That place was a tunnel in the form of an old palace illuminated by Helena with the light she created with her imagination. The members of the group made their way towards the light at the end of the tunnel. On both sides, there were some dark corridors, and naturally, who would go into them when there is light ahead...
Then the scene became strange: a blue sky and monochromatic grassy ground. Most notably, this floor was attached to the right wall, and the sky extended to their left, as if the world had flipped 90 degrees.
Delaney created a stone with her Egrinoric Energy and threw it outwards. It fell onto the grassy wall on the right, exactly as they expected. Rory leaned against the right wall and rolled out to stand on the grassy wall. Helena followed him, and behind them came Delaney, saying with an ecstatic face behind her head-wings which covered her face blushing from shyness:
"Ah... I love the sensation of gravity inversion. I feel it in the marrow of my imaginary bones."
"Beep beep"
Rory created a paper plane with his hand and threw it, and it began to soar away.
Delaney smiled and said:
"This dimension is huge!"
Helena, the beginner, said:
"How is this whole place inside a tornado?!"
"Forget that tornado. This is a pocket dimension in the Fantasy Kingdom. It might be infinite. These are virgin lands; we are the first to find them."
Soap bubbles floated in the air, and a mysterious feeling of Anemoia rushed into their senses—winds of nostalgia for a place they had never seen before, a delicious sadness with saturated colors and blurry details as if from an old camera. In the distance, there was something... a small house with white walls and a red roof. Helena said with a jaw trembling from emotion:
"I think... I think I've seen this before."
Rory replied:
"These details are important; you must not overlook them.
The scene is incorrect, and this place has psychological effects. This is very dangerous. I think we should go back."
"Why?"
"The Dreamers' Guild warns against such places. These are intrusive sensations, and it is not we who are feeling them. This place is manipulating our minds...
Didn't you hear the device?
What is your reality reading?"
"Yes, I heard it. It is
75.1+10i+36.0005j+36.0001k Ontometers"
"I expected that... The value of j and k, which are the coordinates of the Kingdom, are low. We might fall into the distant lands outside the Kingdom, and the return trigger will malfunction. We must go back inside."
They lay on the ground and rolled back inside. Helena remained staring for a long time at that hut which fires began to devour, hearing in her ears the distant sounds of children playing. Her eyes shed tears silently. In Helena's mind, a distant, barely audible voice spoke:
"Just remember us "
< I...I will... >
Rory extended his hand and struck her leg to alert her.
"It is pulling your mind. Come on, come.
[She descended and wiped her tears]
What distracted your thinking?"
"Beep beep"
"Reality has returned to its previous level. I heard the voices of children playing and melancholic music, then a voice told me 'just remember us'."
"Haha, remember us?
Did you actually see anything to remember them? You only saw a house and sounds of children. What absurdity and randomness.
But seriously, from the slightly blurred scene, I knew it was a decaying reality. A fragile reality like this abounds with glitches. If a glitch intersects with your body, it will violently pull your body inside it to unknown distant lands, cutting your awakening cord or destroying your body with errors."
Delaney created a wall to close the path to that world, then illuminated the huge tunnel they came from with a row of strong electric lamps and said:
"I heard that these worlds are the origin of Hecatyon creatures."
Rory replied:
"No... Hecatyons originate inside the collective dream worlds created by humans, not in these pocket dimensions.
These pocket dimensions were natural, but they were polluted by thoughts and sensations coming from Noospheres or other xenospheres, with sensations like
Anemoia
vemödalen
Ambedo[1]...
For as you both know, the dream core is part of the Noosphere."
"Let's change the subject. Light gives one greater courage. Now, if a monster with a thousand eyes and a twisted face appeared, I would kick its damn face with my dirty shoe."
"You're right. The real horror is the anxiety that something might betray you, more than the monster's face itself. Nothing replaces the sense of sight; even the aura isn't as important, right Helena?"
"Let's try this corridor."
