Two empty eye sockets stared deep into Cain's soul, a bone-chilling gaze that drained all feeling from his body.

'I really need to humble myself. This is where big ideas get me...'

The giant holding him in its palm remained calm and silent, emanating the aura of Death, the absence of life.

Unironically, Cain felt serene and peaceful. If not for his body and soul trembling before Death, he might have even welcomed the idea of dying. However, Death ran counter to the nature of Life.

It was a plunge into the uncharted.

In the silence, Cain focused on studying the silent Horror.

Death's bones appeared to be made of a slightly hazy and translucent material. As his gaze lingered near the skull, he could discern beautiful and vibrant patterns decorating the creature's skull and shoulders.

Yet he could only look for a moment before excruciating pain pierced his mind.

Stepping back and averting his gaze to prevent further agony, Cain decided that the best course of action was to remain in his place. He knelt with his head lowered.

He couldn't discern how long the preceding silence had lasted; that feeling long since escaped him.

Only after this protracted silence did an ancient, flat voice echo into the abyss, causing even the darkness to shudder. Its jaw dropped and the sound exited, but the sound itself was distorted and terrifying.

"Good. Very Good."

As Death's words entered his ears, Cain felt his mind splitting. He bit his tongue, feeling warm blood trickle from his mouth and ears.

'Damn it, bad idea!'

He wanted to flee, but he knew he had lost that chance. Now he had to confront death, one of the Primordial Horrors that even the Dream Lord dreaded.

"The seed comes back. The future is set, dreams will die!"

Death's revelation came as a shock to Cain. His voice was no longer as unbearable and instead felt a bit incomprehensible, similar to the patterns on its skull.

He couldn't help it; his curiosity had long since overwhelmed his instincts.

Cain ended up mustering the courage to speak in front of this grand being, "Uh, could you explain?"

He had initially contemplated escaping by attempting to use the ability he had been granted by the Horrors to warp Death's image. Giving him enough time to escape.

However, that idea was discarded as quickly as he knelt.

"Ignorant, the time is coming, the 3 will become 4. The 4th will end Dream."

Cain, who was unaware of the Three Primordial Horrors, was more than confused.

Death, however, was aware. With a sigh that expelled chilly and stale air that could freeze souls, it started to explain from the beginning. Its voice took on a more human quality, making it easier for Cain to comprehend.

Death began;

"There was nothing, and then there was. With everything came imagination. With imagination came the Three that devoured it: Death, Change, and Failure. With the three came many, and the many sustained the three, for the three were the fears of the many."

Death raised its hand, swiping down as if tearing a curtain.

Its movement ripped through the abyss, revealing drawings resembling primitive cave paintings that covered the empty darkness. Vibrant colors danced, burning brightly.

"The three were just, and they were fair to the many. But the many didn't understand."

The paintings showed three figures ruling over different humans and other beings. The three figures seemed to be behind a curtain but the many below them still knew of their existence even though there was a barrier between the two sides.

Death paused.

"Then came the One... the One imprisoned the Three and the many.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"The One imprisoned all within a sphere at the edge of everything, inside the sphere the three were locked away in Dream. That's where the three remained, forever. Within Dream, the three plotted, waited, and exercised patience.

"There would be a Fourth. The Fourth would come and end Dream. The Three knew the Fourth would emerge from the power of the Three."

Cain interrupted, shocked yet remaining timid, "Please wait. Are you saying these "Three" have existed since the dawn of creation?"

Death responded, "The Three existed from the beginning, just like many others. The Three weren't alone, but they were the weakest. The Three needed the many, but the many didn't need the Three."

The pastel images began to depict many figures alongside the Three, they too were separate from the masses.

The Three themselves were intricately detailed.

One was composed of bones, another consisted of ever-moving symbols, and the last was like a shadow made of thought, it gave the eerie impression of always being behind you.

Cain went on to examine the other figures on the wall, seeing a multitude of different figures.

Some were bizarre creatures, while others assumed human forms.

He saw a colossal tree, a grotesque and ever-changing flesh creature, and even a human wearing clothes. The clothes on the human appeared to leap out at him, and the human's eyes locked onto his own like they were alive.

'Weird.'

Death ignored Cain's reaction and continued.

"The seed is the deepest fear, the core of all fears. The seed will free the Three, and the Three will escape the Dream created by the One. Then they will escape the sphere!"

Death finished and silence ensued. Cain went over Death's explanation and drawings until he put two and two together.

"You are one of the Three, right?"

The silence broke.

