Re:Beginning: A Job-Filled Reincarnation
Crimster
Chapter 15: Re:Beginning: A Job-Filled Reincarnation | Chapter Fifteen: When the Book of Wisdom Closes and What Happens When A Man Crumbles
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Re:Beginning: A Job-Filled Reincarnation | Chapter Fifteen: When the Book of Wisdom Closes and What Happens When A Man Crumbles
I first smelt the fresh earth, then, a moment later, smoke. I only opened my eyes when the nauseating scent of blood and burning corpses invaded my nostrils.
There infront of me was a body-ridden battlefield of rolling hills as far as the eye could see. Slain soldiers lay on top of the grass. Fires were spread indiscriminately all over. Some men were impaled with spears, others cut entirely in half, and some were smashed into a paste. Some even screamed for help and cried in pain; they were the unlucky ones who had lived through whatever battle had occurred here. I felt like vomiting just looking at the scene infront of me, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to.
The races of the corpses varied, but there was one stark contrast I could make. Most were human, and the other half were demons and beasts. This place looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It had to be somewhere in Asura, but why was there a battlefield here?
"Come at me, you bastard!" In the distance, I could hear shouting. A second later, the ground I stood on shook. There was fighting somewhere nearby, and it wasn't of the scale anyone would scoff at. A hill blocked my vision, only a short walk from where I stood. That was where the shouting had originated from. My legs started moving before I could tell them otherwise. I dragged myself through the piles of bodies. Each footstep I took seemed to squelch. If it was from the blood or mud, I couldn't tell. I didn't even think about that.
"Watch your flank!" A different voice shouted out from behind the land that obstructed my view. I heard a clash of weapons. The sound that resounded was like someone hit a boulder with a hammer. It was deafening, but I couldn't help but realize that I recognized that last voice. It sounded so familiar I could all but name its owner.
"This is…" At that moment, I knew where I found myself was a nightmare. This wasn't anything I had seen in my life. I had never been to a war as horrifying as this one. I participated in the war in Shirone, but this wasn't Shirone. Nor was that war as bloody and brutal as the one I stood in the middle of. This place I stood was somewhere I had been before, but I can't recall when.
This was a nightmare, but it felt different from those other times. This felt real. Like I was reliving something that I couldn't have seen. That I couldn't have known.
"Sieg!" A woman's voice called out, and I felt my heart drop. That name made my body freeze in place. Everything clicked in my head at that moment. I knew where and why I was standing here on this battlefield. I knew what was happening over that hill.
Not even a moment later, after that voice called out, I heard a sound I knew. It was odd that I knew the sound. Not many should know what that sound was, but I had almost died the same way. So I knew what it sounded like—the sound of someone being run through.
The sick, unbearable sound of someone's life being taken.
"Mother!" The words resounded twice in two differing voices—one a girl, and the other a deeper tone of a man's voice.
The sound of the battle stopped in that moment. All sounds in the world seemed to cease. The only thing I could hear now was the panicking of the people I couldn't see. Without my wanting to, my legs started to move again.
"Please," I begged myself. "Please, just don't go… Don't go over the hill…" I knew what was over there, and I didn't want to see it. "I'm begging you!" My prayers fell on deaf ears as my body didn't listen, and soon, my vision, once blocked by a hill, was clear to see all that lay behind it.
I saw everyone then. I knew them—most of them...
A tall, muscular man with green hair held a white spear close to his body. The one beside him was a woman holding a similar spear with long green hair flowing over her shoulders. Both of them had prominent red gems embedded into their foreheads. A young-looking boy with short black hair held a familiar hefty-looking sword in both hands. Next to him, a slightly older man with long black hair had a firm grip on the pole in his hands. A man with fierce golden eyes, long white hair, and regal-looking armor stayed rooted to where he stood beside them.
A ways away, a swordswoman with flowing red hair stood overlooking four others. An older-looking man with disheveled green hair with a sword beside him with mysterious characteristics. A young-looking teenager with blue hair held onto a staff I was all too familiar with. They crouched and held their hands to another person lying flat on the ground. The green hue of healing magic was prevalent.
A woman with long elven ears and white hair clutched the person lying on the ground close to her. While painted in distress, her face was still as breathtaking as I remembered. Looking at her would typically make my heart feel at ease, but that wasn't the case now.
