Chapter 17: A Lucid Dream
(Queue 'Disorder' by Elephant Music)
…
….?
How… long… have I been waiting…?
I've been… stuck in a trance.
It felt… like years.
What… what was I doing this whole time…?
My mind was clouded; But in this moment, an abject horror overcame me in such waves that I could hardly comprehend the sheer terror and dread that flooded my every sense.
How long had I been trapped in this state of limbo?!
All around me… I began to take note of my environment. Everything was moving, yet… slowed, as if I were living in a constant cinematic. All around me…
Was violence.
Men fighting men. Monsters fighting monsters. The desperate fighting the vicious; The maddened fighting the cold and calculating. Blunt weapons, blades, rifles, handguns, spears, cudgels-
The scenery was alight with a malicious backdrop; A blood-red moon shining ominously over a landscape of devastation, billowing smoke and flowing rivers of crimson blood.
The only area that was spared from the constancy of bloodshed and wanton violence was the suspiciously-clean patch of grass Dipper happened to wake up on. Aside from himself...
It was complete and utter chaos, in slowed motion.
"You are losing time."
Dipper clutched his head in ringing pain; A voice seemed to be emanating from every direction, with such an intense ferocity that Dipper was certain he'd be killed.
"DON'T HURT ME, FUCK!" Dipper pleaded, kneeling on the ground; It was the only sensible thing he felt he could do at this point. He felt completely helpless to this god-like entity, whom likely put him in that prolonged trance and summoned him to this unholy realm.
"The source of all your miseries lies west, in California; A gilded palace floats in the sky amongst the mass of chaos and destruction below it."
Dipper's mood quickly changed as he realized the voice was, in fact, giving him valuable information about his predicament. He tried to still the quivering throughout his body and silenced the discontent in his mind.
"Wh-What do you mean by that?"
"It is as I have said. I am of few words; Heed them wisely. The twisted, temporary god of this depraved wasteland pulls string across the world; Concocting a constancy of cruel and criminal creativity."
The world around Dipper began to gradually speed up- he could feel his interaction with this… being was coming to a close. He hoped he would retain this information- If there was really salvation from this ongoing torment, if there was actually a way to change the world he was in…
"So all I have to do is kill this fucker?"
"Not so simple, not in the slightest. It will take countless bodies and collective ingenuity to trick the reigning emperor of this realm. Your path is paved with blood and misery."
Dipper's teeth clenched involuntarily; He was overwhelmed with fear, dread, apprehension; All before he'd come here. Was this just a sickening confirmation that his future was hopeless?
…
…
…
"Do not look so sullen, boy. Though your journey will be one of terror and despair, it is the hero's journey; For the reward in overthrowing the reality-bending tyrant that terrorizes your lands…"
The ground underneath Dipper's shoes disintegrated, as did the rest of the landscape; His mind began to blank, before passing out into blissful unconsciousness...
"...Is worth more than the pain will ever make you regret it."