Damien ran.
He ran as fast as he possibly could.
He had already suspected that the entrance they came from would now have been "mysteriously" blocked off, and as he approached where the entrance should have been, his suspicions were confirmed.
Not only was the entrance blocked off, but it appeared to have completely disappeared.
Dammit, I really can't catch a break can I? I didn't even get a chance to check my runes from the moment I got here!
I need to find a place where I can stall for a bit...
Damien remembered seeing other pathways inside the sanctum as he was walking to the main chamber with the group.
If he kept approaching the entrance, there should be a pathway on his left pretty soon...
He shot a quick glance behind him to see if anything was still chasing him.
That turned out to be a pretty dire mistake.
The Void Servant's unique trait of being completely silent and incapable of making noise made it all the more terrifying.
Because of that trait alone, he couldn't even tell how close it was to him, and it turns out that it was really close.
The abomination who had to at least be a — actually, Damien didn't really know how powerful the average nightmare creature was; this was his first encounter with one.
For all he knew, this could have been an average awakened beast who someone like his sister could erase out of existence with a singular swipe of her finger.
I'm so weak...
Damien, a few powerful strides later, finally reached the area where the pathway offered an alternate route.
He took it without a second thought.
He bolted down the narrow pathway until he saw a crudely crafted set of double doors.
After quickly opening the doors and closing them behind him, he sat in front of the door, hoping that the creature wouldn't barge into the room with him.
If it did, he was a goner, there would be absolutely nothing he could do at that point.
He waited and waited, catching his breath, praying that he could get a lucky break for once in his entire journey within the first nightmare so far.
The spell seemed to grant him that much at least.
Nothing came at all.
The ferocious demon seemed to have completely vanished.
That little shit is just playing with me isn't it...
Damien heaved a great sigh.
Finally feeling a tad bit more relaxed, he started to observe his surroundings more clearly.
Looking around, the environment to him strangely resembled a bedroom.
The overall size of the room was generally small.
He noticed a dusty bed with a gutted pillow in the corner, the remains of what appeared to be a nightstand right next to it.
Across from the bed there was a writing desk that looked extremely fragile, as if it could crumble at the slightest hint of pressure.
Aside from that and the worn-down cobblestone floor, the room was mostly empty
Damien pondered about using the bed and desk to block the door since it didn't have a lock but on second thought he knew that it wouldn't add much protection in the end.
If whatever the hell that was really wanted to kill him, it would have no issue with breaking down a mere stone door reinforced by a couple of rotting wooden structures.
Damien grimaced at the thought and simply tried to forget about that possibility ever happening; there was nothing he could do about it anyway.
Damien walked over to the bed and sat down.
Alright, time to finally get this off my agenda.
He learned in his private education all about the nightmare spell and the various attributes associated with it.
One of the most basic and important lessons he learned, though, was how to view your runes once you were actively initiated by the spell.
Damien closed his eyes and concentrated.
Almost instantaneously, a group of sparkling runes appeared before him.
It took him a couple of seconds to get adjusted to the different language the runes were in before he gained the subconscious understanding that is granted by the spell to every aspirant in their first nightmare.
You've gotta be joking...