The Sleeper, a strange anomaly from the stars, only a child by its age. Dismas the Highwayman would rather not imagine what it would be if it were full grown. Or else he might accidentally allow the anomaly to corrupt his mind. He glared into the eye of that crystal being of terror, his grip with his dagger tightened. He had already faced death a dozen times, this is no different than before. Dismas was even one of the lucky ones to say that he stared down god in the eyes, right before burying every bullet he had into their skull.

With the Highwayman was Reynauld, a man of God and faith, the Crusader of Hamlet and a man not to be trifled with. The knight was also there when they vanquished the eldritch being that resided in the Darkest Dungeon, and now he's with Dismas to defeat this one-eyed demon. The two may not see eye to eye in some moments throughout their adventures, but both understood that they had a duty to fulfill. Next was Paracelsus, an intelligent woman who was smarter than her peers or anyone on Hamlet, a Plague Doctor who had came to Hamlet seeking work and- to Dismas' disgust- to use the bodies of their fallen foes to continue her research.

Lastly was Junia, a Vestal Virgin who swore an oath to keep their purity. From what Dismas had learned, she was kicked out of the temple of Vesta for ignoring her duties and letting the flame die out. The Highwayman doesn't really know why she allowed the fire to die, but what he does knows is that she had always watched everyone with a strange look in her eyes, it was as if she desired something that she cannot have. There was also Dismas himself, a criminal with regrets who had found himself accepting a simple escort job that somehow brought him here. Oh, how strange his life truly was.

These four, these random four of fighters. Ever since he and Reynauld had retaken Hamlet for the new Master, the four of them had been there from the start. They fought many creatures that are not for the faint of heart, and even the bravest soul would become doubtful of their skills against said creatures. And now they are here, fighting the being that caused the return of Miller and his damned workers.

Dismas was actually happy that he was not sent to face the farmer, because he would have been like Reynauld, overworking himself. Though he had to give it to the Crusader, that man always volunteered to fight unless the Master says no, no one on Hamlet ever volunteers but Reynauld.

The monster screeched and dozens of tentacles sprouted from it, the limbs shot towards them. Reynauld held up his sword to block it while the rest jumped out of the way. Paracelsus took the chance and swung her dagger at the offending limb, the Sleeper screeched once again but in pain. The Vestal followed by casting Judgment upon the eye itself, it screeches once more as a pillar of holy light slammed on it, the solid stone surface burned upon contact with the light.

Reynauld grunted and charged forward, sword ready to impale the eldritch monstrosity. The Sleeper tried to stop him, but every tentacle that even get an inch closer to the Crusader was met with bombs filled with blight from the Doctor, and the hard metal pellets from the smoking barrel of Dismas' gun. Reynauld was halfway there, only to be stopped in his tracks when the Sleeper roared, the knight was stunned and attempted to cover his ears, giving the monster a chance to strike. A tentacle slammed into the Crusader's chest and threw him off his feet.

"Reynauld!" Cried the Vestal.

"Damn it!" Cursed Dismas.

The Highwayman quickly sprinted over to the Reynauld's side, dodging tentacles along the way.

"On your feet tin man!"

"Bite your tongue and save it for after!" The knight growled as he was pulled back up. "We still have a monster to slay." And once again he charged, he was only armed with a sword and his holy trinkets, so it means he is needed to face down the eye up close and personal.

Dismas chuckled at his bravery, most people would cower before such anomaly, unlike the men and women of Hamlet. He and the Crusader have already went through hell itself, this creature is like a little bunny compared to the horrors they've witnessed. So with a smile under his mask, he dashed forward, following the Crusader's trail towards danger.

And being lighter and limber than the knight, Dismas easily dodged every tentacle that the monster sent after him. Only standing still for a second just to take a shot at the eye as he moved forward. The Doctor didn't just do nothing, every chance she gets she would toss her blight filled bombs at the Sleeper, all those battle experience had given her a great throwing arm.

