The day passed by without any remarkable events occurring. “Mother” called her one last time to remark how disgusting she was and that she best be happier the next day. If she didn’t wear anything showing even a modicum of positivity, she’d be locked in her room for the month with not even a book to entertain her. If only Heren knew her brother would never return the day he left, she would’ve begged to travel alongside him. 

With nothing else to do for the day, when the stars conquered the daytime sky, she headed to bed for the night. She ceased movement to all but one Irestone in the lamp, spotted the monster lurking in the darkness, then went to sleep. 

The dream started like all the others. A dark void surrounded her on all sides. There was nothing but the black nothingness above and below her. No sources of visual stimulation were present. None except the monster sitting directly in front of her. 

Its skin was made of darkness, so in all regards the monster should have vanished, blending into the black scenery. However, Heren could define its form separate from the background. She didn’t know how she could, but it was visible to her and her alone. It didn’t matter how logically inept the situation was.  

She’d dreamt of this several times throughout the years. Even before the days her brother abandoned the family and mother died, the void awaited her when she closed her eyes. That’s why she didn’t hesitate to just wait for the daytime sky to shine to signal her awakening. There wasn’t much to fear, anyways. All the monster would do was mouth words without making any sounds. Beyond that, there was nothing the dream had to offer. 

“Can you hear me?” 

Heren yelped, jumping to her feet and backing away. The monster talked, did it not? She thought she heard it speak to her, but it couldn’t have.  

“So, you can hear me,” the voice said. “Good, good.” 

Her ears and eyes weren’t deceiving her. The monster did make its voice known, but why now? What purpose was there to speak to her in the most random of moments? Heren calmed herself and sat back down to listen at what the monster wanted to say. Everything had changed just from one shift in her dream, but she could stifle her concerns for the moment. Her curiosity won out, conquering the voice screaming caution in the back of her mind. 

“Do you have any questions,” the creature asked. “When I say what needs to be said, you won’t want to stay here much longer. Get your curiosity out of the way before you lose this chance forever.” 

It was strange to hear such a clear voice come from a skeletal shadow monster with sideways blinking eyes. Even stranger, the voice was clearly feminine. She had expected it to sound inhuman, or if there were human tones to it, it’d use a mixture of both feminine and masculine voices. The books she read were what planted that, in retrospect, very naïve thinking.  

“I do have a few questions,” Heren said. “Let’s get the obligatory ones out of the way. Who are you?” 

The creature chuckled, sounding uncannily human. A shiver ran through Heren’s back as if she walked into Gyseri thorn winds without eye protection. The idea alone unsettled her very core.  

“I have no name. I was never given one.” The creature raised a bony finger at her. “Why don’t you give me a name? Make my first ever name good too.” 

The creature wanted her to give it a name? She had no idea why it wanted her to choose, but a suitable one came to mind.  

“Tyko,” Heren said. 

“Tyko? That sounds too cute for me.” 

“The name comes from the Reilean word, tyke, meaning blacker than darkness. I changed it to make it sound more like a name.” Heren grinned. “Besides, it fits you. You’re sort of cute in your own special way.” 

Tyko’s eyes spread wider. At least, Heren thought that’s what was happening. It was hard to tell, concerning the fact that its eyes opened completely the wrong way. She could tell that what she said shocked the monster to some extent, which was surprising Heren herself. She didn’t think the monster could feel any emotion. Strangely enough, she felt a sort of kinship for that realization. 

Silence permeated the void for a time. Suddenly, Tyko pressed a palm to its face and let loose a howling laugh. It pounded a fist against the ground, its misty black skin wavering painfully. When it stopped, Heren prepared for the event it did something else unexpectedly. She had already shifted her feet so she could run any moment it decided to approach her. 

“Fine, why not. Tyko’s the name.” Tyko settled down and raised another finger. “Next question if you have any.” 

“Why do you appear only to me?” 

Tyko grinned, exposing the hundreds of fangs resting inside its mouth. It looked absolutely delighted as if it were about to deliver news to a woman that her husband had died in battle. Even if it didn’t attack, she couldn’t trust the grin of such a force.  

It closed its eyes so she couldn’t discern what emotion it was concealing.  

“I sense potential within you. It’s a glorious potential that can shape the entire world if you so choose to follow its path. Your name will be passed down through generations, sung by a fire with both awe and despair.” It opened its eyes again, looking into her very soul. “I can see the bodies you will walk on.” 

“The bodies,” Heren asked hesitantly. 

“Yes, the bodies,” Tyko clapped. “The wonderful bodies. Pools of blood. Path of the tyrant. Imagine the greatest massacre your kingdom suffered but spread the destruction and misery by a continental scale.” It looked up to a void sky, eyes on the brink of ecstasy. “So wonderful.” 

Heren swallowed saliva that had been pooling in her mouth. She all but stopped breathing as she listened to Tyko speak about a massacre with the tone of someone undergoing an intense sexual delight. A massacre that she would cause no less. Such an idea was foreign to her. She had the potential to become one of the deadliest people in history? She barely had the heart to hurt a stygmy.  

“Though you wouldn’t think twice if you stepped on a bug,” Tyko said as if it could read her mind.  

