Whether it was his current messed up predicament, or the very shock of the revelation he had come upon after hearing the familiar voice, Somnu’s mind was in complete shambles.
He felt himself being pulled down a chaotic spiral, going round and round, falling deeper into the middle.
The more he tried to resist, to think, the stronger the pull downwards.
And yet, at the same time, his eyes were open, and in the distance, he could see and hear someone that by no means should be there. If not only for the very odd situation of Somnu being in the Nightmare Realm, but he had once again been falsely relocated outside of the Nightmare Layers to who knows where.
Even the System had panicked and alerted Somnu to get back to the Abyss of Lethe as fast as possible. It hadn’t even functioned correctly half the time he was here, not granting him the occasional rewards that could have saved his life.
Even the scarecrow Nightmare Creature had commented about there being no rules across the veil, whatever that meant.
The only reason Somnu was here happened to correlate to the errors he had consistently been getting. Apparently it had all been due to him being defective, however that happened.
Nevertheless, there he was, the old farmer, commanding orders from the skies, all the while enveloped by a shining light emitting so brightly from him, he could have easily been mistaken for a blinding sun.
“I ONCE AGAIN WARN YOU, AS IT IS MY DUTY, BE GONE OR SUFFER THE MIGHT OF MY SWORD!”
Why is he talking like some kind of delusional theater major…?
Somnu couldn’t begin to guess. He only knew that the owner of the voice was none other than the snickering, witty and sly old geezer he saw every day.
He was the scarecrow’s first employer, Eamon Emberlyn.
And that mischievous old man was now shining down a light at Somnu like a spotlight on a stage or a helicopter searching the grounds.
“!”
Somnu felt the light before he saw it, the warm feeling of a soft blanket in the cold winter. It reached down and pulled him out of the chaotic spiral. He could slowly feel his mind coming back to its senses, his body regenerating and healing as the energy returned to it.
“Dammit! It’s that shitty old man again!”
“We can take him!”
“Not all of us are here, but we could do it!”
“Are you all crazy? Have you forgotten who he is?!”
“I’m in agreement. Countless failures attest to his strength.”
“Strength? He’s more of a monster than all of us combined!”
“We should retreat, report and gather everyone.”
Voices from all around began to consider their situation, abusing the old man’s patient nature.
“I HAVE DONE MY DUTY OF WARNING YOU!” The shining old man in the sky rumbled again.
“Screw this! You can all go back! I’m taking him on!”
“I’m with you, and so is my army!”
“Let’s go!”
“!”
Even from inside the blinding lights, the old man reacted to the sudden movements coming for him from all directions.
There must have been hundreds of Nightmare Creatures charging up at him, with many more on the way.
“IN THE HONOR OF THE COUNTLESS TITLES BESTOWED UPON ME…”
“W-what is he doing…?”
As the old man spoke, his glow began to dim slightly, revealing him to be riding a regal pegasus with porcelain features, which only intensified the golden glow emitting from the old man’s full armor. With his arms held above his head, a greatsword of the same color of his armor appeared in his hands, shining as bright as a dying star.
“I, SIR EAMON EMBERLYN, THE LAST KNIGHT OF NIRVIA…”
“Shit! Kill him now!”
“SHALL DESCEND HOLY JUSTICE UPON YOU!”
And then, his sword descended.
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Silence.
A sudden blinding light enveloped the world, blocking all senses completely.
Even minds ceased to function until the lights began to dim once more.
“ANYONE ELSE?”
“...”
As night fell once more, and eyes adjusted, it became quickly clear what had happened.
Everyone who had opposed Sir Eamon Emberlyn was completely obliterated, not even leaving a single trace behind him.
“Those idiots!”
“That’s what they get for not listening to reason.”
“Retreat!”
“We’ll be back, dammit!”
“Too bad we couldn’t feed more on the kid.”
“I have never tasted such delectable fear!”
“Our fun has been ruined!”
