The eternal dream
Waking up in the morning, I was utterly confused. The dream I had was by no means ordinary and it even rivals my first meeting with Samantha.
But that wasn't the end of it. I have a feeling that I am forgetting something. Well whatever. I look at Clea's crib. She is still sleeping. It's probably 7 in the morning.
The dream I had was longer than I think but not much time has passed. I guess time works differently in every world.
Eden is sleeping too. I think I will go and have a coffee for now. I need a strong one to get rid of this drowsiness.
I go to the kitchen and start making a coffee. Grinding the beans and boiling water, I prepare my mug. Wait!
Why do I have a coffee grinder? And is this kitchen even mine?
I look around. The house is same but there's electricity and the kitchen has modern kitchen appliances.
Weird! Too weird! I make the coffee and sit on the sofa.
This is weird. I take a sip. The coffee is too bitter. It jolts me awake.
Why do I have these things in my house? I don't remember. I take another sip. My taste buds are dead. But nothing comes to my mind.
That Kirin guy said that he is an erudite. But why am I missing some memories? Why is this matter so weird? Anyway, I finish my coffee and wash the mug.
This odd feeling, it isn't going away. I try to contact Hazel and others. But I am unable to contact them. Why?
I go upstairs and check on Eden and Clea. But they aren't there anymore. Where did they go?
I am feeling drowsy again. I slap myself. I have to stay awake. But this drowsiness doesn't go away.
I slap myself again. It doesn't work. I pinch myself. This is not working.
I try to use
I punch myself in the gut. It doesn't do much. Maybe more pain will do the trick.
I jump outside the window. It's the second floor so 15 feet high. It should do substantial damage but it doesn't do much.
My eyes, I can't keep them open. This is tough.
I get up and dust myself off. Keeping my eyes open is getting harder. My hearing, I can't hear anything. There's no sound. There's no smell.
What's happening? My senses are disappearing one by one. Did I just fall down? I can't tell. My limbs aren't moving.
Thoughts are getting scattered. I can't think straight.
And just like that, Clive loses his consciousness. Clive has ended up in the eternal dream.
Azathoth the elder, the owner of the dream has invited Clive to test him. But unfortunately, Clive has fallen asleep. This means that Clive isn't at their level yet.
"It's slightly disappointing. I had hopes that he would probably stay awake."
A tall but slender man walks to an unconscious Clive. Chthulu who had paid a visit to his family previously, is also present.
"Father, he is still a part of his world system. He has not taken full control of it. So obviously he would not be able to withstand your dream." (Chthulu)
Azathoth, donning the visage of a tall and slender man nods.
"I just wanted to try him a bit. The erudition made contact with him. And even before the erudition, nihility made contact with him.
So I also wanted to test him. Besides, Constant is always praising the new generation. It's only fair if I test them a bit." (Azathoth)
Chthulu picks up Clive and disappears. She brings him home and lays him down on his bed beside Eden.
No time has passed since his disappearance. Because they adjusted the time. However Samantha, Hazel, Fay and Aura were standing behind Chthulu.
"I will ask it once. What did you do to him?" (Samantha)
Samantha who is very angry with Chthulu asks.
"I just saved his life. You should be grateful that I brought him back in one piece. The ones he met were pretty dangerous. He is lucky that he didn't permanently disappear." (Chthulu)
But that didn't placate their anger. Aura lunged at Chthulu and threw a punch. Chthulu dodged it. Then came a relentless flurry of punches from Aura. Chthulu nimbly dodged most of them and parried her last punch.
"Calm down Aura. At our current level, we can't do anything to her." (Fay)
"I understand that. But I am pretty angry. I mean, honey was this close to permanently disappearing. The anger I am feeling is justified." (Aura)
Aura didn't hold back. She enhanced her body to the maximum and started her second barrage. And she even coated her fists with strong debuffs.
"You really are strong. But as Fay said, at your current level, you can't put a scratch on me. Anyway, don't make a ruckus. Clea might wake up." (Chthulu)
Aura stopped her attack her took a few deep breaths. She is out of breath.
"I will go and complain to Seina and Constant. They need to exercise some restraint when mingling with humans. Anyway, I apologize on my father's behalf. I will go and scold him. But Samantha, be careful. The nihility has set its sights on him." (Chthulu)
With that, she disappeared and only they were left in the room.
Fay went and checked on Clive. He is a bit cold but is sleeping normally. Aura checks on Eden and Clea. They are fine.
Samantha is lost in thoughts.
"What are you wondering about?" (Hazel)
"The nihility? That mythical thing?" (Samantha)
Samantha didn't answer her question. She asked two more questions.
"Clive really has some luck. It's neither good nor bad and both good and bad simultaneously. We need to be on our guard. I will go back home and increase the security." (Samantha)
"So it is that serious." (Fay)
"Yes. I will discuss it with my father and make arrangements for Clive to take over as soon as possible. He needs to become stronger or what happened tonight may repeat." (Samantha)
Samantha disappeared. Fay is thinking.
"I will stay here." (Aura)
"Then we will come back first thing in the morning. Let's go back, Hazel." (Fay)
Hazel and Fay left to come back with everyone in the morning. Aura stayed behind to look after Clive. She is being extra cautious this time because the opponents aren't easy. Clive probably won't remember much when he wakes up but that will leave him wondering.