The Deceitful One

Bryan wanted to ask about the third pillar, however, he saw Cthulhu place his arm on the trunk of the Sacred Tree as if communicating with it! Hence, he didn't dare to disturb him.

He, along with Benny, walked towards him. In but a few moments, the leaves of the Sacred Tree began to rustle along with its branches! And before Bryan knew it, a silver-colored round fruit fell into his hands!

Bryan wanted to check just from where this fruit had fallen, however, he realized that his spiritual sense couldn't even reach the lowest branch of the Sacred Tree.

Before he could inquire further about it, he heard Cthulhu speak, "Eat."

"Huh?" Bryan looked in his direction in confusion.

The next moment, Benny's voice echoed inside his mind, 'Bryan, eat the Sacred Fruit!'

"What exactly is this Sacred Fruit?" Bryan asked.

'It is a magical fruit borne by the Sacred Tree. It has magical properties that will definitely be able to cure you!' Benny replied as his eyes shone with expectation!

Bryan looked at the fruit for a moment and then without any more hesitation, he put the entire fruit in his mouth and began to chew on it.

When the fruit entered his stomach and dissolved, his heart began to race, pounding in his chest vigorously. Suddenly, he felt a strange foreign energy coursing through his veins causing him to clutch at his chest, gasping for breath!

Bryan's eyes widened in fear, "W-What is happening!?"

Benny too was alarmed as he looked at Bryan's contorted face. He then looked at Cthulhu and asked anxiously, 'Uncle Octopus, What's happening to Bryan!? Is he going to be all right?'

Cthulhu replied calmly, "Fret not, little one. The transformation is about to begin."

Bryan's body soon began to twist and contort in ways that should have been impossible! His clothes tore apart as his bones cracked and elongated, his muscles bulged and his skin stretched and bled, revealing his flesh and organs underneath!

His body continued to change and grow taller and more monstrous by the second. Silver-colored tendrils spurted out from his left shoulder that was missing an arm!

They twisted and merged together to transform into a brand new arm. And that was not all! Two more arms grew from the side of his chest, right beneath his armpits! His four arms thrashed about, each one ending in sharp menacing claws.

"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!" Bryan screamed at the top of his lungs as the skin on his back split open and from the spine sprouted dozens of long writhing tendrils!

He had never felt such pain before! Not even when Alfredo had tortured him! The bandage on Bryan's eyes tore open as well and from within his eye sockets, small silver tendrils began to grow!

ROOAAAARRRR!!!

Bryan's screams soon turned into roars as he slowly felt his consciousness slipping away! His head elongated into a shape resembling a crescent crown, pointing upward!

Tendrils grew all over Bryan's face as they began to change his facial muscles and structure. His face was now devoid of any eyes or other facial features.

Instead, there was only a gaping maw, with rows of razor-sharp teeth, that stretched from one side of the face to the other! His body continued to writhe in pain as the metamorphosis continued for a long period of time.

As the transformation came to an end, Bryan stood tall and proud. His entire skin complexion had changed to a shade of silver. He had turned into a dream creature, unlike anything the Dreamworld had ever seen!

At this point, Bryan had lost all sense of reason and was only acting based on his most primal instincts! With his newfound strength, he felt invincible! His eyes then fell on Cthulhu. However, instead of feeling fear, he felt sheer fighting intent!

ROOAARR!!!

With a roar that shook the surrounding air, causing it to vibrate, Bryan disappeared from the spot, and the next moment, he appeared in front of Cthulhu and pounced on him!

With a wide grin on his face that displayed his rows of sharp and jagged teeth, Bryan raised his four arms and viciously brought it down on Cthulhu's head!

Seeing Bryan's new transformation and his subsequent actions, Cthulhu's lips curled up into a broad smile, "Good!"

Cthulhu's eyes then narrowed, and the next moment, Bryan's body was devoid of any spiritual force or energy! He fell listlessly on the ground, the tendrils on his back squirming ever so slightly.

And soon he had lost consciousness!

All it took was a mere glance from Cthulhu! And Bryan was instantly incapacitated!

Benny ran toward the unconscious Bryan and nuzzled his head against his, 'Bryan! Bryan!'

He called out to him mentally, however, Bryan didn't reply. Benny then looked up at Cthulhu, his eyes filled with worry and anxiety, 'Uncle Octopus, what happened to Bryan?'

