Online In Another World

With dozens of the grotesque, fungal-infected undead closing in, he unleashed everything he had into a blaze, swallowing everything in front of him in the draconic heat. As expected, the nature of the flammable creatures allowed the flames to eat away and spread between the undead, giving him ample time to begin ascending the vines.

[Level Up!]

[Level Fourteen Achieved]

Despite the level up, he hardly felt rejuvenated, though the little bit of strength let him slowly ascend, lugging his body up as he tucked his sword into its sheath.

My body…it's giving out, he thought.

It was a struggle just to keep his fingers wrapped around the strained vines, feeling his eyelids flicker while the groans of the blossomed corpses below echoed.

Crap…He thought.

"Emilio…!" Melisande called out from above, leaning down from the decaying wood of the higher floor.

Just before he lost his strength, he looked up to find the silver-haired girl extending her hand down to him.

"--Melisande!?"

He was shocked she didn't already go through the doorway, but in that moment, he was more relieved than anything that she was there. Without hesitation, he accepted her hand, using the anchor to guide his strength upward before finally summiting the floor.

"...I made it…" He exhaled, catching his breath.

"You're reckless…seriously," Melisande sighed out.

He held his bleeding forearm, wincing a bit, "...Still, we made it. We found it…"

The words of his were pointed at the snow-white door, which sat there ominously, unknown what would be waiting on the other side.

A tearing sound met his ears as he looked over, finding Melisande ripping a piece of her dress off.

"Here," Melisande said.

"Huh–?"

To his surprise, the prideful girl presented first-aid prowess, using the verdant fabric from a piece of her dress to use as a bandage, wrapping it around his forearm.

"Thanks…" He said in gratitude, feeling the warmth from his wound stain the makeshift bandage.

"It's not much, but it'll help with the bleeding," Melisande said, "...Brother taught me how to treat basic wounds. He was reliable like that…"

"Yeah, he was," he said with a meclancholid smile.

With the malignant nature of the swamp, he didn't waste any time returning to his feet as Melisande followed close to him; they both waited in front of the door as he slowly gripped onto the handle.

"Be ready for anything," he warned, "we could find Larundog, or…something else like this swamp."

"I know. I'm ready," Melisande assured.

"Alright. Then…let's go," he said.

Slowly turning the black-wood handle, the door quietly clicked before opening, presenting a veil of mist that prevented either of them from seeing what laid past its threshold.

Could it be Larundog? He questioned.

Melisande held onto his hand as he stepped through first, though she followed his step as they passed the threshold, entering into whatever reality awaited.

"Are we back in the city…?" Melisande asked, not yet opening her eyes from the fog.

The scenery revealed itself to him as he found his boots standing on solid, firm ground; quartz tiles were paved neatly.

"Huh…?" He looked around without answering.

It couldn't be further from the swamp, but it certainly wasn't the city.

The new reality he found himself in was a single corridor with the wall to the right being made of pale-white stone, just like the floor, but the left wall was mostly absent, revealing nothing but clouds passing by.

Melisande finally opened her eyes as well, letting out a small gasp, "...What is this place?"

"I don't know, but…it feels kind of comforting," he said.

There was a tranquil feel to the enigmatic corridor; its end couldn't be seen as it curved around. The sky itself didn't seem to be dawn or dusk, but a soft orange hue, sitting between both times of day perpetually while clouds grazed by.

He led the way carefully, beginning to walk slowly as he watched the abundance of clouds float closely by, neighboring the high-altitude, lonesome corridor.

"Do you think there are more monsters here?" Melisande asked.

"I can't say. Let's hope not," he answered.

Taking a few more steps, he suddenly keeled over, wincing as he hugged his own body from a jolt of visceral pain.

"Ghh…!" He gritted his teeth.

"Emilio!" Melisande called out worriedly, kneeling by his side.

Shit…I used all of my mana…my body is completely exhausted and the toll from the Dragonheart System…I can't move like this, he thought.

Though she didn't know the specifics, Melisande understood the severity of his condition as he helped him sit against the smooth wall of the corridor that could almost be mistaken as contemporary.

"You need to rest," Melisande told him.

"No, it's too dangerous around here…"

"You don't know that for sure. Even if it was…in your condition, you can't fight anyway," Melisande told him, sitting beside him, "I'll keep watch, alright?"

He was hesitant to accept this as he was impatient to escape the abnormal realities and reunite with his lost companions, but he obliged as there was little choice with his own body.

