"Wah! Wah!"
The sound of a baby's cries spread throughout the dark, almost empty room. The room was small, so there wasn't much of an echo.
Next to a bed, there was a woman lying on a reclining chair, appearing to be holding a baby wrapped in white cloth.
She was wearing a dark green, slightly torn dress. She had unkept brown hair and brown eyes, and had average features. Well, she would be considered good looking, though there were marks over her face and over certain parts of her body.
The baby had similar looks to her mother, but her face was more delicate, and she had blue eyes.
"You're so cute Mia…" The average looking woman said while looking at and holding the crying baby. Her voice was soft and faint.
"Wah! Wah!"
"There there…I know it's cold sweetheart…" Not long after the woman said that, a cold winter breeze howled outside. This prompted the woman to hold the baby closer to her chest.
"Wah…wah…" The baby's cries suddenly got softer and softer. She enjoyed the temporary and gentle warmth given to her from her mother.
"I wonder when your father is going to come back home…he should be done with his work already." The woman couldn't help but glance at the door in front of her. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to afford rent tomorrow. I can only afford things for Mia…"
She sighed, and soon enough, her eyebrows creased in anger.
"That stupid government never cares about people like us. Always caring about whether the rich have got their share, and never about the people who actually built this country up. And they dare claim that they follow the God of Energy. What a bunch of undesirables! That's what this government is! And I can't even escape to Entheris either because this same government spent so much money on that damn border…"
After some time, the mother wanted to lash out and shout, but she realized that the cries she heard from her baby had stopped.
Her countenance began to soften and she looked back at the baby.
The baby's closed eyes were soft—gentle. They had an innocence to them that momentarily made the mother forget about her current situation.
But it was only for a moment. The mother couldn't help but glance back at the door in front of them anxiously.
On one hand, she was hoping he'd come back soon so she'd be able to get money from him so she'd be able to pay for rent and other necessities for the baby.
On the other hand, she was fearful of his presence because she knew he had some 'tendencies'. She never knew what state he'd be in coming through that door.
She knew what would happen if he came in a bad mood.
As such, despite the cold, sweat dripped down her face as she stared intently at the door, preparing for his arrival.
Scenes flashed through her head as she bit her lip in anxiety.
To calm her nerves, the mother would momentarily look down at her sleeping baby, but this only made her feel more petrified the longer she looked. She was so scared of having her daughter be exposed to things that only an 'adult' should be exposed to.
One second after another, one minute after another, one hour after another.
Ting!
"Time for bed!" The automated artificial assistant voice rang through the room.
"It sounds extra hoarse today…I'll make myself something to eat and pray to God to relieve me of this terrible place I'm in before I go to sleep." The woman's eyes drooped naturally as she sighed.
"Only God knows a way out for me. Praise 'Him'…" The mother's voice was soft and wavering.
"Sob…sob…"
Just as the mother was about to get up from her chair, the baby had shown signs of crying again.
The mother immediately stood still and proceeded to rock her baby again.
"Mia, it's going to be fine…no matter what, I'll always be here for you…"
BANG!
A crashing sound had echoed throughout the room!
The door in front of the mother and the baby burst open, as if a truck had rammed through the door.
"Wah! Wah!"
The baby couldn't help but express her dissatisfaction with the loud noise.
"Huh? What…" The mother, who had instinctively placed her arm in front of her face, naturally began to question what had happened.
"The father of your baby is dead." A deep, hoarse voice sounded from the door's direction.
"Huh? What are you talking about…" The mother moved her arm from in front of her face and started to take in the man's features subconsciously. Behind him in the distance was the shining City of Gold, one that she could've never reached in the slums.
The man had an intense, somewhat soft face. His almond shaped eyes were red and he had a fresh scar across his face. He had Caucasian skin and he looked like he was in his mid twenties. His hair was black and it was short but curly. He was wearing a black coat.
He smiled; he had worn a smug smirk.
"…Who are you?" The mother asked.
"Don't worry about that, Arianna. Your boyfriend never told you that he worked in a gang? Where do you think an idiot like him would've gotten money from? Certainly not any job," The man said mockingly.
"…How do you know my name?" Arianna asked, still trying to process the information.
"Didn't I tell you not to worry about that, moron?" The man mocked Arianna. "Just know that you don't have to face abuse by that idiot anymore. Of course, that also means your main source of income is gone."
