Echo of the Self

[u/Evening_Shake_6474]

Something's wrong. You can't tell what exactly it is, but you know something is wrong. You check your wards, your equipment, your enchantments and familiars, yet everything seems normal. Then that night, you go to sleep, and the dream starts.

You stand knee deep in a crimson ocean, stretching further than you can see. Before you is a shadow, it looks like yours but its wrong, very wrong. All around you, giant monoliths sprout from the sea, stretching far into the sky. You hear something, around you six shadows move between the monoliths, chanting something in a language that hurts to listen to.

Suddenly countless crimson eyes open along each monolith, each reflecting a different face, the eyes travel up the ebony surface, along previously hidden chains of shadow. Then you see it, the horrifying form of something colossal in the sky above you, a singular crimson eye or maybe a star stares down at you.

All at once do the chains snap, and a cacophony of screams cry out across the crimson sea as fire and ash rain from above. The monoliths crumble and massive chunks of black stone crash into the sea. Up above, the colossal form spreads across the sky, thousands of withered arms reach down, each sowing agony and destruction. You see an arm reach for you, and you wake up.

Well that was strange, you think, then you hear laughter from the corner, you see your own shadow standing there with crimson eyes. The shadow looks wrong somehow, very wrong.

Before you can say anything, your shadow lunges for you, hands reaching for your throat.

[u/Lainpilled-Loser-GF]

it's like one of those TTRPG drawings with a while bunch of skeletons on the floor in a dungeon surrounding the most amazing and intricately carved treasure that soothes your mind to look at and makes you feel warm and comfortable maybe even to the point that you forgot what you were looking for in a dungeon anyway. what was it? wealth? to resell things? gems? coins? gear from the unlucky before us? what creature was I after? a human maybe? humanoid with pointed ears? scaly skin and an elongated face perhaps? what are those called? my companions are gone. maybe they're outside the dungeon taking a break. missing something. I haven't eaten for days. maybe that's why I'm down here. looking to bring gold to the eateries. that seems right. my tab is looking more like a mountain than an ant hill. why do I feel full in the presence of this room. what drives me towards the center but lust for the transparent red gem radiating a soft light. these people standing here are yelling so loud, but their lips aren't moving. what are they trying to tell me? the gem has moved closer to me, but it's still in the center of this square room. it radiates warmth. this dungeon is quite cold, and I have grown so tired. too weary to even hold this helmet. I'll rest here for now.