"Begone foul demon, return to the darkness of whence you came!" The Vestal by her side spoke as she cast Judgment upon the monster.

"Keep calm Junia, let the men and I take it from here. We may need your blessings soon."

The Vestal nodded. "Very well Doctor, I shall reserve my energy for now."

Back with Reynauld, he was already close enough to thrusts his sword forward right into the stone surface of the comet. The Sleeper howled in pain and tried to swipe the knight away with a tentacle. But Dismas was there to sever the limb in two with his dagger. The Crusader took a step back to allow himself some room to swing his sword down. And Dismas jabbed his dagger into the floating rock dozens of times. The Highwayman would also chop off any tentacles that attempted to strike them both, he would not allow this monstrosity to harm a soul, not him or anyone in the party.

The Sleeper let out a roar to deter them, but the two were relentless and determined to finish it off. With the combined strength and faith of the Crusader, and the Highwayman's skills with the blade, as well as the support of the Doctor and the Vestal, the Sleeper stood no chance. Reynauld pulled back his sword, and pierced his blade into its eye, up to the hilt of the sword, and he gave it a twist for good measures. With one last howl of pain, the creature was no more but a rock. Thus ending the nightmare on Miller's farmland, and putting the farmer to rest, freeing his soul from this creature's grasp. The comet fell down onto the ground, it's essence dripped from the wound the sword had inflicted.

Reynauld pulled the sword out of the fallen creature, he scowled just from the sight of it. "Foul eldritch spawn, do not return or else you will taste my blade a second time!"

"Woo! Damn, now that was tiring. Can't wait to go back, there's this barmaid that's been calling my name." Said Dismas.

"You do realize that premarital sex is a sin." Said Junia as she and Paracelsus walked over to them.

"Calm yourself, it's not like I'm going to heaven."

"A sin can be forgiven if you admit all of them to me." Said the knight. "I jest, I jest." He chuckled.

"Hey, look!" Called the Doctor, everyone faced the direction her finger pointed.

Her finger pointed behind the Sleeper, and over the edge. There down below was a black obelisk, it was only as tall as Reynauld.

"Looks like there's still one more thing to investigate. Let us descend!" Reynauld gave out his order and hopped off the edge and land in front of the obelisk. The others followed but with caution when they descended the short gap.

Upon closer look, the black obelisk was darker than they have ever seen, the torch in their hands had a strange effect, the light from the fire didn't bounce off the black surface even when it was a few inches away from the flame. Not even a reflection could be made from it, only a pitch black abyss in the form of an obelisk.

"Well," Paracelsus spoke, a bit of irritation in her voice. "It looks like a certain man had already been here."

The other three shared the same irritated feeling the Plague Doctor had. The source was a satchel bag covered in cobwebs and dust, it was placed right in front of the obelisk for anyone to find.

"God damn it. Couldn't this guy get a hobby?" Complained Dismas.

"So what do we do?" Asked Vestal.

Reynauld didn't answer, he only stared at the satchel bag in front of him. Paracelsus groaned upon seeing his state, the Crusader always had kleptomania, a trait that the mercenaries of Hamlet didn't like. Even if Reynauld had proven himself as a capable leader, he had always taken things before the others could get their share.

"Seeing that our knight is busy, I'll take lead." Said the Doctor. "Dismas, you and I stay here and make sure nothing happens, while Reynauld and Junia go back to Hamlet and bring in some help. Junia, do not forget to call the Master, they will want to see this and learn more of what their dear Ancestor had done."

Then they heard it, a hissing coming from the obelisk. When the three looked over to the anomaly, they discovered Reynauld standing there, hands lifted up to the level of his chest, fingers moving rhythmically in anticipation of finding hidden bounties. They could see that the obelisk had a hidden hatch that the knight somehow opened, inside had revealed to be a puzzling trapezohedron, a strange crystal that changes colors in the light. A very pricey loot that could sell for 3k worth of gold, you could buy a lot of mead with that gold.

