Warnings - Blood, gore, death, multiple mentions of nausea and vomiting
You sat on the edge of your bed with your head in your hands, fingernails digging into your scalp until you felt it burn. Your breath was shallow, rugged and grating in your throat.
A nightmare. A stupid fucking nightmare had your hands trembling, buried deep in your tresses so they might be hidden from the invisible audience staring daggers in every direction if you. Tears were gathered in your eyes and you clenched them shut, tightening your hands even more.
It was dark in your dream, an endless void of nothingness and whipping winds. You could hardly hear the sound of your heartbeat in your ears over the howling storm surrounding you.
When the wind settled, allowing you to crack open your eyes, a horrifying sight was in front of you. Nausea churned in your guts, threatening to climb your throat. Your legs shook and you slapped your hands around your mouth in a futile attempt to stop any vomit.
Laying in front of you were the bodies of every character you knew from the game. Diluc, Kaeya, Venti, Barbara, Diona, Xiao, Zhongli, Hu Tao, Chongyun, Thoma, Ayaka, Ei, Yae Miko, Sara, Cyno, Alhaitham, Nahida, and so many more. Covered in blood from head to toe, each body mutilated violently.
Slits from necks to stomachs, bones visible and broken, sticking out from every possible direction, ripping skin and poking through knees. Intestines spilled out onto the void floor, joking the pools of blood that matted hair and clothes.
The ones you knew personally hit the hardest. Kaeya and Diluc were next to each other, Diluc on top of Kaeya in what looks like a final attempt to protect the brother he still cares about deeply from whatever threat was harming them. Burns littered the redhead's arms indicative of vision overuse. His coat had been stripped away and deep slashes dug into his back, destroying his previously clean and formal shirt. His legs were crooked and eyes frozen open in fear.
Kaeya was curled under Diluc's protective arms, a cut across his stomach with organs spilling out, a river of blood still streaming out and staining the white fur hung over his shoulder. His hair was spread out like a halo, choppy and shorter with the bird clip resting nearby.
Jean, Amber, and Aether were less mutilated but equally terrible with slits across their necks and hands reaching for clattered weapons. Like Kaeya's, Aether's hair was free from its braid and so soaked in blood, it was impossible to tell what its original color was.
Venti was no doubt the worst. He was dressed in his archon outfit dyed red, blood splatter on the gold accessories. The white angel wings one would expect to be resting on his back had been torn out, laying away from him in a bloody heap, his back having two large and detrimental slashes. Smaller whipping marks littered the rest of his body. Down his back, along his legs, arms, to the very arches of his feet. His ribs were caved in, stomach bloody, boney, and disgustingly skinny, like every organ had been removed from him. Tear marks were an angry red down his apple cheeks, eyes glassy like that of a taxidermy deer.
You screamed. It was the only thing you could do. Your feet felt rooted in place, your throat burned from the horror and you flailed your arms in any attempt to move. It was no use, nothing breaking you free from the anchors holding you down, forcing you to gaze on this monstrosity.
It was at that moment, your throat torn raw and head light and stupid that you woke up. Tears had dripped down your cheeks and your hands were tangled in the sheets. It felt like there was a pressure on your chest, something that was stopping you from breathing despite your hyperventilating. You managed to sit up and you got to where you are now, still sitting on the edge of the bed, doing your best to steady your erratic breathing.
What the hell was that dream?
Was that nothing? Simply your anxieties and leftover stress from the fight against Dvalin? Did you fear people would die from the upcoming events even though they don't? Was it undiscovered fear for not knowing the whole future that you tried to push from your mind?
Or what if it was a warning? From the Abyss, from Celestia, from anybody. What if someone was trying to warn you, that if you kept interfering, that's what would happen?
You shook your head, finally releasing the death grip on your hair, bringing back several strands with you when you rested them in your lap. You took a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly, doing so over and over again until you finally felt some of the tension in your body release.
