Chapter 265: Wake Up
"Are those tears in your eyes?" I asked, my voice laced with mockery as it reverberated through the dreamscape. "Oh, don’t be shy. You’ve come all this way into my dream, haven’t you? Surely you didn’t think it would be so easy."
The boy’s head whipped around, his small body trembling as he tried to pinpoint the source of my voice. He spun too fast, stumbling backward over the uneven, jagged ground. His legs gave out beneath him, and he landed hard on his back with a muted thud. The knife fell from his grip, clattering against the floor and skidding just out of reach.
The battlefield began to twist and distort around him, the blood-stained earth shifting like liquid. From the shadows, I stepped forward, my movements slow and deliberate, savoring the moment. My glowing, otherworldly eyes fixed on him, and I allowed my lips to curl into a predatory grin that I knew would chill him to his core.
"So, what’s your plan now, little one?" I asked, my tone mocking as I towered over him. Tilting my head slightly, I feigned curiosity. "Did you think you could just walk in, cut a little thread, and be done with it?"
The boy’s lips moved, but no sound came out. His face was pale, and his small, fragile body trembled violently. He tried to push himself backward, scraping against the blood-soaked ground, but his limbs were too weak to cooperate.
I crouched down slowly, meeting him at eye level. My grin never wavered. If anything, it grew wider as I leaned closer. "You don’t look so good," I said softly, my voice almost gentle. "What’s wrong? Scared? Lost? Oh, don’t worry. I can guide you."
The boy flinched, his wide eyes reflecting pure terror. I could see the tears streaming down his face now, leaving streaks of clean skin on his blood-smeared cheeks. I raised my hand, and with a lazy snap of my fingers, the blood figures in the distance began to move.
The boy’s head whipped around, his panic doubling as the figures—abstract, grotesque forms—shambled toward him. Their shapes twisted as they approached, sprouting limbs where there shouldn’t be any, their bodies morphing into horrifying, otherworldly shapes.
He let out a choked scream and began to crawl backward, his hands scrabbling against the ground. "No!" he cried. "Stay away!"
I laughed, the sound echoing through the battlefield like a crack of thunder. "Oh, now you want to leave? But you came here, didn’t you? So brave just a moment ago."