CHAPTER 458: DREAM WITHIN A DREAM

Prisana, one of the Stellar Masters of Asia, stared at the approaching woman wearing a gothic dress. She could’ve sworn she separated the Reaper’s head from her neck, yet now she approached her with full throttle.

A small sigh escaped Prisana’s lips as she watched the scythe moving towards her.

"She should’ve run away after fooling me. Now I’ll have to kill her again..."

Her mumbling got lost in the heavy wind surrounding her body.

The scythe came closer to her body. Prisana saw everything in slow motion and could’ve dodged the weapon with ease. However, she was too lazy...

The Stellar’s stormy eyes glowed gently, and the air pressure around her increased. Her skin became sickly gray, just when the scythe would’ve met her crotch area.

Prisana changed the state of her body into a gaseous form, so the deadly scythe passed through her harmlessly.

The Reaper stared at Prisana in confusion, but it was too late. Her stormy eyes restricted the gothic woman with her aura.

She summoned hundreds of airblades behind her back and prepared to let them loose.

"Let’s hope this kills you. Otherwise, I’ll need to kill you over again, until you perish... That sounds like such a bother."

The Stellar took a deep breath, smelling the sweet scent of rain and ozone. The airblades began moving, however, before they even came close to the Reaper, a clear feminine voice echoed through the storm.

The quiet voice pierced through the sound of thunder and rain, echoing deep inside Prisana’s very soul.

"Lullaby..." Said the feminine voice, causing Prisana to close her eyes and fall into deep sleep.

...

Prisana’s eyes opened onto a bright bustling street, with tall people walking around her. She stared up at them with confused eyes.

’When did I get small? Wasn’t I an adult? Did I fall asleep and dream about my future? Will I grow into a strong Stellar?’

The young preteen girl walked down the street. Her dirty, discarded fragments of cloth, which she sewed into a makeshift dress, brushed against the legs of working adults.

Her bare, calloused feet stepped onto the concrete ground with hesitation. The memory of walking in the dirt with her bleeding foot still felt fresh in Prisana’s mind, even though it had happened years ago.

She spent most of her life on the streets of Banok, a giant city-state in the southern part of Asia.

After her parents died in a Realm Gate Opening, Prisana found herself alone amidst the partially destroyed city. Her home, her family, her dresses and shoes, everything she cherished disappeared.

On that day, she realized what true poverty is. When you have nothing of value, which means your life is worthless.

A sane person would’ve killed themselves in the depression and overwhelming despair. However, Prisana wasn’t a quitter!

Despite everything, she crawled out of the rubble and lived as a street urchin. She made money from looting scraps, taking handouts and occasional stealing.

The orphanages were full after the Gate Opening, so Prisana didn’t enter any.

Now, years later, she didn’t want to abandon the streets. It sounded sad, but she made a life for herself, and leaving all her gathered stuff behind felt wrong.

Prisana walked down the street until she reached a branching, dark, damp alley... Her home!

She smiled widely, not even smelling the shit and piss in the air. Her small steps led her further inside until she found a large broken dumpster, which nobody ever used.

The young girl knelt on the dirt and crawled under the dumpster. There was a wide, dark hole below it, which Prisana crawled into.

The hole led to a large crevice about three meters wide and two meters tall. She had more than enough space for her collected, useless objects and pile of cloth fragments, which served as her bed.

Her only light source was a flickering, hand-crank lamp, which needed to be cranked every few minutes.

Prisana sat down on her cloth pile with a wide smile. She leaned her head against the damp wall and reached for today’s meal, a half-eaten sandwich with only a few specks of dirt... At least she pretended it was dirt, and not something more disgusting...

While she munched on the sandwich, a strange feeling appeared in her heart. Like when you’re in deep sleep, inside your dream and you remember nothing around you is real.

A light chuckle disturbed Prisana’s reality, and soon a robed woman appeared on the other side of the crevice.

Her golden locks escaped her black hood. The young woman’s swirling purple eyes mesmerized Prisana, but her stormy eyes stayed focused on the ugly scar running from the stranger’s brow to her left jawline.

"This is your happiest memory?! Throughout 28 years, this shithole was when you felt the most joy? Even when your parents were alive, you never felt this content... This is truly sad!"

Prisana took another bite of her sandwich, her eyes staying focused on the weird woman.

However, in the next moment, memories began flooding the Stellar’s mind. She dropped her food and stared at the Dreamweaver with concern.

