Summary-Sora Kurosawa survived a car crash that took the life of his fiancé Riku Hinasaki. Two months after the accident Sora begins dreaming of a manor, a tattooed priest and the image of Riku calling to him. Along with his cousin Roxas, Sora struggles to unravel the mystery behind the Manor of Sleep and to somehow be reunited with Riku again.
Pairings-Sora/Riku, Leon/Cloud and others to come in later chapters.
The Endless Dream
Chapter One
The Falling Snow
Sora Kurosawa snapped a shot of a broken beam from the upper balcony of the house he was currently photographing. This was his first major assignment in two months and, despite the creepy location, he was finding it relaxing.
The house itself was situated in a valley among the mountains that bordered the city called Radiant Garden. Given the strange and old architecture Sora guessed this house stood tall and proud back when Radiant Garden was known as Hollow Bastion.
The petite brunet photographer snapped another shot of some birds flying in through a hole in the wooden ceiling. The sunlight poured in through the broken roof and spilled across the first floor of the old mansion.
Pieces of wood and bricks decorated the sunken fireplace chamber of the mansion. Some birds had created a small nest on one of the beams above. The whole place smelled musty and damp thanks to the recent rainstorm but Sora could almost see the beauty this place once possessed.
Sora glanced towards the door when he heard it creak open and his cousin Roxas Kurosawa made his appearance. The small blond was helping Sora out with his assignment, he had a camera in one hand and he had just returned from taking pictures of the grounds outside.
Sora went back to snapping shots of the sunken fireplace while Roxas picked up the rest of the gear they were using. They were due back in Radiant Garden within half an hour.
Both boys took up photography as a way to earn extra money so they could go to the best University around. They both possessed quite a talent with a camera and now it was a job and a hobby for them.
They shared an apartment on the outskirts of the city and it was a little big for the three of them. Sora often thought about finding a smaller place for him and Roxas but every time he started looking up vacant apartments he just couldn't go through with it.
There used to be a third person sharing the place with them. The apartment used to be home to three people who were best friends. Now there was only an empty bedroom and a closet full of clothes, books, music and other items Riku Hinasaki loved dearly.
Sora stopped thinking about the beautiful teal eyed man and he concentrated on his work. It was still too painful to think about Riku. It still hurt so much.
"Hurry it up Sora. We'll be late for class." Roxas called as he got ready to leave the room.
"Almost done in here Roxas." The brunet called back. "How were the grounds?"
"I got some good stuff. If we get back in time we can hand these in and you can treat me to dinner." Roxas grinned.
"Sure Roxie." Sora smiled as he took a few more pictures of the sunken fireplace.
"I'll put these in the car." The blond left his cousin alone in the room.
Sora spotted a long corridor with navy curtains hanging over the windows that ended in a right turn that would lead into another section of the mansion.
Without a map he would probably get lost within the many halls and rooms this place possessed. Sora brought up his camera and placed it over his eyes. Making sure he was aligned properly he then snapped a shot of the corridor.
Sora felt his heart jump into his throat as he yanked the camera away from his eye. His body felt cold suddenly and his heart was beating his rib cage violently.
He had to be seeing things, that had to be the explanation, because there was in way in hell he could be actually staring at this person right now. But the hair style was unmistakable, as well as the clothing and the stance. It just couldn't be him…
"Riku?" Axel whispered. The silver haired man couldn't be here…it was simply impossible. Sea green eyes turned and stared at Sora expectantly then the person turned and walked down the corridor.
"Stop!" Sora cried and his legs began moving. It felt as if he had lost control of his body as he ran to the end of the corridor and made that sharp right turn.
When he turned the corner Sora was blinded by a bright light. He brought up one arm to cover his eyes, his other hand gripping the camera in a death grip. What the hell was going on here?
Sora felt his heart beat rapidly again when something cold touched his skin. Sapphire eyes opened slowly and the brunet felt his jaw drop open in shock. He was standing in a graveyard and snow was gently falling from the dark sky above.
"Roxas! Where are you?" Sora shouted. The only thing he could hear was his own echo. "Roxas, talk to me!"
"What's going on?" he cried fearfully. Where was the little blond? Where did Riku go? How the hell could Riku be in this…place?
Turning around Sora saw a door but it was blocked by thick pieces of wood. There was no way he could get through without a tool of some kind.
Clutching his camera and struggling with the fear that was building within him Sora took in his surroundings. The gravestone was a mound of tombstones and it was coated with a thick layer of snow. Shovels and planks of wood were piled up along a wall and the gravestone mound was lying to the right.
There was a clear cut path that Sora could walk through and he spotted another door just a few feet away. The scared brunet felt his heart beat increase when he spotted Riku walking though the door.
When the silver haired man refused to respond to Sora's calls the brunet forced his legs to move and run after Riku. When he reached the door his foot collided with something. Glancing down Sora spotted a flashlight lying in the snow.
