☽ ⚜ Erosvent's Pov ⚜ ☾

He felt the moment she was ripped from him, her whispered words abruptly cut off and he was utterly dumbfounded. What in the world was going on? Confused he looked down at the woman that was still in his arms. She was fine, still alive and breathing but there was no denying what he felt. The bond he shared with her broke in an instant. They hadn't perfumed the ritual yet so it didn't cause him to panic but she had been here. The real version of her, her present self, not this shy little girl that was before him now... and what had it been that she had said, he was dreaming?

Dreamwalking had never been something he'd experienced before, so he had thought he had just been deep in his consciousness reliving memories.

How wrong he had been.

He cursed to himself. This was far more serious than he had first anticipated.

"Who's controlling this space!?" He demanded. "Show yourself!"

Everything around him was frozen in place, his loud booming voice echoing as though he were in an empty endless space. He stood, leaving Eliana's frozen form to float in mid-air as though unnaturally suspended by invisible threads.

Giving whatever entity might be around a chance to respond, he waited for a moment. A still and calm atmosphere surrounded him. Looking around he couldn't spot anything out of place within the memory.

With no indication that they would show themselves his only option was to force their hand. His knowledge of dreams was limited but not of memories. He began to move, walking slowly at first in one single direction. His pace intensified as his stride increased step by step. He broke out into a run.

In no time at all, as he expected, the forest around him disappeared entirely opening up into a vast empty space of white. Just as it would when you ventured past what a person's mind could remember, normally it was one of two things. Blinding white stretching as far as the eye could see, like this. Or complete darkness, a black endless abyss that engulfed and consumed everything. Both were equally dangerous and if one didn't know what they were doing or how to get back to the memory they could become lost in a person's mind.

However, this felt different from what he had experienced before. He could quite put his finger on it as his pace finally slowed. His footsteps echoed on the white ground with each step. The sound seemed to cascade from his position and out in all directions, it was rather disorientating. Was it because this was a dream state?

He could only hear it ever so faintly. The first voice was quivering with fear, clearly upset at his attempt at confrontation.

"I SAID SHUT UP! I'M TRYING FOR PEETS SAKE!"

The second was frantic and panic-ridden. Eros smirked. He'd made it to their space. "Ah, now I can hear you."

"Shit! Help me!" The first ordered
"Yes! Take what you need from me." The second seemed like he followed the first without question.

Before he could discern anymore information Eros was blasted with air from out of nowhere. His arms flew in front of his face as he felt as though a sandstorm was pelting him. His body was being forced backwards with an incredible force. He tried to fight against it, attempting to take a step forward, even leaning his body too far forward in opposition. But still, even with his defiance, his feet slid backwards inch by inch.

He let out a grunt as he forced back the way he had come with nothing he could do again. He wasn't a wind user, there was nothing he could do to counter the assault. When the wind stopped and he was finally able to remove his arms that were acting as a shield he could see that he was back where he started. Though the scene had changed,

"Eros?" 

The soft female voice took him by surprise. His head whipped toward her his eyes narrowing on the woman that was not yet his.

She gasped as he leered at her. She reflexly took a step back toward the brush behind her, her hands clenching together at her chest. Her shoulders touched the bark of a nearby tree.

They'd reset the scene. "Oh no you don't." He muttered under his breath as he angrily turned away from her and briskly walked away. "I'm not playing your stupid games."

This time when he entered the white space an impish-looking man was waiting for him. He was short with unnaturally blue hair. His sunken eyes, pointed ears and elongated fingers, making him look less than human. He was wearing what could only be described as rags wrapped in old leather belts. He'd never seen anything like this creature before. Not a demon, not human and not an elf or dwarf. Was he a type of fae?

"You have no choice," he stated simply.

Eros attacked, sending a well-aimed strike toward the mini-man, only to have his limbs phase through the creature like he were a projection.

The imp rolled his eyes and let out an unimpressed sigh. He simply lifted his legs and crossed them in midarm as though he were floating. "I'm not actually here you twat."

"Free me!" Eros demanded.

"Why would I do that?" The imp looked at him deadpan.

As Eros was about to open his mouth again the imp raised a hand and blasted him yet again with that tremendous force that sent him back to where he started.

"Eros?" Elaina's voice chimed again.

He groaned clenching his hands into fists. He made his way back to the imp-like being again. 

And again. 

And again. 

And again.

How many times was he forced back to the same spot? He wasn't sure, he'd lost count after 10 times or so. The imp didn't even let him enter the white space anymore before sending him back.

Each round only making him frow more frustrated. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!" He screamed at his wits end.

The impish man appeared before him with a smirk. "Now that's the question I was waiting for."

Eros glared at the man with an intensifying anger boiling in his blood.

"We wish to study you and your race. Well... what it was, since you have all but... what was the tern, fallen?"

"Study me, what for, why?" Eros didn't feel as though he were lying, but there had to be more to it. "Why keep me trapped here, you could simply visit in my dreams each night instead of keeping me trapped."

The man chuckled. "And allow you to find a way to block us, not likely. We will leave when we have what we want."

"What exactly do you want, what are you hoping to learn?"

"Well, if we knew that we wouldn't be starting from the beginning now would we?"

"And if I say no?"

A high-pitched gut-wrenching terrified scream sounded in the distance. His blood ran cold as he recognized the scream.

The imp's cheeky demeanour flipped, a snarl escaping his lips. "If you don't go along with it, I'll make your existence a living nightmare. I'll make you relive and repeat your worst memories, your worst nightmares until your mind breaks. And then we'll go after the women's dreams next, see what we can find there, you two seem rather close after all. She probably knows alo-"

"Don't you dare!" He growled cutting him off.

"You couldn't stop us even if you wanted to. You're no dream weaver, you have no power over this domain. Here we rule."

But he did, if only a little bit. He'd changed the memories they had been trying to manipulate, he'd stopped the dream countless times, freezing it in place. However, he kept those facts to himself.

"You'll release me when you have what you want?" He asked.

"Once we have watched your life, yes of course." The imp's smile was devious.

He didn't believe a word of what the creature was saying. And what was worse, there were two of them. He'd have to fine-tune his abilities and learn to gain complete control over the space before making a move. But that would take time, how much he didn't know. He needed to keep them focused on him and away from his loved ones at the very least.

"Fine." He agreed through gritted teeth.

"So glad we could see eye to eye." The blue hair imp grinned menacingly. With a wave of his hand, the imp reset the stage for him where he had been running away from.

Eros made it a point to take note of what he felt like when the being changed the space around him. As he was locked in this space it was hard to discern how exactly he had manipulated it before, it had oddly felt natural. He doubted it had been a fluke, if anything it could be something he was to be capable of now that he had ascended. Emotion seemed to be a trigger, he'd have to fall deep into the memories draw on the emotions and use them to his advantage.

He wouldn't dare try when these beings were solely focused on keeping him in this dreamscape. However, he had to remain on guard. If these beings succeed in changing any of his memories would they stick when he woke up, would it change him as a person? Was that their true intentions? His mind still reeling, he reluctantly took his place, cradling the frozen-in-time Elaina once again.

"No more dilidalinly. I don't want cold spots. The sooner you get through your memories the sooner you are freed." And he clicked his fingers and vanished.

With a sigh, he looked down at the woman he was yet to fall in love with. He let himself sink into the role he had played at that time, cold and calculated. 

And he let the story continue...