The metallic tang of fear and a lingering smell of something rotten hung heavy in the air was what John returned to, having quickly rinsed the grime from his hands and face well ensuring he had gotten a measure of control over himself before re-entered the kitchen but even so he was still somewhat pale. His stomach churned at the sight of the black, viscous mess sprawling across the floor though almost demanding for him to empty his stomach again at the sight of the lingering evidence of a recent, horrific transformation. Kneeling amidst the chaos, the small fairy, Greeny, appeared shell-shocked, its frame trembling as she was undoubtedly reeling from the events of the past few minutes. Alice, by stark contrast, radiated an almost manic joy, practically vibrating with unholy glee as she locked her eyes onto him.
"What in the hell happened here?" John demanded, his voice hoarse, laden with exhaustion as he tried to keep back a second rising tide of nausea from the smell. He pointed a shaking finger at the inky puddle. "What is that black goo? I thought Jess would just... revert or turn into some middle-aged man or something. Did you do something Alice?" The questions tumbled out, each word steeped in a weariness that went beyond physical fatigue. He felt sick, exasperated and, if he was being entirely honest rather numb. He recognized that he had come full circle – the act he'd just committed was profoundly unlike him, regardless of what and who Jess was he wouldn't normally snap to such a degree so quickly or feel this numb to it after throwing up. A chilling suspicion formed, one of his 'mental residents,' as he called them, might have seized control for a brief moment, compelling him to take a life before realizing what had truly happened or what he was doing. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened but usually he would black out entirely, or see a flash of red and remember nothing afterwards. This time however, the memory was disturbingly clear, leaving him to grapple with the burden of murder, even if it wasn't really a little girl the fact that is the form when he killed them still greatly affected him.
Alice bounced over to him, her eyes wide with a mischievous glint. "John, you won't believe it! It was some kind of smoke beast thingy! The girl turned into a really, really big and ugly guy and then... pop! Like a balloon! But I'll tell you all about it when you wake up later!" Her voice, initially bubbly, took on an abrupt, unsettling seriousness. "I need to have some words with this fairy here in private and can't have you get involved or try to stop me unfortunately, besides, you've done more than enough so just get some well-deserved sleep."
Confused, John stared at her, his eyelids suddenly feeling heavy, as if weighted with lead. His gaze drifted to the side, landing on a thin, smoking stick tucked between Alice's fingers before widening for a brief moment. "You drugged me again. When did yo—" Before he could finish the world tilted and he collapsed onto the floor, consciousness fading into a thick, syrupy darkness as his eyes fell shut.
A soft giggle floated over his rapidly receding awareness. Alice carefully broke the red tip off the slow-burning stick and tucked it back into a pocket in her dress. "He's soooo going to be pissed when he wakes up. I wonder if he'll look hot when he's angry? Maybe he will even have the balls to grab me and roughly has his way with me!" She said far to happily at such a prospect before tapping her chin in exaggerated thought. "Maybe I should just make him some breakfast to make up for drugging him again. Food should help right?" She turned her attention to the quivering fairy. "Anyway, that's for later, for now my focus is set on you little Greeny, we have a lot to get through." Her tone had gone from playful and excited to an icy calm, her eyes narrowing and a level of focus and seriousness taking hold as she straightened herself out, had John seen it he wouldn't believe this to be the Alice he had met. "I have questions and if you don't seem like you'll be of use to us? Well, I really don't mind using those wings as a pretty decoration for my dress and I'm sure I could find use for the rest of you somehow. If I'm not happy with what I hear or you prove you will be of no use then maybe I'll just kill you, dry your body and then grind you up to make some special magic powder! I'm sure fairy dust is or will be quite a rare product. Or we could sell you when we find a merchant person! So, I'd be extra careful with your words and worth." A wicked grin stretched across Alice's face as she stared down at the minuscule creature. Poor Greeny trembled, unsure if the fate awaiting it with Alice and John would be any better – or perhaps far worse – than the one it had endured under the evil entity that had destroyed its home, enslaved and slaughtered its people and had even managed to fool it into thinking it was a harmless, scared little girl.