The man didn't hesitate to walk inside of the house and approach Arianna.
"What are you doing…" Her face had turned into a twisted expression as she stared at the man walking towards her.
"Wah! Wah! Wah!" The baby's cries seemed to get louder and louder.
Without hesitating, he gave a big smile and stopped right in front of the terrified mother and her baby.
"Wah! Wah! Wah!"
"That crying baby is annoying. You mind if I take it from you? It'll help with your funds now that your idiot boyfriend is gone. Plus, with some 'disappearances', we need someone to fill in for the future." The man looked like he was trying his best not to laugh.
It seemed as if he enjoyed bringing fear into the heart of the powerless woman.
Arianna was agape. Her face immediately turned into one of intense fury.
"…No! Get out of my house!"
"A shame." The man immediately grabbed the baby, much faster than Arianna could react.
"Wah! Wah!"
"No!!! Give her back!" Arianna's face immediately turned into intense worry, pain, and sadness.
"She's everything I have! Please!"
"Bye-bye!" As if the man was ignoring her, he turned his back towards her and began walking towards the exit.
Immediately, Arianna began to dash forward toward the man. However, an invisible wall separated them, causing her frail body to be sent back. She was temporarily unable to get up, and her ears had experienced a horrifying ringing sound.
Her vision blurred as she saw the man walk leisurely, carrying her child.
"No! No…" Tears fell from her eyes as she knelt down in the cold, dark and lonely room.
And for that moment, the last warm touch she felt was that of her child's.
…
A few years later, in a small, normal looking bedroom.
A young girl, who was no more than six years old, was sitting on a modest bed. She had brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a white shirt and a black skirt.
She was reading a book that was titled: "Dreamurian for Kids".
Whoosh…
A metal door slid open, revealing a man who had black curly hair and red eyes. He had an intense face with somewhat soft features. A scar was cut across his face.
"How's the book you're reading?" Wearing a buttoned up shirt and pants, he asked in a hoarse voice as he walked up to the girl. He had smirked smugly.
The girl slowly turned her head towards him, showcasing her blue eyes. They were quite vibrant, but were lacking in emotion.
"It's alright. I get most of the stuff in here." She replied.
"How smart. Anyway, it's about time for you to go into higher levels so you understand how things work around here." The man yawned just as he said that.
The girl nodded.
Without waiting any longer, she asked, "Where is my mommy and daddy? I see pictures of children in this book that have their mommies and daddies, but I haven't seen mine."
With no hesitation, the man replied, "They got lost in a tragic accident. And because of that, I'm your guardian. What that means is I'm supposed to nurture you into a respectable young girl for society, and I'm supposed to help you."
"Okay." The girl asked no further questions.
"Now, start getting ready for the event in 30 minutes. Other girls like you will be on the stage as well. Don't disappoint me." The man added.
Just as the girl was about to respond, the man began to speak up again.
"Oh, and also. Your new name is Anna. I haven't decided on a last name yet," The man continued.
"Okay." Anna nodded obediently.
…
Another few years later, in an empty dark room with nothing but a table and a chair.
The lights were flickering, giving the room a very eerie feeling. It was also unkept, as if no one had stepped in the room for many years.
On the chair, there sat a young teenage girl who had brown hair, and light skin. She was wearing nothing more than a sleeveless shirt and shorts. Bruise marks were shown all over her skin, with some parts of her body experiencing some light bleeding.
Her face was delicate, but it was downtrodden as she stared onto the table. Her blue eyes were devoid of any and all emotion. It looked as if a boundless darkness had washed over her.
It looked as if she wanted to scream and cry, but couldn't.
"I hoped you learnt your lesson, Anna." A hoarse voice from above sounded. "This is the second time you've done this. The third time is going to be worse. As you can see, I don't like girls who are risk-takers. That's more for men, since they are much stronger than women."
"…" Anna didn't respond.
"After all that effort I put into you raising you and nurturing you. And then you decided to defy orders and interfere with the transaction because of your selfishness. All you had to do was 'perform' for the client. You even tried to play it sneaky by giving out information. In God's name, I don't know what made you even want to do that. I can only thank 'Him' that I figured you out again," The man sighed.
"Don't let me hear of this again, or else I'll have to put you down. All you had for your punishment this time was a couple of beatings. Next time, it'll be even worse."