"...Alright…just a bit," he said weakly, closing his eyes.

As soon as his consciousness seemed to fade, he found himself in a plane of dreams that was far too vibrant; far too detailed.

It was a sublime stretch of cosmos, expanding infinitely as nebulae as colossal as stars stretched on through the black mass of space.

The cosmos…? This dream seems familiar, he thought.

"Welcome back."

–A voice spoke to him that was familiar yet unknown until he spun around, finding himself looking at a figure that was devoid of any features.

The figure was humanoid in shape, but lacked eyes, ears, or even a nose, simply having a mouth that it spoke from, sitting on the lonesome, wooden floorboards that floated in the sea of cosmos.

"You're–"

All at once, the forgotten memories of a past dream resurfaced as he recalled his first meeting with the enigmatic entity.

"Sorry about that," the entity said with a smile, "Dreams are a fickle thing. You tend to let go of them the moment your eyes open."

"No…something like this, there's no way I'd forget it. Still, why're you back now…after all this time?"

As he asked his question, the faceless entity looked at him, gesturing for him to sit. Though he was too anxious to want to sit, he obliged, seeking answers among the drifting cosmos.

"You should be thanking me," the entity said.

"...For what?"

The white figure raised his hand, "The alternate reality you're resting in currently–you don't think such a peaceful space is something the Unending Nightmare led you to, do you?"

It wasn't something he considered until just then, but it made sense. The quartz corridor among the lumbering, soft clouds certainly didn't feel nightmarish.

"Yeah…wait, you know about the Unending Nightmare? And what does it have to do with you? Who are you, anyway?" He asked.

"That's a lot of questions at once, besides–who I am doesn't matter. Just think of me as a supporter of yours," the entity answered, "--but, the Unending Nightmare is certainly something. You've certainly drawn the short end of the stick by running straight into its territory. If I didn't know any better, I'd say some higher power has it out for you."

It felt like a cruel joke posed when those words came from an entity that seemed transcendental in itself, but he ignored the crude words of the entity.

"What is the Unending Nightmare, anyway?...This sort of ability isn't just from a monster," he asked.

"You're right. The 'Unending Nightmare' is normally just the aspect of something greater," the faceless figure replied.

"Something greater…?"

"A 'primordial': abstract beings that exist beyond the realm of humans. They're as old as time–well, even time is one such primordial. I digress; the 'Unending Nightmare' is the avatar of the primordial 'Ktholl'drulbh'--an entity which feeds on fear," the figure told him.

Such a name was basically unintelligible to his ears, though the reality of the faceless figure's words were bleak to him.

"The Unending Nightmare is something that powerful…? How do I beat something like that?" He asked.

The figure smiled, "Luckily, all you need to do is kill its avatar. That's the only thing tethering it to the realm of mortals, anyhow. Easier said than done though; it's heart is residing in one of these alternate spaces."

"But, it controls these spaces right…? I mean, it's created these alternate worlds, right?" He posed the question.

The cosmos continued to swirl around the lonesome room; distant galaxies shined and continued to spark on with endless creation while stars glittered across the void.

"You're somewhat correct. The Unending Nightmare has control over the gateways between alternate spaces, but it doesn't create them–at least not all of them. They're 'incomplete worlds'--spaces that hold little depth and nuance past one meaning," the entity told him, "the Unending Nightmare will try and keep you from reaching the space its resides in, but…I'm going to pull some strings."

"You will…? You can do that? Honestly, I just thought you might've been a figment of my imagination…" He said.

"Ha-ha! You give yourself too much credit. You can consider me…a distant cousin to the primordials," the entity told him, "I can't guarantee you won't find yourself in more nightmarish worlds, but I'll lead you to where it's hiding. If I can, I'll try routing other survivors there as well to help you. You'll certainly need it. Just keep struggling on, Emilio."

"Right…" He said before looking up, "Hey, why're you helping–"

Before he could get the question he wanted to ask out, everything faded before his eyelids suddenly parted.

He was staring up directly at a quartz roof, finding himself with a sore body as he groaned, slowly sitting up.

"Ngh…how long was I out?" He mumbled, holding his head.

Looking forward, the sight of the sea of clouds was comforting after awakening from his slumber, finding their slow, but tranquil drift through the sky to be relaxing.

Melisande yawned, seeming to have fallen asleep too, "...You're finally up?"

"Err, you were asleep too," he said.

"I was just sitting with my eyes closed," Melisande affirmed.

"Sure," he sighed.