"Wake Up!" Something commanded, its voice like a guttural roar.

Mr. Valen opened his eyes to a misty forest, filled with tall, distorted trees, some twisted so abnormally that they pointed to the ground.

His first instinct was to look up at the sky, as one might yearn for salvation, but all he saw was a void staring back.

'Where am I?' Mr. Valen thought, and then his eyes narrowed, for he had not intended to think.

'I cannot speak!' he thought as he opened his mouth, but no words emerged, not even a whisper.

"What Am I?" That guttural voice asked, the same voice that woke him, no, it was not just guttural, it also sounded rough, like the sound of stones grinding against each other, sharp like metal against metal.

Mr. Valen did not answer the voice; he remained quiet, watching and waiting.

"Haa silence, the greatest weapon, I remember when you discovered it," the voice mused, chuckling slightly. "The scientists. Remember how they would ask you questions to get you to open up, but by remaining quiet you discovered that they would at some point reveal something about themselves while they learned nothing about us. Was it not your first taste of power?"

Mr. Valen did not respond.

"The more you remain quiet, the less you will understand, when it comes to me child," the thing spoke again and a bright light suddenly shone in the sky.

Raising his head, Mr. Valen saw the digits 1-0 written boldly in the void above. Then he heard sound: a symphony of horrifying, agonizing noises that forced him to turn away.

But the sound was wrong, too sudden, too alien to place, yet he tried.

There was the sound of fingernails clawing glass; the sound of a dog whimpering in its sleep; the sound of a microphone shrieking feedback; of teeth grinding; of bone snapping; of static; of hisses; of sharpening knives; of beeping-ticking; buzzing; screeching; gagging; choking; scraping; screaming; screaming; SCREAMING!

SOMETHING WAS PLAYING WITH HIS SENSES!

SOMETHING WAS TUNING HIM, AND HE CLUTCHED HIS EARS AND LOOKED UP FROM THE GROUND AND SAW—

HE SAW ARMS BLACKER THAN NIGHT, ARMS RAISING FROM THE DIRT CLAWING ITSELF FROM THE GROUND BELOW...

And then, as it made itself whole, he saw it, a thing sculpted from the void, a living abyss that devoured the light around it. The air itself darkened in its presence, as if reality recoiled from its touch.

It loomed over him, a monstrous ten-foot specter of shifting shadow, its humanoid form twisting the space around it like a black hole warping the fabric of the world.

Every step it didn't take seemed to drag the world closer to it, an invisible pull that made the ground tremble.

Its face was a nightmare carved into the dark, two grotesquely human eyes, wide and unblinking, pits of something almost recognizable staring into him with a hunger that went beyond flesh.

And behind it, a long, sinuous tail, mirroring his own but wrong, so wrong, slithered like a serpent tasting the air, waiting to strike.

'The Whisper Stalker,' Mr. Valen thought as he observed, his eyes trembling from the sound.

This was exactly how he'd pictured it, and then there was silence.

As when the thing saw his pain (his discomfort), it smiled revealing white teeth too perfect to belong to a beast and yet too bestial to be called human.

"Oh, but I am so much more, Valen," the Whisper Stalker rasped, breathing dark mist. "How have you been enjoying my power?"

'It is as I thought,' Mr. Valen suddenly rose to his feet, staring at the thing before him, his form trembling.

"Oh," the thing tilted its head, leaning towards him, the sickening smile never leaving its face. "The genius has unraveled another mystery? But you are not a genius. The clues were always there for anyone with a brain to unravel-"

'And yet I was the one who unraveled it,' Mr. Valen thought, a small smile gracing his lips as he projected a question mentally: 'Why would my own subconscious attack me?'"

At his thought, the being reeled back and chuckled. "Haha, and here I thought you were a genius, oh my, haha is that what you make of me, let me humor you then," it spoke.

And then, there was silence, as the thing disappeared.

Slowly, the mist around him blackened, reducing visibility until he lost his sight.

He could not speak, and he could not see, but he could hear, he could smell, he could feel.

It sounded like wind, smelled like blood and ash, felt like cold mist.

And then he felt something grip his shoulders and whisper into his ear: "I represent the one thing you cannot control at this moment." It began.

"Everything from the moment you integrated my DNA into your body has been a product of luck, not of your power. You cannot control me; your own consciousness is not fully yours. Haha, you should have died."

'And yet here I am, if I remember correctly I stopped myself while in a crazed state from devouring the little noble,' Mr. Valen thought.

"Indeed you did, that is why it is your win, as shown in the sky above," the Whisper Stalker responded. "Although, when the true Record Keeper arrives, I shall have to kill it, it is annoying being under their surveillance, only then will you truly know the true nature of my existence."

'Surveillance? Existence?' Mr. Valen raised a brow. 'What does that mean!'

"You will comprehend in due course," the being responded, its voice as unnerving as ever. "For now, know only this: I am no figment of your consciousness."

'You are,' Mr. Valen countered mentally. 'Why, then, has my own subconscious chosen this assault?'

