Hoi, kid. You're human?"
Eric drew a blank. He felt like his head had short-circuited.
"Hey, did you die?" The priest waved his hands across Eric's face. Seeing Eric not replying, he turned to his partner. "I think he's dead."
'What the hell!!!' Eric's mind was in turmoil.
'Did this guy just slap a phantom beast to death? That monster almost decimated me and the abomination. Three years in this hell, and I've not once seen one monster stronger than a phantom beast. Who are these guys?'
"Eric..."
The priest in black turned his head to look at Eric. "Hm?" he asked.
"My name is Eric."
"You even have a name. I guess you really are human."
"Ah!" Eric flinched. The White priest that was seated on the tree had somehow teleported behind him. He looked at Eric with a curious gaze before he started walking around him, seemingly inspecting him.
"Who are you guys?" Eric asked.
The white-haired one stopped and looked him straight in his eye. "We're your uncles. Stop asking dumb questions."
"Yes, sir," Eric replied. Silently assigning the white-haired priest the name 'White' and the black-haired one the name 'Black' in his mind. Uncreative? Yeah, he didn't care.
"How did you get into dreamscape?" Black asked.
'Dreamscape? Is that what this world is called? If that's the case, does that mean I can go back?'
"I don't know how I got here."
"You don't?"
"No, I slept, and I woke up here."
Black stared piercingly at Eric. "You seem pretty relaxed about that; most would be panicking by now."
"Well, it's been 3 years. I've had time to think about it—"
Shhhiinnngg!!!
Eric froze in front of the large broadsword underneath his chin. The sword was almost as tall as him. He traced the hand holding it and landed on Black's face.
"Wha- what!!" He stammered.
"Three years. You've been here for three years, and you expect me to believe that?"
"I really have been here for three yea—"
Cut!
Blood slowly dripped from Eric's neck. 'This guy is really trying to kill me.'
"I don't like lies, kid. The monsters in this part of the dreamscape are relatively weak, but not for the likes of you. There's no way you survived here by yourself. The only reason I'm not cutting your head off right now is because I still genuinely think you could be human. Choose your next words wisely. They would decide if your head remains connected to your head or not."
Eric paused. 'Should I tell him about the changes in my body? No, he already thinks I'm a monster. Telling him I can regenerate is just digging my own grave.'
Eric looked into Black's eyes. "Whenever I encounter a monster, as long as I'm not killed right away. I always outrun them."
Eric could hear his heart beating wildly in his chest.
"Hm... Alright," Black said and removed the broadsword from Eric's neck, raising it in the air. Eric breathed a sigh of relief but suddenly panicked as he remembered something. The cut on his neck suddenly healed itself at a rapid pace right in front of the two priests!
All of Eric's senses suddenly screamed as he heard the black-haired priest's deep voice.
"Run, kid... As of this moment, I'm your monster."
Eric looked up at the priest in horror. Coming down on him was the large broadsword, and on the priest's face was a smile.
Eric didn't know why but he thought, 'that smile is really beautiful.'
Boom!!!
Despite the fear rooting him to the ground. Eric managed to jump to the side just in time, barely avoiding the sword. As soon as he managed to stabilize himself, he got up and sprinted away without even looking back.
Black pulled his sword from the ground and, like a black bolt, zoomed after Eric.
'Shit! I completely forgot about the regeneration. Ignoring the ridiculous strength and the huge sword that appeared out of nowhere, those guys and their dressing—it's obviously from my world. They might've had a way to go back. Never did I think I'll be so annoyed that I could heal.' Eric thought as he dashed through the forest.
"Hoi hoi, I thought you were supposed to be fast?!"
Eric looked up and saw Black flying down from a tree branch, swinging his huge five-foot sword.
'He caught up to me?'
Boom!!!
Eric dragged his bloodied body across the floor; his legs and one of his arms were broken. Using his remaining arm, he dragged his body across the floor. The sound of footsteps echoed behind him.
"I guess you lied about being able to run fast. Did you forget about the fact that you could regenerate? You're a pretty intelligent monster, seeing as you came up with such a good lie. At the end of the day, you're still a monster."
