Chapter Two; A world of Grey


    … Gray found himself in a strange place, the ground was black as coal, the sky was just as dark except it was designed by vast sprays of glowing thread that laid patterns his mind could not perceive and on the ground, on the ground were white flames, pure white flames as far as the eye could see. He was surrounded by them.


    [Welcome, Gray. Welcome to your First trial.] a beautiful voice whispered in his ears.


    ‘well here goes.’ He thought in a tired tone as he looked around at the strange landscape, he’d seen it a hundred times, just that it was on TV ,on shows and mangas.


    ‘my nightmare begins.’


    Just as he finished the thought he found himself in a clear blue sky.


    [ Dreamer Gray to conquer you’re trial, you must learn pain , That is your Task.] the voice brushed against his ears and just as suddenly as it begun, he found himself in the sweet embrace of sleep.


    …


    “…..” Gray sat up in a daze, he felt the warmth of a bed beneath him, he slowly looked around to take in his surroundings. He was in a large room, with a balcony at the far left with a haunting view he couldn''t quite catch.


    He laid in a large bed which was in the middle of a wide white carpet.


    There were mirrors on the walls around him and expensive furnishings.


    ‘Well, was I really that lucky?. i don’t have to fight a vicious monster that can end me with a swipe off it’s claws? No impossible situations? ‘


    Gray begun looking around as slowly a smile creeps up on his face then suddenly a hand reached and pulled him back down into the bed!


    He quickly looks to his right and his breathe catches in his throat. Next to him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, She had brown flawless skin, long silky dark hair with strips of grey, grey eye’s that had stripes of Green within them, a sharp but delicate nose, a straight light jaw line and delicate cheekbones.


    “wh..’


    She was dressed in a simple dark night gown that hugged her body’s generous curves and matched with her slightly curly hair. She had long eyelashes that begged Gray to get lost within her eyes and perfectly sculpted pink lips that were curled into a small smile that made his heart skip a beat.


    “ Good morning sleepy head” she said in a husky voice that caused tingles all over Gray’s body.


    Gray was lost, he wanted to smile but he couldn’t, he wanted to respond but his brain suddenly lost the ability to form cohesive thoughts.


    “ What’s wrong?” The lady asked in a husky tone bringing her face closer.


    Gray forced his mouth to open wanting to say anything, the attempt almost failed until finally he spoke, “ your beautiful.” he said still locked in her eyes.


    The Lady who looked to be in her early twenties laughed at Gray’s bewilderment at her beauty. Her laugh was kind, full of mirth and seemed to close away the outside world, whichever world he was in anyway.


    “ I know I am beautiful, my silly boy but I thought you’d already be used to it after so long. but I guess i was wrong.” She came up close to Gray which caused his heart to start stuttering before she continued as her forehead touchedhis, “ but I, as any other lady love a compliment, especially those from the heart, so how about I make breakfast?” she asks


    All Gray could do was nod his head like a fool.


    “ Good, don’t stay in bed too long.” She said as she moved away from him and stood up before stretching which made her body move in hypnotic patterns.


    As Gray ogled her she noticed and a sly smile appeared on her face before she walked off towards a beautiful glass door that Gray had not noticed before.


    The moment the door closed his face took on a cold expression as he slowly sat up.


    ‘ She’s a monster… why is she so beautiful?..no why would a monster offer to make me breakfast ? but no. There should have been no hex, I wasn’t enthralled, I didn’t feel any unnatural attachment, it was like I was taking in a sight I had never seen, is she an angel?, but no, her beauty seemed so …human?..’’ Gray was at a loss, he had always had an uncanny ability to determine influence on himself…well really any self aware person could… but today that instinct was silent, he was simply bewitched by her beauty and nothing more.


    He slowly stood and went up to one of the mirrors on the walls. He had been avoiding looking into them because the Fate usually gave one a body that matched with their characteristics but some differences were unavoidable.


    He turned to face the mirror and for a moment was taken a back, the person staring at him was nothing he had expected to see. He had dark grey eyes with matching dark grey hair and a very strange face.


    He was not handsome per say, but his face was strangely charming and beautiful. ‘ Okay, upgrade! Hell yeah!..oh wait’


    Gray’s celebration was short lived by the fact that he remembered that he would be going back to his original body if he finished the Vision, which meant these looks were to be short lived.


    ‘ but no every dreamer gets an improved appearance after they return, something to do with their body’s becoming stronger and purer thanks to the flow of world essence. And such, I don’t get it but maybe someday I’ll be this good looking maybe after the first dream..’ he thought while examining his body which to his mild surprise is the same as his gaunt body from the real world with the only difference was that there was slightly more fat and muscle.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He then put on the light shirt which he had been wearing along with a trouser.


    ‘ The heck is up with the color coding? it’s literally all I can see, grey hair, grey eyes, black clothes, what is this!’ he thought in frustration. He then walked up to the strange glass door and passed a hand over it.


    ‘cold..’ he thought before turning his attention to the open balcony now noticing that the walls were made from a grey and black marble.


    ''Again with the grey’


    It was an arch in the marble leading to an arched balcony that over saw a large garden of , yes you guessed, it grey flowers but scattered among the gast garden were blue abd golden flowers and...a single black rose.


    And then it continued a few hundreds meters before meeting up with a forest made of large trees as far as he could see.


    Up above was a blue sun bringing down white light.


    “ Blue sun?” Gray said in a bit of shock.


    He then turned away from the scene and returned to the door before pulling it open. Before him was a simple hall way made of marble..as simple as anything made of marble could be.. the hallways were littered with a few painting and decorations engraved on the marble surface…the decorations included scribbled and cursive handwritings that blended chaotically into a beautiful mess.


