with each other. I'd normally wolf down these peanuts but for some reason, it was as if each peanut was worth a meal. It felt heavy as I ate one. I then started to feel sick, and so did my buddies. We decided to call it a night and I immediately went back to my room. Then I started to have this dream. Everything was dark, like that Dark World we go to. However, something was different. I couldn't find my paladin gear anywhere. I was dressed in a weird ensemble. A gaudy breastplate and an embarrassing manskirt similar to what gladiators would wear. A voice in my head then boomed all of a sudden.

"Thou who seeketh justice must find it. Thou who protects must do thy duty. Go forth."

I almost freaked out for a second, especially in my drafty attire. It was really breezy wearing that manskirt, you know? Anyway, that place was similar to the Dark World. It had glowing monsters and everything. These monsters were tough to beat, as my armor barely gave much defense, and my sword isn't as strong as it looked. When one of the monsters hit me with its axe, I noticed that my cheek started to bleed. I touched it and saw my own blood. Was this really a dream?

Nevertheless, I pushed forward, struggling wave after wave of monsters. It was really strange that these monsters kept muttering things. Things like "Go back to whence you came..." or "Dost thou seeketh truth?", it was driving me nuts and it made my head hurt. And their words, it almost sounds as if they were from the years of old. Are these the tormented souls of the Dragon War? I haven't seen so many spectral armors that many before.

When I got to the end of the corridor, I finally found the big boss. He exactly looked like Night Lord (the ancient war machine), but it spoke, surprisingly. It was the voice I heard earlier.

"Thou hast done well in thy tribulations. Thou must now face thy power, prepare thyself, seeker of truth and justice, or submit!"

It was hard to understand his ancient lingo but I had no choice but to fight this enigmatic being. He was tough. He kept teleporting from place to place and kept creating copies of himself, all while muttering things like "Return from whence you came..." or "Thou cannot protect when thou art weak...". Strange enough, those things somehow wanted to make me cry because it held some truth.

No matter how much I tried to hit him, it was as if he was invincible. All my attacks were being deflected back to me which in turn gave me serious injuries. It was really hard, I swore I was on the verge of death that moment.

I took a look at myself again. My sword looked nice but it wasn't as strong as the one I used, and without my gallant armor, I couldn't withstand as much hits as I could. My shield looked the same but it wasn't as durable as the one I always held. What can a person do to protect the ones he loves, when he cannot protect even himself. Teary-eyed, I still had to fight. Screw it if wasn't a dream or not, my point was that I wanted to protect people, regardless of what may happen to me!

With that realization, a flash of light enveloped me and I was surprised to find myself in my paladin armor again. Even Toby appeared, miraculously. With that, I felt as if I regained strength and my attacks were finally starting to hit this nightmarish thing. From that point on it became easy and the boss was finally defeated.


It broke into pieces and I heard the screams of a myriad of souls, wailing as they broke free from the machine. I then heard the voice again.

"Thou hast done well in thy trial and tribulation. Thou hast finally found meaning in thy self. May thou be blessed for the years to come. Farewell..."

A bright light then blinded my vision and I found myself in bed again in my underwear. Was it really a dream? I looked at a nearby mirror and found a small scar on my cheek. When I looked under my shirt, I found scratches and other bruises that hurt. I had them treated by Cailey.

Do I sound crazy Ebbie? No matter what happened, all of it just did. I don't want it happening to you, but from now on, promise me that you will find me when you are in trouble, alright?

Stay safe, and watch what you eat!

From Your Dear Brother,
Prawnt