Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph3 Ch23: The Hungry Knight

The knight stared down the hall of the room it landed in. It didn't want Mono or Six to see this for some reason. Something about it seemed... special. Special only to the knight itself. Down the hall, the knight saw the field that it saw earlier with Mono. Something about seemed so familiar. Like something from a past life, or from a memory long forgotten. Whatever it was, the knight felt it calling out. Calling out for the knight. It wanted to go down and see why it felt the urge to see what was in that field, but something overwhelmed that urge.

Mono suddenly screamed. He screamed so loud that the knight could hear it all the way down here. It instantly forgot the urge, and started climbing up the walls. Mono's screams grew quiet, and as the knight climbed higher, it felt afraid. Afraid of what could've happened to him. Once the knight reached the vent, the screaming had completely stopped. In its place, the knight heard... crying. As the knight crawled through the vent to figure out what happened, it heard footsteps running away. The knight crawled out of the vent, and looked into the room.

The knight completely froze.

It's body shut down. It's eyes widened. It's head started spinning. It's heart started racing. The knight stared at the horrific, gruesome sight in front of it.

Mono was dead.

The knight didn't know what to do. It didn't know how to react. It felt so many emotions surging through it. So much, that it would've been rejected the moment it was made. The knight fell to its knees. It reached out, and picked up it's broken, deceased friend. Mono's chest was ripped apart. His throat was torn open. His body was bloodied all over. His paper bag was missing, revealing his gray, dead eyes. The knight didn't know what to do.

What could it do?

Suddenly, the knight heard footsteps behind it. It whipped its head around, and froze yet again. It saw... itself. Was it Nosk? No, it was something else. The knight looked at its clone, and saw it was carrying something. It was carrying a skeleton. The knight looked down at Mono, and picked him up. Both knights were holding the corpse of their friend.

The knight's clone turned around, and started walking back into the vent. The knight followed its clone, carrying Mono with it. The knight followed the figure through the vent, back into the room, and down the hall. The further the knight walked into the hall, the brighter it got. The knight blocked its eyes, and once it opened them, it was in the field. There were bugs all around, and each one was carrying a delicious cherry. There were three bigger bugs, wearing masks similar to Monomon's.

In the center of the field, was an altar with three empty slots, and a stone bed beneath them. The knight walked to the altar, and noticed engravings written on the stone.

"Complete the challenge of starvation to revive a soul that has left this world. Upon the bed of stone, their body must sleep. Once on, strike the altar with the blade of dreams. Once done, you shall have all former power removed from your soul, and your hunger shall be greatly increased. Return the masks to the altar, give up your hunger, and the sleeping soul shall awake."

The knight read the engravings, and knew exactly what to do. It layed Mono's body on the stone bed, and struck the altar with the dream nail. The knight instantly felt almost all of its energy drained. In its place, was a violent hunger. The knight quickly made its way to one if the bugs, and struck it down. The knight picked up the bug's cherry, and quickly ate it. The knight felt its energy return, but only for a few seconds. It struck down another bug, and ate its cherry as well.

The knight noticed one of the large bugs nearby, and remembered what the engravings said. "Return the masks to the altar." The knight dashed up the the large bug, and struck it with its nail. The bug noticed, and swung its own weapon in response. The knight dashed out of the way, feeling its energy draining faster. It struck the bug two more times, and it collapsed. It's mask flew off its face, and slipped into one of the altar's three slots.