𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙰𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 [𝚐.𝚒 𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚡 𝚐𝚗!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛]

XVIII

Warnings - Blood, gore, death, multiple mentions of nausea and vomiting

You sat on the edge of your bed with your head in your hands, fingernails digging into your scalp until you felt it burn. Your breath was shallow, rugged and grating in your throat.

A nightmare. A stupid fucking nightmare had your hands trembling, buried deep in your tresses so they might be hidden from the invisible audience staring daggers in every direction if you. Tears were gathered in your eyes and you clenched them shut, tightening your hands even more.

It was dark in your dream, an endless void of nothingness and whipping winds. You could hardly hear the sound of your heartbeat in your ears over the howling storm surrounding you.

When the wind settled, allowing you to crack open your eyes, a horrifying sight was in front of you. Nausea churned in your guts, threatening to climb your throat. Your legs shook and you slapped your hands around your mouth in a futile attempt to stop any vomit.

Laying in front of you were the bodies of every character you knew from the game. Diluc, Kaeya, Venti, Barbara, Diona, Xiao, Zhongli, Hu Tao, Chongyun, Thoma, Ayaka, Ei, Yae Miko, Sara, Cyno, Alhaitham, Nahida, and so many more. Covered in blood from head to toe, each body mutilated violently.

Slits from necks to stomachs, bones visible and broken, sticking out from every possible direction, ripping skin and poking through knees. Intestines spilled out onto the void floor, joking the pools of blood that matted hair and clothes.

The ones you knew personally hit the hardest. Kaeya and Diluc were next to each other, Diluc on top of Kaeya in what looks like a final attempt to protect the brother he still cares about deeply from whatever threat was harming them. Burns littered the redhead's arms indicative of vision overuse. His coat had been stripped away and deep slashes dug into his back, destroying his previously clean and formal shirt. His legs were crooked and eyes frozen open in fear.

Kaeya was curled under Diluc's protective arms, a cut across his stomach with organs spilling out, a river of blood still streaming out and staining the white fur hung over his shoulder. His hair was spread out like a halo, choppy and shorter with the bird clip resting nearby.

Jean, Amber, and Aether were less mutilated but equally terrible with slits across their necks and hands reaching for clattered weapons. Like Kaeya's, Aether's hair was free from its braid and so soaked in blood, it was impossible to tell what its original color was.

Venti was no doubt the worst. He was dressed in his archon outfit dyed red, blood splatter on the gold accessories. The white angel wings one would expect to be resting on his back had been torn out, laying away from him in a bloody heap, his back having two large and detrimental slashes. Smaller whipping marks littered the rest of his body. Down his back, along his legs, arms, to the very arches of his feet. His ribs were caved in, stomach bloody, boney, and disgustingly skinny, like every organ had been removed from him. Tear marks were an angry red down his apple cheeks, eyes glassy like that of a taxidermy deer.

You screamed. It was the only thing you could do. Your feet felt rooted in place, your throat burned from the horror and you flailed your arms in any attempt to move. It was no use, nothing breaking you free from the anchors holding you down, forcing you to gaze on this monstrosity.

It was at that moment, your throat torn raw and head light and stupid that you woke up. Tears had dripped down your cheeks and your hands were tangled in the sheets. It felt like there was a pressure on your chest, something that was stopping you from breathing despite your hyperventilating. You managed to sit up and you got to where you are now, still sitting on the edge of the bed, doing your best to steady your erratic breathing.