The woman the three surrounded wore a robe I knew. She held a staff loosely in her palm that I could never forget. She had a hat laid beside her that I could use to discern her in a crowd immediately. I realize now that she never changed despite all the years I spent apart from her. She even still had her hair pulled into two long braids, albeit they were a little longer now.
Lying on the ground, surrounded by Sylphiette, Lara, and Sieg. Was Roxy with a gaping hole through the right side of her chest. It was big enough that her right arm was gone along with it.
Ruijerd, Luicelia, Alek, Sándor, Perugius, Ferris, Sieg, Lara, and Sylphie wore shock, horror, and grieved expressions.
I didn't know what to think… I don't think I could at that moment.
"M-Mother! J-Just st-stay with us." Sieg was crying over Roxy. The girl's chest rose and fell in slow motion. Even after all these years, and his age seemingly finally catching up to him, Sieg was as recognizable as ever.
"Mother…please j-just hold on." Lara's head was pointed downward. Her face was scrunching up as she focused on her casting. She was trying her absolute best to hold in her tears. Of course, it didn't matter much when they were already falling.
Roxy's chest rose. "It doesn't ma-matter how many healing spells you use on me. I-It looks like this is where it ends for me." Her breath hitched between her speaking. "Only Orsted or Rudy could heal me n-now." Her breathing was ragged. It was surprising enough that she could talk at all. My feet carried my body towards them, and I fell beside Roxy.
I was forced to look at her.
Heavy bags formed under her eyes. No doubt from the blood loss. The only reason she's still alive is the constant healing spells being applied to her, no doubt. She was going to die, no matter what anyone did here. I couldn't bear to look at it, but no matter how hard I tried, my head wouldn't move. My only saving grace was that my vision quickly blurred with tears.
"I-If only I was as strong as Father. This wouldn't have happened." Sieghart bit down on his dry lips, and blood trickled down his chin. "I couldn't even do the one thing he asked me." He was in pain and not the physical kind. Not that any of them didn't have wounds that covered their bodies. No, this pain went much deeper than any physical wound could.
And it was because of me.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Sieg." I tried to grab him, but they couldn't see me. Even if I held them, they didn't know I was here.
I hadn't thought about it back then when I died. Going out with cool one-liners felt right when I was dying on that bed. I didn't realize it then, but now I know. I cursed my son on my deathbed without even knowing it.
I asked him to protect his mothers, but that statement only came back to hurt him even more—more than I ever intended.
"Stop that, Sieg." Sylphie's voice remained firm despite her strained face from holding her emotions. She was still so strong even after all of these years.
No, of course she was. She was the same Sylphiette who dragged me out of my depression and cured me. She was always this strong.
"He's right, though…" Lara spoke in a hushed tone. "If we were stronger, this wouldn't need to—"
"A parent must protect their child—" Roxy's voice cut through the three. Sieg and Lara's expressions saddened. "Rudy was always protecting all of us. He never wanted any of us to go near harm's way… He was a sucker for his family, honestly." She giggled at her words and, by doing so, coughed up blood.
My hand found its way onto hers—I knew she didn't feel it. "You two should finish what he started." Her eyes, which always held a sleepy look, had a sense of resolve applied to them in this moment. "Do us proud."
The two who were applying healing nonstop ceased at that moment. Their tears fell, but they didn't bother to stop it.
"We leave her in your care, White-Mama." The green glow resumed from Sylphie's hands as Lara spoke to her.
Lara stood up and wiped the tears from her face. "Let's go, Sieg."
Even with his name being called, her brother didn't move, not even a centimeter. He just kept staring at his dying mother with wide eyes.
"I—I can't—" I could hear footsteps rapidly approaching.
Alek came over and pulled him up to his feet. "Don't say you can't." He spoke in a quiet hiss. His eyes were burning with a mixture of rage and bloodlust. "As long as Laplace stands, you have to keep moving!" Alek pointed his finger away from the group, and I turned my head to follow.
In the distance stood a figure who I could only assume was pondering the sight before him.
My body grew cold at the sight of him. Not because the man infront of me terrified me like he most likely did many others. What scared me was what he was wearing. It was the magic armor. The same one I had worn during my fight against Badigadi. Now, it was being worn and manipulated by the Demon God Laplace.