They followed the corridor Delaney had lit, and after a few passages, they found the exit, which was flipped 180 degrees this time. The sky was at the bottom and the ground at the top.
This time, Helena created a stone to check the direction of gravity, and exactly as expected, Rory said:
"This time you must be a professional at exiting so you don't crash into the ground."
Rory stepped back a little and ran outwards, extending his body to fall on his back onto the grassy ceiling, and stood upside down.
On the other hand, Delaney didn't want to dirty her clothes again, so she grabbed the floor and somersaulted outwards, letting herself fall onto the ceiling. Helena feared the feeling of dizziness and imitated Rory.
"Beep beep"
"Reality has dropped two degrees in the j and k axes."
"It's fine, as long as it doesn't become two zeros after the decimal point, we are safe."
They advanced through the green spaces on the paved road. On the horizon, a castle above the clouds floated in the air. They reached the edge of a cliff with a dark depth downwards. Delaney said:
"I think its depth is infinite."
Delaney opened her wings and hovered in the air. Rory thought and said:
"No need for flying. Your imagination is superficial. Watch."
Rory created a rocket the size of a palm with his Egrinoric Energy and threw it like throwing a rock with all his might. Then the rocket launched into the air, breaking the sound barrier until it disappeared... The rocket took some time. Delaney landed and stared at him with a provocative face as a sign of his plan's failure. Suddenly, they teleported to the castle cloud, and Rory mocked her.
The castle was still far away, and only more grassy plains were revealed. They advanced through them, only to see from afar a monster ten meters tall with a huge mouth, a hunched back, and grey skin, with a long row of eyes on the sides of its head.
They quickly went prone before it glimpsed them. Rory said:
"This pocket reality is supposed to be empty. An imaginer has preceded us here."
Rory crawled to look at it and continued:
"From its stability, muscle strength, and size, I think it is of level B."
Rory replied:
"Is one of the Kings here?
It is inside the lands of King FableKeeper."
"Do we fight it?"
"I am still Level C-9 and Helena C-0."
"That is enough."
Rory stood up and took off. The monster saw him and ran towards him. Rory smiled and teleported, then screamed:
"First Eye."
The monster jolted from pain. Rory teleported several times to distract the monster until his companions arrived... A wrong teleportation, and the monster knocked him far away and ran towards him.
"Come on, hurry! I'm dying here!"
Delaney made a sound of complaint, created a huge rifle, and started hitting the creature from afar. Her shots, despite their large caliber, were only like needle pricks on the monster's skin and caused nothing but scratches.
Helena took out her huge sword and rushed to stab its stomach... The sword shattered into pieces. As an instinctive reaction, she grabbed her necklace to wake up. The creature turned to her in a split second, grabbed her, and brought her down to crush her on the ground. She pulled that safety trigger to tear it, but strangely, it became rubbery. Her eyes popped out of their sockets from the intensity of her terror, and her pale face turned blue.
She was done for.
But Rory, with a quick dash, cut the tendons of that hand, so the monster released her. She escaped and then knelt on the ground, breathing a sigh of relief. Rory said:
"Haaahhhhhh... you should have seen your face when you fumbled with that necklace."
Even Delaney, who didn't want to stain her white clothes, mocked her.
The exit trigger is the element that links a person to the chosen Kingdom of Dreams.
Getting rid of it or destroying it leads to the person automatically and instantaneously exiting the collective dream world, i.e., the dream core, thus the dreamer returns to their own private dream or wakes up directly. This feature made dreamers bolder to take risks.
In the end, Rory got bored and hit the monster with a bullet that exploded inside its body and grew in a split second, blowing its body into huge chunks, and its blood scattered everywhere. Delaney said after her clothes got dirty:
"Damn it."
Rory said to Helena:
"Hhhh, I love mocking beginners."
Helena laughed at his mockery and said:
"Haha, very funny... I'll pay you back for it."
"Next time, change that trigger. If your enemy is a dreamer, they can kill you in the same way. Make the trigger something that can truly be discarded. No need for the drama of tearing that necklace as if you are deploying a parachute."
