Floating.

Drifting.

Swaying.

Endless.

Darkness.

I teetered on the edge of awareness as I slowly traveled along an invisible path, swimming through a sea of darkness. I felt calm. Surrounded by nothingness, unsure of where up and down was, uncertain if anything existed in this space at all. Yet, the odd feeling that the void around me was not empty. Anything but, really.

Every now and again, an alien presence gently brushed against my conscience. Their presence put me at ease, conveying that I was not truly alone in this seemingly infinite space. A comfortable sense of stillness spread throughout my body and I submersed myself in the feeling, drifting along through the empty space.

I was vaguely aware that I must be dreaming. This felt an awful lot like the void I’d seen several times before, just less… hostile.

As soon as I had that thought, a change occurred. A star blinked into existence in a faraway place, commanding my focus, as it was the only thing I could really put my attention on in this otherwise empty space. Shortly after, more and more stars filled the void, slowly transforming into the void I was familiar with.

I was still somewhat groggy, barely aware of what was happening, and I observed the glittering void with a careless fascination for a while. Until I suddenly remembered. The first time I saw the void, I encountered a massive existence that could probably erase me with but a mere thought. The second time, I was sneak attacked by another denizen of the void.

I felt like I was falling, except, like with regular dreams, I didn’t wake up because of it. What it did do, was shake me out of my stupor.

For the first time since I got here, I was truly aware of myself. I knew I was still in the dream, but I was in control as if I was awake. This must be my new skill at work, dreams of the void. For the next few minutes, I was gripped by paranoia, ready to gobsmack anything that moved suspiciously in order to defend myself. A thing that turned out to be a wee bit difficult, since everything in the void seemed to have this weird shifting thing going on, just like my skin.

Everything seemed to be moving, but only when I wasn’t looking at it directly. At the same time, nothing seemed to be moving, and the concept honestly hurt my brain a little.

While I was freaking out over my current situation, I tried to wake myself up. At this point, I was aware of the fact that I was dreaming, so waking up shouldn’t be that hard, right? Wrong. The first thing I thought of was to fall somewhere, that always woke people up right quick, right? But falling turned out to be impossible since I was just floating along in infinite space, unsure where up and down were even supposed to be.

The second attempt involved casting a poison bomb on myself. Hurting yourself was also a good way to wake up. But all that accomplished was that I felt some pain, realized that I could cast spells just fine, and was now hurtling along on my journey a lot faster.

Alright, so maybe waking up was not an option then. My new skill had to be involved here as well. I pulled up my status screen, which thankfully still worked, and read the exact wording of Dreams of the Void. It said that the void would invade my dreams, but this felt more like I was invading the void. It also says that these dreams can have a whole slew of effects on me after waking up… Some good, some bad.

I cast a look around me again, noting the absence of anything notable happening. How was this going to help me in any way? I know I could get hurt, since I was attacked that one time I tried actively recovering my VMP, so I suppose getting killed in my dream could have a whole slew of negative effects. Maybe even kill me in real life… I hoped that one didn’t apply.

But how was I supposed to get anything good out of this dream? I took another look at the skill description and focused in on the tidbit that said something about comprehending the void. This implied that if I had a better understanding of the void, I could gain benefits in some way. But how was I going to gain any insight into this weird space?

For the next half hour or so, I tried studying everything around me. I tried really hard to discover something that wasn’t shifting darkness, stars in the distance, or just empty space, but try as I might, I could not find anything. I toyed with the idea that I was just in regular ass space. The kind of space I had back on earth as well, with planets and suns and stuff, but there was something so inherently wrong about the void, that made me rule the possibility out. More out of instinct, than actual knowledge.

I kept floating along for another hour, trying my damndest to figure out anything, anything at all only to come up empty. I sighed, more out of habit than need, since my spirity dream body didn’t need to breathe anyway, something I figured out about ten minutes into my dream.

I was bored.

I wasn’t getting anywhere in my “comprehension” of the void. Nothing was attacking me, so I couldn’t pass the time with fighting. I couldn’t wake up. The scenery was ever-shifting, yet, the more it shifted, the more it stayed the same. I do suppose it was kind of relaxing once I let go of my constant paranoia of being attacked by a weird shadow creature, but letting my guard down completely seemed like a one-way ticket to hell.