He was wearing something I had created. That my friends, family, and I had spent so painstakingly long putting together for my sake. The one I entrusted to Lily and now was being used to kill my family.
"Can this just end already?" I felt my heart sink to even greater depths. I looked back to Roxy as I spoke. I didn't want to see it anymore. I couldn't handle just watching anymore. I didn't want to know how this ended. I didn't want to see the woman infront of me die. I didn't want to see this with my eyes.
I was scared of what would become of me after the fact.
"Do you think your father could sleep soundly as that mother fucker wears his armor and kills his friends?! Do you think the Quagmire would stand here and watch people die?! Huh, Sieg?! Didn't I train you to be better?! Aren't you stronger than this?! I know Rudeus was!" Alek was shaking him violently.
My son offered no resistance.
"That's enough, Alek." Sándor's hand came in from behind, holding his son's at bay.
"I'm sure Father would've already figured out a plan… I can't… I'm not as strong as him." Sieg's voice wasn't offering any sympathy towards himself. "I'm not as strong as the Mage King." He looked like he was thoroughly finished. He sounded pitiful at the moment, but I knew I would be inconsolable if this had happened while I was alive.
I wouldn't have fared any better than he had. As soon as Roxy was hurt, I would've fled the battlefield with her in tow. I would've turned tail and run to the farthest reaches of the world to save her. I know I would've because there isn't one person who knows me as well as I do.
"You're stronger than I/he ever was." My words weren't alone. They overlapped with someone's voice. I looked back to Sylphiette. The look on her face was difficult to discern. It looked like she remembered something from long ago.
It was a look of longing.
"Mother?" Sieg's focus was turned towards Sylphie. What was she thinking about? Our time in Buena? The time I showed her weakness? Or something entirely unknown to me that came about after I died?
"When you were born, I was worried about you. You had the same hair I was bullied so ruthlessly for, so I thought you'd only lead the life I would've." She looked at Sieghart. A slight smile on her lips. One of recognition. "Without your father. I wouldn't have been able to live the life I have, but you managed to pave your path. So, at the very least, you're better than I ever was."
"Mother, I—"
"Can you keep the racket down? I want to die at peace at the very least." Roxy's voice was quiet. Her speaking was so soft you could barely discern what she was saying, but I heard her clearly, and Sylphie, sitting beside me, did as well.
Sylphie gave the woman an uneasy smile. "Could you hold on for a little bit longer, please?" Sylphie's facade was slowly but surely crumbling. Her voice was finally threatening to break at any moment. "I-I don't want to be alone yet." Those words struck me harder than I ever thought possible. As Sylphie started crying, I planted my head on Roxy's chest. Even though I was watching, I could still hear her heartbeat and feel her body's heat.
Both were slowly coming to a lull. After all, Roxy wasn't going to make it out of this. The hole in her chest hadn't closed, but the healing was somewhat stopping the bleeding. That didn't change that all three of us were sitting in a pool of Roxy's blood.
"Sylphie…" Roxy's voice broke through the silence again, forcing the woman to hold back her tears. "Thank you."
Their eyes met. I don't know what they could've said to each other then. Or what their gazes conveyed to each other, but Sylphie broke down and sobbed. I knew what must've been shared between the two was deeply emotional. "I'm so happy I met Rudy back then. Because of that, I was able to have a life like this. I was able to start a family. I was able to be a teacher. It was all just one big adventure, yeah…?" Sylphie nodded her head frantically. She didn't try hiding her feelings. She just wanted to let her friend know exactly how she felt before she was gone.
"I'm just so happy." Roxy's mouth upturned into a quivering smile as tears started flowing. "I'm so happy that I fell in love with him. I'm so happy that you accepted me." Sylphie's hands never stopped glowing, even as her sobbing grew louder and her entire body quaked under her feelings.
Roxy's hand reached up to her friend's. Her's were a deathly white as she held onto Sylphie's. "I don't want to die, though." She was scared… She was so afraid. "I want to see the children Rudy gave us grow up… I want to see all of them live their lives." Her crying only worsened.
I watched her face as she said that… I… I wished I didn't.
…I wanted to heal her… I tried to, but my magic wasn't there… I couldn't do anything. All I could do was scream. I could do nothing but cry. I was powerless, pathetic, and weak.
