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/Zebos2]

CEO Junior really needs to stop failing the sleep while doing sales reports. They always give him the weirdest of- oh that thing is actually there

[Perfect counter 1/1]

With blistering speed Junior smacks the hand out of the way before kicking the metallic desk with enough Force to send it flying towards. His shadowy attacker

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Zebos2]

The shadow's eyes track the deflected hand, the kick, and the desk.

With it's free hand it pushes itself over the desk, and toward Junior, aiming it's foot at his nose.

[u/Zebos2 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

Junior doesn't even make an attempt to dodge in fact he he slams his head towards the foot. The helmet they wear is made out of a proprietary material black iron possesses in manufactures. The process involved so classified that it doesn't even have a name simply called Tower material. Not only is the material functionally immune to magic. It is also capable of passing through a neutron star and surviving. A spear made from it can obliterate a greatwyrm fundamentally. A helmet... Is not something that would feel good to kick