Delaney said:
"Share the coins with us."
"Meh meh meh ...
[mocking her speech]
I'm the one who killed the monster. As for you two, you didn't fight seriously; you were just playing."
"Didn't you see me?! I hit it with a rifle."
"Hah, a rifle. Don't joke with me. You were afraid your clothes would get stained. Your skill is much more than that. I saw you fighting today. Next time we will all fight, or I will look for another group and..."
Delaney interrupted him:
"Fine, go. We don't..."
He interrupted her in turn:
"Wop wop... And I will stain your record and say that you are uncooperative, and no one will want to join you. Come on, choose.
[No response]
That's good. Let's continue the march, girls and futas."
They continued their march towards the cloud castle from which waterfalls poured down.
"Beep beep"
"Reality continues to drop. It dropped 5 degrees when we reached the shadow of the castle cloud."
After two hours of walking, they reached the base of the giant tree carrying the cloud above it and started climbing the road winding around it. After another hour of walking, they reached the grassy plains at the level of the giant castle, which was still far away. The castle was at a height that looked like two kilometers tall and ten kilometers wide. Its size made Helena dizzy. Rory said:
"This is what I call a palace."
"Beep beep"
"We have entered the first zero after the decimal point in the values of j and k."
"It's fine."
After a few kilometers of walking and chatting as usual, Delaney glimpsed something with the winged eye hovering above her head and pulled Helena to go prone on the ground, and Rory imitated them. Delaney said:
"It's a disaster. That Hecatyon returned."
They crawled on the ground to ascend the hill to see it. Helena said:
"Shall we withdraw?"
Delaney looked at the enthusiastic Rory who was emitting intermittent exhales, holding his breath. Delaney said, worried:
"No, no, don't get excited. Hecatyons are level S at least..."
Rory stood up, spread his fists apart while armor encased his body, and screamed at the top of his voice:
" FIRST TO DIE IS A FUCKING SON OF A BITCH "
Then he launched, rushing with a force that shattered the ground and tore it away with him in less than the blink of an eye, faster by several times than the speed of sound. He squeezed his muscles and detonated his armored fist in the creature's face. The explosion shook the girls' bones. The creature hit the ground and then rebounded into the air. Delaney got excited, teleported to it, and struck its stomach with her heavy glowing sword, sending it back to Rory. Then Helena launched with her black wings at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour. She extended her long sword, which she had repaired, towards the creature's crotch. It shattered again when it penetrated its crotch, and she collided with her armor against the body of the creature, which was still comprehending. She grabbed it by its foot and with a professional spin threw it to Rory, directing the shattered parts of the sword to stab it.
Rory exploded the ground and launched himself upwards, but his eyes met the creature's eyes. All that adrenaline strength disappeared. Rory panicked when he knew the creature comprehended what was happening, so it transported him to the decaying reality that Delaney had closed, which had become severely deformed since they left it. The creature was torn apart by the amount of glitches that had formed there.
Rory fell to the ground, breathing a sigh of relief and laughing:
"Wow, that was terrifying."
"Heh, we smelled the scent of death and came back. Each of us hit it with our own special strike."
"Hehe, for me, the one whose strike I liked the most was Helena. She literally took its virginity."
"Where did you send it?"
"I sent it to that world you locked. It was the first that came to my mind, and luckily I left a bookmark there. It's my way of cheating. So my advice: surround your body with an aura that prevents foreign will from interfering with you."
In the end, the metal palace gate, which was 100 meters high and 30 meters wide for each door... naturally, they couldn't open it, so they squeezed themselves under it.
"Beep beep"
"Here is the second zero after the decimal point in the value of the two imaginary constants j and k."
Red carpets, old design, and a design that looks like a hotel. Strangest of all were corridors of standard size. The gate that was 100 meters high became natural in size, looking only three meters tall. Rory tried to open it and succeeded, but on the other side was more of that place's design. They were stuck. Rory said:
"I hate these traps. Let's find an exit."
