Memories (Of Dreams and Demons)

The Dark In Between

Draft. Massive draft.

The world around me falls silent, as if anticipating a cataclysmic event about to unfold. A heavy, oppressive feeling grips my chest, making it difficult to breathe. My senses are heightened, and I can feel a subtle change in the very fabric of reality, as if something is trying to break through.

Suddenly, the veil between the worlds begins to ripple, shimmers and melts away, like a drop of water in a still pond. The fabric of space-time begins to tear apart, revealing a dark figure that emerges from the empty realm of nothingness. Its entrance into our world is marked by a deafening silence, as if even sound is too afraid to break the stillness.

The being before me is a manifestation of rage and darkness, an otherworldly creature that defies all logic and reason. Its eyes, burning with a fiery intensity, seem to pierce through my very soul. I can feel its power emanating from every inch of its form, and it is suffocating.

The being before me is a manifestation of rage and darkness, an otherworldly creature that defies all logic and reason. Its eyes, burning with a fiery intensity, seem to pierce through my very soul. I can feel its power emanating from every inch of its form, and it is suffocating.

The beast before me is more than just a physical entity. It embodies an ancient, primal force that transcends time and space, leaving me with an overwhelming sense of dread. Its mere presence is a reminder of the tenuous nature of existence, and the fragility of our reality.

As I stand there, face to face with this beast, I am aware of a sense of emptiness between our worlds. It is an empty realm of nothingness, a void that separates us from the unknown. A place where time and space lose their meaning, and the laws of physics no longer apply.

The emptiness is beyond understanding, like a vacuum that sucks the air from my lungs. It is an endless void of darkness and silence, a place where reality itself ceases to exist. But the beast before me has somehow managed to break through this emptiness, crossing the threshold between worlds to bring its wrath before me.

I can feel the power of the beast, and the emptiness of the void that separates us. It is a feeling that defies description, a primal force that taps into the deepest parts of my being. I am both terrified and exhilarated, aware of the danger that lies before me, yet unable to resist the allure of the unknown.

I somehow fall to my knees, landing on nothing, head bowed and crying, no, grovelling, to chaos and hatred itself.

It is then I hear a low growl behind me. I turn to see a magnificent black lion, its powerful form exuding an air of regal authority. The statue that once stood in its place now replaced by this awe-inspiring creature.

Both figures freeze and stare at one another as I whimper between them, torn between sobbing and frozen in fear. Despite the overwhelming power of these two beings, neither can claim me completely if the other is present. And so, the three of us sit frozen in a stalemate.

To my left stands the hulking figure of a beast, its form armoured in black plate layered over red flesh and exposed bone. It paces back and forth, its wicked grin belying the danger that it represents.

The lion, on the other hand, sits calmly to my right, its back turned to me as it gazes off into the distance. The beast addresses me, its voice dripping with malevolent glee.

"Welcome, young one, to the space in between," the lion states solemnly, "the place where reality and choice, what is and what is imagined, all converge."

"My, my, so young," the lumbering beast interrupts, grinning wickedly at me, "strong to come here so young."

"The space in between?" I ask, looking for Naoko, "what is this place. Where is she?"