Cthulhu replied calmly, "He's just asleep."

Seeing that Benny was continuing to still stare at him, Cthulhu added, "Bryan has just undergone a transformation that has changed his very essence. He will need some time to adjust to these changes. Once he's done adapting, he will naturally wake up."

Benny finally breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to look back at Bryan's new transformation. For a moment, even he felt a sense of dread when he laid eyes on Bryan's head that resembled a crown!

He had never seen anything like it! He then asked again, 'Can Bryan still be considered a human?'

Cthulhu was silent for a few moments and then replied, "Currently, he is half human and half dream creature. He's the first one of his kind. It is difficult to say whether he will still remain human in the future or not. Only time can tell."

All of a sudden, Cthulhu turned his head and looked in the distance, his gaze seemingly crossing thousands of kilometers. He couldn't help but sigh helplessly, "Someone's here already..."

He then looked at Benny and instructed, "Benjamin, take Bryan with you to your domain. When the time is right, he'll wake up on his own."

'Understood!' Benny nodded and the next moment, his body shone with black light as he transformed into his true form! He then walked a few feet away and picked up the silver pocket watch with his mouth.

Bryan had dropped it earlier when he was undergoing transformation. Benny then came near Bryan and wrapped his body up with one of his four tentacles and placed him on his back.

He looked at Cthulhu one more time and added, 'Uncle Octopus, I will see you again before I leave for the Waking World.'

Cthulhu smiled warmly, "Go on."

Benny then sprinted away with the unconscious Bryan on his back. After the duo had disappeared from the horizon, Cthulhu turned his gaze back to the distance where he was earlier looking, and patiently waited with his hands clasped behind his back.

A few minutes later, in the distance, dark clouds began to appear and soon dotted the sky. Black-colored lighting streaked across the skies, enveloping the surroundings in an ominous atmosphere.

Everything was beginning to turn dark and grim, however, surprisingly enough, the area around the Sacred Tree remained bright and peaceful.

It was almost as if the Sacred Tree was nullifying the dark and ominous atmosphere. But upon closer inspection, one would find that the surrounding darkness was in fact sacred to encroach upon the territory of the Sacred Tree!

The clouds soon split apart and gave way to a large creature whose very existence instilled dread and terror in anyone who looked at it!

This terrifying creature did not have a definitive shape or structure. It was nothing but a large swirling mass of tentacles made up of shadows!

The large creature slowly descended and flew towards the Sacred Tree, more precisely, towards Cthulhu.

As the creature got closer and closer, hundreds of red eyes with vertical slits began to form on its shadowy tentacles. And all of them stared intently at Cthulhu.

The creature then stared at the Sacred Tree and found only one Sacred Fruit on it, when in fact there were supposed to be two!

As it realized that one of the Sacred Fruits was missing, it glared at Cthulhu and roared, "What have you done!?"

Cthulhu calmly stared at the creature and replied, "I have done only what was in the best interest of the motherland."

A terrifying pressure emanated from the creature as it roared louder, "How is giving away the Scared Fruit to a mere human in the best interest of our motherland!? Cthulhu, are you trying to stir up a war between us and the 5 Great Efialtes?"

The terrifying pressure did not phase Cthulhu even one bit. He was calm as ever as he replied, "That 'mere human' that you speak of, is the Blessed of the Dreamworld!"

The hundreds of eyes of the creature widened in disbelief! As a being of tremendous power, very few things in the world could shock him. And this was one of them!

After all, anything related to the Blessed was a serious matter, especially, when it also included the Dreamworld.

"Besides," Cthulhu continued, "Have you already forgotten what our Sovereign had divined before She died?"

A trace of sorrow and regret flashed past the eyes of the creature at the mention of their Sovereign. Soon, the terrifying pressure subsided, as did the creature's anger.

"Have you confirmed it for yourself?" The creature asked, its tone calmer and much more stable than before.

"Yes," Cthulhu nodded.

"What about Medici? You've seen his dreams haven't you?" The creature inquired solemnly.

Cthulhu remained silent for a long time and then replied with utmost confidence,

"I am certain that Bryan is not the reincarnation of Medici.

"As for Medici..."

Cthulhu paused for a moment and then continued with a grim expression,

"Medici may not necessarily be Medici either!"