Chapter 82:The Nightmare

Chapter 82: Chapter 82:The Nightmare

The night had fallen over the Elf Lands. The settlement finally settled down after another day of repair works, the fires smothered and the injured people were resting after another grueling day of battle.

Arin laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

His body ached all over.

After the mock battle with Ayan and pushing Dungeon Sovereign beyond its limit, Arene had scolded him several times to rest. She had been right too, saying that he needed to rest. "You should sleep," Arene said, her voice echoing in his mind. Arin let out a tired smile. "You always sound like a mother when you say that." "I am not your mother." "I know." "Then stop making me repeat myself." Arin chuckled. "Alright."

With a yawn, he closed his eyes and fell asleep within minutes.

A few moments later, everything was normal. The settlement was under a clear sky. The damaged buildings and the broken walls had been rebuilt, and the elves wandered around the streets, chatting while the children were playing around. Arin stood in the middle of the street, and he could hear the sounds of laughter. Saira was quarreling with Ayan while Mira was chatting with a few other elves. Adnan was busy repairing a part of the wall while Eldran stood near the center of the village, talking with a few elders.

It was all going smoothly. Perhaps a little smooth. Arin frowned. "Why does it feel so..." No one responded. All of a sudden, the sky turned dark. A loud bell sounded from the eastern watchtower once, then twice. Then the screaming began. Arin turned around and his heart almost stopped. A Chimera had just flown through the outer walls, landing near the middle of the street and attacking. Another one came, then another few. "No!" Arin unsheathed his sword. "Everyone, get inside!"

The elves hurried inside while several more Chimeras came swarming in from the trees.

There were dozens of them, hundreds, maybe even thousands! The trees themselves seemed to vanish under the monsters. Arin ran towards the nearest Chimera, his powers surging. "Dungeon Authority! Dungeon Barrier!" A barrier of light surrounded the settlement, and the first few Chimeras were blasted back with a loud impact. Arin exhaled in relief. "Good."

A sudden cracking sound echoed around him. Arin turned pale. "No..."

CRACK!

The entire barrier shattered, leaving the Chimeras to swarm inside. Chaos erupted as the monsters ravaged the settlement, but Arin ran towards Saira.

"Saira!"

Saira turned around, her face revealing a shocked look as a Chimera appeared behind her. Arin leaped forward, slicing the monster in half as he pulled Saira towards him. "Arin, what are you--" "Get inside!" Arin yelled, pushing her towards the entrance.

Saira nodded, but another Chimera was about to slash her when Arin’s grip on her wrist tightened. He turned around and the Chimera’s claw sliced right through Saira’s side, making her eyes go wide in horror as she fell down with a gasp.

"NO!"

Arin caught her just before she hit the ground. "Saira!" She looked up at him, blood trickling from the corner of her lips. "Arin..." Her voice was fading away. Then her eyes rolled back and she died.

"NO!"

Arin screamed, his powers surging out of control. He didn’t care about channeling them; he used them all. Dungeon Manipulation. Dungeon Authority Reinforcement. Authority Channeling. Dungeon Barrier. Dungeon Sense. All of it came pouring out of him, obliterating everything around him. The ground split open, trees were thrown away and Chimeras were crushed beneath falling boulders, but more kept coming. Arin turned around and saw Ayan battling the Chimeras above the settlement.

His dragon form was tearing the monsters limb from limb, throwing them away with fireballs but soon, more Chimeras surrounded him. Ayan roared in fury as he slashed at the creatures surrounding him, but they continued to swarm him. One of them bit into Ayan’s wing while another slashed at his throat. Ayan fell down with a loud thud, his body writhing in pain. Arin’s eyes widened in horror. "Ayan!" Arin ran towards him, but the moment he reached halfway, a loud explosion of energy blew him back.

When Arin opened his eyes, Ayan was gone, leaving only a crater. Arin groaned, pushing himself up and looked around. His heart was beating faster than ever. "Mira!" Arin looked around and finally spotted the girl near the healer’s building, which was already in ruins. She was surrounded by Chimeras, trying to slash at them but she was losing. Arin ran towards her.

"I’m coming!"

Mira looked up at him and smiled the same gentle smile she always does. Then a Chimera kicked her in the chest, making Arin’s blood boil. "Mira!" He was too late. Mira fell down, dead. Arin knelt beside her, trembling. "This isn’t real," he whispered.

"This isn’t real!"