But sadly, none of them will have any gold from selling it, especially when Reynauld whistled his tune. The knight quickly grabbed hold of the trapezohedron before his friends could object, this proves to be one of his many mistakes, for this wasn't a regular crystal to be used as a decoration, it was a trap.

It happened quicker than the Highwayman himself, red circuits appeared on the surface of the obelisk as well as a red ritual circle below their feet. The trapezohedron flew off of Reynauld's grasp and began to hover above the pyramid of the obelisk, now glowing in all shades of red.

"Damn it you imbecile!" Cursed Paracelsus.

"By the damnable Ancestor Reynauld, couldn't you just keep your hands to yourself!?" Dismas scolded the knight.

"It was a mix-" Reynauld couldn't finish his words, a black arm coming from the obelisk itself had wrapped it's hand around his face and began pulling. "Gah!"

"Look out!" Junia tried to warn the others, but it was too late, hundreds of arms shot out of the obelisk and took hold of the adventurers, pulling them closer to the anomaly.

"No! Not now!" Cried Paracelsus before the hands managed to pull her towards the obelisk where she was slammed on its surface, a second later, she sank into the obelisk and was soon consumed by it, a fate that the others will soon receive.

"Accursed crystal! I'll shatter you for tricking me!" Reynauld threatened the object as he struggled, but the arms proved too strong for him and he could not break free of their hold. He threatened the crystal some more before sharing the same fate as Paracelsus.

"R-Reynauld, no!" Junia tried to save the knight, but that only quickened her end, and now she was one with the obelisk.

Dismas was left alone, being slowly dragged towards the obelisk to experience the same fate as his friends. "Hmph, guess this is it...sorry Reynauld, everyone. But it looks like my bar tab ain't getting paid..." He said right before being pulled into the darkness, never to be seen ever again.

Death is what Dismas had expect when he was pulled into the obelisk, he would have never thought it was like this, a forest with red autumn leaves as far as the eyes can see and a dirt road that led to who knows where. He guessed that this is where death picks you up, so he just stood there patiently for what is to come. And as expected, the sound of hooves on the dirt road came from his left. Though it was still far, years of training had polished his senses, it helped him evade all those who wanted him gone.

When the stagecoach was close enough to describe, Dismas was actually impressed for guessing right, it was definitely death. The stagecoach was being pulled by two skeletal horses, bones whiter than snow, and their eyes glowed crimson red. And the one who had the reigns was Death himself, but his face was hidden under the shadow of his hood. But it was clear that he was a skeleton like everyone claimed.

"Took you long enough," Dismas said as soon as the stagecoach stopped right in front of him. Death's head swiveled towards him to meet his stare, no word came from him. "Well?"

The Grimm reaper only answered by pointing a boney hand at him.

"Right, it's my time. Let's get on with it." Dismas then walked over to the door, his hand grasped the handle and he pulled it open.

But he soon regretted doing so, as he was met with two faces, a mother and her child. Both staring at Dismas with cold empty eyes.

"N-no!" He cried out.

The child lifted a hand towards him.

"It was a reflex, I-I didn't mean to!" He took a step back, away from them, only to bump into something. Dismas looked behind him to find Reynauld looming over him. "R-Reynauld! This isn't what it looks like!"

Instead of speaking to Dismas, the knight only reached for his helmet, and with a single swipe, his visor was ripped off to reveal an eldritch abomination hidden beneath. The monster released a soul-chilling howl before impaling his claws through Dismas' chest.

And with a scream, Dismas now found himself in a different and greener forest, with his back on the ground. It was dark, indicating that it was night time, and the only source of light was the crackling campfire. His eyes and hands wandered to his chest to find no hole, it all felt so real, the pain was unbearable just for a second. But then there he was, somewhere that he had never been before. He sat right up and glanced around himself. It looked like he was in a camp of some sort, with a certain flag planted down right across the campfire. It was Reynauld's, the flag that depicted a lit torch was a sign that he is nearby.

