1 Nightmare?

An obsidian tower pierced the crimson clouds floating above. A strong breeze blew through the surroundings. Stirring the little particles of dust in the air. They floated up and swirled softly, unaware of the tension that spanned throughout the area.

Vast mountains rose in the opposite direction of the tower. In between the two landmarks, a large plain full of crimson sand spread out.

Suddenly, night fell.

A thick, viscous blackness covered the sky and earth. The darkness radiated a sense of profound wrongness that could cause a weaker being's soul to freeze in fear. A giant roar echoed within the depths of this curtain of gloom.

Soon after, a bright light flashed. A sizzling sound rang out from the points where the darkness and light met. If one were to look closer, the vague outline of a lightning bolt shimmered ethereally hidden beneath the holy radiance.

The momentary clash subsided. The blackness and bright radiance both retreated at the same time.

On one side, a vast army numbering in the hundreds of thousands snarled and bared their teeth toward their bitter enemies. Dressed in black, lustreless armour that covered most of their bodies, except that of their wings and horns, they appeared as if they had lived in the deepest depths of hell.

Opposite them, bathed in the dazzling brilliance, white-winged beings stood in formation. Their armour overlapped with the glowing light around them.

A wrathful thunderstorm of crimson clouds, full of golden lightning, coalesced above their heads. The spears in their hands trembled in unison. As if excited at the prospect of the approaching bloodbath.

All of this had occurred in mere seconds. The surrounding dust kicked up violently just from the mere aura of the two parties. The obsidian tower provided a stark backdrop to the rapidly boiling conflict.

Soon after, though, four other armies appeared from the left and right of the large throng. From the west, Giants wielding large hammers ambled forward. Each of their steps caused vibrations to spread through the ground.

Intermixed with those enormous behemoths, skeletal serpents slithered across the ground emitting noxious fumes of eerie, dark gas. With every slither, a distinct rattle rang out.

To anyone with a weak will, the rattling sound alone would be enough to drive them insane, worming its way into the depths of their psyche and echoing eternally.

From the east, aquatic creatures morphed into their humanoid forms. A hurricane of wind and water formed above their heads, splitting the heavens into shades of red, blue, and back.

Combined with the amphibians, creatures of varying sizes with a golden mane of fur, the torso of a goat, and the scaly tails of serpents roared. Their cry carried into the wind. Adding another sense of pressure to the already precarious situation.

Simultaneously, each army parted, and six figures walked out into the centre of the crimson plain. Five of them stood in a semi-circle surrounding a being with alabaster skin and one black wing extending from his right shoulder.

Said being viewed his opponents and surroundings with equal disdain.

"Oh, how nice it is for each of you to join me today, Sentinel of Worlds, Queller of Planets, Marauder of Realms, Cleanser of Worlds, and… Dimensional Asphyxiator."

After the intonation of true titles, the pressure in the surroundings multiplied. It felt as if the very world had come to a standstill.

The winged being cackled in delight.

A crazed grin appeared on his face.

The Sentinel of Worlds stepped forward. His giant body extended upwards for tens of metres. A sole eye slit peeked open in the middle of his forehead.

"Enough, Shoge! You have broken the Ancient Laws. To dare absorb multiple star cores and end dozens of worlds, we have decided your fate. It's time for you to die. Oh, Devourer of Souls."

A fierce gale whipped up, a result of the winged being's true title being invoked.

Stepping forward, alongside the Sentinel of Worlds, the Cleanser of Worlds and Queller of Planets gazed forward with solemn expressions on their faces. The two storms above roared in unison with their step.

Tendrils of golden lightning snaked across the Cleanser of Worlds' white wings with the shadow of a large tree manifesting in their eyes.

Meanwhile, enormous waves of water appeared behind the Queller of Planets. Their gleaming azure scales glinted. A drizzle of rain fell from the clouds overhead.

