The Dream State

[System alert: You have died!]

[System alert: Your blood has been absorbed!]

[Blood refining in process]

[Blood refining halted!]

[You have entered the Dream state]

With a short gasp Eren’s ruby eyes shot open, beads of sweat glistening atop his pale skin. There was confusion visible on his face as he stared into nothingness.

"Where the hell am I?"

Somehow, Eren had found himself floating in absolute darkness. He strained his eyes trying to search the void for answers but all he was able to uncover was just how abysmal the darkness truly was.

All around him, there was nothing but endless space with a cold chill running through his bones making him feel a great discomfort.

"Oh lord, where am I now?"

He asked clutching his arms as he folded.

"Is this truly my end?"

It was a terrifying revelation, assuming he was to spend the rest of his conscious existence in nothing but absolute darkness. Despair held his every thought turning him prisoner until eventually, his life began to play before him.

He recalled long-forgotten moments of his childhood, his mother's warmth and smile and then came the memory of his nonchalance as they mocked the only person who had ever cared for him.

The shame didn't last long as he recalled himself dying after a futile attempt to defend his mother's name, although he had failed tragically he struggled to see it as a failure, he could even feel a bit of pride.

Suddenly he recalled something, instinctively reaching for his neck as if something of great importance once hung from it. With a gasp, he churned as images of the amulet his mother had gifted him played in his mind.

The red crystal that served as its pendant soaked up his blood — both the one that had been spilt and the one circulating within his body, leaving him dry and bloodless as a shriveled corpse.

What left him in awe though wasn't the cruel way his mother's amulet had killed him but rather it was the texts in red that appeared before him right before his consciousness faded.

He couldn't recall what was written but as his mind strained itself, a string of strange otherworldly text suddenly appeared before him. Surprisingly, he seemed to be able to decode with ease.

[You have entered the Dream state]

[Blood refining in process]

"Blood refining?"

As he repeated the strange string of text out loud in confusion, the world around him suddenly quaked.

Grrrrr…

A weak groan escaped his lips, pale hands grasping at his chest as if to ease the sudden pain that had held the space beneath his rib cage where his heart lay.

It felt like his heart was erupting, he could feel it swell and bulge sending unimaginable tremors of pain coursing through every fiber of his being.

The next second his heart tore open birthing strings of blood which proceeded to spread throughout his body like a virus.

It first spread like roots, the blood strings threaded along every muscle piercing into his skin and clutching onto his bones as well. Soon they coiled around him, wrapping him in its dark embrace till only his head was left free.

Eren filled the once-empty void with shrieks of horror as he watched his body get swallowed up by his blood.

His head was yet to be swallowed but he could soon see the terrifying red strings making their way towards his eyes erupting out of his nostrils and ears slowly encroaching his head before heading for his eyes.

It wasn't long before his whole body was shrouded completely by the blood.

All that remained was his mind and yet he could still feel it slowly reaching and consuming his thoughts and memories.

At that moment Eren's eyes shot open with a powerless scream escaping his mouth.

He sat up with force, beads of sweat once again glimmering on his skin as the sun slowly peaked from behind the horizon.

Eren's eyes widened in terror knowing fully well that whatever he had just woken up from was far from being just a dream. His eyes shook frantically as his muscles throbbed and spasmed underneath his pale skin.

"Where the hell am I?"

He was currently sitting on top of a soft mattress sheathed with silk cloth, and feather-stuffed pillows supporting his moist back.

Soft beeping sounds were coming from his sides, when he turned he saw monitors with unsteady lines constantly running through their black screens.

There were slim, transparent pipes as well which seemed to be connected to his arm monitoring his pulse and also feeding him blood.

Before he could rip them off his arm, a bald man rolled into the room, his prominently thick brows furrowed in a tight frown, his ice-cut eyes that brimmed with intelligence scanning him thoroughly.

"How in heaven's name are you awake?"

There was a very distinct look of shock in the man's eyes, he spun the wheels of his wheelchair rolling to the other side of the room where a notebook sat probably for monitoring Eren's condition.

Eren watched the disabled man in confusion as he scrambled around the room muttering wordlessly to himself.

"Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?!"

Eren yelled, finally having enough.

There was a pause as the bald man released a soft sigh and then placed the notebook on the table beside him. As he rolled towards the end of Eren's bed so they were face to face – Eren couldn't help but notice the man's lack of hand motion when he pulled his wheelchair, it was almost like he simply willed it to move and it obeyed.

The man had a serious look on his face as he sat across from Eren, rubbing the bridge of his nose softly with his fingers.

"Well, frankly Eren you currently hold the world record for the shortest recorded stay in the dream state, totalling 6 days and 11 hours."

Eren's eyes widened as he failed to accept that he had been asleep for almost a week and in the dream state no less.

It was common knowledge that awakened had to spend a certain period of time in a dream-like state before gaining their otherworldly abilities and gaining the title 'awakened.'

The time they spent in the dream state differed from person to person but it was often between 2 to 6 months. Some even believed the longer one spent in the dream state determined how powerful they would become.

"Wait, does that mean that..."

Eren didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He had just woken up in a strange room after dying, not even knowing if he was still dreaming or not and now he had just learnt that he was currently awakened although he failed to imagine the kind of power an awakened that had only spent 6 days asleep would possess.

'Nothing flashy that's for sure.'

But still, he was awakened or at least that was what the strange crippled man before him was insinuating.

'Can I even trust him?'

"Who are you?"

The man took some time before replying; "My name is Silas Homer, I study Awakened with a degree in transmutation in humans..."

Eren could already sense what he was about to say next.

"And I am... was a friend of your mother."

Eren furrowed his brows in confusion.

"And how do I know if you speak the truth?"

"Elizabeth... your mother and I were lab partners we had known each other right from the academy."

He had a warm smile on his face as he spoke his eyes drifting off to side as if recalling past events.

"And so what if you were friends?"

Eren's words pulled him out of his reverie his face turning serious.

"We... we were more than just friends. She trusted me with a device instructing me that if it ever rang out I should hurry to its location. It didn't take me long to discover that the device was left with her son, so I patiently waited for the time to come."

Eren's face only tightened further as he tried to piece together his mother's relationship with this Silas character.

"Listen Eren you don't have to believe me yet, I know it's probably a lot to take in so I'll give you some time to yourself... When you're ready, come look for me. I have something for you."

“Huh. What’s that?”

"It's something from your mother."