Arin looked around, trying to find some sense of reality but all he could see were the burning buildings, the fallen bodies on the ground and the Chimeras clawing their way through the streets. The elves were dying, their bodies lying on the streets in pools of blood. Adnan was battling a group of Chimeras near the western walls when he suddenly looked towards Arin. "Adnan!" Arin ran towards him just as a Chimera slashed Adnan’s side, making him fall down.

"NO!"

Arin roared in despair as he ran towards him, but another voice reached his ears. "Eldran!" The Elf Chief was locked in combat near the center of the settlement, his body covered in blood. He fought the Chimeras surrounding him with all his might, only to be thrown down and the creatures pounced on him, finishing him off. Arin screamed in rage, but there was nothing he could do.

All around him, the people of the Elf Lands were dying. Every single person he had fought beside was falling one by one. Even the people he had barely met, they all died.

Arin was alone in the destruction and chaos, the skies above burning as the trees around him were set on fire.

Saira.

Ayan.

Mira.

Adnan.

Eldran.

They were all gone. Even the voices were gone, leaving only silence. Then, something else appeared behind him.

Footsteps.

Arin turned around and his eyes widened as Caelan appeared at the edge of the ruined settlement. The man did not attack; instead he looked at Arin with an unreadable expression. "What did you do?" Arin demanded. Caelan said nothing. Arin’s eyes narrowed. "You did this!" With a loud yell, Arin ran towards him and slashed, only for the image of Caelan to vanish. He turned around, but the man was already gone. A cold wind swept through the burning settlement, making Arin shiver. He was alone. Completely alone.

Then, a familiar voice echoed behind him.

"Arin."

Arin turned around and his eyes widened as Saira, Ayan, Mira, Adnan and Eldran all appeared in front of him. They were covered in blood and their eyes were empty. "You couldn’t save us," they said in unison. Arin took a step back.

"No."

"You failed us," the voices said again.

Arin clenched his fists.

"I didn’t fail you!"

"All of us are dead," the voices said.

Arin covered his ears.

"STOP IT!"

"Your people are dead," one of them said.

"THEY ARE GONE!"

Arin screamed, but nothing happened.

"You let us die."You couldn’t save anyone."

"You are the only one left."

"SHUT UP!"

Arin roared, but a loud explosion of energy blew him away. When Arin opened his eyes, he was back in his sleeping quarters, gasping for air. He looked around, sweat dripping down his face as his body trembled. Arene immediately spoke in his mind. "Arin?" He ignored her. "Arin, what happened?" Arene asked. Arin placed a hand on his chest, feeling his racing heart.

"I’m here," Arene said gently. Arin nodded.

"They’re alive." "Who?"

She asked. "Ayan. Saira. Mira. Adnan. Eldran." "They are." Arin looked out the window. "I saw them die." Arene did not respond at first. Arin looked down. "It was a nightmare," he said.

Arin told her everything: about the Chimeras attacking, the settlement burning, Saira dying in his arms and the view of Ayan falling to the ground. Mira, Adnan and Eldran. Everything up until Caelan appeared and told him that he failed them all. When Arin was done, Arene looked away. "You don’t think it was some kind of omen?"

Arene hesitated. "I don’t know." Arin was surprised. "But nightmares are not a sign of the future," Arene said. "You have experienced a Chimera attack, you saw people dying and you know Caelan is watching you closely. You have fought so many battles already. I’m sure your mind can come up with many reasons for you to feel this way." Arin said nothing.

The thought was still there, but he understood what Arene was saying. "What if it happens?" Arin looked up at her. "If it does, then you fight." Arin frowned. "You won’t let me do this alone." "No. But I won’t lie to you and say that I can protect everyone," Arene said. Arin bowed his head. That was the answer he needed to hear.

Arene continued. "You fear failure." Arin nodded. "Yeah." "Then remember what you learned today," Arene said. "The mock battle?" Arin looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?" "You learned that you don’t have to be stronger than all of them to win, but you have to understand them and learn their weaknesses. You were paying attention to what I said, weren’t you?"

Arin let out a small laugh. "You were really paying attention," Arene replied with a smile. Arin leaned back against the wall.

His breathing steadied as he looked out the window. The settlement was still, the people safe. Everything was fine. They were still there: Ayan, Saira, Mira, Adnan, Eldran.

The trees hadn’t vanished, the buildings had not crumbled and the people were still there. Arin let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. "I hate nightmares," Arin muttered. Arene chuckled. "Then have better dreams." Arin smiled. "That doesn’t work." "I know," Arene replied. Arin laid back down and stared at the ceiling.

The nightmare had passed, but still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he would have to live through it again.

"I won’t let it happen," he whispered.