Their triumph was short-lived. They all stood together over Marcus’s body. The man’s nightmare had ended, it was just sad that it was like that. Justin said a few words before cremating the body.

Nico stood, his torso exposed after he dismissed the memory for essence. He looked into his soul sea and found the memory, reading the description.

[A gift crafted by a deity’s hands. She wished for the Beast god to remember her, crafting an outfit to fit his tastes]

The memory was made of a tunic and long black cloak with complementary black leg wrappings and sandals. Along the edges, were embroidered designs of white and blue. The cloak’s hood resembled the head of the Vile guardian, and Nico shivered a little.

“We should move, there might be more monsters.” Justin spoke softly, holding back his emotions. Nico felt the sorrow from him and they left the cave.

“So we go up?” Vivian was the first to ask. It was a hard choice. They were down a man, and the road only gets worse from here. On the other hand, they were so close to the peak.

“We should go back. The longer we stay, the more chances we run into strong nightmare creatures. I don’t want to lose someone else.

“I could remedy that.” Nico said. He summoned his strength and the Vile Guardian appeared. Everyone jumped.

“It’s okay. It’s my echo.”

“You got that thing’s echo?” Justin looked at it warrily. The memory of Marcus handing from its hairs was fresh.

“He’s good at climbing.” Nico said. The echo snorted in agreement and lowered its body. “We climb to the top then head back down. It'll be faster this way.”

The cohort reluctantly got on and the hairs wrapped around them like seatbelts. The dragonish monster dug its claws into the face of the mountain and climbed, slow at first then picking up speed.

What would have taken hours of climbing took them a few minutes. They created the peak and Nico was welcomed to a view of everything. The wind blew in his hair, brushing loose strands against his skin. The night sky glistened with thousands of stars, and one large waxing moon.

Below them were hundreds of small peaks and paths through the hollow mountains. But beyond that was a vast plain of sand. Dunes rose and fell all the way to the horizon. The weight of disappointment crushed them all. Beyond the terrors of the Hollow Mountains was a desert.

They dismounted the Echo and stood together on the lonely peak. Justin hung his legs off the edge, Byron buried his face in his hands, and the others stood silently.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A month of work. Years for the others had resulted in nothing. They were stuck. If they went beyond the mountains, they’d meet a desert, home of many more abominations.

“What the actual blazing crap is this?!” Vivian hurled her words to the night sky. Each one getting fowler and quieter. If she wanted a response, none came.

Nico stood his own emotions mixing with the cohort’s. There was a sense of failure. Loads of sadness. And content. It was over in their minds.

“This doesn’t change anything.” Nico said. His soft voice carried to the others. Lucy turned to him, her long brown hair was billowing in the winds, tears falling from her face. She wiped them before asking.

“Change what?”

“What we want. We want to escape the dream realm.”

“Nico, the only way for a Sleeper to leave the dream realm is to find a Gateway.” Justin sounded distant. “If we can’t leave here, then we won’t find one.”

“What about the temple at the heart of the Forest? That has got to be a gateway.”

“A gateway guarded by a Tyrant and who knows what else.”

“Then we kill the Tyrant. Come on. The founders of the great clans conquered the nightmares when the danger was much greater. We can win. I’ve seen people fight against Fate.”

“Who? Who have you seen defy all odds and win? The great clans were the strongest, and they had to work together.”

“Mongrel.”

“What did you call me?” Justin didn’t sound offended, more confused though.

“There is a man in the waking world. Who had defied the odds so many times.” Nico pulled the stories from his head. “He dueled hundreds of awakened warriors without tiring. Blocked a grade three gate by himself, only faltering for the tyrant.” Nico was just letting everything go. His admiration for the man was not unfounded and so he shared what had given him hope.

“He battled champions among the awakened and won, even so far as to challenge A master. Lasting longer than any other I’ve seen.” Nico finished his retellings. He didn’t know what he expected. Them to jump to their feet and be fueled with new vigor?

‘I just don’t want them to lose hope.’

“It sounds like a bunch of nonsense.” Vivian muttered. They all didn’t react. Nico didn't feel sad anymore. He felt annoyed, angry.

“Then I’ll do it on my own.” He mounted his echo and turned back to the forest. It was a basin of stone filled with trees and storms.

“Wait,” Justin called before he could leave.” Nico turn to him and Justin stood up.

“You’re not seriously thinking of fighting a Tyrant on your own.”

“I am.” Nico couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“And you're going to go without any training?” Justin smiled a little and Nico smiled back. Justin turned around to the others. “We are going to let him die on his own. Shouldn’t we at least help him get there faster?” Nico didn’t quite think of it like that, but Vivian cracked a smile.

“First bring me back, the we can talk about suicide.” Vivian hoped on, joining nico. Byron and Lucy hesitated, but eventually they nodded. Nico felt a little lighter.

“Guardian? Umh. Vile? Vile, take us down the mountain.” Nico didn’t finish his order before Vile leaped over the edge. The hairs wrapped around them again, with the others stopping their fall. The demon moved astonishingly fast over the terrain. No rain or wind slowed its progress.

“Mongrel would be proud.” Nico thought.