"So please watch over them all, Sylphie. For me… For Eris... For Rudy." Roxy's breaths were growing shallow. "I'm sorry for going ahead of you."
Sylphie nodded back and forth rapidly as if to tell her everything was okay. "I guess I'm going to meet Rudy again then… I'm sure he's as handsome as ever." Her smile became firm on her face.
"I'm jealous, you know. You and Eris get to hog him all to yourselves." The two women shared one last laugh. No one spoke. No one moved. They just watched.
Even Laplace watched.
What was he thinking at this moment? Even though he was feared and our destined enemy, we didn't fight him now. We just waited for one demon girl to die. He must've been so thoroughly confused that he didn't know what to do.
"I'm coming, Rudeus…" These were the last words of Roxy Migurdia, as Orsted told me.
Her face had one of those all-too-rare smiles. It was the same one she had after we married and when she delivered Lara and Lily. I knew that smile as Roxy Migurdia at her happiest.
"I hope you're still waiting for me." A moment of silence was all that remained after. You could practically hear your heartbeat with how quiet it was now.
"R-Roxy?" Sylphie spoke as she shook the woman. Her breathing had stopped, and her eyes had grown dull.
She was still looking up into the sky. I wonder what she was looking for as she did so. Was it an answer to her life? Or maybe it was her finding solace in everything.
I doubt it was any of those… She was probably looking for me…
Roxy Migurdia was dead.
The woman I loved. The woman who helped me so much throughout my life.
A person I worshipped like a god in my strife had now died infront of me.
I broke down. I couldn't bear it anymore. Hearing those words. Her last words. The ones Orsted didn't tell me. I now knew he had told me only a half-truth that day. He told me half of what Roxy's last words were. I understand now why he withheld them. It was for my sake. Because no matter how long Roxy waited for me. I was already gone. I was already living in another world where time had been reset back into the past.
I had left all of them back there in that world.
No matter what, they would never see me again.
Ruijerd stepped beside Sieg at that moment. He grabbed my son's shoulder in a vice-like grip. A dark shadow hung over the warrior as he spoke. "I'll make an opening for you. I'll give my life for this, so don't you dare hesitate." His voice was steeped in anger. Not only was he facing his sworn enemy, but he was now facing the person who had just killed his friend's loved one.
To the Superd warrior, that was an unforgivable crime that should be paid by death.
"Ruijerd Superdia." Perugius's voice was soft but filled with hate for the armored man infront of the group. In a moment of what must've been clarity for the man, he continued—sparing one last glance at Roxy. "Let us die together." His voice was firm, steadfast, and almost unnervingly calm. "For Roxy Migurdia—for my comrades. Let us both die while sending this man to the deepest pits of hell… So that Orsted can finally finish all of this." His golden eyes focused on Sieghart. "Saladin… Do not flinch." His eyes left the boy as he focused back on Laplace.
Sieg's face burned with a white-hot anger as he nodded. "Yeah." His teeth were bared, and his lips barely moved when he spoke.
Alek readied into his stance with the unsealed Kajukuto in hand. "Father?"
"Yep." Sandor slumped into his stance. "Right behind ya."
"Sis?" Sieghart spoke.
"I'm here," Lara responded. "Let's finish this." She breathed in and pointed Aqua Heartia toward Laplace. She glanced at her mother behind her one last time and turned back to face the Demon God. "For Papa."
A moment later, Sieghart jumped forward with everyone on his tail. Everything went white after that. I thought I was waking up from this cruel nightmare finally, but in a moment, everyone was gone. Then I saw him standing there.
The only man I hadn't seen during this fight.
A man clad in a white coat with black fur around the neck. His golden eyes shone through everything like he knew all. Even now, he held that stern grimace he always had.
Ortsed stood there. Not moving a muscle, he looked behind me at Roxy's body. His facial features shifted. Almost as if he was trying to figure out a way to express what he was feeling right now. He seemed to settle on a disheveled frown. One that if anyone else saw him making, they'd scoff at his seeming apathy to what was infront of him. I knew, though. I knew he was feeling such indescribable guilt that he couldn't even form a reaction worthy of such an emotion.
"I'm sorry, Rudeus." He held his head down. He didn't bother to bring his head up. He left it down, resigned in defeat, his voice low and regretful. "I failed you." I don't know why I reached out to him then. All I knew was that I was already moving before I could stop myself.
