ℌ𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔤𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔰

| Chapter 1 |

| Chapter 1 |

Rebirth

500 years had passed since that dreadful incident. For five centuries, Dream had remained imprisoned in stone. And for five centuries, a human child had rested within the tight confinement of the still living stump.

With the accidental imbalance of emotions, the world of Dreamtale fell into ruin and despair as its residents turned into cruel, vile beings. Often attacking each other whenever someone walked too close to another. Not an ounce of positivity was left, which caused Dream to feel completely useless during his cold imprisonment.

You know how you feel whenever you get the chance to dream? That moment where you can see and hear everything that's going on around you, yet your body moves and say things against your will. Forcing you to experience everything your body does while you lack all control, forcing you to watch. You could know that you were dreaming, yet you couldn't wake up from it for whatever reason.

That was how Dream felt during his five-century imprisonment. While he could not see whatsoever or hear all that well, he was still conscious and very much aware of what was going on with the world around him. At least, he had plenty of time to think to himself.

Let's see...everyone he knew is now dead, his home is no longer the same, and his brother is out there doing gods know what. Every fragment of hope diminished as time moved on, no matter how many people came to his body and prayed. It had only taken a hundred years before the last person finally gave up, taking in the fact that Dream was not coming back, that Dream wasn't going to help them. And it killed him every time he thought about it.

But, there is at least one set of good news: the last golden apple remained safe and untouched within him. That was at least more than enough to help Dream press on.

That...thing, he couldn't even call it his brother anymore, but with the golden apple now protected, 'Nightmare' still had a chance of being saved or defeated. To which one, Dream was not sure, it all came down to whichever happened first. But, why try to think of a plan when he still had one issue to go through? It's not like he could wish hard enough for the outer shell to crack and aid him in his escape.

And so, he sat. Waiting and hoping for a new change to finally come.

...well, he guess it couldn't hurt to try, could it?

Within a few moments, Dream's consciousness eased up and relaxed as he started wishing for his escape.

Way over to the other side of the field rested the decapitated Tree of Feelings. While the top decayed away on the cold ground, the stump that stayed continued to live on along with the body inside of it.

With how the stump grew, it was almost like an incubator that stayed underground in order to avoid Nightmare's detection. A...somewhat tight incubator as the lifeform inside had grown quite a bit since it first rested inside the tree.

Their breaths came out at a steady pace, their body fully relaxed as they continued to snooze. As they slept, a four-pointed crystallized star on their forehead became very apparent as a soft glow started to rise. It grew more and more, starting to bother the sleeping figure.

"Awaken."

Their eyes shot open, their breathing now uneven as they looked around. Thanks to the glow, they could see that they were underground, thick heavy roots surrounded them, almost holding them in place. They looked down at themselves, noticing several roots wrapped their form, latching on as a small steady stream of energy was felt going into their skin.