The King of Dreams

Chapter 4

With a hint of regret in their voice, Alex's elder self said to Morpheus, "I could have sought after wealth or power, just like my father did." Alex said, "But all I ever wanted was to be free from your grip," with a broken heart.

"Alex, my dear," Paul cried as Alex sat down in a wheelchair, his hands firmly holding the device. Alex asked Paul to "please take me upstairs."

As the wheelchair glided steadily across the circle, it left a visible line, shattering the once unbroken formation. Paul halted momentarily, casting a backward glance at the disrupted circle, realizing its demise. Then, his gaze shifted upward to meet Morpheus', acknowledging him with a nod and a smile, before departing from the room.

Morpheus observed the broken circle, a sense of relief washing over him. Leaning forward, he directed his attention towards the guards stationed nearby. "Our Dracula still remains tight-lipped," remarked the female guard, engrossed in her novel. Curiosity piqued, the male guard inquired, "Why do you persist in calling him that?"

Morpheus extended his hand towards the male guard, who was instantly captivated by the gesture. Meanwhile, the female guard excused herself and proceeded to the restroom. The male guard, feeling a sudden drowsiness overpowering him, found himself transported into the realm of dreams, standing on a picturesque beach.

In this dream state, he witnessed Morpheus approaching him with a graceful stride. Morpheus stooped down and scooped up a handful of sand from the beach. Startled by this action, the male guard instinctively reached for his firearm and aimed it at Morpheus. However, in the physical world, his shots were directed at the spherical glass, shattering it into fragments.

Morpheus breathed a sigh of relief, a glimmer of hope illuminating his eyes. As the female guard hurriedly entered the room and witnessed the unfolding scene, she rushed to intervene, desperately trying to prevent the male guard from firing his weapon. However, Morpheus had already made his escape, slipping away from their grasp.

Outside the shattered sphere glass, Morpheus stood amidst a radiant light, with the wind gusting around him as dark clouds gathered overhead. Sensing a shift in the atmosphere, the female guard commanded Morpheus to open his hands and raise them in surrender.

Unperturbed, Morpheus released a gentle breath, blowing the sand he held towards the guards. Instantly, the guards succumbed to a deep slumber, their bodies surrendering to the sand's mesmerizing effects. Morpheus turned away from them, facing the ominous dark cloud, and with a graceful motion, he lifted himself upward, gradually dissolving into the thin air until he vanished completely, leaving no trace behind.

Alex awoke from a restless sleep, his heart racing as if he had just escaped a haunting nightmare. He sat up in bed, his breath ragged, and then slowly rose, feeling a compelling urge to leave his room. Stepping into the hallway, he called out for Paul, his voice echoing through the empty corridor. He continued onward, driven by an unknown force, until he reached the staircase.

In the midst of his journey, Alex caught a glimpse of his reflection in a nearby mirror. To his astonishment, his reflection portrayed his younger self, as if time had rewound itself. A mixture of surprise and curiosity filled his eyes as he examined his rejuvenated appearance. "Well, hello there," he greeted the feline companion that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The cat responded with a soft "meow," its voice echoing through the hallway. Bewildered by the unexpected presence of the cat, Alex muttered, "Where did you come from?" His mind perplexed, he stood in the hallway, trying to unravel the mystery of the cat's sudden appearance.

Intrigued by the cat's presence, Alex silently trailed behind it, climbing the stairs until they reached an empty room. The cat gracefully settled itself upon a chair, fixing its gaze upon Alex. Perplexed, Alex observed the feline, attempting to comprehend how it had made its way into his house.

As Alex cautiously approached, a profound transformation occurred before his eyes. The cat metamorphosed into the King of Dreams himself—Morpheus. Draped in a coat as dark as night, his eyes emitting an ethereal glow, Morpheus' countenance brimmed with a potent blend of anger and determination. Seated upon the chair in the dimly lit room, he exuded an undeniable aura of power.

"Hello," Morpheus welcomed Alex with an intense voice, his words reverberating in the space. Alex's voice trembled with fear as he managed to stammer out, "It's... it's you. You're... you're free." The weight of realization and trepidation hung heavy in the air as Alex recognized the significance of Morpheus' newfound freedom.

Morpheus rose from the chair, his figure towering over the room. "do you have any idea what it was like?" he exclaimed, his voice filled with a mix of frustration and anguish. "Confined within a cage for over a century, stripped of my freedom!" With each word, Morpheus steadily advanced toward Alex, his presence becoming increasingly overwhelming.

Terrified, Alex retreated, driven by sheer fear. He stumbled backward, desperately trying to create distance between himself and the approaching Morpheus. The magnitude of the situation weighed heavily on Alex, as he remained clueless about the consequences that awaited him.

"Do you grasp the extent of the devastation you have caused in your world?" Morpheus questioned, his voice resounding with intensity. Alex, consumed by terror, could only muster a feeble response, "I'm sorry... I... I didn't know. Please..." His voice trembled with fear, his face a portrait of sheer desperation as he begged for his life.

"Your punishment," Morpheus declared solemnly, "shall be a gift. I give you this" As Morpheus spoke, a remarkable transformation unfolded before their eyes—Alex's aging process reversed rapidly, and he grew younger with each passing second. Time itself seemed to retreat from his being.

"I grant you the gift of eternal sleep," Morpheus continued, extending his hand adorned with a handful of sand. With a single exhale, he blew the sand toward Alex, who succumbed to a deep and peaceful sleep. Little did Alex know, this slumber was a gateway to the realm of dreams.

In the physical realm, Alex shuddered restlessly upon his bed. Paul, overwhelmed with worry, called out to him with tear-filled eyes. "Alex, Alex, please wake up," Paul pleaded, desperately attempting to rouse him from his unconscious state.

More than a century of tortured sleep, of Dreams and Nightmares running riot was coming to an end.

Corinthians sat in a darkly lighted room, his anxious and uneasy gaze fixed on the window. Fear gripped Corinthians' voice as he mumbled, "He is free, He is out of his cage," knowing that Morpheus would probably continue what he started with him.

 Slowly, he rose from his seat, using a handkerchief to delicately wipe away the blood that stained his eyes.

With a deep breath to steady himself, Corinthians cleared his throat and spoke, his voice laced with a blend of apprehension and determination. "So I'm afraid I'm gonna have to run," he addressed the black-skinned man seated silently before him, his eyes absent, the result of Corinthians' disturbing actions. 

The man remained helpless, unable to see the world around him.

In a horrifying act of desperation, Corinthians had plucked the man's eyeballs and implanted them into his own sockets in order to retrieve information.

Corinthians approached the mirror with caution, his empty eye sockets blinding him. Instead, he had eyes that seemed to be black buttons stitched into his eye sockets, giving him a ghostly, disturbing atmosphere.

"I'm not gonna stop until I've reshaped this world to look just like me," Corinthians declared, his voice tinged with a blend of determination and a chilling resolve. He adjusted the black glasses he wore, concealing the unsettling sight of his eyes.

In the realm of dreams, Lucien ran tirelessly through a dark clouded desert, wearing a black jacket and a white glasses. She desperately called out, "Sir, sir!"

As Lucien approached, she discovered Morpheus lying unconscious upon the darkened sand. Overwhelmed with a mix of sorrow and concern, she softly spoke, "Oh, my goodness, Sir, it's me. It's Lucien."

Morpheus stirred, his eyes slowly fluttering open at the sound of the familiar voice. A wave of relief washed over him as he recognized Lucien's presence. With a weakened voice, he mustered the strength to call out her name, "Lucien."