Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph2 Ch10: Paintmaster Sheo

"I don't use the nail too often anymore, but I do remember the nail art very clearly," Sheo said. With that, he picked up his brush, and began the lesson. "The key to every nail art is focusing your energy into your weapon," Sheo said. Then he demonstrated, focusing all his energy into his brush, and then he slashed with great force, flinging paint onto an empty canvas.

"I prefer to use a brush, as it is far more freeing, and beautiful," he said.

Seven took a deep breath. Concentrating his energy into his nail, he stood up straight, and swung the nail with all his might. A loud sound cut through the wind as he swung the nail with a great slash. The Grimmchild chirped happily and applauded with its tentacles.

"Good start," Sheo said. "But there is more you can do to perfect it."

Sheo definitely had an interesting way of teaching. Every time Seven swung, he would offer tips, corrections, and demonstrate again. By the time the lesson was done, he had painted a full picture of Seven using the great slash, and the Grimmchild fighting along with him.

"Y'know, for someone who has given up fighting with a nail, you sure seem to care a lot about it," Seven said.

"Oh, I just care about your desire, your dreams," Sheo replied. "It is my dream to perfect the art of creation myself."

"Well, best of luck," Seven said. He was about to leave, when he spotted the Grimmchild looking at a painting. Seven walked closer, and saw it was a painting of a bug, also performing the great slash.

"Oh, has that painting caught your attention?" Sheo asked, walking over. "This is my previous pupil. They were a lot like you, wanting to become stronger with a nail. They were silent, but they knew what to do when the right time came."

"Interesting," Seven said.

Sheo walked back to his painting, and began a new piece. Suddenly, Seven noticed familiar flurry dream catcher particles, and heard Sheo's voice in his head.

"My brother, Oro... what drove you to hide away deep down at the very edge of that ash swept grave?" he heard. "Was it pride, or fear, or shame? Perhaps you should lay down your nail if it haunts you so, and find a new calling that eases your soul."

Seven thought about what he heard. Maybe the next Nailmaster could be somewhere full of ashes? He looked back at the Grimmchild, to see if they knew something, but they were so fixated on the painting. It was almost as if they knew the bug in the canvas. Suddenly, the Grimmchild snapped back to reality, and flew over to Seven. Putting the thought of the bug in the painting behind him, Seven waved goodbye to Sheo, and walked out the door.

Seven sat down on the bench outside, and pulled out his compass, looking for what flame to go for next. The Grimmchild flew around the marker at a place called kingdoms edge, very excitedly. Seven agreed, although he really wanted to find the next Nailmaster. He had already learned so much from the first two, a third could be exponentially beneficial.

With their new destination marked, they both set off to the stag station. They crawled back through the tunnel above the thorns, and made their way to the stag station. Once they arrived, they stated their destination, and the stag took them to the closest station.

"Y'know, I dropped two people off here at this station not to long ago," the old stag said. "Come to think of it, one of them I've seen with that friend of yours, a long time ago. If you find them, I think they'd be happy to know their friend is okay."

Seven was shocked. Could he be closer to finding the original bearer of the Grimmchild? They surely had experience, so maybe they could help him take care of the Grimmchild. After all, with two protectors, the Grimmchild would be perfectly safe. And that was all Seven wanted. The Grimmchild meant so much to him as his only friend, and he didn't want to lose them.

Seven got off the stag, and quickly headed off towards the next flame. Even if he was close to the first bearer, he still needed to take care of the Grimmchild. He crawled through a small tunnel, forcing him to swim in a dark, murky water. Suddenly, he felt his head begin to spin. Next thing he knew, he was in a large room, with walls made of a rusty metal, surrounded by bits of wood and furniture.

As he kept swimming, he felt a strong presence watching him. As he kept swimming, he could only feel them getting closer, and closer, until something grabbed his ankles, pulling him deep into the water. He struggled to break free, but the grip was to strong. Suddenly, he was pulled out of the water, and into a hard stone surface.

He opened his eyes, and saw the Grimmchild pulling him by his ankles into shore with its tendrils. He gasped, realizing he wasn't breathing, and pulled himself up. The Grimmchild stared at him, seeing if he was okay. Seven looked around. He was back in the caverns, and there wasn't a creature in sight. He must've been drowning. But the eerie feeling of something in the water with him. It sent shivers down his spine.

He got to his feet, and moved away from the water, making sure not to enter it again. He had a mission, and he would do anything to achieve it. Once that was done, then he could start solving these mysteries. Until then, he was of to kingdoms edge.

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I'm Baaaaaack!

Okay, time to clear things up. The reason this took so long is as follows.

Summer camp. +1 week

Beach vacation +1 week

Writers block + eternity

Yeah, sorry this chapter took so long to release. It might not be the best chapter I've written, but at least I got something out to you all, and that's what matters.

See you next chapter!