"Ugh, gods damn it! She drugged me, again!" John rubbed his eyes, the familiar sting of indignation rising within him as he looked around, he seemed to find himself in a lucid dreamscape this time. To his left and right stretched seemingly endless, pristine white marble walls that disappearing into the distant horizon. Embedded within them were countless doors: rustic wooden planks, ornately carved portals, simple unadorned slabs, a solid iron gate and even one crudely fashioned from rough-hewn logs. The ground beneath his feet was a profound, an inky black that was bisected by a deep midnight-blue carpet that seemed to absorb all light.
"Welcome. I have been expecting you," a distorted voice resonated, seeming to emanate from everywhere and nowhere all at once. John spun around. Standing behind him was a tall and imposing figure, draped in a twinkling robe as black as night, dotted with small, swirling white spots that mimicked a distant galaxy. Its face was conspicuously absent; in its place was a slowly spinning series of rings at the centre of which pulsed a red, sun-like orb. From the ends of its sleeves, metallic coils emerged forming crude fingers, each adorned with faint, glistening gems. "I am the keeper of this hall; just call me Keeper. I had you brought here at a reasonable cost to talk and make you an offer I am sure you will want and enjoy," it explained, its voice a low, resonant hum. John met its pronouncement with a sceptical, disbelieving stare.
"Let me guess," John began, a wry, bitter edge to his voice. "Untold power, immense wealth and anything I could possibly want in exchange for my soul or some other kind of catch like endless sacrifices or something equally sinister or cliché and over done." He pressed on, but before he could utter another word, the Keeper's non-existent face shifted, conveying what John assumed was an expression of deep displeasure. With a snap of its coiled fingers, thick, spectral chains erupted from the black ground before coiling tightly around him, dragging John to his knees.
"I tend to dislike being interrupted or having people assume they know what I have to say," the Keeper stated, its distorted voice now echoing with an increased, chilling intensity that reverberated through the vast hall. "Now, if you do so again or give me any other reason to, I will show you my displeasure in a far more painful way." The threat hung heavy in the air, palpable and real. "Now, the deal I have for you is this: I could give you power or wealth as you mentioned or I could send you far away from this world to a different one. It could even be one that closely matches your old reality. You would take the body and place of the 'you' there who would have passed away by entirely natural causes I assure you. Or," it paused, a faint, almost imperceptible chuckle rippling through its form, "I could return them to you. The family you lost in this current, horror-filled world. And you can all push through together as you cut out your own slice in this distorted reality."
"And you would do all this out of the amazing kindness of your heart, right?" John snapped, his voice laced with venom. The mention of his family was a raw, open wound and this being had just thrown salt into it. "Yeah right. What exactly would you want in return for any of that? And what makes you even think I'd accept a deal after what the so-called higher beings like you did to my world?"
"Don't be rude. Tsk, it seems you need a lesson on why it's best to be polite to your betters." the Keeper replied, a harshness entering its distorted tone. It raised a hand, its metallic fingers glinting and slowly brought it down. Before John could even process the movement, what felt like thousands of volts surged through his body. It was as if he were being electrocuted and burning from the inside out. Every muscle screamed in protest, every nerve ending alight with agony. It took every ounce of his willpower, every fibre of his being to prevent a scream from tearing itself from his throat.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain vanished, it was as if it had never been there at all. The Keeper turned its hand, moving to stand directly in front of John well clearly looking down at him as he gasped for breath and held captive by the chains. "Now that a lesson has been taught, I hope you keep it in mind. Now, what I would want from you is your body. I have my own 'chosen' going about in the game, but I've very recently found that there's a loophole that can be exploited, one I hope to use before those annoying imps and administrators address it. We can't directly interfere in the game, only managing to watch the show. We select a chosen, share a tiny bit of power with them and they grow for us well we watch with minimal interference. When they die, that power returns to us, often it depends on luck but either we get the same back as what was spent if were unlucky, or we get more back if they grew enough and then die later on, that's when we get lucky. Sometimes they keep going though, growing more and more until they rule a portion of their old reality and then die either by overestimating themselves or the natural end of their world, a win-win for us and often entertaining when it does happen. After all, they do die in the end regardless and we live far longer than any of your kind could possibly imagine."
