Abyss
Everyone in this world has something they don't believe in. For some of us it's love, for others it's a god. For many it is creatures like the very one I am.
Many folk may be inclined to believe that, should mystical, magical creatures of mist and shadows exist, they would surely all be connected and aware of one another.
That, however, was far from the case for me. Far from it for many of us. We too often had particular lores and mythology; we were not exempt from such a society. We often had our own tales of both caution and things we told our children to either scare or fascinate them.
I in particular had a very curious mind about much of these things. Sometimes I would try to use my powers to draw such phenomena from the shadows only to see a glimmer I mistook as potentially a trick to my eye. I figured if we exist then surely many others do; I just never knew what.
Sometimes I believed in some myths, others I did not. At least I was more optimistic in the world than Sarit. It is a beautiful place to be. I found myself in these philosophical, melancholy moods whenever the time around my birthday came.
Many years ago, that day became marred for me. A day full of strife. A flashback now filled my head of my family members lying there lifeless, while red and black smoke and acid burned all around us, turning the water into a corrosive environment that was reminiscent of a nuclear explosion.
I shook my head of the thought. I shouldn't be doing this, being all in my head. I desperately needed some rest. I found myself reaching for the mirror Sarit always insisted I have; I glanced at my new hair now. I had wondered if it would stay or change and it seems it stays no matter my form.
I was not sure what Onyx saw in me that led him to such kind, heartfelt commentary on my appearance. I found myself finally smiling softly a bit, forcing myself back into a frown when I realized.
I certainly didn't blend in now in the darkness down here, but I decided I could always shroud my hair in shadows or ink. It isn't as if most of this place was light in the first place, especially without the presence of MerAnglers, an angler-fish type of mer that honestly hardly looked familiar to me.
Those sorts are usually extremely solitary, more than even Sarit. They live in depths far away in which our waters do not reach. I sighed now, exhausted, trying to lie down to rest. Anything to take my mind off of the upcoming anniversary.
Deep in my slumbers now was something new, a glimmer of something I had yet to have seen until now. I wasn't aware of it at first, but a presence seemed to be watching me in my dreams. It was an unfamiliar feeling but not an unpleasant one.
At first I dreamed unknowingly without truly becoming conscious of it within my unconscious. Slowly a figure of smoke and mist appeared in front of me. I turned to it, not overly alarmed; it was a dream after all, dreams get creative.
It shifted to the form with long hair, flowing much beyond his body, not that he entirely had one.
"Hello?" I asked inquisitively. The being seemed to look around my little world with curiosity. Not much to see here, it's very dark honestly. Just like my mind.
The being seemed a bit lost and confused where they were and, looking at me intensely, I could not even see eyes, so what reason would I feel it stares intensely.
"What are you, a Baku? I didn't call for you, I didn't have a nightmare," I said.
"Wha—what's a Baku?" a misty voice replied. It was an ambiguous, unfamiliar one. It sounded more confused it was in my dream than I was.
"A Baku is a mythological creature that eats nightmares usually, but they have animal forms, so you're right that doesn't sound like you." I scratched my head in my dream wondering what kind of dream this was.
"I'm not that, I'm a Yūrei. We're spirits of the dead, we go into dreams... I think. I haven't done this in a while, ack," the voice said.
I laughed a bit, amused but mostly in confusion. "Well you're in my dream, albeit I don't believe in these things, so let me dream in peace please, ma'am, sir, or whatever you may be." I waved my hand unsure.
"I think I am a he, but honestly in the dream I am probably neither," said the voice. I nodded. "What do you want to be in here?" I asked.
"He, I think, for now," the voice replied. I just nodded and turned away before asking, "So is there a reason you're here? Given this is my dream?"
"Yes! Oh right! Sorry I forgot to even introduce myself! I'm, uh... Mochi." They clumsily outstretched their hand to me to shake and I awkwardly accepted, finding it cute.
".....Mochi?" I said, giving them a raised eyebrow. "Yes yes, keke, Mochi," the being said. I eyed them a bit, shrugging it off.
"So you're here for....?" I asked again.
"Oh, I'm here for you, Abyss!" they said enthusiastically.
"How do you know my name?" I asked them. They shrugged. "Not telling."
I sighed and threw some imaginary daggers, dream daggers. I guess you could say my eyes shot daggers at them.
"Whoa, careful!" Mochi said. "I came to give you a message. It's important, so listen."
I nodded and settled down, might as well hear them out. "Onyx. The person you wish to kill. Don't kill him. Tragedy will befall. Should you continue, you will lose your true pair."
I looked at them with confusion. "My true original pair already died, Sarit is my future mate, no?"
The being shook their head without explaining. "I come to warn you about the path you're on, and to love him. I don't have much time left. I can't say much right now," they said hurriedly.
Oh of course the magical beings come with prophecies that they can't finish, such a classic. "What do you mean, love him!" I said.
Mochi said, "I must go, I... it's really nice getting to talk to you again. Goodbye, be safe," the voice said.
I looked on in confusion. "What do you mean AGAIN?" but it was no use. Because before I could understand the reality before me, he disappeared. He was gone.
I woke up with a start. Had I even ever heard of Yūrei beings before now? I had to check our archives and magical stones or just check during work.
But I had a nagging suspicion... That was the first time I had ever heard of such a being, which could only likely mean that there are other creatures and beings I didn't even know existed as part of this game. This war. The very war I thought was small and contained to only our tribes; now beings I am unfamiliar with from other lands or seas have infiltrated.
This was much beyond my scope. My targets were much bigger than I had ever expected.