Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 179: Dream

With the giant’s disappearance, the fragment of Azaroth’s consciousness slowly faded away.

The harrowing pressure from the tenebrous giant also slowly dissipated.

Morgan watched the dark matrix slowly crumble around him, falling apart and then dissipating into small torrents of darkness that the Void World greedily absorbed.

Morgan felt the surge of power within him with the destruction of the matrix.

The Void world was slowly transforming, changing, becoming more potent, more powerful.

A bright flash of light flared through the fading matri,,x momentarily blinding him.

A sharp jolt abruptly sent him back into his body outside the tall, tenebrous wall.

Gasping audibly, Morgan’s eyes snapped open.

He shuddered, yanking his hand away from the wall with visible revulsion.

His eyes were bloodshot and clouded with pain.

Blood slowly dripped from his lip where he’d bitten it until it bled from the excruciating agony of enduring Azaroth’s insidious mind attacks over and over again.

Morgan slowly licked his lips, feeling the familiar taste of iron on his tongue.

He sighed and moved back from the wall.

A flare of burning shot through his arm, drawing attention to his trembling hand.

He grunted, grasping at his palm.

His eyes narrowed at the sight of the unfolding anomaly.

A solid grey mark slowly burned into the skin of his palm.

Morgan’s eyes widened in shock, then he remembered the intricate key that the giant had hurled at him with the last strands of his tenacious strength.

He slowly struggled to his feet, slowly stepping back from the wall, then staggered a few steps back.

He turned, giving the rest of the group a tired smile.

Cassius and Lucian moved forward, staring at him with similarly bewildered expressions.

"He actually did it..." Lucian muttered.

Cassius nodded, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

" Yeah, looks like he pulled it off."

They’d all felt the shift in the presence around the wall.

The pulsating lines within the wall had long gone silent.

The dark walls surrounding the middle rim were now ordinary. No longer did they pulse with ethereal energy.

Morgan limped over to where they stood, slowly, then abruptly stopped.

Suddenly, the world spun around him.

He staggered back.

"Morgan! Morgan!"

The world spun around him, then went dark.

Morgan dreamt of vast green plains, a majestic city, and a world obscured in fog.

" strange..."

He slowly rose from the ground, observing his surroundings warily.

"Am I dreaming? Sarenus? Kazarax?"

Morgan felt for his connection to the Void World and discovered...nothing.

The normally ever-present connection to the Spirit Void was gone.

No...it wasn’t.

His connection to the Void world was being suppressed by something.

He could still feel it, but he couldn’t access it.

The feeling was quite similar to being locked out of your own house or room.

Suddenly, Morgan felt...alone, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a while.

Without realizing it, he’d grown quite used to hearing the ever-present voices of the Void walkers in his mind.

So much so that without them, it felt a bit awkward.

His eyes slowly swept across the endless green plain in quiet awe.

"This is definitely a dream."

The place where he stood was strangely familiar, carrying a hint of nostalgia.

Deep down, it felt like he’d been in this place before.

His mind churned, sifting through his memories in search of a similar memoHeccan’tw up blank. The memory was elusive, fleeting, lingering stubbornly at the edges of his subconscious.

"Aargh!"

It was quite frustrating.

Letting out a sigh, Morgan moved forward, his eyes intently scanning the place where he stood.

He stopped in front of a steep slope, gazing at the land in front of him.

Below the slope, a bustling city sprawled out covering the vast expanse of the plain.

The fog around the city was much denser, but despite the obscure veil, he could still see.

The city’s dark walls stretched to the sky, pulsating with lifelike luminous white lines.

A long road cutting across the rugged plain led them to the majestic city’s gates.

The massive gates served as the city’s entrances, granting admission to those who needed admission into the city.

Then it hit him.

The reason this place felt so familiar.

"I’ve been here before..."

His eyes narrowed, his gaze drifting to the slot where he stood.

A soft, silky, feminine voice echoed through the depths of his mind.

The memory of a petite apparition appeared in front of him, whispering softly.

"This was once my home."

Morgan inhaled deeply, closing his eyes.

"Nerissa..."

His eyes fluttered open, his gaze sweeping over the entirety of the bustling city.

Azaroth had been defeated, but now Morgan was dreaming...