The Keeper shifted, its form rippling slightly. "Now, the loophole some of us found, it seems that that we can split off a teeny tiny bit of our consciousness and have them inhabit a body. Sometimes even multiple bodies, but there are conditions to it, as with all things. First, we need to have the person consent to it. Next, the person's body has to be strong enough to hold the bit of soul that goes into it. Those with large physiques seem to work best regardless if its muscle or fat with the fatter ones having a higher acceptance rate. We don't understand it entirely but it's supposed to have something to do with the fat acting as an insulator and holding the energy from our souls better? Moulding around that tiny fragment well being malleable to remodel as we want. The final condition is that even if we find someone willing and matching the size requirement, their sponsor needs to not care about them at all, well to not care enough to make a fuss or be weak enough to not comment. Thus, having no claim and leaving us free to use our target as we please. Of course, we give something in exchange to make it fair. So, how about it? Do you want your family back or to be free? You won't be here anymore regardless of the choice so why not go and be free well leaving your body to me?" The Keeper lowered itself to his level, its spinning rings at eye level with John well clearly trying to entice him.
The response it received, however, was a defiant blob of spit that splattered against its non-existent face. "Let me guess," John said, his voice trembling with a potent mix of grief and fury. "You think I'm still going through the stages of grief like a normal person and this would be your way of bargaining? Or the depression stage where id do anything to have things like they used to be or have my family back right? Well, fuck you gyro head. I am not going to agree to anything and I sure as hell won't bring my parents back just for them to exist in this hell where you would probably just kill them yourself! And as for going to a different world? Who's to say it isn't on the brink of having this same disaster happen right after I get there or something worse? You can take your offer and shove it!" John roared, his anger-filled voice echoing, raw and painful throughout the boundless hall.
"It seems we will need to do this the hard way," the Keeper stated, its tone dangerously calm. "All I need is your consent; there's no reason it has to be willingly given. A bit of force and pain should do it, forcing you to accept it to escape the pain can also work just as well. You will give over one way or another even if I have to break your mind from the pain to do it. I will have your body and be allowed to play an active role in the game." This time, it raised both hands, flipping them and then bringing them down extremely slowly. What followed was pain unlike anything John had ever imagined possible. It felt as if his skin was burning, his blood freezing solid well electricity coursed through his very being, all while being devoured alive by an army of fire ants. Try as he might, John could not hold back his screams of agony this time. It felt as though his very essence was being torn apart and shredded into oblivion. The few seconds felt like agonizing hours before suddenly, it stopped. Breathing heavily, he took ragged gasps, the only reason he hadn't collapsed completely to the black ground was the unyielding grip of the chains that bound him.
"Just accept and give yourself to me. It's that easy. Or I can do this over and over until your mind is so shattered you have no choice but to comply with whatever I say." The Keeper's voice, a low rumble now tinged with amusement echoed down at John. Yet, instead of fear, it was met with a burst of laughter.
John, despite the agony of the chains binding him, threw his head back, his mirth reverberating through the oppressive space. "You know," he finally gasped well forcing himself to rise, the chains groaning in protest as try tried to tightening their hold on him "if it were anyone else, you probably would have gotten your way especially if you caused them that amount of pain. But it seems you've overlooked a few key points swivel head."
