Sin affinities, mysterious concepts that were woven into the very fabric of existence by the norns from the Sea of Urb ever since the first spark reached out and created the cosmos, were connections to the seven deadly sins that each demon's life thread, upon their conception, was attached to.
Contrary to what one might expect, the concepts did not simply define a demon's personality but rather dictated the pattern in which their life thread would be woven into the great tapestry, and in doing so, made sure the demon's life span brought forth the true essence of their respective sins.
In Idel's case, his sin affinity of sloth embodied endless fatigue and unattainable rest rather than simple laziness, thus trapping him in an endless dream where his memory of being the prince of the demon realm slowly faded away.
Idel, knowing this, had come up with a solution. With the help of an ancient book he bought from the scarcely populated clan of Hingus, he had come to know of a spell that would turn his dreams into lucid ones, making him realize there was no need to struggle and despair, for everything in the dream realm was not real.
All he needed to do was come up with a phrase to activate the lucid dream spell, and the words he heard prior to summoning the Labyrinth were those very words.
But unlike on most occasions, when the spell activation phrase resounded in his ears, this time, however, he could not remember that he was Idel.
At this point in time, he was still Mr. Freak, a being whose Specie was alien to the rest of the population of the Dream Realm, one who had just escaped near death from the Beast Nightmare, and one who, unbeknownst to himself, could not activate his Lucid Dream spell.
"Apparitions…" He looked at his hands. They had, to some degree, moved on their own to summon the Labyrinth.
A reflex or not, he could not tell.
He was about to enter a state of cogitation when he heard sounds.
They were approaching footsteps, coming straight to him in a slow but noisy rhythm.
He lifted his head to find Tintless with Shifty on his shoulder. He was jumping from one hill to another and, due to the extra weight, was doing it clumsily. On more than one leap, he almost fell.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Idel watched on with an unreadable face.
A while later, the boy was one leap away from Idel.
He lifted his head for the first time, his eyes aching slightly as the crimson moon's light hit him. Slowly, a silhouette whose outline resembled that of Mr. Freak loomed before him.
The boy hesitated for a while before laying the lifeless Shifty on the platform of the hill.
He looked up again and lifted his hands. "Mr. Freak, what is this place?"
He did not respond.
"Where has everyone gone? The village, the baby nightmare, and the others?" he asked again, and as before, Mr. Freak remained silent.
Tintless slowly dropped his head as his being turned blue. Then, without raising his head, he said, "Are you angry with me? Earlier, when you came back, you seemed to be very upset. I honestly do not know why, and you not using the language I am accustomed to did not help. So, if you may, tell me what I did wrong."
As Idel's brow knitted, the boy added, "Cause, if I remember correctly, you instructed me to cross the bridge and be with this guy, which I did…"
'This boy never stops talking once he starts.' He suffused a wry smile.
The boy was wrong. Idel was not angry with him, either now or then. At the time, when he crossed the bridge and was subjected to the horrifying scene, his brain was in shambles. And helpless as he was, he instinctively directed his frustration at the boy, despite knowing full well that the boy's involvement could have surely amounted to nothing.
As if Tintless heard his thoughts, the boy raised the very same argument after he guessed that the other Emontarions' deaths had something to do with Idel's current state.
Idel's eyes watched the boy "talk" as his mind slowly came to a realization. There was no reason for him to be guilty of what had occurred, and so no reason to try to force his mind to answer the question that gnawed at him.
Yeah, he was just forcing himself to think about the mysterious voice in order to distract himself from thinking about what he did: failing over 50 Emontarions.
But now, after listening to the boy, he knew that what had transpired was out of his control. Furthermore, the nightmares this time did not behave as though they were after him. As evidence, both the beast and female nightmare, during their encounter, treated him as though he were no more important than a pest.
The acceptance, though painful, put him a little at ease. He lifted his hand and, using his fingers, produced a snap to stop the boy from saying more.
The boy raised his head.
"I am not angry with you. You did as I said. I am the one in the wrong for slapping you," Idel said as he lowered his head slightly. "I am sorry for that."
The grey boy was rendered speechless. A faint pink shone as he waved his hands shyly.
"No need to apologize, Mr. Freak. I didn't even feel a thing from the slap. It's all water under… hmmm, how does this end? Sigh, seems my age is finally taking effect." He talked to himself openly. "What did Mr. Fiction say?... water under... the..."
"...Bridge," Idel finished the line for him.
"Exactly." He snapped his fingers as a faint yellow flashed.
The two stared for a while before Idel asked, "Is the man okay?"
The boy turned and looked over at the lifeless form of Shifty. The poor guy had witnessed almost his entire village get wiped out.
No, almost is an understatement. The possibility of it getting wiped out to oblivion at that very moment was very high.
The nightmares were still out there!
Shifty's body convulsed from time to time, each time a shaken sound escaping his lips.
Wait… just wait. Wasn't this Emontarion at most 4th grade? How was he able to produce sounds?
Idel thought on the matter a bit longer and recalled how he rescued him from the black waters, during which he was silent. Not only that, but he could have also sworn that the energy radiating off him back then was significantly lower than it was now.
'If I recall correctly, he is the one who warned us about the beast nightmare… with his voice!
Am I missing something here? Don't Emontarions retain the grade they are born with till death?'
Once again, more questions than answers spiraled. He lifted his hand to ask something when Tintless turned to him.
He said, "Mr. Freak, I think the nightmares have followed us." He pointed out into the distance.
Nightmares, shit! They must have been in close proximity when he summoned the Labyrinth.
With a certain fear, he followed the boy's gaze, staring into the dark parts of the Labyrinth. He focused a bit more and, utilizing his will over the Labyrinth, spotted the threats.
He closed his eyes in relief. They were merely six disfigured nightmares, some exploring the area, others climbing hills and doing so many other things that were not ascribed to their typical behavior.
'Taking a tour in my Labyrinth.' He smiled coldly as he stood.
Snap!
Tintless shifted his attention to him.
"What is it, Mr. Freak?"
He remained silent as he removed the hood of his cloak, letting it sway in the breeze. He tucked his hands away. Then, suddenly, the crimson fog around him thickened and spiraled in a slow and unnerving way, concealing his being.
In a heartbeat, two glowing eyes pierced the fog and sent a quiver down Shifty's spine.
Alarmed, his eyes turned in that direction. The moon's light blinded him. He could only see a deep red, but his eyes were, surprisingly, tenacious. He focused and finally saw the outline of a being standing on the highest hill.
He was the wielder of the strange energy and the glowing green eyes, and his cloak swayed dramatically as a raging green aura flared around him.
The being moved his head and said in a reverberating voice, "Brace yourselves, the hunt is nigh."