Master Of None

Fog. That was all Walker could see as his eyes adjusted. A plane of fog covering dark green grasses for all the eye could see. ”Welcome.” The voice echoed through the fog. Walker could only spin around realizing that the others were all standing in the same situation as him.

”Where are we?” The grand elemental spirit Luna was floating idly next to Walker. She seemed to be formed again even though Walker knew she had gone dormant.

”Asleep. Just as I am right now.” The calm and cool voice that responded was Luna. She was clearly happy to be there even though her body was not real.

”How can we be asleep?” Ignus was about to start in a rage. This was a foreign place with off mana around them. He also could not feel the fire elemental mana as he normally would be able to.

”Do not worry, you are safe.” The first voice that had welcomed them came again as the fog shifted.

Appearing before them was a golden table full of foods that Walker had never seen. ”Sit with me as I create my dream. Dine with me as we learn together.” The voice came again and no one had any idea what to do. They were all glancing at one another with lost faces.

”Why should we bend to these demands?” Rise was finally opposing what was going on. She felt that no one should be able to tell a dragon what to do.

”I mean you no harm young dragon. I have invited you all here in appreciation. For many long years, I have been plagued by my own greed. By the very thing I thought drove me to protect my values. Unfortunately, I was rewarded for being true to my one single value over all else. It was a curse of my own making.”

The echoing voice came from right in front of them where the golden table had formed. Chairs formed as well, one being was sitting in a chair staring at them with half opened eyes. The face of Greed was much softer. It lacked the demonic features it had gained through its corruption. Through its greed title.

”Please, sit. I will tell you a story of a foolish king trying to build a foolish kingdom.” Su and Remey were holding each other’s hand trying to keep a hold of their worries. It was clear that they feared that Greed would somehow change back and attack them.

”Gil, be ready to fight in any way possible.” Gil just nodded with Walker’s order. Onyx slithered around Walker’s shoulders ready as well.

”No dragon will follow a weakling’s demands. You will kneel and state your-” Terron was cut off as the fog enveloped him. He was gone in the next instant. Instead, he was able to be seen standing in the field far away from where they are now.

”Just because you are within my dream does not mean I will allow you to be rude. That is not something I shall tolerate since I have properly returned. And little dragons, you are the youngest of the beings here that are not elemental spirits. However, I am older than most.” The weight of the situation finally fell on them.

”Our minds are here and that’s all. Correct?” Since Walker was able to discern this fully he was prepared to try and learn a skill to resist.

”You are correct. This is my dream. I invited you with the sands of slumber that made up part of my body. It has been too long since the sands covered me and I lost my abilities. Since I locked them away out of fear that they would be taken.”

”I also must apologize. A water spirit such as yourself spent a lot to free me from my self made curse. I even made the world forget you for some time. It was my grave mistake. I hope to properly atone for that.” There was genuine sadness in Greed’s voice as he looked at Luna.

”All must return to the flow of nature. You deserved to be free and return. It is a title the world gave you but the world allowed me to find you. That means you are meant to return to the flow pure of your sin. Pure of your past foolishness.” There seemed to be a warm breeze as Luna said this.

”Let’s sit.” Walker made the first move. Ignus, Rise, Current, and Ventus were the only ones that remained standing.

”It is up to you.” Greed waved a hand and the fog around them swirled in to a rough landscape. One that had only dried grasses and mountains. ”When I was born I found nothing. I had nothing. No power. I could only dream of having more. Therefore, I slept. That was my first foolish mistake.”

The fog changed again in to many monsters being defeated and taken. The great magics used and radiant weapons showcasing power. ”These dreams were all I had in that wasteland. I wanted them and I gave in to that desire. By the time I developed battle skills I was putting entire hoards of monsters to slumber. Defeating their minds and enslaving them while gathering everything I could.”

”I absolutely needed them to make my dreams reality. I no longer desired just one thing but all my dreams to be reality. That was my second foolish mistake. The third came when I found other demons. Where I do not know my birth, they came from elsewhere. I do not know their history but I copied them. I began to take them to my kingdom.”

”Mine was not the only one, the monsters tried to come near but they failed, I had stopped them and others with wings came. They did not stay. They saw my desire to entrap them and left. I was stolen from. Or so I believed at the time. My final mistake was giving in to my values. The value that I needed to own the world to be able to achieve my dreams. That Was the day I received the Greed title. My personal curse.”

”From then I was not me. I was no longer a dream walker. I was a curse upon the lands. I stole from all and made it mine. I changed forms. I even took pain. I took it all as my own. Bolstered my madness. That was until the winged race returned. They came with many and used mana I was unable to steal fast enough.”

”Hundreds of them fell to my greed. Those that did not chain me up and dropped me in a hole. I was trapped until I felt a hand breaking away the stone that covered me. From there…I was worse than before.” The feeling around them was becoming darker. Almost as if the dream would become a nightmare at any moment.

”From there you became a general of the demon lord. Followed his will and helped form a kingdom under him. You owned him and let him do the work for you so that you could revel in your possessions. Then you came to take another city. And I sealed you again.” Walker finished what greed had been saying. He felt that he had attributed to what had come to be.

”Yes, but the water found me. I accepted every ounce of that purification. My mind had been somewhat found during the second sealing. I am unsure why but the world was whispering to me. Asking to return the dreams I had taken. I accepted.” the world seemed to interfere more than any of them expected. Especially in the case of Greed.

”Please look at me, this is who I truly am. For what I have done, I do not expect you to accept me. But for now, you may call me sandman, the dream walker. The one that creates fantasy. The one that lives within the eternal slumbering woods. Born of peace and hope.”

The titles that came out were not just titles. They were descriptions of who this dream walker was. Reasons that he had for being. It was a very big part of who Sandman was.

”You are a lot more than Greed. You are welcome to atone in Genesis as long as you can promise no harm. Promise that you will forsake Greed forever. Become the opposite. Become someone to look up to.” Walker knew this was a dangerous offer to someone who had fallen in too easily before. But everyone deserved a chance at redemption.

”For that, I will be grateful. I never thought my mind would return and I would be able to look at the world through my dreams yet again. I am already blessed with too much.” The table was silent as everyone began to absorb what they had heard.

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