(Aden's P.O.V)

Sand...sand on my ppft! I spat out the grains of sand in disgust, wiping the corner of my lips while standing up from where I had been lying on the ground. Before me, laid a particularly extensive stretch of dry land. Sand dunes crested on the horizon to the sides and a large mega...

I stumbled back.

"Whoa...that's one huge ass gate."

At first glance, the entrance was more than 100 meters tall, constructed on a wide wall that stretched out to the opposite directions. It was similar to the ice wall, found in a show back on my earth called Game of Thrones.

I looked down at my body and pinched my hand. The feeling of pain was muted yet I could perceive my body clearly. That meant I was a mental projection. I was dreaming. The clarity in this dream however was too vivid than anything I had ever had before. Could it be a lucid dream?

Only one way to find out. I bent down slightly and thought about what I wanted. To be Superman. One minute I was dressed in a loose t shirt, then the next, a blue and red costume hugged my body like a second skin. The best part about the Kryptonian material was just how comfortable it was. Was it like this in real life or was I cheating?

I crouched down. My fists facing downwards, as I controlled... something to realign the graviton particles to push me up to the sky. A ripple spread out through my body and down to the ground. The sand vibrated, floating up in streams 2 meters around me. Then I was off like a shooting star.

Hands laid out to my front in a Superman pose, the air not even making it past a shield that covered my body in a sort of bubble that I could just barely perceive. Was this Superman's bio-electric aura? It was a passive skill that I had read about in one of the continuities.

Getting past the wall, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw just how beautiful everything was. A beauty that perfectly represented everything a dream should be, hellish structures and nightmares set against a background of tall mountains and beautiful boulevards that led to peaceful gardens. A tall arching bridge leading to a massive castle with mythical creature gargoyles that curiously stared at me.

The bridge was weird as well. Long one minute then short the next, with billions of people just wondering about, their mental projections connected to each of their dreams yet separate to avoid invading each other's dreaming.

I frowned at how much my conjectures made sense. It almost felt like this information was being provided to me by the realm itself. A few rounds flying in the sky and I had a better picture on the layout of the realm. The castle lay in the middle of it all. It acted as a nexus point to everything. That's where I needed to go.

Instantly my flight momentum increased to lightning speeds in a breeze. The closer I got to within the castle, the bigger I found it actually was. I stepped foot on the balcony and dropped the Superman costume and abilities. It was all well and good but besides his physical parameters, solar absorption and super vision, my power set was better in every way. Though the bio-electric aura was very useful. Maybe I could come up with my own variation of it.

"What are you doing here?"

I heard a voice coming from the left of the hall I had just entered. The question was from a no nonsense looking woman, with specs and a book held on her chest. She was dressed in a black suit and stared at me with suspicion.

I raised my hands to show I meant no harm.

"Umm, sorry, I just found myself in this place."

I lamely replied, shrugging in the process. While still having her guard up, she nodded.

"Alright, I believe you. But I will need you to follow me."

She ordered while turning back.

"Follow you? Lady I have never even seen you in my life before. Where do you want to take me?"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

All of this was too weird to do what she said without getting some basic information first.

"To Lord Morpheus Of Course, the King of Dreams. Popularly known as...The Sandman."

She threw that over her shoulder.

One thing stood out to me.

"The king of Dreams? Do you mean... Dream of the Endless?"

The woman's eyes widened a little in surprise.

"What?"

"That's enough Lucienne, I shall take over from here."

His voice was smooth, authoritative and calm. It also came from no discernible direction.

"As you wish my Lord."

Lucienne adjusted her specs and bowed her head a little to the huge mural whose details I could not make out, inlaid on the wall of the hallway. She studied me some more before turning on her heel and walking off in a calm upright gait.

"20 bucks says she's a librarian."

I commented after briefly observing her whole demeanor.

"You're right." The King of Dream's voice, this time came from my back.

