The Deceitful One



Loud wails filled with agony continuously rang out from within the house on the ranch. One would expect that after having screamed for such a long time, that the voice would turn hoarse.

But that was not the case. In fact, the screams rang out incessantly, each one more painful and high-pitched than the last. The fear-inducing screams would make anyone's skin crawl.

The main door to the house was left ajar. If one looked at the floorboard near the door, they would find nail marks across the floor, as if someone had been viciously dragged inside.

Initially, the nail marks had only chipped the wood on the surface of the floor. But soon, these nail marks were tinged with a hint of blood, and finally, the marks on the floor were dyed a dark shade of red. One could very well imagine the extreme unwillingness of the person that had been dragged.

The bloody marks led down the stairs and into the basement of the house. The basement was relatively large and was completely made out of gray stones—the floor, the walls, and even the ceilings.

At the center of the basement stood a tall figure with silvery-gray skin. The figure was humanoid in shape. It had four long arms that ended in razor-sharp metallic claws. Its head was shaped like a crown—its two points curving upward like a crescent moon.

The most notable aspect of this creature was not its four arms, but its four thick silver tendrils protruding from its back and flailing around him.

In front of this otherworldly terror-inducing creature was a metal table, atop which, a naked lady was lying down and screaming at the top of her lungs. This was the source of the screams and also the person that had left bloody nail marks in the room upstairs.

This lady was none other than Celine, and currently, she was experiencing her greatest nightmare. She had arrived at this fond childhood memory of hers in the form of a dream, hoping to meet up with her parents—who had already passed away in the Waking World.

But instead, she was greeted by the homeless tramp whom she had met in the last dream as well. And surprisingly enough, she even remembered the last dream that she had where she was at he friend's house in Damascus.

Usually, every time a person dreamt, their dreams were separated. It was impossible for them to form a sequence of memories. However, for Celine, she could remember the dream she had last night in the Dreamworld.

Basically, to the current her, she was going through two consecutive days of torture! Tears streamed down her eyes as she looked at the grotesque monster who was looking at her with a wide grin.

This monster did not have any facial features, except for the sizeable gaping maw that stretched from one side of his face to the other. And the rows of sharp and jagged teeth inside sent shivers down her spine.

She tried her best to escape but she was unable to. The four tendrils of this monster had tied all her limbs and pinned her down to the table. And that wasn't all, the monster had even torn her scalp and carefully removed the top part of her skull, exposing her brain.

Celine had never felt such pain and horror ever before. For some reason, she wasn't able to pass out from withstanding so much pain. She could feel every moment of this excruciating torture.

And what was worse was the fact that the monster was actually eating her brains! Just like in her last dream.

"Aaaaahhhhhh!!" Celine howled in unbearable pain as the monster inserted his claw and scooped a small part of her brain and began to eat it with great relish.

Her body writhed on the metal table as she tried to loosen the tendrils around her wrists and ankles. She painfully muttered, "P-Please… let me go…. I b-beg you…."

Bryan looked at her, brought his face closer to her, and grinned widely. "But my love, we have only just begun."

"W-Why…." Tears streamed down her swollen eyes. "Why… are you…doing this?"

Bryan's face twisted and contorted, small silver tendrils grew all over his face, and then rearranged it. In but a few moments, his demonic head had transformed into that of a human. And now he was wearing a face that was very familiar to Celine.

When Celine saw this face, her eyes widened in disbelief. "N-No… It can't be!"

"Oh, but it is!" Bryan smiled brightly. "You asked why I'm doing this, right? It's because I love you… my love."

"NOOOO!!!" Celine couldn't believe it. Her worst fear had come true. This demon was none other than the man she loved the most in her life, Ron!

Bryan—who was wearing Ron's face—smiled mischievously and then ate her brain, causing Celine to feel the utmost pain and helplessness. He had naturally done a fair bit of research about performing torture in dreams.

Benny had mentioned to him before that if a person was killed in their dreams, they would die in the Waking World. Hence, Bryan was careful enough to not kill Celine. After all, that would be too easy on Ron.

Hence, he planned to torture her every night in her dreams and make her believe that it was Ron who had been torturing her. This would not only create a crack in the relationship between the couple. But more importantly, this would make her go mad.

Every time she felt sleepy, she would be reminded of the nightmare and Ron who would eat her brains. She would be scared to even fall asleep. Bryan wondered just how long she could go without sleeping.

And there was one more thing that Bryan had done that would result in Celine suffering greatly. Every time her brain was eaten in the Dreamworld, she would face dire consequences in the Waking World!

Bryan munched on her brain and then came closer and whispered into her ears, "My love, I must say, your brain tastes really good in your dreams. I wonder how it tastes in reality? I guess, I'll find that out when you wake up."

Celine looked at Ron in fear. Her body trembled in sheer horror as she incoherently muttered, "N-No…. I d-don't want to w-wake up!!"

"Oh?" Bryan's lips curled up into a mischievous smile. "I thought you didn't want to go to sleep."

He then got back to eating her brains. Celine's screams continued to ring throughout the basement. The torture was so excruciating for her that she wished she could die and end everything once and for all.

…

In the Waking World, the real Ron had already woken up and was currently anxiously looking at Celine who was sweating profusely in her sleep. Her eyelids were trembling every few moments as if she was going through something unbearable.

Ron's heart ached to see her beloved in so much pain. He had tried to wake her up on many occasions but she just didn't wake up. He had never seen something like this. If earlier he was skeptical about his speculations, now he had confirmed it.

It was definitely a supernatural incident; this was the doing of a Transcendent! And the number one suspect that came to his mind was the old beggar that Celine had told him about.

'Is this attack premeditated?' Ron thought in a panic. 'Or is that beggar simply doing this out of spite because Celine bumped into him?'

He was unable to think of any reasons. Just when he was wondering if this attack on Celine had something to do with him, Celine suddenly snapped her eyes open.

Ron's eyes lit up as he spoke in concern. "Celine, you're finally—" However, before he could finish his sentence, Celine's palm turned into a blood claw and she stabbed it at his chest!

Flabbergasted, Ron blocked the attack from her, after all, he was still a rank higher than her. But he was shocked nonetheless that his beloved would attack him.

Celine's eyes turned bloodshot as she roared, "You demon! DIE!!"

Her other palm turned into a blood claw as well as she viciously swung it at Ron's face. Once again, Ron easily grabbed her hand. He looked at Celine with disbelief. "What has happened to you? It's me, for fuck's sake!"

"LIES!!" Celine screamed at the top of her lungs. "You demon! I'll kill you!" She tried to free her hands, but when she realized that she was helpless, she began to attack Ron with her legs. She would do everything in her power to kill this demon.

If she didn't kill this demon, then every time she fell asleep, her brains would be eaten by him. She looked at Ron, who had a grieving expression, and coldly muttered, "Demon, what have you done to my Ron!?"

Ron's eyes began to redden a little seeing her in such a state as he sniffed. "Celine, it's really me. You must be—" However, he was cut off once again. "You're lying again! Tell me where is Ron!?" Celine yelled.

All of a sudden her eyes widened, and her body began to tremble as she thought of a possibility. Involuntarily, tears trickled down her eyes as she muttered, "Y-You are Ron… You are also the D-Demon…. D-Don't tell me…."

Ron grabbed her shoulders and shook her intensely. He had a foreboding feeling well up in his heart. "Celine, what are you talking about? I've always been me. Look! Look! It's really me."

Celine stared at Ron in a daze, tears streaming down her face incessantly. "I see… You tricked me…. You are the demon in Ron's disguise!"