“Of course I wouldn’t mind if I stepped on a bug. If they didn’t want to be stepped on, they shouldn’t have been born as bugs in the first place. But we’re talking about human beings here.” 

“Ah yes. The idea that you humans are superior to any other life form on the planet.” Tyko, who was several feet away, instantly appeared in front of her. Heren didn’t even have time to run. By the time it appeared, she could do nothing but stare at it.  

“With such a mindset like that, it wouldn’t be wrong to think that an individual human was superior to other humans. It’s a way of thinking unique to humans, and I adore it. The discrimination. The narcissism. The mindless bloodshed. 

“Animals and bugs kill to eat. Without killing, one cannot survive. Even the grass eaters eat living organisms. It just so happens their diet consists of green. Some animals and bugs even cannibalize each other, much like humans, but there is a distinct difference. When an organism cannibalizes another, it is with purpose. Eat or be eaten. Blood for sustenance. When you humans kill each other, you justify it; try to clear the air by saying that either they deserved it or by saying they need to expand territory to gain resources.  

“But don’t the ones expanding already have enough space for people to live, food to eat, water to drink? There’s enough meat and grain in every conceivable habitat to sustain a massive population of humans. Trade and bartering come in handy for the handling of exotic goods. So why do you need to expand? The answer is there is no real reason except the unique human trait of desiring blood. Craving it.  

“That’s what I adore about you humans. And you. You have the potential to match even the greatest murderers I’ve witnessed.” 

Heren’s breath froze in her throat. If she weren’t in a dream, her lungs would have strained minutes ago, but her chest didn’t hurt in the slightest. Instead, it was her mind that wavered and trembled. The things Tyko was saying were insane. She couldn’t keep track of what the point of the speech was even about after halfway through.  

Tyko teleported back to its previous spot, its face the very definition of someone undergoing a moment of pure, unfiltered delight.  

“What do you want from me,” Heren’s wavering voice managed to squeeze out. 

Tyko smiled and crossed its arms. “I merely want to watch. You are set to star in the greatest play that I’ve seen scheduled.” 

“So, are you going to provide me the script?” 

“No, no. It would be boring to watch you follow through on actions defined by me. Where would the genuine actions be if I did such a thing.” Tyko tapped a finger against its leg, finally looking serious after the drawn-out conversation. “Let's get to why I’m here. When you wake up, you will have a choice to make. It won’t be first in the morning, but it’ll happen that day. Depending on the decision you make, you’ll either go down the route of the tyrant, or narrowly avoid it and just be normal. Or normal in your terms, I reckon.” 

Heren didn’t understand something about what Tyko just said. There was a blatant contradiction in the words it uttered.  

“If you want my reactions to my apparently tyrannical future to be genuine, then why tell me of the decision at all. Wouldn’t it be better for you to leave me be?” 

Though she asked that, she was grateful that it gave her the warning in advance. She wasn’t aware of what the decision would be, but the knowledge that she could avoid her bloody fate, if it truly was her fate and not some rhetoric spawned by the mischievous darkness, settled her nerves. Though she doubted the decision would be easy, the choices settling in the sand would be made clear.  

“Why am I telling you,” Tyko grinned. “Because...I want a marvelous play. Yes, your journey to a throne of crimson blades is already a fantastic feast for the eyes on its own, but I want there to be more of a show. What’s better than having foreknowledge that you can overturn your doomed destiny only to fall down that path anyways? Such tragedy would be beautiful to witness!” 

The void behind Tyko glowed a vibrant red. The red light flashed five times before coming to life. Attached to Tyko’s head were two giant sketchy blood red wings. The wings morphed in shape and size every second. In the pitch darkness of the void, Heren couldn’t help but cover her eyes to protect them from the glow emanating from the scarlet feathers.   

The wings folded back into Tyko’s head soon after. Its head vibrated, making a sound similar to meat being squeezed between someone’s fingers.  

“Sorry, got excited.” It sniffed and carried on as if nothing had happened. “The play will begin shortly. You should be able to feel it, right?” 

Tyko wasn’t wrong. She could feel her consciousness waking as the daytime sky beat back the starry invaders. The dream was almost over, and she was glad for it. She didn’t want to stay another minute inside her head.  

“Before you wake up,” Tyko interrupted. Heren turned to it, unable to look it in the eyes. She was too afraid it would see her fear. “You’re aware of the memory you’re keeping locked up.” 

Heren’s eyes widened at what Tyko said. Hands shivering, she shook her head and looked him in the eyes, pleading no. 

“Don’t be so afraid. Whether I say anything about it or not, you’ll remember it all when you wake up. I’m just warning you about it. Just prepare. I wouldn’t want the main star of the show to be stuck in her bed all day.” 

Heren grabbed the roots of her hair and pulled. There was no pain. Nothing to keep her from waking up. All she could do was wait as her consciousness came to and pray that what Tyko said was all a ploy; a way to spice up its entertainment a little further. 

“The show begins,” Tyko raised a hand parallel to its face, a toothy grin showering her with terror. “The curtain rises. The actors line up in a row, bowing to the audience before starting. The main girl herself is nervous and unsure if she can perform to the best of her abilities.” Its smile widened, showing all one thousand of its fangs. “She has no need to worry. I have full faith that she’ll play spectacularly.” 

Tyko lowered its hand. Heren woke up.