Inside Outer

This was a monster from a dream I had last night. There are no stats or abilities, just a description for inspiration. Art accompanying it. A good sort of catharsis to get off my chest after a rough night.

By Zdzisław-Beksiński

I had a dream last night. I was back home in South Carolina, in the little swampy area I grew up with as a child. Maybe I was a child in my dream or an adult, I cannot remember. All I could remember was that I was scared, being chased by something terrible. I would look around the trees and brushes in the humid evening but never see it. But I'd find signs of it. Bodies of people it 'fed' on. What was striking was that everyone's face was inside out. Blown open. And deep down inside, I knew the creature took their soul this way. Erasing their identity violently and drawing out their spirit. For food? For fun? I don't know how, that's just how dreams work I suppose. All I knew was that I didn't want to be next. There was a real, palpable fear that came from it. Would I die alone in these swamps I once called home? Would the creature get me and carve my face out, burrowing for my soul? As my sleep cycle ended, I finally saw the creature, as above, based on that painting I saw years ago. It's strange how a myriad of things from your past can make their way into your dreams at night. But it just crouched there, waiting for me to make my next move. We stood there for what seemed like years and I felt like an old man. The creature said one thing to me before it finally attacked my face.

"I'm not hungry."