Visions

I woke up gasping for breath. My body was covered in a cold sweat, and I was shivering. These dreams were going to end up killing me. Or making me go insane. Whichever came first. I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, while praying to the Lords that this dream wouldn’t occur ever again.

 

 

 

My nightmare was different this time. I was standing on the edge of a river. The water was black, and occasionally, I could see streaks of aura in it. On my side, behind me, I could see a light. On the other side stood a dark and ominous castle. Something stood in a boat. I realized that it was Death.

“What’s going on?” I asked Death. He didn’t answer. Of course he didn’t. This was a dream. Then why did it feel so real? Suddenly, Death pushed his boat off of my side of the bank and brought it over to the other side. Someone on the other side climbed into his boat. Death brought them over. It was Pollux. His face looked like it once had, before Annie had burned it with her death. Death began to push his boat away from the shore as soon as Pollux step foot on the shore.

“Do you not recognize me?” I whipped around. It was definitely Death. Death had definitely said that to me.

“Death?” I asked quietly. Death seemed to be smiling under his hood as he began to row down the river. I turned around the face Pollux.

“Pollux,” I said. Could he hear me?

“Hello, Castor,” he said. So he could hear me.

A lump formed in my throat. “Why are you here?” I asked.

He suddenly turned into black mist. He curled around my body, and something that looked and felt like a hand caressed my neck. “To be your nightmare,” he hissed. I gulped. His hands were as cold as ice, but at the same time, they were hotter than hell. I allowed my aura to expand a little bit, and he backed off hissing while steam rolled off of him.

“What do you want?” I asked. “Did you bring me here?”

“Of course,” Pollux purred. “Because of my enormous power I had while I was alive, I still have some left even here.” So this wasn’t a dream. Or was it? If it wasn’t, it meant that I was standing in the Realm of the Dead.

“So what do you want?” I asked again.

“To talk,” he said. “Can I not talk to my dear sister? Tell me, and answer truthfully, do you love me as your brother?”

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again. Did I love him? How was I supposed to answer that? I had killed him because he had threatened the existence of the entire world, but every waking second, I regretted it. I could have wiped his memory and made him good again or something, not killed him. If I had gotten the chance, I would have saved him. But he still did evil, and a Dragon’s purpose was to eliminate all evil. My silence told him the answer.

“I see,” he said, chuckling. “That’s all I wanted to know. Good-bye, sister.”

“Wait!” I said. My voice echoed loudly. “Did you go to heaven?”

“You’re trying to ask if I went to hell, but you don’t want to sound mean,” my brother said. I winced as he figured out the underlying meaning to my words. If I wasn’t the Demon Queen, my brother would easily be stronger than me.

I nodded slightly.

“At least you’re honest,” Pollux said. “I’m a judge in the court now. They couldn’t decide what to do with me.”

My heart skipped a beat. “So you’re saying that you’re judging people now and deciding where to send them?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Lucky you, I can’t judge people I know.” He said. For a second, he actually looked somewhat sane to me.

“So what did you want from me?” I asked.

“To know how you feel about me,” Pollux said.

“That’s not all,” I said.

Pollux chuckled. “Guess our sibling bond hasn’t disappeared yet. Our parents wanted to see you.”

I gaped at him. “What?” I screeched. “Where are they?”

Pollux waved his hand, and two figures appeared. The woman looked like an older, aged version of me. The same tattoos that were just beginning to fade from my voice were dark and bold on hers. My father had cold, hard grey eyes like Pollux and me. His expression was one of disappointment. They had both died when I was one, but from the moment they’re born, Dragons are capable of memorizing everything and doing anything.

“We are so sad at what your fate has become,” my mother said. “We thought we had taught you well enough to choose the winning side.”

“But that wasn’t the right side.” I was surprised that I could speak. “Morally, that side was the wrong side.”

My father clucked his tongue. “And look how many people you killed.” Both of my parents became the same mist thing that Pollux had become. They curled around my body, and all I could feel was their hatred.

“You killed both of us,” my mother hissed. “And of course it took you a long time to do so.”

“No!” I cried. “I was a baby! I didn’t know what I was doing!”

“Does that not make it a sin?” My mother screamed. “You killed us!”

“Then came your brother,” my father said.

“Stop,” I whispered.

“You could have controlled the Demon Queen, but you didn’t,” my father said.

I looked up at Pollux. “What are you doing?” I asked him. He said nothing, his face stony and impassive.

“And then think of all of the people you’ve killed,” my mother said. “They had families. They had people who loved them to go home to.”

I couldn’t take it any longer. Ripping my parents off of my body, I began to run towards the light behind me. The route there was slippery, and rocks went tumbling out from underneath me.