Of the past.

"Strange...why am I dreaming of the lace Nerissa called home...Come to think of it, she never told me what this was."

He let out a weary sigh.

"Since I’m here, I might as well explore this place."

He slowly sloped down the hill, stealthily joining one of the caravans.

Morgan’s eyes roved over the caravan.

None of the people paid him any attention, seemingly ignoring him.

" Well, that makes sense. This is a dream after all."

His eyes narrowed at the attire that the people in the caravan were sporting.

All around him, the men were dressed in leather tunics, trousers, and leather boots.

The women wore frilly dresses and covered their bodies almost entirely.

Little children playfully ran throughout the caravan, chasing each other.

" These people..."

To him, the strange caravan resembled a carnival celebration back on Earth.

Glancing at the giant beasts that pulled the carriages, he shuddered slightly, wondering why he’d failed to notice them in the first place.

" Orcgren!"

The monstrous creatures closely resembled the Orcgren, but on closer inspection, they were much smaller, and unlike the Orcgren, they moved on all fours.

One of the creatures turned, casually sniffing at him. The creature snorted and then turned back, straining against the large carriage it was hauling. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The puff of air blew back Morgan’s hair, then it messily fell across his face.

Morgan casually swiped it away, then froze.

" Long hair..."

His eyes widened slightly.

"Since when do I have long hair?"

He slowly ran his hand through his hair, then caressed his face.

"What the hell?"

Come to think of it, he was much taller than he was supposed to be.

Hisvatte’s attention turned to the garb he was wearing, something he hadn’t paid attention to before.

"Gloves, leather tunics, a hooded cap, and leather boots?"

He stood frozen in place.

"What kind of dream is this?"

In the next moment, one of the kids slowly approached him.

"Hey, mister, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen...a Hlagg.

Morgan turned, warily observing the child.

His eyes widened in surprise.

The child’s eyes were glowing, emitting a startling golden colour.

An awakened...so they exist even in this time?

" What’s a Hlagg?" he asked instead.

The child frowned, a look of bemusement appearing on his face.

" You don’t know a Hlagg, no wonder you look so surprised. You’re not from these parts, are you?"

Morgan solemnly nodded.

" Yeah, guess I’m not."

The kid nodded.

"Figures. A Hlagg is a sprite. My mum told me about it when I was younger. A Hlagg is a sprite that comes at night. It disguises itself as a beautiful woman. If you stare at it for too long, then it’ll devour your spirit and leave nothing but a dry husk behind."

Morgan frowned, staring at the kid incredulously.

"That’s seriously messed up."

" By the by, what’s your name, mi,ster?" the kid asked with a smile.

Morgan hesitated for a moment,t, then spoke.

" Morgan. My name is Morgan."

The kid smiled, offering him his hand.

"Mine’s Valerius. But everyone just calls me Val."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Valerius."

Valerius frowned.

" There’s no need to be so stiff. We’re going to be friends, you and I, so call me Val."

Morgan stared at the kid for a while, then eventually nodded.

" Sure thing."

At this point, the caravan had reached the city’s walls.

From up close, Morgan realized just how massive the city walls were.

The white lines pulsating through the outer walks hummed with power.

Massive metallic boxes were attached to the city walls.

Every few moments, a ripple of energy surged through the wall.

The white lines came to life then, surging forward through the imposing wall and latching onto the giant metallic boxes.

Morgan watched the phenomenon in shock.

" Elevators?"

" Hey Val, tell me something."

The little boy hummed while walking beside him.

"This might sound weird, but where is this place?"

Val stopped, staring at him for a few moments, then smiled.

"This is Moreus. It’s one of Lord Velagrew’s seats of power in the Realm Between."

Morgan froze, abruptly stopping in his tracks.

In the next moment, the fog surged around them.

The stunning figure of a beautiful woman stepped through the fog. Her snow white hair fluttered eerily through the ghostly fog.

An ethereal, stunning dress clothed her body, flowing down to the ground in a fluid pool that coalesced around her feet, blending in with the ghostly mist around her.

In the next moment, her piercing grey eyes locked onto his own.

Morgan gulped, freezing in place. Every instinct screamed for him to flee.

"Veliscera!"