"Monster? ...You're the real monster here." Eric, having his legs completely healed, stood up and faced the priest.
"In my three years in this hell, not once have I seen or heard anything that led me to believe humans have ever been to this world. Then you and the other guy show up. You know, when I first laid eyes on you, I was so overwhelmed by the sight of humans again that I didn't pause to think. I suppose I should thank you for trying to kill me—it made me remember a certain monster. That monster could transform its body at will. That same monster also called me a humanoid monster. I guess there are some monsters that have human forms."
The smile on Black's face disappeared. "What are you getting at?"
Eric pointed to him and said, "Three years here. Only the phantom beasts have ever managed to catch up to me. And over the years I lured different monsters to that lake, and not one time did the same type of phantom beast come out of it. I know they can come in different forms... such as humans." Eric paused, looking at Black. Then continued.
"I guess only phantom beasts can kill another phantom beast."
"Are you implying that I'm a monster?" Black asked.
"You tell me. Superhuman strength and speed and an unwarranted reason for killing. A monster once told me... That's a monster attitude right there."
'Dammit, why am I quoting that abomination?' Eric thought.
"I'm not a monster," Black said.
"Really now? You claim I am the monster, but look at me shaking in fear because of you. The last time I checked, the monsters are the ones you're afraid of. If I'm a monster... then you're a demon."
Eric watched the priest's countenance change as he said that. Suddenly the air felt heavy; Eric instantly fell to his knees, gasping for breath. The aura around the priest had changed completely. He started walking towards Eric, dragging his broadsword behind him.
"You dare compare me to a demon? ... A demon!!"
"You compare me to such evil and vile creatures?!"
"Audacious!!!"
Black stopped in front of Eric and raised his sword.
"I'll exorcise you, vile creature!" The sword came down at full speed.
'Is this it? Am I going to die like this? Well, this life wasn't all that great anyway. If there is a third life... I really don't want it.'
Clang!!
The heavy sound of metal hitting metal echoed across the forest. The heavy atmosphere relaxed instantly.
"What are you doing?" Black asked.
Holding the huge sword in place with his bare hand was the white-haired priest. He stood in front of Eric.
"The kid is corrupted," White said.
"Hm?"
"He said he stayed here for three years. I guess the environment corrupted him; that's why he feels like a monster. Well, if he's already corrupted, I guess it's not inaccurate to call him a monster."
"Then why has he not lost his sanity or his human appearance?" Black asked, putting his sword into the ground.
"Ah, brother... You were so enraged by the fact that he called you a demon, you didn't even notice." White moved out of Eric's front, letting Black have a good view of him.
Eric was crouched on the floor gasping for breath. Out of his body a black-like fog was oozing out; part of the fog had begun morphing into hard and sharp edges. The fog soon went back into Eric's body. Black narrowed his eyes as he saw it.
"Reaper?" he asked.
"I guess. One thing for sure, though, he was about to attack you. I guess now we know how he survived three years and did not fall to the corruption."
White looked at Eric, who was still gasping for breath. "Looks like he doesn't even know."
"I almost killed an innocent kid."
Black walked up to Eric and crouched beside him. "I guess you're not a monster."
"Tha... that's what... I've been try..ing to tell you. Wh...while you w...were trying to ki...kill me." Eric said amidst gasps.
"I'll apologize later. You said you've been here for three years? You want to go home?"
Eric looked at the black-haired priest and nodded. The priest carried Eric and placed him on his shoulder. As they moved, Eric muttered. "I've still not forgotten that you almost killed me."
"Alright, go to sleep." Black hit Eric, knocking him unconscious.
-------------------
Eric opened his eyes, feeling sore all over.
"Argh, that stupid priest—" Eric paused. Over the years, whenever he woke up, he was greeted by tree leaves, monster faces, or the sky. Yet right now Eric was looking at a ceiling with lights. Eric sprang up. He felt something soft beneath him. Looking down, he saw a bed with white linen. To the side was a window; Eric could hear the sound and horn of cars—the norms of traffic. He felt something wet roll down his cheeks from his eyes.
The door to his room suddenly opened. A deafening scream pierced through the air of the hospital.
After three years. Eric awoke from a coma.