The End of a Nightmare

"The Four Heroes have failed"

Reading the message, Mason's blood turned cold.

"They split into two groups and accused one another as mimics. If the corruption has seeped deep enough to affect half of our strongest members it is safe to assume that the Earth is lost."

"Mason… It's the end. Humanity has really fallen. The Entire Earth is going to get devoured by the Great Old One"

"If you're reading this… I'm probably already dead. I can't bear to have my body desecrated by those… things. I want to at least die human. You should do the same before it gets to you."

The sound of clicks resounded across the collapsed ruins of the city. Writhing shadows twisted as it seeped through its cracks.

Mason was wearing a tattered blue uniform. His hair dishevelled, and his body bathed in red blood that wasn't his. He stared down onto the last text from his phone.

The last text from his direct superior. A captain who had always been optimistic and confident as he led the company, he was a small beacon of light in the horror's influence.

Looking around the collapsed city, the tall buildings which were once safe refuge had already become a vast killing zone for the monsters that followed the Horrors.

He was laying down under the rubble away from the sight of the horde of nightmare monsters. These ones had pale white skins with bloodied claws as nails, those were capable of piercing through the toughest steel manufactured by man. Horns grew out of their eye sockets as their lipless mouths exposed their bloody pale teeth.

Hundreds of them created a rhythm like crickets in the night. 

Peeking through the gaps he spotted the vanguard of the horde vacating the premises like ants scattering after liquid is poured into their nests.

'What the hell is going on? Is the massacure over?'

Mason gulped the saliva that accumulated in the back of throat because he maintained an extended period of silence to avoid the supernatural attentive ears of the monsters.

But the quick evacuation of the nightmare creatures puzzled Mason. The monsters are aggressive and territorial in nature. 

'What could scare them to the point where they would all disperse?'

While he knows he should be concerned of the greater threat, he couldn't help but sigh in relief that his corpse won't be torn and eaten by the monstrosities.

Mason stepped out of the shadows and looked around the ruined street. There was no one left alive. And even if they were, would surviving in these conditions even be worth it?

There was no more home to return to.

The central capital had collapsed. Staying alive meant he would have to live like a beast, scavenging for every morsel of food and shelter. He would be no different from the monsters that roam his world now.

Looking down the cracked road, past the torn and ripped armoured military vehicles. Mason saw the horde watching him, their eyes glinted with greedy desire, but something was keeping their reasoning in check and they didn't move in for their meaty prize, him.

Turning to their direction, Mason only saw the empty street desolate of any sign of life.

'This is the final crossroads isn't it? Either I leave to be torn into useless scraps of meat, or head straight into the source that brought the destruction of humanity.'

Mason brought his phone up and stared into the last text of his commander one last time.

"I want to die human."

The harrowing news had made his heart jump once, but now there was simply a solemn atmosphere. 

His captain hinted that dying to the "Worm" was a fate worse than dying a human. What experience had he encountered for him to warn Mason in such a manner?

Was it even worth pondering? The world had ended, no matter which direction Mason headed, death was inevitable.

"Ha. What's the difference? If I'm meant to die, I should at least see the outcome of the final fight with my own eyes."

There was no one else to listen, but he spoke to himself anyways, it soothed his despair.

Beyond the calm, Mason still held a small irking of curiosity. He had been part of the forces that dealt with the smaller hordes of the invasion, he would always receive news of the battle's outcome after the Heroes have dealt with the bigger problems.

So he hadn't never been to the forefront of the war. 

If he was fated to die he might as well take one last look. 

Throwing the phone down, Mason headed away from the clicking horde, down the empty road. The pavement beneath his feet was cracked and uneven. Windows were broken and their shattered glass littered the floor. It made his boots crunch with a gritty sound.

The military vehicles increased in density as they crowded in front of him, they created a makeshift roadblock. It didn't do much against the monster horde since they passed through easily.

Looking at the passengers within, all he could see was people whose faces had turned into a mush of redness, Mason couldn't feel disgusted anymore.