I blinked at that moment and felt something pass through my hand that I had outstretched. It was a sick feeling, and whatever it was, it made an awful sound. When I opened my eyes, Orsted was gone. The only people that were here were myself and Roxy.
My hand was through her torso. My bulky armored hand had torn through her with absolutely no effort. I was wearing the magic armor. The same one Laplace was wearing only a short time before.
The only thing I could look at was her eyes… The way she looked at me with those eyes.
Oh, god—those eyes.
"Rudy?" Her expression was horrid as blood dripped down out of her mouth. Hurriedly, I slumped down and pulled my hand out of her. I cradled her body as we fell to the ground together. I tried healing her, but it wasn't doing anything. No matter how much mana I put into her body, it was going nowhere and doing nothing. I had never learned how to use healing magic without the incantations. I could never do it. I could never save her even if I wanted to.
Now, Roxy was dying in my hands. The one thing I relied on the most in this world was utterly useless. My magic was doing absolutely nothing.
The well of emotions I had was far too much to bear. "Please, Roxy. J-Just live. Please, please, please. Just… J-Just… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry… I-I'm s-sorry." My whimpering continued into a muffled mess of pitiful drivel.
But even then, she calmly placed her hand on the armor, leaving a handprint of blood on its hard stone surface.
"I love you, Rudy." Her lips were pulled up into a smile that didn't fade. She still held the same smile she had when she died. "I'm sorry you had to wait so long." Even as she died in my arms, as her body went limp and lost its life, she never lost that smile. Even when she died, she lived exactly as she wanted.
She never stopped loving me.
Everything went white around me the next moment, and I woke up in a cold sweat with tears in my eyes…
I didn't want to wake up from that…
I never wanted to see what I had just witnessed. I'd do anything to go back there. To redo everything that had been done. I thought I left my life without any regrets. Even as the Man-God mocked me and told me he'd tear everything I built down, I didn't care. I left it all to them.
I was wrong for doing that. I had regrets now. I had so many regrets that I couldn't bear to hold.
…I wanted to die…
Paul knocked on the door. There wasn't a response, so he figured entering would be fine. It was early, after all. He doubted either would be awake at this time of the morning.
Opening the door, he was met with a quiet room. On the bed in the corner of the room were both Sylphiette and Rudeus sleeping soundly beside each other. If Paul didn't know his son any better, he would've thought the boy would've taken advantage of this situation, but he was pretty tame compared to the man when he was his age.
"So, still asleep, huh?" At Paul's hushed words, the little girl started to stir, and in a moment, her eyes opened.
She propped herself up in a daze and rubbed her eyes. "Lord Paul? What're you—" She looked beside her and, in an instant, stopped speaking. When she turned back to face him, her face was beet red.
You know you're not making it any less apparent, little Sylphie. She waved her hands infront of her face and opened her mouth to speak. No doubt she would've screamed something like, "It's not what it looks like!" or "I swear it was just a one-time thing!" Of course, the last one wasn't something the little girl would know, but Paul liked to think about the scene's hilarity anyway.
Instead of letting her voice her concerns, Paul simply put a finger to his mouth. "Better be quiet. He's still sleeping."
Her head turned back to the boy, and she nodded in agreement. She moved her hand toward his face and brushed his hair away. Paul could see a smile spread across her lips as she did so. This is like illegally cute to look at, right? How does my son manage to sideline a girl like this? Hell, I'm sure I would've been broken by day one… Well, she's not my type, so—stop that, Paul! This is your son's love life. Not your own. He reprimanded his conscience as he looked at the girl.
"Want to go down and get breakfast ready?" The girl's ears twitched as she turned back toward him and nodded. She hopped off the bed, and after a moment, the two managed to leave without disturbing the other room's resident.
"Wouldn't it be better to wake Rudy up?" The little girl questioned the man as they descended the stairs.
"Nah, he needs some good rest now and then." It wasn't usual for him to stay asleep this long most of the time, but he was still a growing kid, so Paul figured it wouldn't be wrong to let him get a few extra hours of shut-eye. After all, he stayed up late last night talking to his friend.
"Lord Paul—" The girl started, but Paul quickly interjected.
"Just call me Paul. I'd grow pretty conceited if a Water-Saint Magician kept calling out to me with such respect."