He began with a glint of cunning in his eyes overshadowing the pain. "One, you ripped my soul from my body to pull me here, meaning it's not constrained to my physical form right now like it would have been, no doubt another loopholes you lot exploit." He slowly forced himself to stand straight, a few of the chains snapping. "Two, I've realized you overlapped your realm with a dream world to achieve this, that's how you managed to snatch me and drag my soul here to your realm without worrying about my body. And finally, let me pose a question that might illuminate the fatal flaw you seem to either overlook or ignore in regards to using a dream as your bridge." He rolled his shoulders, taking great pleasure in the way the keeper seemed to straighten up and take a half step back at the wide grin on his face. "What happens when the one you've ensnared is considered mentally unstable? Believes he possesses a vast mindscape? Has fought countless battles and embarked on endless adventures through his dreams that he found so vivid that they were a reality all their own to him? What if he even believes he has amassed a formidable force in a separate dream realm connected to various other planes beyond the one he exists in?"
John's voice grew steadier by the end of it as he let loose another round of laughter but seemingly taking a page from Alice's book as it was tinged with a manic edge. "Especially," he continued, his grin becoming far more terrifying "when he's lucid enough right now to understand that your realm is merely extending into and becoming part of a dream where you're overstepping, where you're not in your own domain but rather converted it and trying to hide how it's really the dreamer's domain you're in?"
With every word the very foundations of the Keeper's domain began to tremble around them. The Keeper, in a desperate attempt to reassert control tried to inflicted pain once more, only to be met with another wave of John's unhinged laughter.
"This is no longer your world Keeper," John declared, his voice echoing with newfound power. "I realized that after the pain from the second round of shocks disappeared, this place is mine now. And it will be added to the other places in my dream realm. To put simply? You dun goofed, hahaha!"
With a seismic groan, a large section of the wall beside John crumbled away, revealing a swirling, inky blackness beyond it that slowly spread like grotesque, unholy veins as they consumed the stone around it until the entire wall became a pulsing void.
"No! I will not allow this! Stop this at once!" the Keeper bellowed, its amusement replaced by raw panic. John's laughter only intensified, wondering if this was what Alice felt all the time, to just let it all go and lose complete control. Slowly, from the swirling blackness, a myriad shadowy forms began to be seen, their shapes indistinct but their presence palpable.
"You wanted to mess with me? Make me submit by torturing my soul?" John roared, his voice laced with venomous triumph. "Not a god damn chance bastard!" More and more beings of various sizes and shapes could be seen forming, becoming fuller and clearer.
"Very well," the Keeper's voice boomed, now stripped of all mirth, a thunderous roar. "I tried doing this the easy way, but you rejected it. Do you truly believe you are the first to challenge me? I will show you the depths of your foolishness!"
The ground beneath them seemed to stretch and distort, stretching as it created distance between them, cutting off the expanse of the darkness behind John, well keeping it away from his remaining territory as the massive doors that had formed behind the keeper shuddered before opening and from within legions of otherworldly beings with dead and hollow gazes began their slow, deliberate march out. The Keeper ascended into the air, a gnarled staff materialising in its coiled fingers, as if preparing to conduct a macabre orchestra.
"Let us see, little human," the Keeper hissed as his body seemed to extend, serpentine fingers twisting as the gems began to slide off and plummet to the ground, taking root and blossoming into pulsating crystals that crackled with energy. Its cloak shifted, deepening to a rich, blood-red as the rings encircling its head sped up till they began to spin violently. It seemed to find that this would be a battle it would truly savour and be taken seriously.
John knew that unlike the many dream-fights of his past, falling here meant certain death in the waking world with his body taken from him. But this? A large-scale confrontation where the dream-like elements allowed him unrestrained action yet the opponents own domain overlap allowed a measure of the same for them? This was precisely what he craved most right now, a way to let loose and channel everything he had been feeling, the rage, the pain and everything else. With a grin filled with enough madness that it would even send shivers down Alice's spine, John looked up at the Keeper, his blood surging with exhilaration and excitement. Still sore from his waking body's struggles but he was far from defeated. He would milk every last drop of the Keeper's colossal mistake, taking full advantage of the dream connection it had so carelessly forged to grow himself further.