User:Stefaanieli/sandbox

100 years ago in the year 1419, horror struck in Florence, Italy. To many, what started off as a routine night of sleep turned into the cause of their death. People would wake up in the mornings only to find the lifeless corpses of family members still in bed, never awakening from their slumber. The causes of death were always deemed unknown, and for decades, nobody seemed able to draw any conclusion nor give any closure to these families.

Meanwhile, Oneiros, the supernatural hero of our story, was experiencing the same horror and tragedy many in Positano had faced. Although only a young, albeit gifted boy who was 13 years old, the promise of a new day brought him the promise of the rest of his childhood without his mother, who had mysteriously passed away in her sleep. Not long after, his father encountered the same fate. Being an intelligent boy, he quickly put the pieces together and found the root of all these mysterious deaths. Some previously unknown entities had seemingly “possessed” his parents, leading to their eventual deaths.

In 1534, Robert Colombo II, one with a similar background story as Oneiros, came to be the host for these entities. Robert suffered a similar fate as Oneiros, with both of his parents dying in the same night from these entities. Oneiros and Robert encounter many parallels in their storyline, although this is unbeknownst to Robert but acknowledged by Oneiros, who is keeping a low profile. Ever since the death of Robert’s parents, he was overcome by loneliness, and oftentimes, life seemed meaningless. He had money and a beautiful Renaissance home, but all of that meant nothing when he felt utterly alone with each passing day. To him, his life was at rock bottom already, but he didn’t know that it was only going to get worse.

The entities that had previously haunted Oneiros’ and Robert’s parents had located Robert and deemed him their new “subject of interest”. The nightmares started on a regular Thursday night, and were soon dismissed by Robert as “the occasional nightmare that everyone encounters”. However, Friday night came and the nightmares persisted. Then came Saturday night, Sunday night, and then Monday night. All three nights passed and the same bleak fate greeted him in his sleep. Soon, the consistent nightmares instilled a fear of going to sleep. His eyes and his brain were in constant battle as they went head to head—his brain stopping him from passing into a slumber but his eyes giving in. Eventually, on Tuesday night, Robert’s head lolled and eyelids closed. What he didn’t realise was that this was the final night before the entities would inevitably take his life.

Fortunately for Robert, Oneiros has been monitoring his entire situation and his recent battle with “chronic nightmares”. On Robert’s supposed final night, Oneiros had finally acquired enough energy and information to defeat the entities haunting Robert. That night, Oneiros crossed into Robert’s dream, fully aware that the entities would strike and take Robert’s last breath. As Robert entered the nightmare the entities had prepared for him, he saw his parents. The nightmare started off on a good note, depicting a scene where Robert was strawberry-picking with his parents, a beloved tradition they had upheld since he was barely a toddler. It was sweet, reminiscent, pleasant. The dream transitioned within the blink of an eye. Suddenly, they were in their family dining room and Robert was but a young child. Their former butler, Charles, who had served Robert and his family until the day his parents passed away, strode out of the kitchen, silver platters atop his palm. It was his father’s birthday, given the roast chicken dinner that they had every year as part of his birthday tradition. All was good. And then the dream transitioned once again.

This time, however, Robert was transported into his parents’ old bedroom. He tentatively tiptoed across the connecting study, only footsteps away from his parents’ bed. Out of nowhere, a blood-curdling scream pierced his soul. He quickened his footsteps, only to see an exact replication of what he had witnessed the night his parents were taken away from him. The entities were pulling seemingly red specks out of his parents’ minds as they shrieked and struggled in their sleep, unable to stop their souls from being pulled out of their very bodies.

(In real life) Robert’s breathing became heavy in sporadic bursts, although still asleep. He twisted and turned, unable to keep still. Tears rapidly slid down his clammy face. An audible gasp slipped from his mouth, his terror apparent.

(In the dream) Everything inside Robert was collapsing. He shuddered, unable to bring himself to do anything. It was quite literally deja vu. Ugly sobs escaped from him as he kneeled on the cold, stone floor, utterly helpless. That is, until a figure dressed in all black zoomed across his vision and approached the entities. Oneiros, determined to fulfill his quest, had come into Robert’s nightmare. It was terrifying for him as well, since he had witnessed a similar situation when his father was ruthlessly murdered by the entities. However, he maintained his courage and commanded, “Drop your soul-sucking fingers, Sham and Tollmon! I know who you are!”

The entities, upon hearing their names, turned towards Oneiros, their eyes glowing in an ominous, crimson shade. They recognised him, as they had seen him about 100 years ago whilst killing his father.

Oneiros, with the years and years he had spent researching these entities, knew they were vulnerable to sharp objects. He drew two silver daggers from his boots, ready to take the entities head-on. He slashed around in clear, calculated motions, and penetrated Tollmon, who was visibly slower. Then, he edged towards Sham, positioning his daggers in front of him. Sham was fast, but Oneiros was faster. After all, he had spent a century preparing for this. Two precise attempts from Oneiros and Sham was fully penetrated by both daggers. With that, Tollmon and Sham were banished into oblivion, back to the Entity Realm that they had come from. The daggers that Oneiros used to kill the entities were still fully impaled in Tollmon and Sham, as that was the only guaranteed way to close the crack in the Entity Realm that allowed these entities to gain access to Earth.

(In real life) Robert’s muscles relaxed and his breathing slowed, the nightmare clearly over. Now, his dream reverted back to the peaceful, calming scenarios they once were and all was good in Florence.