I turned and saw him. My body tensed as I could clearly feel connected to him in some way. Nebulous it might have been but it was deep. He had on a Plague doctor's helmet, garbed in full black and with a sack tied on his left hip and a chain with a ruby wrapped around his palm.

"How..."

"For now you must awaken. Awaken and the next time you rest, I shall find you."

It almost felt like I started sinking back into reality. My eyes widened and I grasped to hold on to...to anything yet looking at the owlish gaze from the King of Dreams, I realized that this conversation was over.

"Beware of my sibling. The one with golden eyes. Beware of Desire."

I came to without much fanfare. I think...I think I'd been dreaming? Might have been a nightmare because my body felt tense. However for the life of me, I could not remember anything from the dream except flying. The dream felt important though, which was the reason I was slightly obsessing over it. At the end of it all, I shrugged and decided to move on to something a bit more immediate.

"Welp, so the countdown begins...early happy birthday Aden."

I said, lying in bed, wide awake. The clock showed it was 10:22 in the morning. I had been awake for a minute or so, just thinking.

I sighed, sniffing a little and realizing I stank of something akin to burnt rotten barbacue, sulphur and smoke. I turned to my side, further soiling the sheets under me with soot. The amused smile on the other occupant of the room's face set me off, making me sigh and turn to the opposite direction, only to find him sitting on the other side as well. Fucking reality manipulation bs.

"Wow, you've clearly outdone yourself this time."

Lucifer commented.

"I cheated." Was my reply, knowing he was talking about the battle I had just come from a few hours ago.

He hummed. "So you did. That's how you get to outlive people. More than most, you should understand that life is fair. That extra edge is always welcome." He shrugged.

"To the smart ones that is."

I snorted.

"Tell that to the millions of demons I sent to oblivion."

My tone was subdued.

"Oh?" He instantly perked up.

"What is this? Are you...are you feeling remorse?"

The devil chuckled.

I closed my eyes, the ceiling of my room getting replaced by darkness.

"Its. Not. Easy."

I responded rather curtly.

"Taking a life...I feel like my hands get soiled with this black...sludge. Stain that I can't wash off."

"I understand."

He stated.

"I very much doubt it but...okay."

He moved past the jab with practiced ease.

"A part of you feels like life is sacred and should be respected. Preserved. That's an illusion. The reality is you're not feeling bad because they died, you're feeling bad because they died by your hands."

That stopped me short.

Fuck. He was right. And that only raised moral questions on what kind of a person I was. As if sensing my conundrum, Lucifer laughed.

"It doesn't mean you're worse than others Aden, it just means you're human. Now, are you going to get your ass up, take a shower and follow me to Hell for the final and best part of our transaction?"

He made some really good points. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and sat up.

"What are you, my shrink?"

My question made him chuckle.

"You couldn't afford me boy. But...I am in contact with a particularly good one. The best part?" He smiled that devilish smile I was getting used to. "You can even pay her with sex."

"I'll huh... I'll think about it."

I lightly coughed, looking away.

"There's no shame in..."

Lucifer began but I was already walking towards the shower, the door mercifully cutting off his statement.

I breathed in and looked at the mirror. The face staring back at me looked like a stranger's. A thin layer of stubble was forming on my jaw. The strong chin I inherited from my dad paired up nicely with the square jaw leading up to brown eyes. Not particularly good looking but a solid 6 if I had to hazard a guess.

I turned on the faucet and splashed water on my face before looking up and blinking my eyes in surprise. The black sword I'd gotten from the demon instantly appeared in my hands from the hammer space and slashed out behind me, held tightly in my grip. Only, I hit nothing. But I could swear... For a split second, I could swear I saw golden eyes belonging to a beautiful pale face with a cheeky grin.

"I must be tripping..."

I decided to chalk it up to exhaustion and mass murder.

"Man I loved this T-shirt."

I stated to no one in particular while tearing off the strips of blue that remained stuck to my form from the battle. Then I used the shower to get rid of the grime, ash, sweat and dirt covering my body.

A hour later, I came out feeling much much better.