But some, a very few chosen by the universe itself for a mysterious reason, did not die. They were plucked from their dying worlds and cast into one place, the only star remaining in this vast universe. A world that became their beacon and their prison. And those who lived and were born in that world were called... "The Chosen."
[After the events of the House of Despair massacre]
"Dream" emerged from the House of Despair, leaving a silent tomb behind him. He felt no remorse or victory. His experiment had failed, and that was all that mattered. The metallic scent of blood still clung to him, but he didn't notice it. His mind was busy analyzing the reason for the failure.
His feet led him instinctively through the muddy alleys, not to any new place, but to the only place that had represented "home" in Hong Min's memory. The dilapidated hut at the edge of the Swamp of Shadows.
But before he could reach it, two individuals appeared out of nowhere, as if they had stepped out of the shadows themselves, blocking his path.
The first was massive, wearing heavy black armor bearing the simple emblem of the "Gu" Clan. His face under the helmet was hard and covered in scars.
The second was different. He was slender, imposing, and wore a robe of black silk embroidered with silver threads that formed the clan's complex emblem, surrounded by three lines representing the wind. His long hair was tied back precisely, and the tattoo of a saber-toothed tiger's head adorned his neck. There were no weapons in his hand, only an arrogant and confident smile.
"So the rumors were true," the imposing figure said, his voice smooth and cold. "A real Panir. Here in my city. You made quite a stir at the House of despair. A chaotic method, but an effective one to announce your arrival."
"Dream" tilted his head.
"I am Ling Gu," the man said with an arrogant smile. "Remember my name well, for I will be your master."
"Dream" paused for a moment, processing the word. Hong Min's memory linked the word "master" to beatings, pain, and humiliation. His own logic linked it to subservience and the loss of autonomy.
"I have no master," "Dream" said quietly.
Ling Gu laughed, a genuine and amused laugh. "Excellent. Strong and broken. You are perfect. Slave! Bring him."
The massive guard charged. But "Dream" was faster. The "Ash Blade" slid from its scabbard, and in a single, swift, and fluid motion, it passed through the guard's neck. There was no fight. Just a faint hiss, then the sound of a metal head falling to the ground.
"Nothing less from a Panir," Ling Gu said, looking more impressed than angry. "You've just killed one of my best dogs."
"Dream" prepared to attack him. But suddenly, he felt it. An immense, invisible pressure, as if a mountain had suddenly descended upon him. He couldn't move. He fell to one knee, the muddy ground cracking beneath him.
"But you will need much more time to defeat me," Ling Gu said, the smile never leaving his face. "I will leave you today. I don't want to carry you while you resist; it's a nuisance. But consider this a warning. You are now in my territory. And everything in my territory... is mine."
Ling Gu disappeared with indescribable speed, and with him, the pressure vanished.
"Dream" rose. He ignored the guard's corpse and retreated to Hong Min's dilapidated hut. He closed the door behind him. He felt that burning sensation in his chest again, where his secondary heart was.
He sat on the rickety bed and looked at his reflection in the black blade of his sword. He saw a stone face. And grey eyes. And long black hair. "Why do I have 404's face?" he muttered, the words coming out of him like the echo of another person. "Why is my hair long and black? I am Dream. I am Dream. I am Dream. Who am I?"
He hit his head with his stone hand, the muffled impact echoing in the small hut. In the midst of his internal chaos, he took out the metal bracelet he had taken from Dio's wrist. He looked at it. Suddenly, it emitted a faint light and projected a small, barely visible holographic symbol into the air. He tried to use the "Echo of the Soul."
At that moment, he heard a faint sound. A quiet movement from the roof.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Dream" went out the hut door and looked up. Then, in a single, powerful, and silent leap, he landed on the dilapidated roof.
She was there.
A woman was sitting on the edge of the roof, her whitish-blonde hair cascading down her back, as she looked at the Forest of Chains with an indescribable longing. She was wearing fine clothes, but they were tight and seemed ill-fitting. She was no longer that bright girl. She looked like an extinguished sun. But even an extinguished sun is still a sun.
In that moment, Hong Min's memory took over completely. He felt a strange change, as if his stone chassis were shrinking, and his black hair was igniting with a red color for a fleeting moment. He had become him.
He called out in a voice he hadn't used in a long time, a voice filled with all the longing and pain in the world.
"Aline?"
She turned slowly upon hearing the name. When she saw him, everything in her world changed. The man who had called her name was not the thin, red-haired boy she had known. He was a monster. A massive being carved from grey stone, his long black hair cascading down his shoulders, and his eyes... they were as grey and empty as the mouth of a grave.
The blood in her veins froze. "A Panir..." she whispered the word in horror and took a step back. "Damn it... I'm not dying here. Not after all this. Not because of some cursed coincidence!"
She didn't hesitate. She raised her hand and whispered quick words. The wind gathered around her, transforming into sharp, invisible blades that shot toward the stone creature.
"Dream" didn't move to dodge them. He drew the "Ash Blade" from its scabbard in a single, fluid, and calm motion. He wasn't fighting; he was parrying. The light-absorbing black blade met the cutting wind, and the attacks scattered to his sides without leaving a single scratch.
