Chapter 1545 – Visions of Sickness

Sleep, for a Krath, was not an overly restful affair. A lifetime of backstabbing, theft and a refusal to let one’s guard down meant all Krath, to some extent, slept with one eye open.

Literally.

It wasn’t that hard, once you learned the trick. Most young slugs born in the tribes learned it before they’d lived their first year. Those who didn’t were far less likely to reach that milestone. Even away from his people and out in the Dungeon, Zluth was in no position to relax his guard. Many scouts had been taken by invasive parasites in their sleep, and he wasn’t about to allow himself to be counted among them.

And yet, there was something… different… about his sleep. Wary, restless, Zluth knew better than to allow himself to sleep too deeply, his ingrained instincts would never allow it, but something was pulling at him, drawing him away. The longer he slept, the stronger the pull became. Soon, he felt as if he remained attached to his body by the tips of his fangs, relentlessly holding on as a distant force exerted greater and greater pressure on him, loosening his grip one tooth at a time.

All at once, his hold was broken and Zluth was sent spinning away into the void. Terrified, he thrashed and failed, desperate to wake up, to reconnect to his sleeping body, but it was no use. The link between body and consciousness had been severed and he couldn’t get it back.

Was he falling? Was he rising? It was difficult to tell. All he felt was the sense of a vast distance being traversed at unfathomable speeds. It didn’t make any sense. How was he travelling? How was he moving? He was asleep! This shouldn’t be possible!

Then, he was still once more. Eagerly, he flailed, trying to find his body, but he couldn’t; it wasn’t here.

Then, he felt as if his very soul had caught on fire.

Zluth writhed in agony as he felt his mind come under assault from an absurdly potent acid. Even disembodied, he wasn’t spared from its relentless hunger, and he knew that in only a few more moments, it would melt his spirit to nothing.

Except, that didn’t happen. He felt an enormous presence, so vast he hadn’t even realised it was there, turn and regard him. In that instant, he was seized by a mind so much greater than his own he couldn’t accurately judge the difference between them.

Stolen novel; please report.

Trembling in terror and rage, Zluth lashed out in anger, bewildered by what was taking place. It was just a dream, he told himself, there was no other rational explanation.

And yet the pain had felt so real.

The problem is that you cannot perceive, little slug. I will allow you to gaze on the place I have brought you.