The trio stood still, their nerves screaming at them to run but their feet incapable of the feat.
And so they remained inept, confined to vibration like trees.
The female nightmare, too, remained in the black river. However, she now stood on top of it. To a person new on site, they would make her out to be a typical lady whose not only pulchritudinous but demure in nature too. No one would ever tell that she, a couple of minutes ago, butchered another.
She continued to caress her swelling, and seconds later started humming a soft harmonic song.
Its tone and pitch eerily made the tense situation serene. The clouds seemed to open up, bringing forth a magnificent radiant light that shone on her being.
With her flowing black hair and calm demeanor, the scene was picturesque!
The trio, at the sight, stopped their quivering and their bodies calmed. The old man, without his will, extended his hand and took a step forward.
Tap! Tap! Splash!
His brain could not understand what was going on; he was literally walking to sudden death and with the wrong expression… a wide Cheshire smile!
Splash! Splash! Splash!
He swam towards the nightmare and, upon reaching, saw her pale hand reaching out to him, "offering to help him out of the waters."
"With a smile," he took the offer and was pulled out effortlessly. His feet could also now stand on the waters.
He silently cried as his "gleaming eyes" looked at the nightmare up close. His body, not in the least concerned, knelt, and his head moved closer to the swelling, slightly brushing it.
Sounds of mourns could be heard from it. It was as though it confined hundreds of weeping souls that were trying to escape the hellish place.
"You hear him, don't you?" Her voice was soothing to the ears.
He nodded.
She smiled.
"I have helped you grow. Your senses have been heightened, and now it's time for you to help him too." A tear fell from her eye, slowly flowed down the cheeks, and fell on his cheek.
Suddenly, the swelling moved and opened up, revealing a black bottomless void.
It was ethereal and grandiose in a twisted way. In a heartbeat, a black hand covered in a black liquid shot out.
It caught the old man on the neck and, with ease, snapped it. Then it pulled the entire body into the void. Sounds of teeth meeting bones and flesh echoed during the scene.
Right afterwards, the nightmare looked up and instantly a black veil came to be. It, covering a good section of the forest, concealed Full-figured, Shifty, her, and the trees that were now glowing in black.
On the glowing trees a vertical cut appeared. It opened up like an eye, and from it disfigured nightmares clawed out… 1, 2, 4, 15… a lot of them!
With that, the nightmare turned to the remaining two.
'Shit! Shit!' Shifty cursed with a "smile" as he watched Full-figured carefully amble to the river and swim towards the nightmare.
He watched him get devoured in the same manner as the old man.
'Is this God's judgment? Am I paying for my sins? Please give me a chance…' He prayed, half knowing it was futile.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Why would God waste his time saving someone like him? What good impact does his existence bring to the world and to those around him?
'Nothing! My entire life has been nothing but a waste of oxygen and space. I have zero regard for lives of others, not even those close to me… truth be told, somewhere along the line, I stopped respecting my life too. The moment I reached that point was when I truly fell in life.
Shit! But now I value it. As I am inches away from death, I see the beauty of life. Even just sharing one bowl of rice with my family would suffice… anything but this.'
He reached the waters with regrets washing him.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
'I know I'm not a good person. I'm not forgiving like the old man, neither am I like the innocent hardworking kid. But…'
He could almost see the female nightmare.
'I'm asking for a chance. A miracle…'
He saw the nightmare's extended arm.
'…A miracle.'
Crack!
Amid his prayer, a deep rumble echoed, and with it was a bright blue flash outside the veil.
The veil trembled and soon cracked, revealing a being shrouded in stormy clouds.
Eight nightmares screeched and leaped towards the being, their mouths open and hands wildly flaring. However, most of them did not even leave the ground before devastating bolts of lightning hit them and left nothing but scorched earth.
As for those who managed to attain flight… they were pretty unlucky: the being moved in a flash, leaving nothing but blood and minced flesh in his wake.
Seconds later, the being landed with a thud; the dust rose and obscured the body. The disfigured nightmares surrounded him in a circle, but none dared to attack.
"Sickening, sickening. How sickening and weak your kind are. To think that you would dare prey on the weak disgusts me." A manly voice came from the dust.
It was full of rage and disdain; even Shifty, who was smiling, got cold feet. And after a while, he smiled… authentically this time.
His body at the moment started obeying him once more; he lifted his head and looked at the once demure female nightmare appear uncomfortable.
He traced her line of sight, landing on the swirling dust. The dust calmed down, and as the being's image was formed on his retina, Shifty almost cried in a mixture of joy and relief.
His miracle was here.
The Hitter had arrived!