So I just floated along leisurely, taking some time to calm down and think. I spent some hours, thinking about the traveler initiative, my path going forward, and my past life. My mind kept going back to that last day on earth. Where I had lost everything, hit rock bottom, and everything changed. Maybe not for the better, but change it did. Drastically.

I could still vividly remember the casino I used to gamble at. Flashing lights, thumping music, shouts of joy and despair, intermingled with casual conversations, laughter, shouting, and the various beeping and booping of the machines. My thoughts flicked to the bar, a scantily clad woman serving the drinks to me, spending what little I had won on booze and companionship.

A drink would be pretty nice right about now, actually.

Just as I thought about having a cold one, I felt my body bump into something. I immediately went into high gear, spinning up my mana engines, ready to deal with whatever was coming for me, and was faced with… a wall.

I mentally furrowed my nonexistent brow, which manifested itself as my left eye stalk lowering itself a bit as I stared at the offending concrete wall. Where the hell did this thing come from? Even if I wasn’t paying much attention, I developed a habit of always maintaining a regular lookout on my surroundings, and this… wall definitely wasn’t there before.

I could feel myself slowly drifting away and, desperate to not lose this first sign of… anything, really, I quickly extended my tentacles to latch on. Curious about what the hell this was, I slowly pulled myself along the wall towards one of its edges while inspecting the wall itself. As far as I could tell, it was made from concrete, which was weird because that usually meant civilization.

I eventually reached the edge, carefully peeking around it by extending my eyes, and was faced with yet another wall, going away at a right angle. Okay, so not just some random wall floating around in the middle of bum fuck nowhere then. Was this actually… a building? I eagerly traveled along the edge, intent on finding out more, and what I found were more walls. Until finally, I peered over the edge of another wall and was faced with not only a door, but also a flickering neon sign.

What I assumed to be writing on the sign was indecipherable to me, but a door I could handle. Most curious about what the door led to, I pulled myself up, nervously wrapped my tentacle around the handle, and pulled.

Immediately I was assaulted by ear-grating noise. Something about the noise caused an instant headache to me and I flinched, assuming I was about to be attacked. But when the attack never came, and the offending noise continued, I dared to peek around the entrance to see what was inside.

It was a bar.

Sure, the occupants might have been weird creatures straight out of my nightmares, all huge and tentacly, but I recognized a bar when I saw one. Especially when it looked just like a bar somebody ripped out of the 80s. There was neon everywhere, and all of the decors were in bright colors, standing in stark contrast to its occupants.

I saw what looked to be a gaping maw, filled with teeth and surrounded by tentacles, chatting it up with a big blob of black liquid, both of them sitting on bright pink chairs and chugging something from enormous tankards. In the corner, there was what looked like a wolf, that had entirely too many legs, as well as a mouth that seemed to split its entire body lengthwise. It was kicking something that looked like a jukebox, probably annoyed because it wouldn’t play the song it wanted.

The whole bar was filled with nightmare fuel, and when I finally noticed the bartender, I noticed that the thing was keeping an eye on the open door… and me. I couldn’t help but stare at it, since it looked a bit like a suit-wearing human. The suit itself seemed to be made from some void material, as it was shifting just like it, making me unsure if it was an actual suit or just the creature's skin. A multitude of tentacles extended from the suit's sleeves, busying themselves around the bar, mixing drinks, operating some weird machinery, and two of them were occupied polishing a glass.

You know, classic bartender behavior.

Its head resembled a big mushroom, but every available surface was decorated with eyes of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I wasn’t sure what most of them were looking at, but I could tell that one of them was fixated on me. Just a hunch.

After realizing, between pangs of headaches, that it might be annoyed at me for just opening the door and not coming in, I gingerly pulled myself inside. As soon as I did, I could feel gravity reassert itself and I unceremoniously flopped onto the ground. I quickly looked around, but none of the other patrons seemed to care about my presence, so I quickly pulled the door closed behind me.

I could still feel the bartender looking at me, so, not being sure of what to do, I made my way over to the bar. There were plenty of stools available for me to claim, so I plopped myself down in the one closest to the bartender.

Another noise joined the cacophony of sounds, making my headache worse. I wish whatever this was would tone it down a little… Is what I thought, before realizing that I had no ears. How the hell was I hearing all of this noise anyway? Did dream me just have the capacity to hear?

I was so distracted by this revelation, as well as the headache, that I didn’t even register the bartender waving a tentacle around in front of me to get my attention. Then, all of a sudden, all noise ceased, giving me instant relief.

