Edens Sleep Token one shots collection

The Making Of A Vessel

To claim a vessel... Note: READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS BEFORE GOING IN TO THIS ONE. Your mental health is important, this is a significantly more graphic chapter.Content warnings: biting, kidnapping implications, relationship violence, non-sexual bondage, violence (general), ritualistic practice, torture, possessive behaviors, implied needles, non-consensual cuddles (SFW), graphic depictions of violence/torture
__

The night had run long by now, drifting in and out of sleep in a place where time itself doesn't seem to flow correctly. He had been in and out of strange hands all night, quiet whispers in his mind lulling him back to sleep every time he had woken up. Many nights just like this had happened since his first encounter with the entity a month or so ago, though he wasn't even sure if that timeline was correct. Time was always so dilated around the strange being. It had yet to speak to him, though it seemed enthralled by him.

Even now he could feel eyes on him, floating in a dreamscape that made no sense in his mind. He could have sworn something was speaking to him, calling his name, though it was too muffled for him to understand. That name... he couldn't even think it properly, it just felt... wrong.

"Yes... it does, doesn't it?" That same hushed voice spoke behind him in a language he actually understood this time, something wrapping around his body and pulling him closer to it. He felt teeth press against his throat, wincing slightly as they dug in and drew blood. Something told him not to pull away, not to escape. Something called out for him to just give in, maybe his sense of danger, maybe something else. Perhaps it was whatever was holding him, the whispers in this place... though he was unsure of the influence they may have had over his mind by now- if any.

A cold hand placed over his eyes pulled him from his thoughts, brushing back through his hair until it grabbed it roughly and pulled him back to look at it. That same entity that he had seen so many times before, whispering a language in his sleep that he couldn't quite understand. Those 6 piercing red eyes were a dead giveaway, its body seemingly formless yet still interacting with him. Bits of black mist tangling around him, having some solid form within them somehow.

Its body was unnatural, 4 arms and sharp nails, 6 red eyes, and some long... things coming out of its back. It seemed almost feminine with its long hair, one full horn poking out and the other being broken off almost at the base. A glowing sort of seafoam color illuminated their skin and the tips of their fingers. Were those claws..?

He hadn't had a chance to properly observe them yet, they were... strange, to say the least.

"What are you..?" He spoke hesitantly, being forced to watch it- it wasn't exactly letting go of his hair. The entity watched him back for a moment, though it was near impossible to decipher what it may be thinking.

"My name is beyond your mortal tongue." It continued to watch him, seemingly fascinated by him. It held its silence for a few ticks longer before speaking again.

"Call me Sleep, mortal." It kept its eyes on him, cupping his face in its hands instead of holding his hair so roughly. It still wasn't comfortable, but it was more gentle at least in the way it held him.

"That's who. What are you?" He put emphasis on the 'what,' observing the being as it was observing him. He had never seen anything like it, not in his most interesting dreams or deepest nightmares. He hadn't seen anything like it even within his own creativity.

The being seemed to smile at him, its eyes squinting a little as they remained fixed on his own, observing his features.

"A deity from times far beyond your human understanding." Its voice was almost an echo, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It made no sense in his mind the way it also sounded like a distorted type of static. It felt so loud, too loud, but also impossibly gentle.