The previous ominous and eerie voices grew distant with every word, leaving only echoes in their wake.
“Crow-shit…”
With a weak grunt, Somnu was finally able to sit up.
After all his suffering and agony, both the physical and the mental, he couldn’t help but feel the intense frustration rising within him.
How often was he going to find himself in situations where he would be rendered completely helpless, forced to simply bear through the pain.
Was he not supposed to become stronger so he could defend himself?
Every time he thought he had made progress, something showed up to kick him down and laugh at his misery.
Ever since he was a kid.
When he built the courage to go to school and make friends, the other children bullied him. They blamed it on his unusual appearance, the lazy white hair at the top of his head with black sides, coupled with the unusual purple eyes and paler skin, made him stand out from everyone else.
When he thought he could make a friend who was setting up a scarecrow in their farm, he was laughed at and the rumors quickly spread about his fascination with scarecrows.
Even when his mother was murdered, the killer left his mark, the symbol of the grinning skull remaining behind to laugh at him every time he looked at it.
To make matters worse, someone made a reenactment of his mother’s murder in that horror house so they could entertain guests and make a profit. Did they think it was a joke?
Was he, and his pain, and his agony, and his suffering, and his misery, supposed to be a laughing stock for others?
Did whoever hit him on his head from the back in the horror house and almost killed him feel amusement as they grinned and watched him slowly die?
Did the scarecrow monster enjoy cackling and smiling as it chased him down?
Did the recent Nightmare Creatures revel in laughing at the torture he was going through as they fed on his emotions?
SCREW THAT!
He was over it.
He was done being careful, done playing the safe game.
His mother had told him countless times, but he wouldn’t listen.
“Sometimes, to get what you want, to win, it’s okay to cheat a little.”
Was he simply an idiot for never understanding those words properly?
Why now, after everything that had happened, was he finally starting to consider relying on her words again?
If it weren’t for Mister Emberlyn’s sudden appearance, he would have surely been done for, tortured slowly till his very last breath, serving only as nothing but feeding material to the Nightmare Creatures.
And that, right after promising to eradicate them all.
What a joke.
His mind hadn’t recovered fully yet, torn between unknown realms, and yet Somnu made a vow.
One he wouldn’t forget.
I’m never freaking letting that happen again! I won’t lay down and accept being treated like a toy, like food, like laughingstock!
I won’t accept it! From now on, I’m killing everything, everyone who dares to threaten me, my crop or anyone I care about!
A scarecrow is meant to scare potential threats away, to stand there and exude fear from a distance, but no more.
I will become a scarecrow that actively hunts, cheats, deceives, kills, ridding myself of any possible threats that could harm or laugh at me.
I will never run away from fear!
I will take control of my life!
“What’s with that crazed look on your face, kid?”
“?!”
The deeper in thought he fell, the worse the wrinkles on his face got from his twisted expression.
His brow was furrowed, nose flared, teeth grinding together.
His nails were dug deep into his palms, opening his scars again.
It was not an expression Somnu was known to have.
At least, not the Somnu Mister Emberlyn knew.
“You’ve changed.” The last knight of Nirvia said as his pure white pegasus landed steps away from the one they had come to save. “I suppose I couldn’t blame you, no one can stay the way they were before after entering the Nightmare Realm.”
“You…” As his face returned to normal, Somnu finally began to address the old man as he came into view, finally confirming that it was him, and not a random hallucination Somnu was having again. “How are you here…?”
“We should talk. Come, get on Betty.” Eamon commanded with a gesture. “Let’s go somewhere a little more safe first. We’ll talk there.”
“!”
However, the second Somnu saw his face, something else came into view.
Something that he felt he should not be able to see.
In front of the old man he knew, and beside the unusual attire, Somnu saw a system message that almost acted like an introduction of the aged man.
And it said…
[Sir Eamon Emberlyn.]
[The Eternal Warden Of The Forgotten Sanctuary.]
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