Just as I was about to let out a happy sigh, the noise returned, this time more bearable and not as brain-scratching as before. I also realized that the noise came from the bartender. I focused my eyes upon him quizzically, idly noting that a lot more of its eyes were focused on me now. The noise returned and I quickly realized that it was probably trying to talk to me.

Well, I was shit out of luck, since, as a monstrous slug I lacked any and all avenues of communication, save for writing things down.

The bartender continued its attempts at communication while I just dumbly looked at it, trying to ignore the physical pain caused by his language. I quickly noted just how bizarre this whole situation was, letting my eyes drift over the bar and its occupants when I jolted from actually understanding something that was said to me.

“First time in the void?”

A garbled voice, seemingly overlapped by another two voices asked me. My eyes whipped back to the bartender, staring at it to try and figure out if I had heard correctly.

“There we go,” I heard the voices again. “Traveler, huh?”

I was dumbfounded, not only by the fact that I was having some sort of conversation, but also because it figured out I was a traveler. Just how?

“I can see that you have many questions,” most of the bartender's eyes are focused on me now as he idly cleans his glass. “We don’t get your kind here very often, and by the way you’re acting, I feel like you have no idea where you are.”

I used my eye stalks to facsimile a nod, which was apparently picked up by the creature. “I am talking in your mind, so you don’t have to worry about me understanding you. I can just read your thoughts.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Really.”

I was incapable of crying in my current body, but I really felt like crying right now. For the past weeks, the only thing to keep me company was the system, and it made for a horrible companion. So, finally being able to talk to somebody, even if it was an eldritch horror, was a huge relief. That said, I was a bit overwhelmed as well. I got an opportunity to talk to something, and finally ask some questions, but I somewhat blanked now that the opportunity presented itself.

There were so many questions I could ask, so many things that needed answering, yet I wasn’t sure of what to ask first.

“You a new traveler then?” the bartender asks me, every syllable scraping at my brain a bit as it is spoken.

“I guess so,” I replied. “I’m not entirely sure about how much time has passed, but it can’t be more than two months… if that makes sense… does the void work at the same time that I know?”

I can hear what vaguely passes as a chuckle coming from it. “Not really, no. Time in the void is a bit… special when compared to other places.”

“That’s cool, I guess?” This entire interaction is very awkward.

“Can I get you something to drink?” The bartender asks, using a tentacle to gesture toward the wide selection of bottles lining the wall behind him. “I’m capable of making almost everything you can imagine.”

“Uhh…” I let my eyes wander over the colorful selection of bottles, not recognizing a single one. “I don’t exactly have any money with me.”

“That’s quite alright,” my host chuckles. “Here in the void, we don’t trade in money. You pay with your attributes.”

“My attributes?”

“Yes, your attributes. You pay me with some of your attribute points and depending on how much you give me, and the quality of the points, I consider your drink paid for.” The bartender gestures to the other patrons. “Attribute points are the main currency of the void since most voidlings have some way or another to get extra from the system.”

“That’s… kinda cool, actually,” I replied, genuinely fascinated by that tidbit of trivia. “Can you make drinks that have beneficial effects?”

“I can, but they’re gonna cost you a pretty sum,” I saw two tentacles rub together happily. “Cheapest one is gonna run you about twenty regular points.”

My eyes bulged a little at the price, being a lot higher than I was willing to pay right now. “I’ll just take a regular drink then. Also, what do you mean by regular points?”

“Oh you know, Strength, Intelligence, Constitution, those kinda points. Everybody has them. Now special points, on the other hand, your sixth attribute, can be wildly different in value depending on what you got,” the bartender got busy mixing a drink even though I hadn’t ordered anything yet, his tentacles working in perfect coordination while some of his eyes kept an eye on them. “For example, mana points will count like two regular points, since the attribute is so common that there isn’t much value. On the other tentacle, if you got something like phoenix points, they’re worth about two hundred regular points.”

“Phoenix points?” I asked curiously. I could guess that the mana attribute would work like a more focused Wisdom attribute, but I couldn’t guess what a phoenix attribute would do.

“Each point allows you to revive yourself in the event of your untimely death,” the bartender says wistfully. “But opening the attribute is extremely rare, and you can’t just put points into it like with regular attributes, therefore, their worth.”