"Aline..." "Dream" said, his voice a deep and strange rumble, but the words that came out were Hong Min's. "Have you forgotten me, Maker of Names? It is I, Hongbin."
She was shocked. Her mind screamed that this was impossible, but the words, the nickname... no one in the world knew that nickname but them. "Crazy..." she whispered. "You crazy son of a whore... How do you know my name? How do you know Hong Min's name?"
"Dream" ignored her questions. Hong Min's memory was now in control, the memory of the boy who saw his sun about to escape again. He began to advance toward her, the black blade still in his hand. "I swore..." he said, his possessive tone an echo of an old pain. "I will not leave you again, my sun. I will not leave you."
This terrifying combination of a monstrous appearance and intimate words broke something inside her. She saw the creature approaching, and she saw the ghost she had been running from for years. She screamed, not in anger, but in pure terror, and then everything went dark.
Aline woke up to the smell of dust and mold. She opened her eyes slowly. She was lying on a rickety wooden bed, in a small, dark room. The hut. Hong Min's hut.
She sat up quickly, her heart pounding violently. The place was not empty. He was standing there, in the middle of the room, a massive stone idol, his shadow swallowing the faint light coming from the small window. He was standing motionless, looking at her.
A smile formed on his stone face. It wasn't a smile of joy or kindness. It was an empty, frightening, and inhuman smile. The smile of a being trying to imitate a feeling it did not understand.
"What do you want, you wretch?!" Aline screamed, scrambling backward on the bed. "To rape me? You son of a whore, I swear you won't like it! I'll fight back hard!"
The smile did not fade. "Dream" tilted his head. "You've really changed, Aline. You curse now. I've never heard you curse so much before." He was speaking with Hong Min's sarcasm, but his voice was 404's.
"Who do you think you are?" she said, angry and confused. "You know my name and you act like someone I hate more than I hate the sky above the earth! I don't know why you're acting like Hong Min, or where you learned my name, but all I'm thinking about right now is killing you! And look in the mirror, you parrot bastard!"
"Dream" stopped. "Look in the mirror...?" "What do you mean?" he said, and this time, there was a hint of genuine confusion in his voice. "Right... why is my hair longer than usual? It's black..."
He looked at the "Ash Blade" hanging at his waist. He slowly drew it from its scabbard. He wasn't looking for a weapon, but for a mirror. He looked at his distorted reflection on the light-absorbing black blade. He saw a stone face. And grey eyes. And long black hair.
"This... this isn't my face. This is 404's sword. What is it doing here? Where is 404? Where is he? He's always near me... he's my only friend... he would never leave me alone..." He hit his head with his stone hand with force, making a muffled sound. "Who am I? Who am I??"
Suddenly, he stopped. His body straightened, and all the confusion vanished from his eyes, replaced by the usual logical coldness. "Dream" had returned. He looked at Aline coldly. "Aline. Weren't you dead? My memory states you committed suicide at the auction."
She stared at him in shock. "Me, commit suicide? You're mistaken for someone else. Whatever happens to me, I will never commit suicide. Never!" Then her eyes narrowed. "Now I'm the one asking. You Panir, what is your relationship with that son of a whore Hong Min? Is this a joke of his?"
A flash of pure rage appeared in "Dream's" grey eyes. "Hong Min is my friend," he said, his voice deeper and more threatening. "And he is not a son of a whore. And if you call him a son of a whore again... again... again... I'll... I'll..." He stopped, unable to complete the sentence. He didn't have enough data for a real threat.
Aline burst into hysterical laughter. "It seems fools of a feather flock together!" She was about to say something else, but "Dream" interrupted her with an icy calm. "You ask where Hong Min is? He is dead."
Her laughter froze. She looked into his eyes and saw that he was not lying. She saw a cold, absolute truth. "Dead..." she said, the shock in her voice real. "Finally... that bastard is dead. I wish I had been the one to kill him. What a shame. How did that fool die?" "He died at my hand. In the Forest of Chains."
She looked at him, a mixture of hatred, anger, and hidden sorrow swirling in her eyes. "He went to the Forest of Chains... that bastard decided to escape without me. He deserves what happened to him. A coward. Weak." She stood up. "What do you want to do with me now? I don't care about Hong Min or your forms. Am I trapped here?"
"No, you are not trapped." She headed for the door. As she passed by his side, she reached out her hand to open it, but he grabbed her wrist. His stone grip was cold and strong. "Aline. I will not leave you again."
She reacted violently to the touch. Her body flinched, and she tried to pull her hand away, screaming in a voice full of old terror. "Don't touch me! Get away from me!"
"Dream" ignored her reaction because he didn't understand it. "Let's travel together," he said, his voice a hybrid, mixing his cold logic with the echo of Hong Min's dream. "Don't you want to get out of here? Let's go. Don't be a stubborn horse."
She stopped resisting. She looked at his stone face, then at the grip holding her hand, and then she burst out laughing again, but this time it was a bitter, desperate laugh. "Travel? Grow up, you Panir. This is reality. I'm not a dreaming child anymore. I don't want to leave this city."
With a violent motion, she freed her hand and walked out the door.
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