"…" Again, Anna didn't respond.
"Okay, I don't have any time to waste. You'll have to go through a one year re-education program right inside of here. You'll be obedient. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir." Anna said, her voice devoid of any emotion or substance.
"Heh. Good." He sounded as if he had a smug smirk on his face while looking down at Anna. After a few seconds, sounds of footsteps could be heard.
Then later, sounds of a metal door sliding open and closing afterwards was heard shortly after.
…
A few years later, on one night, in a room that looked akin to a large bar.
It was nighttime, and the velvet crescent moonlight penetrated through the picture windows, giving the room an otherworldly sci-fi feel.
However, since it was a bar, the overall atmosphere still felt slightly chaotic and noisy as it was filled with mostly men.
"My preparations should be sufficient…at least, it looks like none of these lackeys have suspected me yet." A beautiful, delicate girl thought to herself as she sat on the hovering sofa. She held her legs together and placed both of her hands on her lap. This was the most feminine sitting stance that would entice men the most as described in the 'education' courses.
She was wearing a black sweater with black tights, and a mid length skirt with starry designs. She had blue eyes that were devoid of any emotion and had brown hair that was put into two ponytails. She had a well built body and Caucasian skin. Her face had a tinge of makeup to cover up her bruise marks. She was none other than Anna, who had no last name.
Currently, this outfit she had on was an outfit that had a look that was the most 'subservient' and the one that had the largest rapport among the men.
Unfortunately, this had repercussions. She was approached by a dozen men in the past hour, and had to 'politely' decline them all using the excuse that her guardian was nearby.
However, it was worth it, because she was finalizing her preparations.
For a year, she had acted perfectly to the standards of this secret organization.
For a year, she had acted perfectly to the standards of one of the gangs that moves in the underground society that deals with illegal transactions and shady dealings.
For a year, she had acted perfectly to leave the place that she had thought was no different from hell, the Dimensional Thieves.
She sighed as she began to tune out the noise to recall the preparations she had done. Since she was feeling a weird mixture of anxiety and excitement, this was done to ease her mind. At the same time, it was also done to organize her thoughts for her final step towards freedom.
"By acting perfectly and using these guy's inability to think without their private parts, I was able to make myself come to Luna. I was even able to make some of them give me specific information that could help me in my escape. Though, most importantly, I wanted to come to this place so I can make one of those lackeys give me that Dreamscape artifact. I've been finding ways to get to that thing and this is my best chance."
"It's…also a good thing that my bastard guardian Omar got promoted to a host of one of those meetings." Anna's face almost changed to one of strange delight on the outside. She calmed herself down and continued, "Luckily, that means he won't be monitoring me for a long time."
"Now…" Just as Anna was thinking, her thoughts were interrupted as she overheard a certain conversation that ended up piquing her interest.
"Dude, did you hear that a bunch of people from another reality got transported over here?" A burly man's voice rang next to Anna's ears.
Anna's expression remained unchanged as she kept listening.
"Yeah, I did. Apparently, the government is trying its best to crack down on that case. Heh, I can even smell our activity rising! That way we can get to do more fun stuff, like looking for this babe that those higher ups want us to look for. I hear she's in Luna, this very city!" A burly man who was adjacent to him spoke up.
"Oh really? Who is she? What does she look like?" The man couldn't help but express his excitement on the news.
"Well, she looks strange, but she looks like an angel. I can just imagine a night with her! She has dark skin, long blonde hair, golden eyes, she's really tall, and she has a real curvy body too…"
Anna's eyes widened slightly.
"The fact that these lackeys are looking for her means that she isn't some random person…she's someone special—I'm 95% sure! Yes, this is also what I was banking on, but I didn't expect it to come this early! Still, I have to come up with a way to make her do this for me. Wait, I think I know what I have to do!" Anna thought in excitement.
This was because once she'd escaped, she'd need to find a way to inevitably get the gang off of her tracks and clinging onto someone special is the best way to do so. Even more so if the higher ups got involved for some reason.
As for the risk involved with trusting a stranger, Anna didn't care. Even if the person Anna was searching for wasn't benevolent, anything is better than the hell shes currently through!
"Sorry, I have to deal with something real quick," Without wasting any time, Anna stood up and began to head to her destination.
"Oh, okay. Make sure to come back so we can talk!" The burly man next to her replied, but Anna didn't look his way.