"HAHAHA! I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time. Your denial of accepting the fact that something stronger than the 'Oldest One' could exist will be your downfall. Arrogant fools." Shoge spat with venom.

"Bah, can we just get this over and done with?" The Dimensional Asphyxiator tried to yawn with a bored expression, however, what came out was a mighty roar filled with flames instead.

Their three misconstrued yet joined body parts tensed in anticipation of a good fight for the first time in eons.

Silently, a snake covered in clouds of poisonous gas slithered forward next to the other four beings. Its forked tongue peeked out every so often. A greedy light in its eyes.

BOOM-!

Suddenly, all hell broke loose. The six mighty figures' bodies flickered up into the sky. A powerful shockwave of air visible for miles appeared, as a result of their clash.

The armies down below roared and rushed to vanquish their enemies. A wave of palpable bloodlust enshrouded the whole area.

Clashes of weapons, outcries of pain, and curses resounded. Rivers of blood dyed the ground various shades of crimson. The ichor spilled would soon cause the land to become infertile. A grim reminder of the battle here for years to come.

As the fighting continued and thunder boomed, a fair distance away at the top of the obsidian tower, a figure wearing flowing red robes calmly watched the current proceedings. The scythe in their hands glinted as if declaring the fate of all the beings below.

Red mist obscured their facial features. If one were to peer deeper, one would see small yet intricate golden symbols appear in their pupils. Turning their head, the being clad in red gazed in a certain direction and intoned.

"Fate."

***

'Ugh.'

A teenager with brown hair and a jagged birthmark on his temple gasped awake and clutched his head. He felt as if burning hot coals were being seared into the back of his eyes.

The image of the being with red mist obscuring their facial features, staring in his direction remained vivid in his mind.

'What was that?'

Rubbing his eyes tiredly after the pain had somewhat faded away, the boy scanned his room. Darkness still occupied the space. A sign that the sun hadn't yet risen behind the drawn curtains.

Reflecting on the strange dream he had, goosebumps appeared on his skin. The boy vaguely remembered he had seen those six mighty figures somewhere before.

Although Nico realised there was much more to this dream than met the eye…, especially with the fact that the being on top of the obsidian tower, mentioned the word 'fate', he couldn't help but feel his blood boil.

Clenching his fists, Nico made his own attempt at a heroic expression. He imagined himself possessing that kind of power.

The power to extinguish one's enemies and be in control of your own destiny.

The brown-haired boy then sighed a few seconds later. Looking down at his lanky frame hidden by the darkness, he dejectedly shook his head.

His thin build was one of the main insecurities he had alongside his birthmark. No matter what he did, or how much he ate, Nico always found that he was still skinny… with no signs of showing any improvement.

This led him to be envious of those who had naturally larger bodies. He wished to become a mighty warrior. How could he become so without having the foundation of a strong physique?

After all, a warrior was only just as good as their body.

Nico sighed again. Gazing at his own hands, hidden by the thick blackness of night, he found his thoughts stray to the one subject he so desperately wanted to avoid. Along with the memories of that fateful day, a large well of suffocating guilt pressed down on his chest.

The boy found it hard to breathe. He felt as if the walls were closing in around him. Even now, a year later, he still struggled to fully come to terms with what had happened.

Nico couldn't forgive himself. If he didn't exist, then his best friend wouldn't have died that day.

Taking multiple deep breaths - something he had learned helped fight off his frequent panic attacks - the lanky teen closed his eyes for a few moments and let the negative thoughts flow away.

The wave of guilt and grief soon passed.

Nico slumped back onto his pillow. He felt his breath even out and his heart thump against his chest again at a steady rhythm.

'I should go back to sleep. I have my first day at the Training Camp tomorrow.'

With that thought, the boy threw the weird dream to the back of his mind and forcefully controlled his excitement at the thought of training. Soon enough, his eyes drooped and the soft sound of snoring reverberated around the room.

A small smile leaked onto the young man's face.

His ever-active imagination in full swing.