A glass is put in front of me. Within it, there’s a swirling liquid that changes color every so often and emits a strange mist. A straw was provided as well, probably on account of my unique physique.

“That’d be three points, please.”

Just as he said it, a small pop-up window appeared in front of me, asking me which points I’d like to pay. Out of curiosity, I put in one of my luck points, which apparently counted as seven regular points. Glad that my sixth attribute wasn’t entirely worthless, I pulled the point back and instead put in three strength points, my most useless stat, confirming the transaction. I watched as the points got deducted, fascinated by the progress.

“Can anybody trade points with anybody?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” the bartender shakes his head. “You need a special A-ranked skill to request attribute points as payment from others. Although almost all of the voidlings have it. Funnily enough, one of the ways to unlock it is to make transactions with somebody that has the skill already. And since attributes are the main currency here, everybody eventually gets it. I hear it's a voidling specific race skill as well, so we’re really the only ones that can get it.”

Excited about the prospect of getting the skill myself eventually, I resolved myself to spend some more when I could. It wouldn’t be useful for now, but if I ever found other travelers, or had some more dreams like this, I might be able to get some more attribute points like that.

“Do I even want to know how high your attributes are?” I asked, unsure if asking about someone else's stats was rude or not.

I couldn’t see a mouth or anything that qualified as something similar on the bartender, but I had this feeling that he was smiling at me. “Very high.”

Getting the hint, I dropped the question and instead went for a sip of my mystery drink. I managed to manipulate the straw into my mouth with some difficulty and started sucking. The drink tasted unlike anything I ever tasted before. I don’t think it contained any alcohol, but it still felt like the taste was somehow massaging my brain. It also somehow tasted like the color yellow.

Not entirely sure how I could tell that, but it was tasty. Another weirdness, since I didn’t have tastebuds.

I gingerly looked at the bartender again. It felt like an old being, and if it had been running this bar for god knows how long, its attributes must be absurdly high. I became acutely aware that the bartender was probably the most powerful being I had ever met and resolved myself to remain on its good side.

“I, uhhh…” I felt a bit nervous now that I was aware of how wide the gap between us was. “I’m kind of new to this whole void thing, as you could already tell. Before I came here, I was floating aimlessly through the void for hours. You wouldn’t happen to know how to navigate this empty space, so I could potentially find your bar again? Your drinks are good and I wouldn’t mind coming again.”

I tried appealing to the bartender with the promise of further profit to be gained from me. Even if my small amount of points would barely be a drop in the ocean for it, as a businessman it probably wouldn’t mind more income.

“Of course I do,” another chuckle. “We all do. How else would we get anywhere otherwise?”

“I guessed as much,” I eye-nodded again. “And I would be really grateful if you could teach me.”

“I’m not going to teach you, small one, but I can give you a hint,” another patron waved at the bartender, and it mixed a drink before extending a tentacle to their table and setting it down, all without taking their focus off me. “The void, despite its name, isn’t empty. Far from it even. Everything is everywhere, and because it is everywhere, it is nowhere, therefore the void looks and feels empty. But if you can see past the nothing, and glimpse the something, a path will open to the inquisitive mind.”

“Alright, thanks…?” I tried committing the hint to memory as well as I could. Right now it felt like gibberish to me, cryptic babble at best, but if I thought about it and tried some stuff when I dreamed again, I might discover the true meaning of these words.

“Don’t sweat it, consider it a little parting gift for a new customer,” the bartender chuckled again. “Now, you might want to finish up your drink, I have a feeling like you won’t be here much longer.”

True to its words, I could feel that I was about to wake up. How it knew before I did wasn’t something I was going to think too much about and instead focused on my drink. I paid good attribute points for it, after all.

“I’m looking forward to meeting you again in the future.”

I was about to respond after emptying my glass, but when I was about to thank it for answering my questions, the whole world shifted into darkness. I could feel myself black out, but just as I lost consciousness, I awoke, back in my bunker. A most curious sensation, to be sure, and one that I’d need to get used to. I quickly recapped everything that happened in my dream, repeating the hint I received like a mantra until I felt like I could recite it word for word.

A quick peek at my status revealed that I was indeed missing three strength points, confirming that the dream had been as real as it gets. I had learned quite a lot this time around, but I shouldn’t delude myself into thinking all of my dreams were going to be as pleasant as this one.

For now, though, it was time to hunt again. Time to hit level twenty!