"Riku…" Sora murmured. He found the switch for the flashlight and a bright beam shot out, lighting Sora's path.
"Hello! Riku, Roxas!" Sora yelled out but he still received no answer. "This is crazy…"
Sleep, Dreamer, lie in peace
Sleep, Dreamer, lie in peace
"Hello?" Sora called out when he heard those two lines to a song being sung. He could've sworn it was coming from behind him but he was alone in the courtyard. "What the hell is going on?"
Swallowing the fear that was clogging his throat Sora let his camera hang from his neck so he could push the door open. It creaked nosily and Sora quickly went through.
He stopped when he found himself in a large room. In front of him were thick white sliding doors and a voice was coming from behind them. Sora slowly approached the blinds and he saw a gap. Through the gap he could make out a person dressed in white robes.
Sora didn't know why but he felt the urge to take a picture of this man. Bringing up the camera he looked through the lens. The blue eyed brunet stopped when he realised that the range of the lens was now a blue circle glowing profusely.
Gulping down the lump in his throat Sora took the picture. The moment he took the shot the man in white vanished from sight. Sora backed away when the presence he felt behind the blinds vanished completely.
"I've gotta get out of here." He muttered. If only he could figure out where here is then he could leave.
Sora used the flashlight to see through the room. He saw wooden steps leading up along the blind covered chamber. The floorboards creaked under his footsteps as he walked up the steps and walked across the room.
He saw a flight of stairs leading up to a balcony that overlooked the room itself. Sora could see book shelves and a chest of drawers but his attention was drawn to the corridor to his right. He saw Riku walking down the corridor and turning left.
"Wait! Come back!" Sora shouted as he took off down the corridor towards the retreating blond. "Riku!"
Sora stopped when he saw two figures standing at the end of the corridor. Shining his flashlight on them Sora saw that it was a woman with long black hair that hid half her face. She was holding the hand of a little girl, most likely her daughter.
Like the man in white Sora felt a cold presence just by looking at the two females. He brought up his camera and quickly snapped a shot of the two of them. Like the man they both vanished from sight and Sora no longer felt that cold presence crawling over his skin.
Sapphire eyes fell on another door when he turned down the left corridor. He could feel a presence coming from behind the door and it turned his skin icy cold.
His grip of the flashlight tightened as he placed a hand on the door knob. Taking a deep breath Sora shoved the door open only to stumble into another corridor. He quickly swung his flashlight around to see where the presence was coming from.
"Riku!" Sora called again but like before he got no reply. "Roxas!"
The brunet made his way down the corridor and that chilling presence got closer to him. He felt his skin turn icy and all instincts were screaming to just run and not look back. When the floorboards behind him creaked loudly Sora swung the flashlight around and he practically felt the blood drain from his face. The presence was stronger than ever and Sora was rigid with terror at the…thing before him.
It was a man dressed in white robes stained with blood. The man was wearing a horrific mask that looked like a demon and he was holding a blood stained meat cleaver in one hand. He was saying something but the only words Sora could make out were 'sacrifice', 'blood' and 'Chosen.' He didn't scream, he was too terrified to scream so he did what any other person in his position would do…he ran.
"Get the fuck away from me!" Sora screamed as he reached a flight of stairs and ran up the steps as fast as he could.
"We need more blood." The man said in a raspy voice. "The Chosen cannot awaken." The man floated up the steps, swinging the cleaver near Sora's head.
Sora yelled as he ducked before the blade could hit him. Scrambling away from the robed man Sora grabbed the handle of the nearest door and yanked it open.
As he did so bright light spilled in and blinded him again. Sora felt a startled yell erupt from his throat and he fell to his knees against a hard, wooden floor. When the light subsided Sora saw that he was in a garden and the evil presence chasing him was gone.
"Where am I?" he whispered as he got back on his feet. He saw a large tree in the centre of the garden and there were small red dolls hanging from the tree's branches. "Riku!" the silver haired man was on the other side of the garden and heading towards double wooden doors.
"Don't go!" Sora cried as he ran around the garden. "Please, there's still something I need to say!"
The garden was in the shape of a rectangle. There were also two other corridors to the right and left with the double doors directly ahead.
As Sora ran after Riku he didn't notice the little girl wearing a blood stained kimono and holding a stake and hammer in her hands. She wore a smile on her pale face and when Sora reached the double doors he stopped when he heard that lullaby being sung again.
Sleep, Dreamer, lie in peace
Sleep, Dreamer, lie in peace
If the Chosen One wakes from his dream
Perform the rite of stakes, his limbs pinned tight
Lest the doors open wide and suffering unleashed on all
Sleep, Dreamer, lie in peace
Sora swallowed at the words but when the lullaby began to repeat he shoved open the double doors and ran through. He stopped and brought his flashlight up. He was standing in a large courtyard.