But still, he looked for any signs of anybody he recognised. Unfortunately, each body had been half eaten by the monsters, it was hard to identify their corpses that had been minced into unrecognisable pulp.

Climbing past the roadblock, Larian finally saw what he's been looking for.

He saw it from afar.

The horror that killed the last Heroes and ended humanity.

It was an amalgamation of white worms that spiralled into a vortex. As it stood in the air, each worm seemed to look all around, encompassing everything within its sight.

Its size is colossal, as big as the buildings that once stood firm. It was like an infinitely stretching creature. Its body covered the sky darkening it, and beyond the clouds the stars blotted out and contorted the clouds into bizarre shapes.

.

Mason couldn't help but feel his entire body shiver as he felt a gaze pass through his body, the Horrors eyes looked closed but why did it feel like he had been noticed?.

Was it looking at Mason like he was food? Or was he simply too insignificant to be worried for?

Whatever the Great One was doing, it didn't move when Mason came into view. But still Mason remained in still, filled with terror and wonder by the creature in the sky.

Its form was constantly changing, each time Mason blinked, it transformed entirely. First, it looked like a mountain of humans, then it became a pillar of eyes that circled the sky. There was no end to the horrific forms it took.

It disappeared and returned into the swirling sea of worms.

It was mesmerising to watch, but the memory of this moment being the end of the world anchored Mason down to reality.

'You are the cause of everything you piece of squid.'

Even though Mason cursed within his head, he heard the voice coming from somewhere else.

"What? Who said that?"

Turning around Mason didn't see anyone else in sight. He was sure there was no one else here besides the monster and him.

'What was that?'

'It sounded so close to me.'

(There's no one else left.)

Mason's heart spiked as he heard more voices, now clearer than ever. They came from within him.

But not from his mouth. 

'Something is wrong with me!'

'I can't feel it?'

(What is going on?!)

Bringing his hand to where his eyes usually are, he finally noticed a new view. An eye grew on the back of his hands, it blinked as it looked back at his horrific face.

From his scalp, multiple mouths, noses and eyes had grown. It covered every part of his face.

Mason didn't feel it before, but now aware, his senses of these new organs were quickly registering.

'M-monster'

'AHHH!'

(What am I?)

When each eye blinked he realised why the Horror's form was constantly changing and disappearing.

When one eye blinks and another one opens, the form of the seen Eldritch Beast waa entirely different from its predecessors. Every eye saw the horror in different perspectives.

'Who are all of you?'

'I don't know… I'm scared…'

(I'm Mason, but you are also Mason. Then what are we?)

Whatever was happening to Mason, he had no will left to question his sanity. He had to accept these new 'Tenants' now, or risk an early annihilation when the Old One decides to act.

Mason looked at himself once more.

His entire face had turned into the same sea of worms like the Great Old One he saw. Whatever humanity that was left in him was too drained to think of a solution.

There was no hope left.

'This was what Captain was scared about.'

'I don't want to be a monster! Please, let me die!'

(Can you guys pay attention to what's in front of you? Can't you see the blade just below the roadblock!)

The last one was right, under the towering horror laid a pale and lifeless body.

It stood out because the body was clad in a bright armour that shone in a radiant aura, but no matter how strong it was, it could not tower over the overbearing insanity the Sinister Horror dispersed from the distance.

The weapon that fell closer to his side was a marble white and gold blade that Mason recognised.

'It's the sword of Helius the Lightbearer!'

'One of the Four transcendents who were titled Heroes… He really is dead.'

(Quickly! This is an opportunity like never before! We should take the stuff and get out of here.)

Hearing the news of the death of a Legend through text was chilling, but seeing the corpse in person made Mason shiver. It solidified his despair ridden heart in this hopeless situation.

But still, Mason was drawn by the proposal of looting the Hero, maybe there would be something that would salvage humanity's lost cause.

Mason headed closer to the Horror. Coming close to the body of the Hero, the eyes from his body started to turn formless and protrude out. 

Slowly they transformed into worms that wriggled with their own sentience.

From the mouths their voices spoke.

"This thing. Look, It doesn't even react to us coming close."

"Just looking at it is killing us. Run… we have to run…!"