My parents seemed to mold into one being of black mist. “You kill everything!” They cried. “All you do is bring disaster upon this world! Death follows you wherever you go!”

It felt like an eternity while I was running up the steps. My breath was becoming more and more haggard. I was nearly there. I was nearly at the light!

“You shall be sent to hell!” My parents said. “And what of your followers? You made one of them die! You’re selfish and cowardly!”

Why couldn’t my legs move any faster?! At last, I reached the light, only to find that the light was solid. I couldn’t get through it.

“Help!” I screamed, banging on the door, wishing that there was someone on the other side. Nothing. I turned around to see my parents coming closer and closer.

“People think you’re a monster!” They yowled. “And they’re right! Why do you kill? You started killing people before doing it for, as you claim, justice! You’ve even killed children in front of their weeping mothers!”

“Stop!” I screamed. “Please! Stop!”

“Stop?” My parents echoed. “Didn’t your victims say that? Didn’t they?! And did you have any mercy on them? No! The last thing all of them saw were your glowing red eyes!” My parents were only a few feet away from me, and I could feel their auras beating down on me. This is what my aura must feel like when I’m not clamping down on it. It was burning away my skin and aura.

“You even nearly killed your own foster parents!” They continued. “Even after they took you in!”

“It’s was an accident!” I cried.

“You let your squad die right in front of you while you just stood there! You ate all their souls and captured them in your armor! You’re a horrible person! No, you’re not even a person. You’re not a monster either! Nor are you a Dragon! Or a demon or a Lord! What are you? What are you? Answer us!”

I am a monster. It had never hit me as clearly as it did now. I had ripped people away from their families.

But I didn’t want to die. Not here, not now, and not by my parents.

Using almost all of the aura that I had with me in this world, I ripped the door open and took a step forward.

I immediately plunged into a freefall of darkness.

I laughed out loud. How cruel this world is. Is it my time to die so soon? I choose not to die by my parents, so the Lords will kill me here?

I closed my eyes and heard the wind whistle past my ears. If this was truly the way I was going to die, I was happy. It was strangely beautiful.

Suddenly, I landed. The wind was knocked out of me. I heard several of my ribs crack. I lay there for a second, completely winded. Then I slowly got up.

All I saw was green. Then I felt my throat close up on me. S**t! I was suffocating! I began to run. I had to get out of here. Anywhere but here. This wasn’t even a dream anymore! I kept running, faster and faster, occasionally using amplification. Then I passed something, and time seemed to slow down.

I turned my head slowly to see a young girl standing next to me. Her hands were behind her back, and headphones were around her neck. My eyes widened slightly as I passed her, and our eyes met, her silver hair dancing in the unseen wind. Her eyes were black, all the way around, and the same tattoos I had on myself and seen on my mother were carved into her face. She smiled at me, and I found that her teeth were razor sharp. There were blood stains on her chin. As I was passing her, I felt hatred, despair, and repulsiveness all wrapped in one.

I skidded to a stop and turned, but she was no longer there.

“Hello?” I called out. I realized that I wasn’t suffocating anymore. Suddenly, I felt something tug at my consciousness. The only way to describe it was as being dark. It whispered in my mind, telling me to walk where it was directing me to. All my troubles would be over then, it cooed. I stopped in my tracks as the force’s power diminished for a second, allowing my mind to return to normal. I turned around and ran in the other direction as fast as I could. My foot slipped. Looking down, I saw that the floor was pulsing, blood gushing out of pores in it, covering my feet and threatening to swallow. I bit back a scream and began to run, my movements slightly more sluggish than before.

I could make out a few figures in front of me. They turned around, and I didn’t even try to stop my screaming. It was my old team, my very first one, the one that I used to laugh and play with before I officially joined Mortem along with them. Their appearances depicted the way they had died.

Jamie reached out towards me, her entire being covered with blood. I began to run towards them, not caring if this was an illusion designed to bring me to my doom. I couldn’t catch up to them. Every time I took one step forward, it seemed that they were moving that far back. Three black large shapes rose up behind my friends and ate all of them, whole. My feet slowly stopped moving as I stared at the creatures in shock.

They looked like overgrown carnivorous cows. They had also killed my friends the first time. Then they broke out into a run towards me, and I jumped into action. This was an illusion, there was no way that I could beat it. Turning and running was the only solution I had left. So that’s what I did. I ran, and I ran, but the sounds of their heavy footsteps grew louder and louder behind me. I turned briefly to see them bearing down on me, looking at me like I was a deer they, the starving wolves, had just killed. Not even my amplification was a match for them. The one in the middle devoured me in just a few quick bites.

