Beatrice looked at the landscape below her. There hadn't been anything very interesting happening for some time now, she was quickly growing bored. What she needed was something new to keep her interested, a diversion. She could enter people's dreams only so many times before they grew boring. No, what she needed now was to see if there were any worthwhile fighters left. It seemed that chaos gathered around those fighters of notable strength. If she found one, then her own ennui might be lifted. But how to find one? She wasn't fully in tune with this world, she couldn't cause destruction to get their attention. So really, she was back to square one, needing a plan to get anywhere.
While she tried to think of one, she drifted. Not just mentally, but literally, too. She wasn't being moved by the wind, but instead by her own slight momentum. Wherever she was going, she wouldn't get there very fast. But there was no rush, since she didn't actually have a real destination. Instead she just watched the world's goings-on with a dull gaze, waiting to see something interesting. Why couldn't times be more like they had been before? When those strange aliens had attacked, and even she had been able to play a part in the battle. That had been entertaining, and the fresh memories of fear and attack had fueled all manner of delicious nightmares for her to sample.
Sighing, she grew bored with the sedate pace she was travelling at. What she needed was some excitement, and she needed it now. There was nobody around to offer any, though, so she would have to resort to desperate methods. Focusing, she seemed to disappear as she returned her full attention to the other dimension where she called home, the World of Dreams.
It was a chaotic place, where physics were only vague suggestions at best, and usually ignored. Right now, the ground itself was flowing uphill, a vague series of waves providing convenient steps if she were so inclined to use them. The sun overhead was half-melted, the other half lying in a puddle on the ground. Normally it would be intensely hot, but it was melted, so it actually emitted chilly gusts of wind. Several bicycles flew by overhead, ringing their bells angrily as a large car dive-bombed them. This much chaos was unusual, there had to be somebody nearby who was having an especially intense dream.
That was all the motivation she needed. Casting her senses out like a net, she waited until she found what she was looking for. Ah, there it was. Moving over to it, she picked it up. A thread? No, a very thin tube. There was an odd form of energy coming out of its open end, but it was the other end that she was interested in. Giving a slight tug, she felt the tube pull back. Using that slight tug as a guide, she began following the tube back to its origin. That being someone's dream. And if they were causing this much chaos, it had to be one doozy of a dream! She could hardly wait, this was exactly the sort of excitement that she had been waiting for.
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The youth tossed and turned, mumbling unintelligibly while they slept. They'd been asleep several hours, but only just moments ago had they slipped into REM sleep. REM, or rapid eye movement, was the deepest stage of sleep, where dreams took place. Dreams were thought to simply be the mind's way of letting the subconscious process the previous day's activities, or to mull over lingering thoughts and problems. These were very possible. It was just as possible that dreams were messages from someplace else. Prophetic dreams had been recorded in numerous times, in numerous places. Far too numerous to simply be a coincidence. Still another school of thought was that dreaming fell into the same category as daydreams, simply imagination run wild.
That final possibility seemed to be the case here, as the youth was deep into a truly phantasmagoric dream. It bordered on the edge of being a nightmare at times; the sheer intensity of the images and experiences so overwhelming as to be frightening. They were currently walking along a sidewalk. On either side was a dizzying fall which seemed to end in what looked like lakes, or perhaps an ocean. A massive expanse of water, though it wasn't the right color. In fact, from the vague scent they could just barely pick up on, it might not be water at all. Instead, it might be orange juice. The distinctive scent of orange just barely tickled at their nose, threatening a sneeze even as they did their best to keep their balance, and keep walking. Why they had to keep walking, they couldn't say. Neither did they try to stop. after all, lucid dreaming was a rare occurrence, that is, dreaming while retaining some form of consciousness. Instead, this was a standard dream cycle, and they were merely experiencing it passively, watching what happened.
And what was happening? Currently the sidewalk was sloping downward, the individual slabs of concrete rapidly growing slick, almost icy. And sure enough, the youth slipped, before falling down the impromptu slide, rocketing down and down and down. The sidewalk grew steeper and steeper, until it was almost a completely vertical drop. And still they fell. The massive ocean of orange juice loomed ahead of them, an endless expanse of citrus. They struck with an enormous splash, the bellyflop sending up an impressive sound from the collision of youth and juice.
