章節 16: Paralysis

Holden Cauthwell wasn't sure what to expect when he awoke in the middle of the night after a hard day of training. His gaze traversed the dark room, the only light present offered by the strange green moon that hung in the night sky. The rays only reached a few feet beyond the window, all else beyond that border was tantamount to a void, one that devoured anything that entered. Upon his first scan of the room. Holden was met with nothing unordinary. Only on the second scan was a horrific detail added, that being the now opened eyes of a person in the far right corner. Whatever it was, its form was somehow darker than even the surrounding black. If the natural darkness was akin to a void, then the figure was akin to whatever leviathan swallowed even such vacuums. Thus, the eyes, the sign Holden initially recognized, were practically two white suns by contrast.

There it sat, positioned on the television stand that expanded to that corner, all the while it remained motionless and perfectly silent. In spite of its alarming appearance, there was an appetite for investigation as Holden attempted to move. This proved futile, however, his body remaining locked in his bed, which the being before him took as its cue to speak. If it indeed had a mouth, it couldn't have been using it to communicate its thoughts. There was no external noise, only a slew of information transcribed into Holden's mind while he lay motionless. All the same, the information did have a voice, and it spoke in a soft, hushed tone at that.

"No use trying to move, you can't. I've induced sleep paralysis onto you, the only thing you can do is watch and listen."

The thing was right. Holden's eyes moved in a desperate flurry, his limbs straining in some foolish effort to budge even an inch, though even that wasn't afforded to him. He thought it was a dream at first, but it felt too real. Even lucid dreams could not perfectly emulate the feel of the air on the skin, nor the sheets over his body, yet they felt perfectly as they should have. Perhaps even more convincingly, the acceleration of his heart rate told him all he needed to know, that the pool of anxiety welling up within him was not fictional. It was justified.

"It's so bothersome to get into this place undetected. So many precautions are required, all because of her... Do I feel familiar? I would expect to. Not that you'd remember exactly why my voice affects you like it does. My presence is a memory that resonates in your soul, but that memory is hazy. What a shame that you have to be ignorant. I must say, It's a pleasure to set my sight upon you again. I'm a very patient man, but even I have to indulge now and again. Entering your dreams doesn't feel quite the same, eventually I need something more satisfying."

Giving up on trying to wiggle free from the confines of his blankets, Holden trusted that his eyes would adapt to the darkness. They did, but to his dismay that proved to be of little importance. No matter how well his vision adjusted, it led him no further into gaining insight about the thing in the corner. Its bright white eyes remained the only feature visible. The more he stared at it, the colder the shivers that crawled up his spine became.

"I want to say, you do develop beautifully. You're so ripe with potential, you have no idea how powerful you can become. I wish to see that. In fact, I'm counting on it."

The room fell silent, the man choosing to let the quiet marinate for a few moments before continuing. Holden swore he heard a hint of excitement laced within the thing's faint voice.

"You won't remember what I say to you tonight, but the meaning will reverberate within your spirit as it becomes engraved into your subconscious. It will be similar to how you feel unsettled by my familiarity. So, with that said..."

Like a snake the man slithered over to the bed, his lanky body still encased in shadow as it leaned over Holden. Internally, Holden's fight or flight response activated, and he fought to rip his arms from the mattress and smash his fist into this being's face. His adrenaline-fueled mentality did little to change the reality of his motionless self. The two white eyes hovered above Holden.

They never blinked.

"You need to become strong. As strong as you can possibly be. Something terrible will arrive. Something from thousands of years ago, if not longer, is returning like a plague. The most unstoppable cryptid to have ever existed, a creature of apocalyptic power, and it will bring death and terror with it. Millions will lose their lives, and millions more will be subjugated to fates worse than death, all happening as it turns this world to ash. This thing knows no empathy, no mercy. It exists only to impose its ultra-violence onto every living thing. To establish its supremacy atop the food chain, with all things beneath it mattering less than the dirt. To it, blood and rot is its birthright. To it, disaster and ruin is its euphoria."

The thing collapsed into the bed beside Holden. It stared at him from his left side. Holden knew this, even if he couldn't turn his neck. He could feel the thing's gaze lingering on him like an unwanted stain.

"It's possible that Melony is strong enough to destroy it, oh how precious her growth has been as well. Still, with the exception of her nobody stands a chance. But you see, that's not an issue for me, because I happen to like having insurance. And that is precisely what you will be. If she fails in killing it, you and your immense potential will be the key. I need you to understand how vital you are in securing the future of my world. I need you to prepare."

The hairs on Holden's arms stood up as a hand glided down his cheek, grasping the underside of his chin and turning his head. He faced the entity once more, forced to look into its piercing eyes.

"Become stronger. Embrace your powers. Ready yourself for the Hell that is to come. Don't let me down. Do not allow my future world to be set ablaze. Sacrifice what you must. Become who you were meant to be."

At this, Holden's eyes began to close, all the while the being kept repeating itself, incessantly ranting about Holden's need to become more. When the morning came, he sat upright and yawned. He looked down at the floor to his side, watching as Pepper continued her undeterred slumber. Aside from feeling drowsy, Holden was under the assumption he'd slept through a regular night. While he wiped his groggy eyes and shook his head, however, he did feel different than he had before. He already planned on spending the day training his powers to develop them. With that said, the potency of that motivation felt significantly more intense than yesterday.

He paid it no mind, considering that maybe his interest grew as it naturally would when one is exposed to a fresh side of reality.