"Well, look who's awake!" Dismas turned his head towards his right to find the knight and the doctor coming back from what Dismas could guess was foraging with a torch in the knight's hand. "Sleep well sunshine?"

"Not now, I'm having a terrible headache." Dismas rubbed his forehead for a second. "Where's Junia?"

"Looking for landmarks, we have no idea how far that thing brought us," Paracelsus explained. "Sadly, this forest is like a maze, and she would always find herself back here where she started."

"Hmm, sounds bad."

"I'm back!" The Vestal told them of her return, she stepped out of the bushes and took a seat next to the Highwayman. "I got something."

"Well, spill the news." Said Dismas.

"I found a dirt road from the direction of where I came from. Surprisingly, there were no brigands or monsters, but keeping an open eye wouldn't be a problem."

"But we don't know which way to the nearest town is," Paracelsus spoke. "It'll be days, maybe weeks before we even find a settlement."

"Have some faith," Reynauld began. "we are bound to find something."

"Well if it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this place," Dismas commented.

"It was a mistake, I let my urges get the better of me."

"Yeah, yeah, alright. Any idea on which part of earth are we?"

"Where ever we are, it feels more...peaceful here..."

Now that Dismas noticed it, Reynauld was right, it was strangely peaceful. And it makes the Highwayman uneasy, especially right after that nightmare he just had. Dismas didn't like the serene feeling, and the calm sound of nature, especially the crickets that play their tune in the darkness. Something was definitely wrong.

"Yes, it really does feel calmer here. Must be some kind of pheromones that affects our brains. But how does it affect me when my mask is sealed? No, it must just be the lack of danger..." The Plague Doctor spoke, mostly to herself.

"I-I like it, for once I am at peace. And the shadows felt as if they no longer watch me..." Said the Vestal.

"Something's wrong," The knight finally pointed out even though Dismas was already suspecting. "nowhere on earth is safe as this, even if it's far from the Darkest Dungeon. The planet is no longer the same when that damned Ancestor opened the gates, no matter where we go, the shadows have had always watched us."

"What are you trying to say?" Spoke the Doctor. "This could be a place where the terrors have not yet corrupted."

"She's right Reynauld," Dismas agreed with Paracelsus. "Hamlet was always the heart of corruption, and all cultists flock there like a hungry rat king to the nearest corpse."

"I suppose you are right, but still, we must return to Hamlet, our duty is not over."

"Right. Got any food? I'm kinda hungry."

"Yes," Paracelsus nodded before showing him the handful of wild berries. "these are edible, Reynauld and I have already tested."

"Just give me a few and give Junia the rest."

Before the Vestal could protest, Reynauld raised his hand to stop her. "You've done enough Junia, just take your share. As for you Dismas, both of us will be looking for some food first thing tomorrow. Get some rest."

After Paracelsus handed them their share of berries, the Doctor soon sat down near the fire. All sat silently, watching the flickering flames in the middle. Each having different thoughts on their current situation, Reynauld thought about how much regret he had for letting himself near the trapezohedron, in his defense it actually did look like a simple puzzling trapezohedron. Junia for once was at peace, she no longer felt as if she needed to keep watch of her surroundings, unlike the dangerous place that is Hamlet.

Paracelsus was still mad of Reynauld's mistake, because of him her research is all the way back home, and worse, the Jester might break in to make a mess of all her files just to spite her. She needs to get back soon before he does.

As for Dismas, his mind lingered back to the faces of the mother and child. Years of keeping that memory away had returned to him just like that, and worse, he does not know what that dream means. Especially when the monster in Reynauld's armor killed him at the end. Dismas looked up towards the knight, he was busy reading some verses from his bible. For now, Dismas' questions shall be left unanswered, and though he is reluctant to return to sleep, Dismas has things to do in the morning.

Author's Note

Reynauld: *Sees your green thumb.*

A special thanks for mrkillwolf666 for giving me the idea for this fic and helping on making the plot for the story.