It has been but a week since we left our camping site. Our tour of Europe begins in less than 24 hours, my heart—
It beats with excitement!
Once again will we have the chance to give my people the best we have and much more. That and we'll have time to spend with our loved ones.
Being on the road becomes tiring after a while, so a little quality time with family, well… It's more than needed actually.
Anticipating our flight back to the UK, Dawnavan and I find slumber.
Don't get any bright ideas, our relationship is mostly innocent. I may be a mannish brute, but I've yet to lay with him… for reasons I can't say just yet.
So, to keep things subtle, we booked a hotel room with separate beds—
What? Were you expecting something different from us?
Humph! Charming…
Evolve, please and thank you. There's more to a relationship, remember that.
Anyway, enough formalities, back to business… Ahem—!
Dawnavan finds slumber minutes before me. I was always slow when it came to falling asleep, mostly due to my younger years. I was—
Well, can't you tell already? I was a punk in my day.
You can take a bloke off the street, but you can't take the street out of the bloke. Rough gent to the end am I, but enough about my past.
My dreams… are quite strange from the very start:
Thunder and lightning. Heavy rainfall upon an eerie, archaic brick foundation. I stand amidst it all…
That's strange. This is the first time I've been here. Normally, my dreams recur every now and then, so this is—
"Mm—?"
What the—?
I can suddenly feel the rainfall upon my clothes, I'm wettening all over as if I'm actually centered in this peculiar storm! This is…
What kind of dream is this?
"No, I should calm down…
This is a dream, nothing more." I lower my head and observe the palms of my hands, attempting to reason with myself.
"Stuart, snap out of it. Bred from the toughest, a man among men…
Don't lose sight of yourself, alright?"
"Are you *really* consoling yourself? Humph—!"
Huh—? Where did… Why am I…
For some reason, I can't move from where I stand. It's as if every fiber of my being has been frozen with fear—
I can still move, but it feels as if I'll be dead if I do. Why… Why am I so afraid, and who the bloody hell was that just now?
"Our union is fated, abomination… scion of the iniquitous…
All your kind should just die!"
Such contempt… Who or whatever this bastard is, it speaks of me as if I'm the scum of the earth.
What have I done to deserve such evil? Abomination? Scion of—
"Who… are you?"
I dare to face the darkness behind me, where the voice originates, "I know you hear me! Speak… *Who the bloody hell are you*?!"
My voice booms… before fading within the cracking thunder.
In a flash of lightning does an enigma appear, confounding me greatly! I—
I can't move. Once again am I stuck, as if I've been frozen solid.
"Tch—! Shut up, abomination!
Such filth… You don't have the right to speak, much less the right to live!"
The enigma extends its right hand, as if trying to reach out to me. I am a few steps away from it, but… No, wait… What is this overwhelming fear? I'm no superhuman nor am I a fool, but seriously—
Me? Afraid of a dream? Preposterous—
"There's nothing 'preposterous' about this dream, abomination."
What—?! How is this… Did this bastard really just…
Listen to me, becoming flustered from something like this.
Composure returns to me, as I stand and defy, "What am I thinking? Dreams are nothing but dreams. So…
I won't let a dream defeat me. Talk all you want, this isn't—"
"—'the end of me,' you'll say. Amusing." Without warning, I am swarmed by objects from the enigma's outstretched hand! Amid the crack of thunder and lightning am I done in by these objects… every one like a blade to my flesh!
"W—What—? How is this…
Gwa—AAAAH…!" It hurts… It hurts! How could a dream hurt so—
Someone, anyone… make it stop!
Another flash of lightning, and, fortunately… I awake from this horrible vision in a cold sweat!
"AAH—!" I sit up, short of breath, my heart racing as if it threatens to explode from my chest…
I bury my head in my hands, "W—What was that… just now?
A nightmare of this caliber—"
"Mm… Stuart…" My episode has awakened Dawnavan, unfortunately. He sits up in his bed, drowsy from our travels.
Oh dear, I'm in a bind. Wonder how I'm going to explain this one.
Opening Theme: Heaven in the Hell
Artist: Mizuki Nana