Stressing over this was pointless. You had no way of knowing if this dream was latent anxieties, some crazy idea that someone would send you a dream message, or just something random.
Your bones creaked as you got up from your bed, stumbling into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. The iciness of it stung your throat, as if you had actually screamed it raw, and a couple more involuntary tears slid down your face. You could taste blood in the back of your mouth and had to swallow down a gag of disgust.
Your hands had stopped trembling by the time you had finished the glass, eternally grateful your shakes hadn't made you drop the cup. Picking up shattered glass while hazy was the last thing you wanted to do right.
But what did you want to do right now?
You didn't want to go back to sleep right now. The flashes of your friends and everyone you wanted to meet happened every time you closed your eyes, making you shudder.
You wanted to see them. You wanted to gather Diluc, Kaeya, Jean, Amber, Aether, and Venti into one ginormous cuddle pile and lay with them, feeling their warmth and being assured they were still well and alive.
You were cold. Chills ran up your arms at the rolling thoughts of their dead bodies, ice to the touch and frozen in perpetual horror, the only warmth being their leaking blood.
You groaned. Tonight was not a good night.
-
"I heard you crying in your sleep last night."
You looked up from your plate of scrambled eggs with cheese and spicy peppers to see Ariel giving you a stern look.
"I had a bad dream." You muttered as you pushed around the eggs with your fork, having no appetite, yet your stomach felt like a cave.
You heard Ariel scoff but didn't bother to look up. Your head drooped, eyes bags prominent like bruises. You didn't fall asleep again last night, sitting on the couch with another glass of water waiting for the sun to rise so you had an excuse to start your morning routine.
"It was bad as in 'looking back this is so stupid I can't believe I was afraid of that' or bad as in 'I didn't fall back asleep'?"
You rolled your eyes, irritation scratched at your brain that wasn't normally there. "Can't you tell? I look like shit." You snapped, glaring across the table at the angel.
Ariel glared back. "Of course I can tell, but I want you to talk to me."
"I don't feel like talking. I don't feel like doing anything right now."
"Alright." Ariel nodded, his eyes softening at your upset face. "Take a day off today. You're stressed and commissions can miss you for a little while. Come talk to me when you're ready, okay?"
Ariel got up and rounded the table, leaning down to give you a chaste peck on the forehead. "I'm going to go for a fly to give you some space. I'll be back soon."
You mumbled out a 'thank you' reaching up to squeeze his wrist. The sudden bout of irritation had diminished, leaving you exhausted.
Ariel left, closing the door quietly behind him. You still sat at the table, food untouched in front of you.
-
A break day after consistently doing commissions, exercise, and weapons training daily for about a year and a half was exactly what you needed. Especially after the big dragon fight.
You spent the day in a quiet solitude, lounging around the house doing various, calming activities that helped relax your coiled muscles. You read and practiced painting (you were getting better everyday) and sat on the extremely small porch outside your door to soak in some sun.
Gradually you felt yourself ease, the stress of the vivid nightmare bled from your body and the violent emotions that would flare up at the smallest thing (you nearly screamed in frustration when you dropped a stack of light novels off your nightstand and couldn't remember the order they were in).
By the time Ariel came back an easy smile rested on your lips as you made a late lunch. You placed a sandwich each on two plates and seated yourself at the dining table where Ariel was already waiting for you, however the atmosphere was a stark contrast from this morning.
The two of you ate in comfortable silence, your stomach finally being fed after abandoning your breakfast. When you both were finished you confessed your nightmare to Ariel. His hands held your own as your voice shook but you steeled yourself and got through the whole thing without crying.
That weight you felt when you first woke up and stayed through the day, though lighter, was finally lifted. Ariel smiled at you and you beamed back, warmth curling in your gut.
a/n - A short and sweet break chapter.
By the way, I started a oneshots book not to long ago for any random ideas I get or when I'm riddled with writers block and I need a break, fittingly enough. If you're interested in that, it should be published and on ym profile!
Have a lovely day everyone! Remember to deal with stress in a healthy way!