Sleep was probably the worst part of living, in Chres's mind. Once sleep for Chres was soothing period of the day, which allowed his body to rejuvenate, and his mind to escape into fantasies unknown. Ever since the incident, however, sleep became either one of two things: A fantasy life Chres could no longer have, or a restless fit of nightmare infested dreams. More often than not, it was the latter. This night was no different.
Although Chres had blacked out and could not remember how his wife's death exactly went down, that didn't stop his mind from taking liberties with how it happened. Often, how she died in these nightmares fell into three different categories. He either beat her to death, stabbed her to death or strangled her to death. To be honest Chres wasn't sure which was worse.
In the nightmares where he beat her to death. Her death would come slowly. With each punch he would see her become less aware, less active, until finally she remained still and silent. Her blood dried on his fists
The nightmares where he stabbed her to death were no better. Although her death came much swifter in these dreams, her blood would splash all over his face with each stab, the blood slowly making its way down his arms and onto his knuckles where it would then crust up. Even when her life had fully fled, the stabbing would continue until nothing recognizable was left. Chres would wake up from these dreams horrified. Unable to get the image out of his head.
The third form, was where he strangling his wife. In these dreams he was forced to watch the life slowly leave her eyes. Her face turning blue from lack of air. Her eyes glazing over. This was the form his nightmares took tonight.
Tonight was a little more special than usual. Tonight he was dimly aware he was asleep and slightly more in control of his dream self. Unfortunately that didn't make things any better. As much as he struggled to release his grip from around his wife's throat, he found that his grip was that of iron. Solid. Unbreakable.
Chres struggled, he cried, he begged and... she died. She coughed up blood as the life left her. The blood somehow getting on his knuckles, drying instantly. Only then did his grip around her throat release.
"No..." He cried, cradling her dead body. He was vaguely aware that he was talking in his sleep.
"No... Please... No... Stop... Please stop... please... come back to me... please... not agian... not again... please, no... please...""Chres..." He heard his wife's voice say. It sounded muffled, distance.
"Please please please please please... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... please... forgive me... please forgive me... please...""Chres..." A little less distant. A little less muffled.
"Chres, please wake up.""I can't... I won't... I won't leave you again... just come back to me... I won't ever hurt you ever again... Please come back to me...""I-I don't understand... Just wake up Chres, please... You've always been good to me... Please Chres, wake up..."*****
Chres woke from the dream,
"I'm sorry, Sil... Please forgive me... Please..." He heard himself say, his mind not fully having registered that he was no longer dreaming. He saw Sil's fairy form fluttering over him. A concerned look in her eye. His fit must have triggered the more serious and less mischievous side of her.
"I don't understand, Chres... It's okay, though... I think... You're awake. I forgive you. Promise." Sil said giving him a concerned smile.
At this point Chres had become fully aware he had just awaken from a dream.
"I'm sorry, Sil." Chres said again. This time directed at Sil, his familiar, and not Sil, his deceased wife.
"It's okay, silly. I forgave you, remember? I don't understand, but I forgive you."Chres smiled sadly.
She's just a familiar, Chres. Chres thought to himself.
No matter who she looks like or who she sounds like, remember that Chres. She is not her. Sil was just a familiar. An obviously customized familiar. A customized familiar of his dead wife, Sil.
For not the first time in his life, the question of 'Why' crossed Chres's mind. His wife had cheated on him, with Mercaido, more than once. If she no longer loved him, then why? A customized Familiar, such as Sil, costs a fortune. Why get Chres such an expensive gift if she no longer loved him? And why buy the second metal glass pendent? Chres still had the thing in his pack. It was a blank slate, Chres had it checked. He could only assume she had wanted to make a familiar for herself using Chres's image. But why?
Chres sat up, rubbing his back which was stiff from sleeping on the floor. Sil hovered beside him waiting silently. He felt the itch lingering at the back of his neck. So many questions about his wife. Questions he no longer could get the answers to.
***Important part of the post starts here**** @Elevation,
@13Org,
@SonofJet,
@HokumPocus,
@JerkchickenChres stood up and stretched. He caught a glimpse outside the window. The sky was black as midnight. In the distance he could make out a green sun rising from the distant mountains to the north. Despite the dark sky, it was still light out strangely. A dark light. The kind one would see were heavy storm clouds blocking out the sun. The Distortion had taken effect fully it seemed.
In the streets people ran about banging against the doors of their neighbors, smashing windows, strangling people in the street. Shouting, crying, laughing, screaming, the sounds of a town slowly getting lost in madness. It all reached Chres's ears. He suspected it would only get worse as more people woke from their nightly sleep.
None of that was what caught Chres's attention, however. What caught his attention were the docks, or rather the lack there of them. The whole of the docks was engulfed in black flames, black from the Distortion. The flame had swallowed the boats as well. Chres could only guess this was done to block anyone trying to escaping by boat.
The Docks weren't the only things on fire, however. One by one, the buildings surrounding the inn were being broken into by a mob of people. The mob would drag out the building's inhabitants, interrogate them, beat them and occasionally kill them. The Mob would then set the buildings they had broken into on fire. Overseeing all this was a lone Sightless.
That can't be good. Was all that crossed Chres's mind. He then heard a crash of a window shattering downstairs, and the pounding of feet, hands and bodies, against wood.
"Was this the sort of 'wrong' you wanted me to wake you for?" Sil asked as she peered out the window with a finger to her lips.
Chres heard the ruckus on the floor below grow and the sound of people climbing the steps.
"Yes, Sil." Chres said grabbing his pack from beneath the covers of the bed.
"Yes, it was."For good measure, Chres grabbed the Crystal Jade Candles put them in his pack before strapping it to his back. He felt bad for taking the candles, but their nightly glow seemed far too valuable to leave behind. Someone then began kicking the door to his room.
After a few kicks, the door burst open, triggering Chres's Tempraision trap. The person caught from the blast was slammed against the wall behind him. Chres ducked behind the bed, taking cover from the splinters of wood being shot in his direction from the blast. He rose from his cover afterwards, dagger drawn, ready for a fight.
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