"That is the problem with you humans, you rationalize everything you cannot understand," the being responded, its smile widening. "Your consciousness is no longer yours alone, did you really think fusing with a fallen god would only end at the genetic level?"

'What-'

Once again there was silence, and Mr. Valen opened his eyes to see Vlad's figure standing in front of him.

The beast's voice then resounded, "he broke when you turned everyone against him."

The figure then changed to a white haired woman, his mother, "she broke when you called her mother for the first time."

"He broke when you made his secret known!"

"She broke when her work was rendered meaningless!"

"You could break him, you know how!"

"You could break her, and her, and him!"

The figures kept changing, and the beast kept rambling, the sound of its voice near maddening.

'STOP!' Mr. Valen thought while caressing his temple. 'Your point being everybody-'

"Everybody breaks, it is one of your most prominent philosophies,' the beast interjected, anticipating his thought. "But I do wonder... does that axiom not include you?"

'So my subconscious is testing me, huh? Well, it is pointless, there is always an exception,' Mr. Valen thought, a flicker of disdain crossing his internal voice.

He refused to believe that this being was anything other than a figment of his imagination.

"Were you convinced of your exceptionalism, Valen, I would not be here, or rather, I would be, but incapable of this." The beast chuckled darkly, then continued:

"I understand you Valen, more than anyone, you are unforgiving, ruthless even unto yourself. You crave testing, pushing, verifying with your own eyes. You are addicted to control; you live for it, breathe for it. It is your sole path to peace."

'I see, well this grew boring rather swiftly, did it not?' Mr. Valen thought, his face expressionless as he spoke, for the first time. "I believe I understand the workings of this world, it is quite Fascinating, truly. But I'll be leaving now."

At his declaration, the world trembled, fracturing from its edges and as it dissolved, the entity's voice faded on a demonic chuckle: 'We shall meet sooner than you anticipate, Valen. Do you not wish to know your bet? Hahaha...'"

----------

At the same time.

"Argh," Mr. Valen groaned as he opened his eyes, the cold rain piercing his skin. Flashes of all that had transpired seared his mind.

«I knew what was happening yet lacked control in that state, and there is That... visitation. Hallucination, yes, yes I'm choosing to term it a hallucination, and get rid of your suspicion it is not some mystical force, you have read too many works of fiction, all in all please remind me if you can, starvation should not be repeated.»

"You're finally awake," Olga muttered, as she let go of him.

He slid from her shoulders, landing in the mud of the Misty Marsh, a jarring return that broke his trance.

"Chii!" Mr. Valen sank into the mud, one that he noticed was not as cold as he remembered.

"Argh. What happened?" Mr. Valen asked, rising to his feet and following behind the party.

He noticed that Sophia was unconscious, her form carried by Cerberus, his breath's light despite the extra weight.

"We should be asking you what happened," Olga's voice cut through the rain, her tone deceptively light. "By sheer luck, we ran into you and the High Scioness. Needless to say, we found the High Scioness in a disgraceful state, one you must never speak of in your life. Now, what happened? Who killed those soldiers?"

Olga never stopped moving as she asked this question as though staying mobile was more important than anything else.

«Hmm. How to proceed? I see.»

"Those men,' Mr. Valen began, his tone subdued, almost despondent, 'attempted to violate the High Scioness. I intervened... but lacked the strength... I was too weak."

The group was quiet for a moment, but the question still remained unanswered, so Cerberus asked again. "What happened next?"

"I don't know," Mr. Valen answered bluntly. "All I saw was a flash and I was knocked out it-"

"If I weren't so tired, I would strike you right now," Olga spat, her tone grim as she snarled. "When we get to camp-"

"Do you think it's that man from before, the Warlord?" Cerberus suddenly asked, interrupting Olga.

«Precisely!»

«I've gotten very good at mimicking emotions, if I do say so myself; it's a trait you should learn. You seem much like a people pleaser to me.»

'I knew the dark skinned man was strong, but to be as strong as those beings that blocked our path,' Mr. Valen mused.

Olga seemed sold by this theory, her voice light. "Are you sure you didn't see anything, didn't feel anything, like pressure pressing down on you?"

"Nothing," Mr. Valen answered. He could lie and play to her musings, but he had already stated that he passed out after seeing a flash of light, adding any other detail would only breed doubt.

"STOP!"

A loud voice suddenly sounded out, but it did not come from anyone in the group.

It came from an armored soldier with green eyes, his form aloft as he observed the group, and even after seeing that Olga and Cerberus were green-eyed Wizard/Witches, he still remained aloft.

This armored soldier was not alone, he had a companion beside him, who seemed to notice Olga's armor, despite the soiled state of the thing.

"Identify yourselves," this armored soldier demanded, and when he did, Olga and Cerberus seemed to come to their senses.

They had previously been shocked at this new development, but now was the time to speak, Olga went first, her voice bold. "I am Commander Olga, appointed by Archduke Von Vortigern of the Archaemus domain."

"GREETINGS COMMANDER!" Both soldiers sprang into attention immediately, their forms rigid.

"Lead us to the camp," Olga intoned, prompting the men to nod in approval before turning their backs, marching out of the Misty Marsh with the group followed behind them.

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