Once they passed through the orange juice's surface, they instantly tried to kick, to swim up and back to the surface. But they weren't there anymore? They weren't in a liquid at all anymore. they were kicking in place, while sitting in a high-backed armchair. They could still smell oranges, though. Looking around, they saw a door, and immediately got up before walking toward it. The room was fairly small, but it still took a moment to reach the door. When they did, they pushed it open, revealing a small room with a mirror. There may have been other objects of interest, but their dream self had eyes only for the mirror. It was a beautiful antique piece, close to seven feet high, and mounted on a pair of legs so it could tilt forward and back as desired. The frame was a brightly gleaming silver, wrought into a sprawling sculpture of a floral scene, roses and grapevines, tulips and lilies. The mirror itself was polished to perfection, and clearly showed the youth's reflection as they drew closer.
They paused once they reached the point immediately in front of the mirror. Not sure why, the youth reached out a hand and carefully pressed a hand against the smooth surface. The glass was cool. But a moment later, they pulled their hand back sharply, as if they had felt something. At the same time, a small spot of smoky darkness began to appear on the mirror, slowly swirling about and seemingly consuming the room's reflection. The youth's reflection, too. They would have pulled away, but they felt transfixed by the swirling shadows. They were almost hypnotizing.
The youth had no idea how long they stood there, simply watching the swirling darkness. Finally, though, it came to a close, and the entire mirror turned dark. No reflection at all, almost as if it wasn't there. That instead the glass had fallen away, revealing a tunnel to another land. But there was nothing behind the mirror, that was impossible. even so, the youth stepped forward. Only to bump into the mirror. Even though it didn't appear to be there, it was. They stepped back, confused, and watched as the mirror swung slightly on its settings.
A moment later, they blinked. They had seen something in the mirror. Or had they It had been fleeting, only a glimpse. Of something small, either actually tiny, or far away. They watched carefully, and soon the small form drew closer. It grew bigger until it was almost the same size as the youth. By the time it had gotten that close, the youth could see it was a young girl. She had long hair, so dark it was almost invisible against the blank background of the mirror. She was wearing a blue dress, and had pale skin that stood out against the darkness.
She spoke something, but the youth couldn't hear it through the mirror. She spoke again, frowning, and the youth leaned closer, trying to hear. But still, they couldn't hear anything, not even a whisper. They shrugged, before they moved closer, almost pressing their face against the glass as they tried to hear what the girl was saying. They didn't know why they were trying so hard to hear what was being said, but they did. They just knew it was important. Finally they pressed their face fully against the glass, trying their hardest. They felt if they could just push a little more, they would be able to hear what the girl was saying.
「...」
They had almost heard it that time! They tried even harder, pushing against the window with all their might. Finally, it teetered, before the mirror seemed to fall back, a flat disk of glass sinking away into the darkness. Now, now they would be able to hear the girl! They looked at her, only to become puzzled at the slightly sad smile she gave them.
「You shouldn't have done that...」
A second later, she appeared right in front of them, no transition between the two locations. At the same time, she seemed to warp and shift, her skin turning even paler, until it became the strikingly pale hue of a dead body. Her eyes turned a brilliant red, and her hair bleached until it was almost the same shade as her skin. Her hands, where before they had been graceful and slender, now became twisted and warped, large monstrosities ending in broad fingers that seemed to reach out for the youth even without moving.
The girl, or whatever it was that she had become, let out a delighted laugh. But there was no joy in the sound, it was a distorted, malicious sound, grinding metal and shattering glass. She reached toward the youth, small wisps of phantasmal fire bursting out all around the two. Her hands reached past where the mirror had been, where the barrier had kept her entrapped. As her hands settled down onto the youth's neck, the youth screamed in sheer terror.
Only to sit bolt upright in bed, chest heaving, panting, slick with sweat from their nightmare. Chest still racing, they shivered, looking around their room as they tried to banish the shakes. To calm themselves, they got up and went into the washroom to get a glass of water. They'd have something to drink, and they'd go back to sleep, and they would have a better dream, not a nightmare. That's all it was, just a nightmare.
However, when they got their drink and raised it to their lips, they glanced at the mirror above the sink. Only to see the grinning monstrosity leering back at them, red eyes glowing like hellish embers as she seemed to loom forward, hands reaching through the mirror. Faint peals of that same nightmarish laughter could be heard as the cup dropped nervelessly from the youth's hands, as they let out a shrill yelp of terror. A moment later, they keeled over in a dead faint, slumping onto the floor.
Beatrice, now in her transformed state, looked down at her work and smiled. That had been fun! The youth's dream had seemed interesting enough at first, but in the end, she hadn't been able to stop from interfering in it, and having some fun of her own. They'd wake up sooner or later, and if they were lucky, they would have forgotten most of what had just happened. She simply floated where she was, wondering where in the World of Humans she had wound up this time.
[2025 + ??? = ??? out of ??? ]