Six stone lanterns, each the size of a man, lined the pathway leading towards another building. Riku was walking under the archway on the building and up the stones steps. The snow continued to fall gently across the courtyard.
"Riku!" Sora ran after the boy. "There's still something I need to say! Oh god, please don't leave me again"
The brunet reached the door to the smaller building and he quickly shoved the doors open. Before he could get a proper look at the chamber another flash of light blinded him and he yelled out against the pain.
He stumbled back only to hit a solid wall. Opening his sore eyes Sora realized he was in a long hallway with curtains billowing in the cold wind. He glanced around for Riku or Roxas but his bright blue eyes fell upon a figure standing against the curtains.
"Who are you?" Sora whispered as the figure began walking towards him. "Where's Riku?"
"I don't want to see anymore." The figure rasped out. Sora backed away but he couldn't see any visible means of escape.
"What the hell is going on here?" Sora screamed as the figure walked towards him.
Sora was able to get a good look at the person. He saw a bare torso covered in blue and black tattoos of snakes and holly. The person was wearing black pants and his feet were bare.
Dark hair covered most of his face but when he looked up and stared at Sora the terrified brunet saw that one of the man's eyes was also tattooed. Sora looked away and he waited for what was to come as the tattooed man reached out to grab him.
Bright light once again blinded the terrified boy and this time he found himself lying naked on a cold stone floor. His body was covered by a thin white silk sheet and his hands and feet were outstretched in an X shape.
Sora wanted to scream when he saw four young girls standing around him. They were holding a hammer and stake in each hand and their faces were hidden by their long black hair.
"Please, let me go!" Sora sobbed but his body refused to move. The girl kneeled at his hands and feet then they placed the tip of the stake over each appendage. "Oh god! Please don't do this!"
The girls ignored his sobs and pleas. Sora could feel the sharp tip of each stake over his palms and feet. A terrible pain coursed through his body and when he turned his head to the side he noticed that his bare arm was now being covered in a blue and black snake tattoo. Sora looked up in time to see the girls bring their hammers down upon the heads of the stakes and yet he still couldn't scream.
Roxas had gotten bored waiting for Sora to return from his assignment and he was now making his way back into the house. The small blond was scowling angrily as he pushed open the door and entered the sunken fireplace room again.
Class was due to start soon and he didn't want to be kept back again because of Sora. Roxas approached the corridor when he couldn't find his brunet cousin anywhere in the room.
Roxas sighed when he spotted Sora standing at the other end of a corridor. He was standing completely rigid, all the colour had drained from his face and he was holding the camera with enough force Roxas was afraid he'd break it. The blond approached his cousin and he choked when he saw the look of absolute terror on Sora's face.
"Sora!" Roxas yelled as he grabbed Sora's freezing cold arm. The boy screamed and backed away until his body hit the wall. "What happened?" Roxas cried as he attempted to calm Sora down.
"Oh god! I saw him Roxas! He was walking away and I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen! I was lost and these girls hammered stakes into my body! I tried to scream but I couldn't even move!" Sora sobbed hysterically as he fell in Roxas' arms.
"Sora, calm down on. Tell me what happened." Roxas rubbed his cousin's back soothingly.
"I was in this manor and I saw Riku." Sora sobbed. Roxas closed his eyes at the mention of Sora's dead fiancé. It had only been two months since the accident. "I was there Roxas I swear. I saw Riku." Sora cried into the blond's shoulder.
"Let's go home Sora." Roxas murmured sadly.
The brunet was still sobbing as Roxas led him out of the house. He knew it had been too soon to let Sora go back to work but his cousin was dying in their apartment.
Two months wasn't enough time to mourn the death of the love of your life. But what made the pain worse to bear was the fact that Sora had been driving the car the night Riku died. Sora blamed himself for Riku's death and now it was beginning to tear him apart.
Sora placed his cup of coffee on the counter top as his film developed. The Dark Room had been set up in an old closet in their apartment. Although small it was more than adequate for their jobs.
The brunet rubbed his sore eyes as he thought back to that abandoned house. He was so sure he had seen Riku and encountered that tattooed man along with the girls in the white kimonos.
Roxas had taken him home and given him some pills for his aching head and he warned Sora to get some sleep. Sora didn't blame Roxas for not believing him.
These past two months have been hell and Sora had yet to try and heal the wound in his heart and soul. But the guilt would not leave him alone. It was his fault. Riku had wanted to drive home that night but Sora insisted on driving.
"Riku…" Sora bit back a sob. He reached into the pull out a new photograph of the old house's corridor but he stopped when he saw what he had captured. "Oh god…"
There, captured perfectly in the picture, was Riku.
Note-Can any of you guys guess what horror game I based this story on? Anyway please review and tell me what you think.