"You’re Lilith, the Dreamweaver. The High Priestess of the Angelic Order and one of its most dedicated generals... So this is—"

A wide grin spread across Lilith’s face as she cut into the Stellar’s speech.

"Yes, this is a dream. Your dream!... You know, I feel bad. If I’d known your dreams would be this depressing, I would’ve given you nightmares instead. You might feel at home with them!"

Prisana furrowed her eyebrows, but soon her sunken eyes widened. She glanced around her dreamland, her hand absently touching the damp walls... Everything looked and felt real...

"Dreams? Plural? You’ve put me to sleep to save the Reaper. This isn’t more than one dream!"

Lilith chuckled again, her body turning see-through. Moments later, she disappeared, leaving only her voice echoing inside the crevice.

"Well, I didn’t know you were a dream expert. If so, wake yourself up before Lucy kills you in real life... Let’s see if your mind or your body will break first!"

When the Dreamweaver disappeared, Prisana’s eyes started feeling heavy. She yawned as her eyes shut closed, sending her into a deep sleep.

...

Prisana opened her eyes quickly. Her vision darted around the dark room, looking for the strange spider-like monster, which had caught her moments ago.

However, instead of a terrifying beast, she saw nothing but her plain room. She had lived here for the past four years, yet it had no decoration. Somehow, it looked sadder than her hovel below the alley dumpster.

After making sure no monster hid inside the room, she fell back on her fluffy bed. Her eyes stared up at the dark ceiling, while her hands played with the air.

She became an Evolved four years ago, when a Gate opened near her alley, and she accidentally killed a wing spirit or something.

Her life became much better afterward, since the government gave enormous support to every Evolved, especially the stronger ones with great potential.

Prisana was an artist when it came to exterminating monsters, yet often she yearned for her quiet life under the dumpster.

She never had nightmares there, but after fighting hundreds of deadly beasts, sleep kept eluding her. It made her tired throughout the day and gave her a constant headache.

"So that was just a dream, huh? Pretty vivid one, and I haven’t seen that monster before. I usually only dream about beasts that came close to killing me... Weird..."

The teenage girl yawned and turned to her side. With stormy eyes, she stared at her wardrobe doors, where the moonlight landed from the open window.

The slight warm breeze played with the curtains. It covered the moonlight’s flow, creating strange shapes out of shadows.

Prisana yawned again as her eyes began closing, but just before she drifted to sleep, she saw a shape moving in the moonlight. It looked like a spider’s long hairy leg.

She turned fast towards the window, summoning wind blades to kill off any threat. However, there was nothing in the window.

The young girl chuckled to herself and leaned back in her bed, eyes closed.

"Dammit Prisana. Your sleep-deprivation’s playing tricks on your mind... Why can’t I get a good night’s sleep?"

A deep sigh escaped her lips. However, a strange shiver went across her body, prompting her eyes to open.

Prisana didn’t expect to see anything unusual, which meant she felt really surprised when a dozen glowing red eyes met hers.

Above her, on the ceiling, a giant spider-like beast stared down at her. It had ten dark-gray, hairy arms holding onto the ceiling, while its mouth made a strange clicking noise.

Saliva dripped around Prisana’s face, and a moment later, the spider dropped on her. Its arms pierced Prisana’s limbs and body, making her cry out in pain.

She tried to push the spider off, but soon she felt its stinger stab into her leg. Its venom spread across her body, immobilizing her.

The paralyzing feeling caused the pain to disappear, but her chances of escape also went away.

The gray spider growled at her, then moved its head towards Prisana’s belly. Its fangs stabbed into her flesh and pulled out her intestines, devouring her alive.

Through the despair, a light chuckle reached Prisana’s ear. She blinked as her breathing turned frantic and saw a blonde woman with a scarred face, wearing a robe.

Her right hand petted the giant spider’s head. It stopped eating Prisana and made happy clicking noises with its fangs.

"Eat her face first!"

Whispered the young woman to the gray spider. Prisana didn’t have time to cry out, as the massive fangs crushed her skull, killing her on the spot.

...

Prisana opened her eyes quickly. Her vision darted around the bright room, looking for the strange spider-like monster, which had eaten her head moments ago, and its master.

Birdsong entered through her open window as the sun shone into Prisana’s face. She squeezed her eyes and stretched her arms, then plopped back down on the bed.

Her body felt heavy, exhausted and sweaty, like every morning.

"Another nightmare-filled sleep... Wonder if I’ll ever get a peaceful night without dreams..."