𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗢 ✧ y! leonardo hamato

𝟎𝟎𝟔 . 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲

The soft bed sheet glided in the palm of your hands as you sank in the mattress, preparing to rest your body after a productive day and night. You tucked yourself in a blanket and laid down with a content sigh.

What else could be comforting when you had a temporary break from staying awake in the real world? Well, for you, it has always been sleeping when you closed your eyes to put the other things behind.

As the clock ticked, it was fading away from your ears as you dived into the heavy clouds that were colliding before you, and you landed on the grasses filled with fog and towering trees. These trees were blinding the ray of moonlight through your path. However, there was an unsettling feeling as you continued to step your feet into the grass.

You heard the breeze passing through the grasses on either of your sides that you hadn't heard earlier because of the silence, and you turned just to look at the same place―the trees and the fog everywhere. It was reassuring to know that nothing was going on there, yet there was a sense that something was hidden there. You wanted to brush it off, but you knew you had to keep an eye on them since none of them were safe.

As you refocused your sight ahead, a hideous mask formed immediately in front of you, forcing your shocked reaction to fall backward. Your heart pounded against your chest, as if attempting to escape your terror. The mask's features were awfully deformed, utterly asymmetrical, and deeply disturbing. As you inched away from this eerie apparition, a sharp, chilling splash resounded beneath your feet, intensifying the shock. It was crimson blood painting your feet.

It was just the trees and fog, but there was now blood and masks surrounding you. These masks represent culture somewhere in Asia, and you've usually seen them in their theaters, especially in ancient times.

Then, the surroundings melted into a red place. The towering trees with ruby leaves stretched their limbs high into the canopy, creating a lush, red cathedral beneath the sky. The ground was flooded with blood. The masks that were once displayed there were now rotating towards you with an intimidating stare. The place was shaking, and the loud, eerie music was flowing out in the air as it slowly tried to crash your hearing.

You couldn't hold back the force that was hitting you. You tried to run away, just to hold back with a chain on your foot. Your breathing was trembling in horror as you almost ripped off your foot from trying to get out of the chain, and these masks were intending to attack you. You were lost in your mind as you drowned in horror. No matter how you tried, you were still stuck there.

A glitch of a figure appeared in front of you while the place was turning into mayhem. It was blurry, yet it seemed to form an animal. It has long ears and chalky fur, and what caught your attention was the glowing crimson eyes piercing through you in this sickening red site that would only make your spine worse, and you couldn't escape the feeling that these crimson orbs held ancient secrets and a dangerous, supernatural power.

"No, no! Enough!" you screamed with all your might, struggling to get out of the chains and squeezing your eyes close. Nobody heard you from here, as they were hungry to attack you, especially this animal-like figure.

Before the masks in your surroundings could devour you, you were pulled back to the sight of your room, and that was when your eyes widened open. Your breathing was heavy, and the beads of sweat were rolling down your bare skin.

There was a familiar, faint eerie sound in the left side of your ears. When you gazed at where you heard the sound, the shadow from the windows dashed away, which only made you recall your dream; likely, a nightmare. Your chest heaved after you've encountered that. It still felt surreal, yet the way that figure stared at you was intimidating and sparked a nerve into you.

"What was even that...?" you muttered, running your fingers through your hair. You thought you would have another comforting night, and this time, it wasn't.