"Yes."

'Well, at least he's not hiding it.'

"Could you explain who is the One? You said they created this place?"

Death fell silent for a moment before speaking with a hint of emotion beyond the realm of Death and Decay, it was akin to....fear?

"All-Powerful. The "One" is all-powerful."

With that lingering apprehension in the voice of such a formidable entity, even Cain felt it best not to ask more questions. He forcefully redirected his curiosity elsewhere.

"Alright, then. Who is the seed?"

Cain quickly noticed the hand beneath him rising toward Death's skull.

He was brought up mere millimeters from the Primordial Horror's face.

He no longer needed his eyes to experience the skull-splitting headache, but the pain was not severe. He was being protected by Death.

Death's voice grew loud, his mouth spewed color, and with his words were a declaration, a now spoken truth.

"You are the Seed. You are the unsprouted Fourth."

Death's voice grew ethereal and empty, softly permeating the abyss. After he spoke, Cain felt numerous stares coming from all around him. He felt as if the abyss itself had come to life to consume him.

Cain's voice started to crack as a result of so many powerful auras, "I-I can't be the Fourth, can I? I mean, come on, I'm from reality. I can't become such a Nightmare."

"Dream overlapped reality once. Dream and Reality were one. Now, Dream is the prison for the Three, but it is not for the Fourth." Death quickly countered Cain's logic.

Cain realized his mistake in attitude, he was acting too rashly and informal.

He calmed down and spoke with absolute seriousness, "Uh sir, I can't possibly become one of you. I am only a Corrupt Nightmare of the Mind; it will take too long to reach your status."

Death stared at Cain with its empty eye sockets.

Slowly, his other hand reached for one of the fingers attached to the palm holding Cain.

With a snap, the milky white finger broke off. Crumbs and dust fell into the abyss, and many Horrors fought over one or two pieces. Some perished while others gained great strength.

"ΣΛƬ"

Death nudged the finger closer to Cain.

"Wait, I can't consume that! Not only is it larger than me, but we are not compatible! I'm a Corrupt Nightmare of the Mind, and you're....you're "The" Fear of Death!"

Death continued to stare, then answered dryly, its voice becoming incomprehensible once more.

"The 4th is the deepest fear." Death's jaw lowered, attempting to cheekily smile. "ᗯᕼᗩT ᗪO YOᑌ TᕼIᑎK TᕼE ᗪEEᑭEST ᖴEᗩᖇ IS? TᕼE ᖴEᗩᖇ TᕼᗩT EᑎᑕOᗰᑭᗩSSES ᗩᒪᒪ OTᕼEᖇS?"

Thinking for a moment, Cain ran through a mental list and scratched off one answer after another.

But he suddenly realized the answer and whispered it, "The Unknown."

"Correct! All fears sprout from the unknown!" Death's voice rumbled, and the entity was obviously excited.

It was as if he had realized his 'destiny'. Cain was all too tempted and couldn't control himself.

He reached out and touched Death's milky white finger bone.

Upon contact, the surface trembled and turned into a white powder, evaporating into dark sand.

The sand began to circle him, slowly entering through each of his pores. In the end, not a granule remained.

Suddenly, Death's hand recoiled! It drooped downward and adhered to the giant skeleton's side. What remained before Death was a sprouted seed.

But it was still small and weak.

In the end, Cain had transformed. He was now covered from head to toe in a silk cloak woven from the abyss itself, with a tapestry of stars shining brightly, resembling a real night sky.

Apart from the cloak, Cain wore nothing else.

Like a mysterious figure born from the Unknown, his face and body were appropriately concealed by the cloak. Only his hands and part of his arms were visible, his pale skin contrasting against the darkness as if in a perpetual struggle.

Death then spoke, its words more human than ever, akin to a boy seeking to sound powerful and enigmatic.

Still, the voice ended up smooth and playful, "Good. Now, find the other two. Seek them and gain their favor. Ask them what you do not know, become Unknown, become the Fourth!"

With its final message, the Primordial Death vanished into the surrounding darkness. It couldn't be discerned if it had ever been there, if it had ever even existed, just like those forgotten after they die, like those lost in the sands of time.

But Death did not forget the dead; it, like them, was forgotten. Only at the end of their lives did people remember its ever-lingering presence.

The sprouting Unknown remained floating in the Nothingness. His cloak extended infinitely into the abyss below as if the abyss itself was the cloak. The Horrors residing in the empty expanse quickly backed away.

For the first time since creation, stars sparkled in a place devoid of light.