    Gray walked through the door and turned right to follow after the beautiful lady. He turned into the hall way and begun walking while taking in his surroundings. The whole place screamed of majesty…and a strange sense of holiness. He eventually found a simple stair way leading down into a living room with a round couch and a glass round table in the middle.


    ‘ Well this is what I call a dream’


    He found his way down the stairs and turned into a fabulous kitchen designed around, glass . There in a grey apron was the beautiful lady from before with a small smile on her face as she fried something in a dark but beautiful pan.


    A wonderful aroma filled the room making Gray abandon all caution and walk in.


    The lady turned her attention to him and her smile brightened radiating an aura of affection and warmth that Gray had never felt before..it was strange…


    “ Good, sit my dear, I’m almost done” she said in a warm tone before going back to cooking whatever it was that she was making.


    Gray simply obeyed and went to sit at the glass dining table pulling a glass chair that to his bewilderment didn’t make a sound.


    ‘ Maybe all this is the illusion of a monster. but no. lemme check the runes/’


    Gray then thought of his runes and a list of symbols appear in front of him.


    Name : Gray


    Species : Dormant Human, male


    Soul drive: --------


    Destiny: ….[unknown]


    Destiny Rank; …..


    Soul rank;


    Soul State; Dormant


    ‘ okay that’s….interesting” thought Gray before going back to the runes.


    Soul Abilities : unknown


    Titles :….


    Delusions : …….


    Oddity : The heart of miracles


    ‘ the hell is this?’ Gray thought in confusion, He knew that Soul Abilities were random but they should not be described or at least he had never heard of such, he was also familiar with the delusions as this was one of the major boons offered by Fate…But he had not the slightest clue what an oddity was.


    When Fate first descended upon the modern world it gave the first Humans it infected a description of the delusions it bestowed,


    And Fate said ,“ These are but the gifts of my foolish hopes and the madness of my colorful desires, I wished to give memories of a forgotten past but all I have to offer are truths of the world i wished to be nothing more than delusion.” .1


    The description is a renowned poetic art held in museums as it is one of the few times Fate spoke a description ever known to the people of earth. It’s value spoke in the fact that even someone like Gray who lived in the outskirts and Undergrounds was able to hear about it….and it enamored him, the depths of meaning to that single statement painted possibilities as varied and vivid as the cosmos themselves..it was but a fragment of the truth.


    Gray even understood what titles were as they were names given according to feats one accomplished that Fate felt was worth acknowledgement. The thing he didn’t understand was the oddity, he had never heard of this term in relation to the Memory , in fact he never knew anyone who used such a word in his life, people in the outsides of the city weren’t known for their grammatical prowess.


    A brief thought flashed through his head that it could do with the miracle his mother always talked about but he discarded it as fast as it appeared.


    ‘This shit just keeps getting weirder and weirder’ he thought as he placed his face in the palm of his hand.


    “ What’s on your mind?” the lady’s husky voice startled Gray as he raised his head, he had almost forgotten that he was not alone.


    “ Ah.. nothing, Just thinking about some stuff.” He answered simply while trying to avoid looking directly.


    The lady looked at him with a bit of concern before replacing it with a warm smile as she placed a plate full of pancakes and sausages on the side with an omelet on the other side of the plate.


    For a moment all Gray saw was the plate before his eyes. In all his life he had only tasted an egg once and it was a day old. Pancakes, he considered himself fortunate to have a friend who worked in a restaurant in one of the gang centers who would give him some every few weeks and for sausages? he had never even smelt real meat, let alone tasting such a delicacy… he was mesmerized.


    He decided to put his thoughts away and focus on the delicious meal.


    “ well dig in I know you must be starving.” She says whilst sitting opposite him with her own plate.


    Gray wasted no time before attacking the meal. He begun with the pancakes immediately noticing how much better they were than the ones his friend Marcus would give him. He took his time chewing at first before he slowly started speeding up as the portions just kept on getting better and better.


    A myriad of emotions flashed through his heart, he was happy to have such a meal for the first time in his life, he was sad that his first good meal was in a dream, he was angry that his dream which was supposed to be a harrowing challenge ended up being so much better than anything his real life had ever been.


    After a while his plate was empty and he looked up at the lady and asked, “ What’s your name?”


    She smiled at him and said, “ my name is Elizabeth…”


    ‘why does that sound so..’


    “ Have you ever heard of Fate?” Gray asked.


    Elizabeth with her bewitching face thought for a moment before she smiled..” alas I have not, my divinations tell me that it is related to an event in a future untold..”


    “ divination?”


    “ Yes it is one of my soul abilities….”


    ‘ divinations..I heard that even for dreamers on earth having such aspects was very rare..wait one of?”


    “ What else can you do?” Gray asked trying to be casual as he leaned back into his chair his grey eyes searching hers.


    Elizabeth smirked as her dazzling grey eyes grew horrifically deep . Images of countless scenes flashed within their depths, her smooth brown and pale skin seemed to turn to an inscrutable yet beautiful stone texture , Her dark hair seemed to writhe and distort as the air around seemed to change..it was a subtle change yet it felt as if reality it ‘self had faded into obscurity, Gray felt it no longer right to say it was him and her sitting within this room, no..instead it felt much more accurate to say that it was him and only him existing within her.


    “ the right question you should be asking is what is it that I can’t do?” her voice was hollow yet full of mirth and echoes of sinfully pure melodies, it tinged every single thought racing through Gray’s stunned mind in ludicrousness and filled his mind with visions of suns dying and night skies falling down like magnificent and fantastical curtains.


    Gray blinked and everything was gone. Like an illusion. Elizabeth in her black nightgown remained resting her chin in her palm as she leaned forwards staring at Gray with a dreamy look.


    ‘..what..just happened?’ he asks himself as he fruitless tries to recall the scenes he had witnessed but to no avail…they were gone.