I plunged into its darkness, falling and falling, but there was no bottom. Around me, ghostly images of my friends appeared.

“Shadow!” I turned to see Annie holding her hand out. “Help!” She screamed.

“Annie!” I cried. It didn’t matter that she was dead. I could save her this time!. “Annie!” I screamed again. I reached out towards her, but before I could touch her hand, the scene shifted around me, and I was back in the green place. This time, there was a light at the end. It might lead me to another place, but I had to make this nightmare speed up. Suddenly, something grabbed me from behind.

“You killed him!” I turned my head to the best of my abilities to see Kenny had me by the neck, a knife pressed up against it. “You killed Danny!” I tried to say something, but my mouth wouldn’t open. He slit my neck quite effectively, and I woke up screaming. I shakily walked to the door to go to the kitchen and get water.

“What should we do with him?”

“Maybe we should do some naughty things with him.” My eyes widened. People were talking in Nathan’s room. I slithered through the walls as a shadow.

“There’s someone here,” one of them said. There were only two of them, but they had Nathan bound and gagged.

“Let’s get out of here,” the other one hissed. Human minds are strange. Just when you’re expecting them to do one thing, they can do the exact opposite. Just like a desperate will animal in a cage- you never know what they’re going to do. They slit his throat. The scene shifted again. I had been in a dream?

I was walking along a bridge. On either sides were pools of lava, dark lava. It couldn’t be controlled. Pablo, Kenny, and Danny were walking in front of me.

“Don’t dance,” Kenny told Pablo. “You could die.”

Pablo simply laughed and jumped higher. “Oh, but what is life without a few risks?” I tried to open my mouth but found that I couldn’t. All I could do was watch as I placed one foot in front of the other. A loose rock fell from the ceiling and broke the rock bridge, taking Pablo with it. Without a second thought, Danny plunged in after him. Kenny screamed in anguish.

“Shadow!” He screamed. I knew why he was screaming my name, but I couldn’t do anything. I could only watch them plunge to their deaths.

The next time, I was in a dark room. Scum lined the sides of the room, and I could hear the distinct chatter of rats’ teeth. Beside me, Scarlet was hanging by her wrists. I found that I was in the same position. There were only a few cuts on my body, but Scarlet looked close to death.

“I- I don’t have long to live,” she croaked. Oh, s**t. Not Scarlet. No. I couldn’t watch Scarlet die. No. There was no way in hell I was going to even let that happen. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

“I wanted to tell you that you gave me hope.” I turned my head slightly, so I could see Scarlet. There was a tear glistening in the corner of her eye. No way. Scarlet was crying? “I- I’m going to miss you,” Scarlet breathed. She gasped, and the tears began to fall quickly. “D****t, Shadow. I didn’t want you to see me like this.” She straightened up, despite the tears fast falling down her face. “You know how I was into scrapbooking for a year? I still have the scrapbook. I looked through it a lot.” She looked at me. “I’m going to miss you.” Her expression became fierce and proud, but she looked into the distance. I knew what was happening. She didn’t want to die, but no member of Mortem was going to face Death like a coward. It was clear Scarlet was focusing on something. “Death is here,” she whispered. “Good-bye, Castor X. Dragon.” And with that, I saw her soul leave her body.

Another scene shift. This time, I was in Nick’s arms, my face buried in his chest.

“What would you do if I died?” He asked.

I opened my mouth to say something, but what came out wasn’t the same. It was like something was controlling my speech. “I would celebrate,” I said.

Nick pouted. “That makes me sad.” I chuckled. Suddenly, Nick’s eyes widened. His hand unraveled around me, and whatever was making this dream made me open my eyes to watch. His hand went to his back, and when he lifted up his fingers again, they were dripping with dark red liquid.

“I’ve been shot,” he said mutely. With that, he too died. I let out a scream, but in the back of my mind, I was thanking the Lords that it was all over. Everything went black, but I opened my eyes. I was standing in complete blackness, but it was a confined place. I could feel that much, but why was I still in a dream? I chose a random direction and began to move in it. Then I broke out into a full out run. People flashed by me, and my eyes widened in shock. They were all the people I had killed. They were all looking at me with sad eyes. Their bodies were in whichever way I had killed them. I squeezed my eyes and ran past them. It felt like an eternity. When I opened my eyes, I saw Pollux, broken, cut, and battered. Putting all of my strength into the final sprint, I burst ahead. I turned and watch Pollux’s image fade.

“See? This is how much suffering you’ve caused,” he said as he was slowly fading. Then everything went black, and I woke up, gasping for air.