"Beep beep"
"I think we are in trouble."
"Don't make me anxious, Helena."
"We have exited the Fantasy Kingdom."
Rory said tensely, taking out the guide:
"What is the value of j and k?"
"134.6j + 332.6k"
He searched in the guide:
"We are in a pocket reality adjacent to the Kingdom of the Church of Satan... We must exit."
Helena tore the necklace, but nothing happened.
Rory hit his head:
"Don't be a fool. That is a safety trigger linked to the Fantasy Kingdom."
Delaney spoke:
"My form looks like an angel. What is the satanic element I am even carrying?!"
Rory said:
"Instantaneous teleportation doesn't work outside the Kingdom where the bookmarks are.
I have never fallen into a trap in all my years entering the dream core...
But no need to panic. There are ways in the guide to deal with such situations...
Nnnn [reading]...
Surreal kingdoms and weird core... no.
Kingdoms of glitches and low reality... no.
Kingdoms of horror and meat core... no.
Kingdoms of secret organizations...
Hmm, kingdoms of Satanic religions are secret organizations, right?"
Delaney replied:
"We didn't know Satan before the scum of planet Earth brought him to us. They practice their worship in secret and shame, so I think they are mostly secret organizations."
"Don't worry, I found it. Secret Satan-worshipping organizations. The guide says...
Solution 1: Look for an exit..."
"Wow, what useful information."
"I haven't finished my speech.
Solution 2: Find the safety trigger and pull it.
[They wanted to interrupt him, but he said]
I know, I know. I swear I'm not joking; it's written here...
Solution 3: In case you are a group, the safety trigger in one of you is what links you to that reality. The final solution: split up or... Umm."
Suddenly Delaney said:
"Goodbye."
"Hey, wait! We haven't even tried the first solution.
Hmm, I think I understand. The safety trigger is my appearance and Helena's. We look like Satan worshippers."
"But the Goth look has nothing to do with Satan worship."
"Fine, the Goth look is from planet Earth. Satan worship is also from planet Earth. I think the link is clear. Change your forms and we will exit."
Rory transformed into his original form: an overweight person with balding starting to take its toll. Delaney said:
"Pfff, is this your real form?"
"Umm, no. I am just trying to exit."
Helena changed her form to a Furry, for Rory to say mockingly:
"Is that one of your kids? Haha."
"That didn't work."
Rory returned to his form, and Helena with him. Rory stared from behind the curtain of hair hiding his eyes at Helena.
< She is the safety trigger >
Then he said:
"I suggest we split up."
Helena said:
"No, why split up?"
"I need to exit quickly. You two entered only today, but as for me, my body hasn't woken up for three days and I live alone."
Delaney said:
"No, Rory, focus. Don't rush. I haven't known you like this. Let's tour the place first and look for an exit..."
Suddenly... a voice was heard:
"Yes, yes, someone is talking there."
"Damn it."
They heard them and started running in the corridor. Suddenly, the wall exploded in front of them and blocked the way. Delaney struck that person with a light-saber in his stomach and killed him, then rushed into a corridor to the right and struck the ceiling to block the path for Rory and Helena so they wouldn't follow her, and continued escaping alone. Rory struck the wall with his maximum strength and flew through it at top speed.
Helena understood the matter. They want to get rid of her because she is the exit trigger and she will be stuck here forever.
< I won't get stuck alone >
She followed Rory with her wings. If the place were open, he would have broken the sound barrier and escaped.
Suddenly, Rory encountered members of the cult while blasting through walls, and he injured some of them. He landed, braked, and changed his path. Helena came out of the opening, landed on the wall with her feet, and followed him.
The cult members released their wings and chased them. Helena pushed herself with her hands to speed up and catch Rory and prevent him from exiting. He took the other turn and didn't leave her sight. Suddenly Rory found the exit. He rushed and exploded the place at the speed of sound, killing some inattentive cult members.
The moment he exited and was glimpsed by one of the higher-ranking members.
"FALL."
One of the cult leaders hit him with what is called an Absolute Command, which are enhanced commands possessed by secret groups to capture spies, and they are enhanced with Level A Egrinoric Energy or more, as it is from the pooled Egrinoric Energy of the group.
Rory was paralyzed in place and plummeted from the sky. Helena saw that and knew it was the end.
But...
She saw his avatar's gray eyes with a smile on his face and very good luck. The command wasn't directed to paralyze his ability. Rory teleported instantaneously with a thought from him to the center of the palace and succeeded in waking up like Delaney, leaving Helena alone in the dream.
"Stop. I order your faith to collapse now."
Helena was paralyzed in place. Her wings and her things she created with the power of her belief disappeared, and the guards coming from behind grabbed her. One of the cult leaders advanced and lifted her head while she was afraid. She had heard of horrible things these people do. The leader said:
"She is a Futanari. She possesses a penis."
The leader holding her chin replied:
"Futanari !!
I have never seen a girl of this beautiful satanic sex...
Let us test that theory."
Helena was restrained on a table with hands and legs spread apart, completely naked. One of the cult members looked at her penis with fascination, for he had not seen a Futanari in reality. He held it, and it began to swell in his hand. Helena forgot the fear, and her Her breathing grows warmer and sweeter, and her heart leaps with joy. the more its size increased. The pupils of the member dilated in fascination as if her penis was hypnotizing him while he crawled towards it. He had never seen one of its size before... He wanted to milk it from the depths of his heart, but he was under the eyes of the cult.
The leader came after changing his clothes:
"What is this? were you messing with our Lady's penis?!"
"Sir, this is the most obscene thing I have seen. I felt it shaking something inside me."
"Get out of my face, you homosexual... Is there any entanglement with the event horizon?"
"No... but there is some influence on her mind from radiation of sensations coming from xenospheres. It must be from a decaying reality."
"Fine, let us create this entanglement with the power of our belief."
Auras formed around the followers, each according to how they think and believe in their god. All this Egrinoric Energy headed to the leader's hands, and a T-shaped ice pick tool formed. One of the cult members handed him a hammer.
Helena had no power to move or speak. Her whole body was paralyzed. Nothing but eyes red from blood congestion, tearing up and crying, saturated with the urgent desire to wake up from this disturbing dream and regret for every second she slept.
Another member held her eyelid, and the leader began striking the ice pick behind her eye to penetrate her brain. Helena felt every strike of the hammer but had no power to scream. Unimaginable pain with every blow... And on the sixth blow, the pick slipped inside her brain. The leader moved it with studied movements.
With every movement, she felt her brain twisting, kneading, and being destroyed.
With every movement, the scene distorted and their shapes and colors were polluted.
With every movement, the pain oscillated between very severe and numbness.
With every movement, her aura felt things that didn't exist.
With every movement, she smelled scents and tasted flavors that didn't exist.
With every movement, she heard sounds as if he was flipping through radio channels—sounds of speech, sounds from the past, other distorted sounds, as if he was searching for a reception frequency of some sort. Then he left the pick.
Then came the time for the other eye socket. This time, there was no healthy half-brain to compensate for the damaged half. The effect was more violent: phantoms of non-existent entities, complex patterns, and communication from outside the world... All this sabotage to her brain brought Helena to the brink of death from pain.
The leader climbed onto her chest and said in an improvised incantation:
"From Terravasta, O Baphomet, we call you near,
From the womb of the dream core, our spirits implore you here.
Awaken your existence from the shackles of darkness and pain,
O Baphomet, appear and shine upon all in your reign.
By the power of belief, and a resolve that won't bend,
We revive you anew, O Leader of Demons, ascend.
In the name of Power, and the Ancient Covenant's store,
Return to us, O Great Liberator, once more."
He grabbed the handles of the two ice picks and turned them in opposite directions, so Helena's corpse gradually disappeared from existence.
[1] These sensations and names are derived from the book ☆The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrowsby ☆ the author John Koenig