This chapter contains intense psychological horror, disturbing imagery, graphic nightmares, and existential terror. The protagonist experiences nightmare loops, hallucinations, and encounters with a malevolent entity inside himself. Reader discretion is advised.
?? SYSTEM WARNING: ? Host Consciousness Unstable. ? Sleep Cycle Corrupted. ? Unknown Entity Interfering.
The first night, Seth woke up drenched in sweat, his heart hammering against his ribs.
The second night, he woke up gasping, clawing at his throat, convinced he was drowning in blood.
The third night…
He didn’t wake up at all.
Because he was no longer sure if he was sleeping.
The walls of his room warped and pulsed, shadows stretching unnaturally, whispering things he couldn’t understand.
His reflection in the mirror moved before he did.
The air smelled wrong—like burning flesh and rotting flowers.
And every time he blinked, he was somewhere else.
Somewhere worse.
?? SYSTEM ERROR: ? Memory Distortion Increasing. ? Nightmare Loop Detected. ? WARNING: Host May Lose Distinction Between Reality and Illusion.
?? The First Nightmare
- He was back in the battlefield.
- The sky was not a sky, but a gaping maw of teeth and writhing tongues.
- His comrades lay scattered around him, their eyes missing, their mouths stretched too wide in silent screams.
- Their bodies twitched, hands grasping at him, skin sloughing off their bones as they whispered—
"You left us." "You let us rot." "Now you will stay with us."
- They dragged him down, into a pit that should not exist, where hands with too many fingers wrapped around his throat.
?? The Second Nightmare
- He stood in a city he did not recognize.
- The buildings breathed. The streets bled.
- There was something behind him.
- Every time he turned, it was closer.
- A thing too tall, too thin, its face a hollow void.
- Its arms ended in jagged bone, dripping something that hissed against the stone.
- It did not move.
- And yet, it was always closer.
?? The Third Nightmare
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- Nyxara was standing before him.
- But her skin was peeling off, exposing raw muscle and black veins.
- Her smile was too wide.
- Her voice was not hers.
- "You are mine, Seth."
- She reached for him, her hands morphing into chains that wrapped around his wrists, pulling him into the abyss.
?? SYSTEM WARNING: ? Foreign Entity Detected in Host Mind. ? Unknown Lifeform Establishing Communication. ? WARNING: THIS IS NOT PART OF THE SYSTEM.
The fourth nightmare was different.
He was no longer in the battlefield. No longer in the bleeding city. No longer facing false versions of Nyxara.
He was nowhere.
A black void stretched endlessly, the ground beneath him an ocean of swirling darkness.
And then—
It spoke.
"You are breaking."
A voice like shattered glass scraping against his skull.
Seth froze.
The darkness moved.
Something shifted beneath the surface.
And then—it rose.
A towering figure, too monstrous to be real.
Its body was a mass of writhing tendrils, shifting bones, and blackened flesh.
Its face was not a face. Only a wide, jagged mouth, filled with rows upon rows of serrated fangs.
It grinned.
"You finally hear me."
Seth could not breathe.
His legs refused to move.
Something about this creature felt familiar.
Like it had always been there.
Like it had always been watching.
"Do you understand yet?" "You were never meant to sleep." "You were never meant to wake."
The shadows curled around his feet, slithering up his legs, his arms, his throat—
And then, the thing leaned closer.
Its voice a whisper, a laugh, a song of madness.
"You and I are the same."
And then, Seth screamed.
?? SYSTEM ERROR: ? Host Mental Stability Reaching Critical Levels. ? Unknown Entity Attempting Synchronization. ? WARNING: If Not Stabilized, Host May Lose Identity.
He woke up.
But he didn’t.
Because the shadows were still there.
Because the monster’s laughter still echoed in his skull.
Because when he looked in the mirror, his own reflection did not move.
And then—
It grinned.
?? SYSTEM WARNING: ? Host and Foreign Entity Connection Strengthening. ? WARNING: HOST IS NO LONGER ALONE.
End of Chapter: Nightmares Without End
?? Author's Note: This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and settings are purely imaginary. This novel contains dark themes meant to enhance the story and character development. Reader discretion is advised.