(Have you not seen what became of the world? There is nowhere else left to run.)

The voices that Mason heard from his head spoke aloud. Because of it, he gained a small level of insight about their true identity. 

They were born from the Horror's influence. Mason shuddered at the thought of more voices joining his body uninvited.

How could simply staring at the Great One exhibit such changes to him? He was one of the last survivors of humanity, by all measure he wasn't weak at all. 

Was it unfair? Was he meant to expect a level playing field where he could slowly grow strong and overcome the Evil?

No…

This wasn't some fairy tale. This was something beyond that, he was like an ant staring up at a human. He wouldn't understand what the human thought about, because he was simply born different. Smaller and infinitely insignificant.

It reminded him of a phrase.

"Do not look directly at God."

Slightly surprised by the voice, Mason didn't have the will to remark about these voices that seem to hold his memories and thoughts.

But one of them was right, this Great Old One, this horror… was not reacting to him.

Just being close to it had caused him to transform. While it seemed magical, Mason could tell that the change was draining his essence with each evolution. And he was evolving with no end.

His time here was serverely limited.

"What now? Do we grab the Hero's blade and stab the Great One?"

"And risk making it worse? We will just be angering the hornet's nest."

(Helius is clutching onto a ball. What could be more important than his weapon during his final moments?)

Fueled by greed and curiosity Mason came close to the peculiar ball held tightly within the Hero's grasp. It was clear like a crystal snow globe, but within it was just a solitary picture of a girl in her teenage years with grey hair and pale eyes, she was blind.

Mason couldn't help but feel like he had seen her before.

"This is… The Ashen Dreamer? Master of the Dream who spearheaded our technological advancement with Dreamtech against the Old Ones?"

"...My arm! It's turned into worms. It's falling off…!..."

(The system… It's gone… Whatever this thing does, we won't even know.)

The arm Mason held the artifact fell as his body turned into formless worms. Its Composition was turning liquid and he was losing control as his senses dulled with more additional company.

"The Dreamer. What does that have to do with the…. Light…. Seeker….?..."

"Ha… ha… this is the end of me…"

(Fuck… I had hoped something would get us out alive… Not like this…)

-You cowards! I'm not giving up… Not without a fight…

{God… or the Devil… anyone… Please help me…}

\What use is praying…? Even if there was a higher being, we are already forsaken…/

Mason started to hear multiple voices all around, tens, fifties, hundreds. Every worm in his body started to give their input. They spoke and bickered endlessly and their voices overpowered the earlier three.

The sounds were melting into the background as it drowned Mason's mind. Some spoke with panic, some chanted religiously, others growled with grit and some even laughed in depravity.

The noise was causing Mason's mind to swell and threatened to burst out his skull.

Amidst the creeping sensation of death, Mason clung on to the last embers of his life.

He didn't know why the Light Seeker held onto the Crystal ball so tightly, it could've held sentimental value but whatever the case, it was now by his side as he slowly crumbled into a pile of worms.

Each crumbling caused a soul tearing pain that felt like he was torn apart, shred by shred.

They curled as they sought to cling to anything else besides its quickly fading host.

At this moment, the Crystal under Mason had long been covered by the pile of worms. Due to the sudden loss of his entire body, only a tiny piece of himself belonged to him. It contained his conscious and true essence.

From his wormlike head a single eye grew out like the Monstrosity that transformed him.

Looking at the picture within the glass dome, various scenes from his life suddenly appeared before his eyes.

His birth into a family of 4, how they quickly crumbled under the harsh reality of a Eldritch invasion. His conscription into the army and how he fought and survived as a soldier Soul-bound to the invading Dream of the Old One.

He was nearing death like everyone. It was easy to foresee such an outcome, if Grand Heroes and Masters suffered the same fate. It was only time before he joined the extinction of humanity. 

If crying or laying in anguish could not solve this inevitable fate, why bother?

He was mentally prepared.

The sound of a tiny explosion sounded out from the pile of worms.

He had gathered remains of his essence and self destructed.

Finally, the sound of the incomprehensible mumbles went silent.