Transcendence

Chapter 1.

~John Watson's P.O.V

It was a chilly autumn night when dark engulfed the 221B apartment on Baker Street.

After a long and tiring day at a crime scene solving yet another murder with Sherlock I was finally able to tuck myself in the warm and soft sheets of my bed. Yet I didn't fall asleep right away. Instead, I settled myself in a comfortable position, lying on my back and in that pitch black I started to stare aimlessly at the ceiling with my arms resting on my chest in a way similar to a dead one's pose.

How ironic....

Different memories invaded my mind from the very beginning I met my partner up until now.

From the moment we made contact to present when we are flatmates.

There was something that Sherlock always kept saying that made me think twice if our relationship was what you call a 'close friendship'

What was it again?

"Me and you. The two of us against the rest of the world. "

Yes. Those were the words. Everytime grim days would come he'd say that to me....everytime.

At a point I let myself prey to sleep and I drifted into a deep slumber, closing my heavy eye lids.

"Come on. Don't be shy." a deep but familiar voice resonated inside my mind.

"W-Who's there?" I replied, my voice almost breaking from the sudden and abnormal fear that took a hold of my mind and body. I was surrounded by a sea of pitch black, so dark that I couldn't even see myself.

And that voice...somewhere not far away I could distinguish the sound of someone breathing loudly. As if that someone was gigantic and had lungs to match its size.

Trapt between my primal instinct of fear and curiousity, I was drawn towards the voice. It was like I had a strange feeling of dejá-vu around this presence.

I felt my feet starting to move towards the source of the thundering voice, despite the fact I couldn't see anything.

"That's it Barrel Rider, come closer" I heard it again...this time it sounded closer maybe even closer than I estimated because I could feel like a warm breeze brushing against my cheeks.

Then I realised that my body was advancing on it's own without the permission of my mind which was frozen with fear. I stopped. The breathing under the form of a warm breeze was now a wave of hot wind and the force of it made me lose my balance and stumble to keep my body straight.

"Who's there?" I asked yet again, this time more confident on the surface but on the inside I was devoured by panic, struggling to keep my sanity.

What I was facing? Or better...who?

"Who am I? I am the King under the Mountain, The Magnificent...and also your past, your present and your future" the presence suddenly replied with a loud and deep voice. And with the sound of his voice the feeling of dejá-vu rushed again through my veines. Why was this encounter so similar?

The same voice bursted into a sudden laughter.  More like a dangerous, ironic one.

The next thing I remember was a sudden flash of light and extreme heat burning my flesh and devouring my body, accompanied by a terrible growl.

I woke up where I started. In the 221B apartment, completely engulfed in darkness like earlier but this time I wasn't tired anymore. I was panicked, hyperventilating and gasping desperately for air in the first moments I opened my alert eyes.

It took a while to calm down again. I had nightmares before but none was like this. None ever had this kind of effect on me and none ever felt so real.

Instinctivly I touched my arms and face. My skin was burning....the heat in the dream.  Or was it really a dream?