…
Upon reaching her destination, she saw a well built man dressed in a suit leaning in front of a metal door. His chest was bulging out slightly, which showed off his impressive physique. He had quite an intimidating aura to him.
Anna didn't hesitate. She had long thought of such a scenario.
"Hi, sir!" Anna waved at the man with a high pitched, charming voice. This was also something that she had learned.
"What do you want?" The man asked with a deep voice.
"There's something inside there that I wanted to see. My guardian Omar promised it to me," Anna said as she held her hands together and looked upwards at him with her blue eyes. "Mister, can you help me see it?"
"…" The man, who had a poker face, looked at her for a while.
He then closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine."
He reluctantly agreed to the young girl's request. This was because someone of her status wasn't one to do things on her own and was supposed to be the face of certain transactions. So naturally, he didn't suspect that the girl had any malicious intentions and merely thought that she was simply gathering information for her guardian.
This was why she had mentioned Omar. And the reason why all of this went smoothly was because of her acting.
Anna let out a big smile. "Thank you so much mister!"
Upon receiving praise, the man smiled slightly. He then turned around and appeared to be pressing numbers on a holographic pad.
Anna looked attentively as she inched closer toward the door.
Whoosh…
The metal door slid open as the man gave way to the charming young lady.
Anna didn't waste any time. She stepped in and turned on the neon lights which illuminated the room.
It was a small room that looked similar to a closet. There were holographic platforms that circled the room that had hoisted up multiple items.
Anna knew what she was looking for, so after a few seconds of looking, she immediately went to the right side of the room and spotted a particular object.
It was a sphere that seemed to have many grey clouds embedded in it. It was tinted with a purplish bluish hue and seemed ethereal.
This was the object Anna was looking for, the Dreamscape artifact.
It was low level, like all of the other items in the room, so the security for this room and this specifically wasn't that high.
With no hesitation, she grabbed it and held onto it tightly to ensure that she never let go.
Once that was done, she immediately turned around and had her back facing the man looking at her. She then began to hold both of her hands to her chest. She knelt down and silently prayed to the God of Dreams in the traditional praying stance.
The man watching her stared at her intently, seemingly confused about the whole ordeal.
"O God of Dreams, Imagination and Subconsciousness, you are the God of illusions and dreams, and you are the infinite source that permeates through every subconscious." As she spoke, Anna's voice became more and more ethereal.
"I thank you for this opportunity to make contact with you. Please allow me to use your artifact and channel your power. Please give me the strength to escape this situation." The instant Anna finished her sentence, her body and everything on it had become ethereal. She had felt her surroundings turning hazy and blurry, as if she was entering a dreamlike state.
A calm and illusory surge of power from the spherical object was entering her veins through all openings of her body.
A faint ringing sound was heard, and the color of her body turned a purplish, bluish color.
She became as light as a feather, and her body was floating upwards, as if it wanted to reach the sky.
Anna wanted to think, react and feel, but she couldn't. It was as if her conscious thoughts were being pulled into a separate space of reality. The only thing she could've possibly 'felt' was the fact that she was beginning to lose all corporealness.
After some time, she could have faintly heard the man that was previously watching her screaming that something was off about her. He was saying something along the lines of "The desirable has stolen something and is planning to escape!" but he nor anyone else could do anything about it at the moment. He had reacted too late.
Normally, the effects of this ritual wouldn't be this strong. However, they were in a city that was immersed in the Dreamscape's Domain, so naturally the effects from the ritual in Luna would be stronger than usual.
Soon enough, after Anna had become ethereal, she was beginning to be immersed into something that seemed like a hallucination. After some time, Anna had fully been immersed into an illusory darkness. This was her subconscious state.
In her subconscious state, she was lying flat, as if she was on the ground. She had felt that she had lost all corporealness.
The instant she had felt this, a small piece of the object was inserted from the object into her subconscious.
At this point, Anna had known she could manipulate Ethereon.
And at this point, Anna had known she had escaped, no matter what the people outside could have done.
Sob…sob…sob…
In the midst of the darkness, Anna had heard the faint cries of a teenage girl.
…
In a certain location, where the velvet crescent moon was directly overhead, faintly lighting up the midnight sky.
"I wonder if she ended up going through with it…" A hoarse voice had faintly torn through the air. It sounded as if the person who said it had an arrogant smile on their face.