Dreams

15 Days Ago

In an underground base, gleaming surfaces reflect the dim, artificial lights that barely illuminate the chaos within. A group of thugs revels in their ill-gotten luxury, their laughter and shouts echoing off the polished walls. In a stark contrast to the revelry, a secluded section of the base is cloaked in a chilling silence. Here, an old man, disheveled and covered in blood, labors over a complex contraption. His face is a mask of anguish and desperation as he works on the glowing sphere, his hands burned and blistered from handling the volatile artifact.

With trembling hands, he carefully places the sphere into a metallic ball, wincing as the energy from the sphere scorches his skin. He then inserts the ball into the machine he has painstakingly assembled. The machine whirs to life, spinning with a low, ominous hum that seems to vibrate through the walls.

Without warning, the air grows colder, and a figure materializes in the room. Clad in an immaculate suit, the stranger's presence is as unsettling as the sudden drop in temperature. He places a hand on the shoulder of the gang's boss, his voice dripping with mockery. "Can I join the party?" he asks, the word "boss" hanging in the air like a taunt.

The thugs are paralyzed with shock. "Who are you?" roars the massive, burly leader, his voice filled with terror.

The suited man smirks. "For you? I'm a demon." His eyes gleam with an unsettling light. The boss's attempt to signal his men to stop is futile; recognition dawns on him too late. The man is none other than the Conduit of Abyssal Obsidians, a name that sends shivers down the spines of even the most hardened criminals.

The Conduit's chilling declaration slices through the air. "Just so you know, I let you take our base. You did not take it from us." In an instant, the room is engulfed in a crushing darkness. The thugs are obliterated, their screams silenced as they are ground to dust. The old man meets the same fate, his last moments filled with agony as the machine he built to generate boundless energy—energy he was forced to harness for the thugs' gain—explodes in a cataclysmic blaze.

**Present Day**

The night is eerily still, disturbed only by the occasional gust of wind. Akib's restless sleep is shattered as he is jolted awake, sweat streaming down his face. His dreams had been haunted by fragmented memories of his father, but the details elude him.

In the shadows of his room, a figure materializes. Clad in navy blue and exhaling a cloud of smoke, the woman's presence is both commanding and sinister. Akib's eyes widen in shock as she speaks, her voice a chilling blend of sarcasm and menace. "So you finally woke up, huh?"

Akib stares at her, unable to articulate his confusion and fear. She continues, her tone shifting to one of cold calculation. "Let's get straight to the point. Do you want money? We're the same species, you know. I know what you want."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Akib manages to stammer.

The woman's eyes narrow as she introduces herself. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Somnia. And I'm looking forward to killing those filthy humans, just like they did to our kings!"

Understanding begins to dawn on Akib. His voice trembles as he questions, "Are you a Spectral Entity?"

Somnia's expression turns from irritation to a cold, detached amusement. "So you don't know that you're an Aetherian, huh?" She takes a deep breath, her gaze unwavering. "Well, even if you don't know, we're still the same. I'll give you a chance to survive if you keep quiet and come with us."

Akib, stunned and grappling with the revelation, struggles to respond. Somnia's lips curl into a smirk. "I guess that's a no. Very bad. Guess I'll have to force you."

In an instant, everything around Akib dissolves into a swirling void. He plummets through the emptiness, disoriented and gasping for breath, until he crashes onto a familiar surface. The room he finds himself in is eerily reminiscent of his childhood home. The same haunting sounds from his past resonate through the space.

Turning slowly, Akib is confronted with a nightmarish scene: his father, with a rage-fueled frenzy, smashing a glass globe against his mother's back. The globe—a cherished gift from Akib's mother, a symbol of her gratitude and love—shatters in a spray of glass and blood. Young Akib, crying and desperately trying to save his mother but is held by his elder sister who's crying louder than ever. The weight of his childhood trauma crashes down on him.

He sinks to his knees, unable to intervene as his father throws his mother out with brutal force, his final words a cruel dismissal. Suddenly Akib's anguish transforms into a haunting, manic laughter that echoes through the void.

Suddenly, he vanishes from the scene, reappearing behind Somnia. Her eyes widen in shock at his sudden appearance. "I don't care who you are!" Akib screams, his voice filled with raw fury. "But if this is my dream you're controlling, remember, I can control it just by thinking!"

He unleashes a powerful kick to Somnia's head, his movements fluid and fierce as he follows up with a relentless assault. He slams her against the ground, pummeling her with a flurry of strikes. Each blow is driven by his pent-up rage and frustration, his fists a blur of motion.

But as the intensity of his attack peaks, Somnia's cold, calculating smile emerges. "You see, I'm not controlling your dreams," she says calmly. "I'm controlling your electrical neuron signals. I can even read your thoughts. So I just let you play a bit."

The revelation hits Akib like a physical blow. He wakes abruptly, gasping for air. He grabs a glass of water, chugging it down in a desperate bid to shake off the remnants of the nightmare.

As he lowers the glass, he notices something strange. The man who had given him the water is unfamiliar. His heart pounds as he turns to face the source of his unease, only to find the room empty.

A chill runs down his spine as a hand rests on his head. It's Somnia, her presence an ominous shadow. Her voice is cold and pitying. "I'd feel sorry if I were you."

Before Akib can react, a hand appears on his chest, delivering a devastating sonic boom. The impact causes him to cough up blood, his body convulsing with pain. The man who had previously been unseen stands over him, his veins changing color as if returning to a normal state after some manipulation.

With a clinical detachment, he instructs a nurse standing nearby. "Get his left kidney. His heart and right kidney are already damaged. When his mother arrives, announce him dead due to a heart attack."

The nurse nods, her face a mask of professionalism. "Yes, sir."

10 Years Ago

In a secluded area far from any village, Nicolas, a human, and Shushina, an Aetherian, live a quiet, isolated life. They celebrate the birth of their twins—Somnia and Sonito. However, as they grow up, they assassinated both their parents on the day they were celebrating their 3rd birthday for betraying Aetherian heritage.