...𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋, 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 || gameknight999

CHAPTER NINE

HAVE YOU EVER DIED IN A NIGHTMARE

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Darkness pressed in on all sides, making Erebus wonder if he had even opened his eyes at all. The air was cold, yet misty as he looked around, attempting to peer through the black, seeing nothing but his own body beneath him. Invisible fog swirled around him, its moist kiss on his skin making him shiver slightly as a sense of unease overtook him.

"Hello?" he called out, his voice reverberating in his surroundings. "Where am I?"

There was no response, save for a distant giggle from somewhere behind him. He spun around, searching for the source of the noise, yet found nothing. It was as if he was being mocked for not knowing where he was, as if it should have been blatantly obvious to him.

"I pity you."

His blood turned to ice. It was not him that had spoken, but a disembodied voice in this void, all-too familiar to him - it belonged to the User-that-is-not-a-user, Gameknight999.

This couldn't be happening again. Not here, not while he was alone and helpless in this unfamiliar area. He didn't want to die, but the memories were overtaking him, tormenting him as if he was truly there again, at the Source.

His response was so vivid in his own mind that it was as if he had said it aloud.

"You pity me... Erebus, the King of the Endermen...!"

Of course Gameknight would pity him. He didn't deserve an ounce of respect, not with how utterly pathetic he was. Everything was so familiar now, so terrifyingly familiar, and he was frozen in place, not daring to move in case he felt the tightness around his body once more, in case he was held in place while Gameknight's friends poured bucket after bucket of water over him, unrelenting in their torture.

"You are nothing. You are alone in your pathetic life and you don't even know it."

The User-that-is-not-a-user's words echoed throughout the void once more, and Erebus's body began to tremble. He wasn't alone now, was he? He had Angel, he had Clara and Tom.

"They don't really like you. They think you are pathetic and weak, but are just too afraid to say anything."

Erebus spun around, his eyes wide as he searched for any sign of Gameknight. Was this really true? Was Angel only with him because she was afraid of him? His shallow breathing began to tremble as memories of his near-death fought to the forefront of his mind, memories that he could never bring himself to speak about with Angel in fear that she, too, would find him as pathetic as he found himself.

Gameknight's laugh began to reverberate in the featureless expanse, and Erebus knew what came next. He was going to die, he was going to be held down, struggling and screaming and begging for relief as the User-that-is-not-a-user's friends dumped bucket after bucket of water on him, and Angel was no longer there to help him. Unable to think rationally, he began to run, his panicked breathing and footsteps echoing throughout the land, mingling with the sound of Gameknight's unsettling laughter which only grew louder as he sprinted. The terrifying noise slowly built to a horrible, maniacal uproar that surrounded him from all sides, spurring him to run faster, every nerve alight with panic.

Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet disappeared. He let out a shriek as he began to plummet, with no end in sight, before crashing to the bottom of whatever pit he had fallen in and starting to sink.

He had fallen into water, and it was so cold.

The second he realized this, his panic tripled. He began to thrash, his entire body shaking as he clawed at the water, unable to find the surface. There was no agony of the water tearing at him, only an excruciating cold like ice against every inch of his body and the horrific reminder burning in his lungs that he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe.