Danmachi - Eldritch Apostle

The mist surrounded me as I stood on the grassy plain that stretched across the horizon. Not a single tree broke the monotony of the flat terrain, which reminded me of Minecraft's flat generation.

I wandered around, hoping to find anything other than grass and mist. The air was dense, making it hard to breathe. The mist reminded me of the 11th floor of the dungeon, looking almost unreal.

Aiming my hand, I discovered that my powers didn't work here. This could only mean that I was in a lucid dream. The real question was how I fell asleep—either a curse or something caused by Azathoth.

That tentacle goddess was unpredictable, so dealing with her was never the best option, though it seemed she liked me for some reason.

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by a powerful earthquake. The ground shook for half a second, then stopped, only to start again and again until a massive dragon emerged far away from me.

The fog cleared as if commanded, and I saw a dragon-sized mountain looking at me with murderous intent. Its black scales were darker than the darkest night, and its wings covered the entire sky.

Its breath blew me back each time it exhaled. As I looked up, I realized.

"One-Eyed Black Dragon...."

One of its eyes was missing, with a scar where the eye used to be. A great man named Albert had once given his life to scar the beast. Albert was the strongest humanoid ever, but he only managed to take one eye.

Expecting the dragon to eat me or worse, I closed my eyes and tried multiple times to make my thoughts a reality, but without success. Death wasn't scary to me anymore; I knew this was just a dream.

"Open your eyes, you abomination! How dare you ignore my presence?!"

A voice...

A sentient voice came from the One-Eyed Black Dragon.

This meant my theory that the dragon was a Xenos was influencing this dream. If the dragon was an actual Xenos, it would likely be mentioned somewhere.

"What do you want from me, you hellish beast?"

The dragon moved its head closer to me, dwarfing me in size. I was just a tiny ant compared to one of its claws, let alone its head.

"You dare speak to me like that? Not even Albert spoke to me in such a way. He caught me off guard and took my eye. But what about you? What do you think you'll do when we clash?"

Its hellish voice made me shudder each time the dragon spoke. The dragon's voice could be compared to Alduin's from Skyrim. Alduin was a world-eater, while this dragon was just a mythical beast that could threaten mankind.

That didn't stop me from imagining a clash between the two. Alduin would win, but it would be a fight to see.

"Clash? My goal was never to slay you, unlike those pathetic heroes who tried and failed. I have yet to decide with my goddess what I'll do with you, but for now, you're not important to me."

Silence fell over the field, broken only by the dragon's huffs. Then, the dragon raised its head and looked down on me.

"You truly are a monster worthy of despising, perhaps even more terrifying than myself. You're neither a hero nor a noble warrior; you're the most despicable creature I've seen in my thousand-year-long life."

This beast was dissing me without any proper reason. It would be a comedy show if it weren't for the fact that the final boss was doing it. Just then, a surge of power rushed through my body.

BOOM

A powerful force wave aimed straight at the dragon's healthy eye, only to vaporize upon touching its scales. It felt like a level 1 goblin attacking a player with the strongest gear in the game.

The dragon blinked, not even trying to attack me, and then laughed for a full minute. My powers were useless against the final boss of this world. Fortunately, this was all just a dream.

"You overscale me greatly, but you're just a fragment of my imagination. This is all inside my dream. I'll wake up now, and you won't be there. That's why you lose despite being far above me."

I could force myself to wake up, but the dragon got closer and scanned me from head to toe.

"That's what you think. We will meet again, you abomination." The dragon spoke and turned its massive figure around, blowing me away with the force of the wind. The earthquake shook the ground again as the massive beast flew into the sky, covering more and more of the sky until it was just a black dot.

When it was finally gone, I decided to force myself to wake up by blinking repeatedly. It took about a minute until I woke up again.

---

*HUFF*

I rocketed to my feet like the dream never happened. The entire experience felt too real, though it was strange since I wasn't supposed to sleep.

After a few moments of thought, the only idea that came to mind was that it might have been something heavily influenced by Azathoth or another force.

It could have been a glimpse into the future, but I doubted that. A dragon being a Xenos would complicate things more than I imagined. Nevertheless, I dusted off my clothes and noticed Ottar staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't mind me, just had a weird dream, that's all... How long was I asleep?" I asked. Ottar stood up, signaling it was time for us to go.

"You slept for two hours. I must commend your ability to sleep anywhere at any time, especially after surviving a massacre. Only first-class adventurers can do that, with some exceptions, of course, but it's a good feat," he replied stoically, holding two heavy swords in his hands. We left the cave shortly after.

Leaving the safety of the cave was a bit challenging, but with Ottar around, no threat could harm me.

As we exited the cave, we were greeted by the sounds of crickets and distant monster roars. It was a terrifying sound for most, but not for us. Ottar, behind his stoic face, seemed eager to fight.

The gloomy jungle was as restless as any other part of the dungeon, except for the safe zones. Even the safe zones had some life to them. My favorite was the 50th floor, where tall trees formed a vast green forest.

"Looks like we have company..."

I muttered as a massive Bloodsaurus approached. This Bloodsaurus had an unusual black color, with black skin and crimson-red eyes that stared daggers at me. It looked like an enchanted species.