The girl gave him a strange look as she opened and closed her mouth. "Mister Paul." She reiterated. She seemed dead set on addressing her friend's father by some honorific.
"Whatever floats your boat." The man casually blew off her resistance.
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you want me to stay over…? It's not like I thought it was an inconvenience or anything like that, though." She hurriedly clarified what she said. More often than not, Sylphie spoke a lot more fluently nowadays. It felt like Paul was talking to an adult some of the time.
He also had the same issue whenever he spoke to his son. So, at this point, Paul was an expert at dealing with odd children. "Is it that you're worried about him?"
"I guess you could say that. You know how Rudy gets, right?"
"His nightmares, you mean?"
"Yeah, he tended to have them whenever something with Roxy popped up. So I figured her leaving would do something—guess I was just paranoid." Paul rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the girl.
"I think that's really kind of you, Mister Paul."
"Well, I try to be his dad occasionally." A short chuckle escaped his throat as he spoke.
At that moment, Paul's loving wife came up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "And you suck at that." Her tone had adopted a playful manner as she spoke to her husband.
"Geez, that's cruel, don't you think? I do my best, you know?" She let go of him a second later and briefly kissed him. Paul felt half compelled to pull her back to him, but Sylphie was right infront of them, so he figured he'd hold off. It's best not to corrupt the poor girl any more than she would be if she ever married his son.
"C'mon, let's make breakfast, Sylphie!" Zenith pounced on the little girl and dragged her off to the kitchen.
Paul looked at the scene infront of him as he watched his wife drag his friend's daughter quickly into the kitchen as she put her to work. Lilia was already quietly prepping, but the other two did their best not to get in the way or be a brother.
It was a regular day in Buena. It seemed everything was going to be just alright. "Haah—maybe it was all just in my head—"
It was in the middle of his sentence that he heard it. It was quiet, but even so, they heard it—all of them.
There was no mistaking that sound. It was coming from upstairs, and there was no mistaking the sounds they heard. Upstairs, the sound of sobbing could be heard. Everyone knew who. After all, everyone in the house except one person was downstairs.
Paul didn't know why, but he also felt like crying at that moment. He looked at his wife, and she looked back. Both of their faces were contorted into worry. He looked at Sylphie, and he saw her with a sad frown. Lilia, too, had her face turned into one of worry.
He needed to do something—anything. "I'm going up—" The sounds stopped then.
Everything and everyone was as quiet as a mouse at that moment. The sound of footsteps was heard plain as day. They moved from his room into the hall and onto the stairs. No one moved, and no one spoke. All they did was watch as he slowly appeared from the stairwell.
When Paul saw him, he knew something was wrong. His posture was straight, his stride uncaring as he descended the stairs. Usually, you wouldn't think anything was wrong, but that wasn't how the boy carried himself.
Something had happened, and Paul knew he wasn't there for it—no, he was. He was just up there, after all. Nothing seemed wrong, but obviously, something was.
Paul was just too blind to see it.
"Mornin', what's for breakfast?" His eyes told his father all he needed to know.
They were different from the bright-eyed boy he knew as his son. The eyes he had now didn't feel like his at all. They held little emotion. Paul had seen these eyes before. The same ones that had given up on life. He had seen it more than once in his line of work. The eyes of someone who lost a loved one so dear that the person couldn't help but think, " What else is there for me to do?"
His son had those same eyes.
Paul looked down at his feet. Then, over to Zenith. She looked like she was about to cry just looking at him. That was just how much his demeanor affected them. She noticed the appearance, too, but they could do nothing now. Sylphie held her worried look but made no effort to move.
Paul realized at that moment that whichever Rudeus went to bed last night stayed asleep.
They didn't realize it then, but a vital part of Rudeus died that winter, and they had no way of getting it back.
Notes:
Author's Note: Here we are. We've finally arrived at chapter fifteen. My biased favorite chapter of what I have written so far. Kind of fucked up, right? I don't know what I was thinking when I was writing this, but I just couldn't stop. Funnily enough, I had the idea for this specific chapter long before the other nightmare sequences. You can kind of think about them as a precursor to this one in ways. But anyway, enough about my personal preference. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about the chapter and their opinions. Feel free to tear me a new one if it's bad.
As always, I appreciate all of the feedback.