~𝘓𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳~ // 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘻𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

- 𝕏𝕍𝕀𝕀: Dream -

      Darkness shrouded you. Nothing could be seen for what could be a vast expanse of land that went on for miles and miles or mere inches. You felt around. There were no walls, just open air. Not even that; there was only nothing.

You closed your eyes. Nothing changed. It looked the same as when you had your eyes open. You reached for your sword, worried you might be fighting a demon similar to the ink demon, or possibly even the ink demon themself. Your hand groped at nothing; your sword was not there, and couldn't be found.

Your brain tried to generate something to see but failed in its attempt. Weak hallucinations danced in front of your eyes. You waved your hand out in front of you to try and catch one of them but you were unsuccessful.

Your brain felt numb, foggy, and stressed all at once. You felt dizzy with the overwhelming feeling of being lost. Where am I? Am I dreaming? What is this place? You tried to walk forward, but the sensation of walking was lacking. You tried to take a step towards... what? That you were unsure of, but what you did know was that whenever you tried to move, you couldn't feel it. It was impossible to even tell if you were moving at all.

     "Y/n?" A voice rang out, echoing from everywhere. You fell to your knees when you realized who's voice it was. Your heart felt like it was thrown to the ground and stepped on, leaving it mangled and mutilated.

       "M... mom?" You called out, your eyes feeling grainy and dry.

      "Y/n!" Your mother cried.

       An overwhelming feeling of love, warmth, and comfort swept over your body. Hot tears streamed down your cheeks."Mom!" It was dark. Too dark to see anything. Regardless, you felt the strong arms of your mother embrace you, filling you with hope.

       She stroked the back of your head and sobbed, her whole body shaking violently.

       "Mom...? Are you okay?" You hesitantly hugged her back. What if this was a blood demon art?

        "I'm just... so proud of you!" She wept. You could feel your shoulder dampen. You laughed and buried your face in her neck, tears still streaming down your cheeks in rivers. No. This was her. This wasn't a demon and its fucked-up agenda.

       For a long, long time you held each other, crying, rocking back and forth, and just feeling that you were both there. She was there! You were there! You were holding her in your arms!

The pain that had been eased over the course of years returned all at once and bombarded you with emotion. You sobbed into her body, taking it all in. With one hand, you had her pulled close to you, the other hand clutched your heart which seemed to scream with loss, grief, happiness, loneliness, terror, and relief all at once.

Your mouth was agape, stuck between a silent cry of joy and sadness and the struggle to find words, any words at all.

       "Mom? Where's everyone else?" You finally asked, voice cracking sharply.

       "They're not here. But, we've been watching you. We're so-!" She choked back another sob and clutched you tighter, "proud of you, sweetheart!"

      "You mean it?" You cried, holding her just as tight. Your hand moved from your heart and seized her even closer.

       "Of course, sweetheart! You've worked tirelessly, diligently, and you've grown so much! It's been three- almost four years." You felt her hand cup your cheek, drying your tears with her thumb.