The creature turned to pointed attention at the meagre assault. A knife to the eye meant nothing to it, the other dagger, even less so. Even the sharpened sword remained an insignificant factor. It turned on the spot, took a few thumbing steps, but rather than running, it froze. Its chest convulsed in spasmodic vibrations, its gut churned and a rising pressure pent up against the slaughterhouse of gnashing teeth. An all-consuming erupting of shadowy-distortions burst forth, glimpsed from the edge of the abyss, like a terrible lullaby, the resonating, squelching braying ebbed and flowed like waves on an uproared ocean. Unintelligible, unspoken words came to pass. Straining against the ceaseless wind, it was enough to trigger the cycle of a revelation. The thing had no name, for it needed no language. Nevertheless, glimpsing behind the veil, a crumb of cosmic truth revealed, light winked out… eternal night consumed the group of people in a psychedelic weave, embraced by the ineffable cosmic hideousness of a world unknown to man. The terrible truth wormed its way into their minds, a maddening aperture to realms beyond human comprehension, a gateless entrance to a world beyond time, beyond life...<br/><br/>Naïve folk believed nightmares a figment of their imagination, meaningless flashing images, devoid of reason or purpose. Anyone foolishly considering themselves an entity separate from the whole, blissfully ignorant; a belief put to the test during endless rashes of sleep-related incidents ravaging the surrounding lands. Some would wake up screaming, terrified and beyond consolation, frantically frothing. Some remained sleepless for days, slowly going mad until, finally, unconsciousness set in. Some simply beckoned out. All afflicted by a higher power formerly believed dormant, the hollow salt-cracked caverns sprawling beneath the ground, its roiling breeding ground.<br/><br/>There is a world of perfect harmony, where all are part of the whole. The essence of all creation, and its denizens are but singular pieces of it. It is horrific in its asymmetry, haunted by a complete lack of uncertainty. An overpowering tonic settled deep within the brain, capturing even the most stalwart; compelled to cringe in breathless fear. The abyss is made manifest! Everything is washed away, the ground below your feet cease to exist, the sky crumble and shatter into fine dust, the looming forest fade, complete blackout… a deathly stillness engulfing them, a foreign tension settling deep within. The walls closed in, the shadows whispering of conspiracy and maddening ramblings…<br/><br/>The creature was intelligent, perhaps greatly so, hinting at the sentient horror of the void from whence it came. The creature's blessings were as repulsive as they were robust. Images of twisted, half human monstrosities stalking the flesh-ridden halls, protecting their gestating god, flashed by in a cascade of unspeakable, brain-blasting realizations. Madness made flesh, it crawled steadily upwards from the pit of our world, supported by the foundation of cyclopean pillars. The ramshackle gathering found themselves perched on the very precipice of merciless oblivion, teetering on the brink, about to break. Suddenly, in the midst of a never-ending, star-freckled nightscape, the gallows looked mighty tempting, the plume of a pistol - a desirable outcome.<br/><br/>The darkness held dominion now, the sonorous wailing that the toil wrought upon the unfortunate adventurers, unheard, even by their own ears. Eternity passed, intensifying thirst blistered their throats, gnawing hunger, callous to the weakened mind. Their skin crumpled and folded, their hair withered away. Eyes sank deep in their molten sockets and within their rattling ribcages beat feeble hearts.<br/><br/>Twisted and maniacal - a slathering testament to the powers of corruption, the abhorrent glutton brought its taloned steak knives to bear with brutal authority. The decaying body followed troop as it strived forward, leaps and bounds covered in the effortless blink of an eye. Up close, it was a travesty - a blundering mountain of hatred and rage. Fleeting failure lingered so very close now, inching its way forward, blood-tinctured breath horrid. The mass came to an abrupt halt, monstrous teeth readily on display, barring the fact, that the people saw nothing at all anymore… it now stood mere inches away from the buzzing nuisance that had pilfered it with steel.