Daniel Hall: The Sandman (New Age)/Issue 1

The first issue of the series Daniel Hall: The Sandman. Upon experiencing the birth of a new universe, The Sandman finds himself at the beginning of time and experiences as the universe slowly forms around him. But he can't help but wonder, was it worth it to wipe out a world, or even worlds just to replace it immediately after?

Plot
A black void.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): In the beginning, there was nothing. And then God said "let there be light".

An explosion erupts from the void. It's glorious, the colours dancing and the fires crackling. With each up burst of flames, an asteroid, a star, and even an entire world is created. One after the other until the entire universe is filled.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): ...And then God said "let there be light" again.

A light that glows black creeps from the back of the universe, engulfing all of the worlds and stars. Only for another explosion, just as beautiful, to come from inside of the blackness, birthing more worlds.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): And he said it again. And again. And again.

Worlds live. Worlds die. With every word he says, the universe is reset. Then, when it finally stops, we find ourselves on a planet. It resembles Earth, but there is no grass or vegetation to speak of.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): I can't help but wonder...

A being crashes from the atmosphere. In the crater left behind from the impact stands the titular Sandman, Dream of The Endless. Once referred to as Daniel Hall. His clothes are burning on his back and he's rubbing his head as he gazes around at the environment he finds himself in. He simply allows his clothes to burn off of his back, the fire not seeming to hurt or even faze him in the slightest.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): ...Why does he keep rebuilding the universe? Was he not satisfied with his first attempt? Or is it like a child playing with building blocks and he simply keeps breaking everything apart just for the sake of remaking it again, with only minor alterations...?

Dream crawls out of his crater and gazes at the world before him. One made of dirt and stone. He wanders for some time, the sun in the sky slowly setting behind him. He's been walking for hours. Then, he finally finds it. A single large insect on the ground. He crouches down, his hands hesitantly hovering above it as he stares at the bug in awe, acting as if it's the most impressive thing he's ever seen in his life.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): This. This is what brought me into existence. The first being in the known universe to have the ability to dream... On the planet Oa far away, the first living beings, a reptile-like species born in the planet's deserts, were born. And on Mars, much closer, the cells that will eventually evolve to be the Martian people slowly form. But here, on Earth... they manage to evolve the first being to truly be able to dream.

He lowers his hand, picking up the insect as gently as he can, staring down at it.

The insect fidgets around, uncomfortable in his hand. However, with a single touch from Dream, it stops
 * Daniel Hall (thinking): I do love Earth. So much...


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Sleep, little one. Ignore my grasp. Let's see what you dream of...

The world around him warps, bending in towards him until it's sucked completely away, revealing a white void. His head darts around the room until he spots a single patch of dirt in the nothingness. He walks over to it, still carrying the insect in his hand, and crouches down, spotting the insect's dream self digging in and out of the dirt. Dream smiles.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Of course. A simple dream for a simple creature. Its purpose is to scavenge and in a world newly born it can't dream of doing something more. So, in its dreams... digs.

He chuckles but he stops when the world around him shatters away to reveal the real world once again. He confusedly looks around before he feels the insect crawling in his hand. His laughing had woken it up. It extends its wings and flies off away from him and he does nothing but stand and watch it. When it's out of sight, he grips his shirt.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): ...I have a feeling in my chest that I can't identify.

Later, Dream, now in a new outfit, sits on an ivory wall, looking down at a truly beautiful patch of the Earth. Within the wall, there are animals of all kinds, luscious trees and shrubbery, sparkling water, and more. Behind Dream though, on the outside of the wall, is a wasteland of dirt, with only patches of grass and trees that have clearly been decayed by the elements. He simply stares inside.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): By this point, I have lived on this world for millions of years. It took until now for one of the most famous, and one of my favorite, stories to take form. That of the Garden of Eden. A beautiful garden, supposedly built by the Creator himself although none of the stories explain why he did it. "The Lord works in mysterious ways" as they say. All that is known is that it is the home of the supposed first man.

A naked man within the ivory walls stabs a fish swimming in a river with a spear, looking quite pleased with himself.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Adam. A name that simply means "man". But, what the many retellings don't tell you, is that in some of the stories God made a mistake. His first mistake...

Adam looks over and smiles as a woman approaches him through the bushes.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Was Lilith. Most retellings choose to skip over her tale to simplify the Garden's story, but I believe her role is important, as it shows that even the unknowable and all-powerful are able to make mistakes.

Dream watches as the tale plays out, Lilith and Adam beginning with them being happy only to start arguing with and berating each other. As the tale progresses, they drift further and further apart, both metaphorically and literally, sleeping on opposite ends of the Garden.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Lilith refused to follow Adam's will, which was seen as her duty as his wife. Lilith was eventually banished from Eden for this.

Lilith wanders the barely formed wasteland outside of Eden, naked and covered in bruises and blood. She trips over a vine, collapsing and crying on the dirt. She then feels a presence and looks up, revealing a group of horrific beings covered in shadows staring down at her.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Lilith was eventually taken in by demons. I'm unsure how she felt in the moment. But I can't help but wonder how she would feel if she found out this has happened over and over again... Her destiny is to be kicked out of Eden. Every time the world is reborn a new, her story always has her losing everything and accepting evil to find it all again.

Dream remains perched on the ivory wall. He attempts to remain blank faced, but subtle traces of sadness and rage come through.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Everything is eventually reset. Time and time again. I am unable to do anything to stop this. All of these stories are forced to start from scratch and the people within them must relearn their lessons and experience everything they already experienced. Not even I am free of this fate. In this new world, I have no doubt that I will be forced to relive events I have already lived through.

His hands grip his knees, his barely contained anger becoming evident.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Why? Is it fun? Is watching people go through the same stories, just slightly differently, fun? Is that it?

Dream's eyes are filled with rage and it's clear that behind his closed lips are gritted teeth. His lips part slightly, allowing his enraged heavy breathing to escape. However, he then very suddenly stops and his face returns back to normal. He sighs and stands up, now suddenly standing on a different ivory wall within his realm of The Dreaming, his entire dream-like kingdom behind him. He stares at nothing in particular, processing his thoughts.

Dream falls backwards. Instead of falling off the wall, however, he simply falls into a throne that has manifest behind him. He also now suddenly finds himself sitting in his ivory palace, the paintings hung up in it and the layout of the room warping, never looking the same for more than a minute. He doesn't react to any of this though, as though this is just normal for him. The raven Matthew flies in through a window that manifested itself, perching down on the throne and looking down at Dream.
 * Daniel Hall (thinking): ...Stories are wonderful things. But a story with no ending is a pointless one. For the world to matter, it has to end. Not just repeat. And repeat. And repeat...


 * Matthew: Hey boss, how's life been treating you?

Dream blinks in response. Matthew recoils slightly.


 * Matthew: You feeling alright? You've been acting kinda weird since the whole... "reset" thing. Does it get to you often? I wouldn't have expected you to react like...

Dream's head spins, staring up at him.


 * Matthew: Right. You're not the same boss. A couple of million years running and I still can't wrap my head around that one...
 * Daniel Hall (thinking): He's not incorrect. My previous self is dead. That aspect of me died before the Grand Reset... Though I am, indeed, still the me I was before that aspect's death. All that has changed is that I have a new outlook...
 * Matthew: Y'know, you haven't talked to the others since the reset. If you're having some issues, why don't you try talking it out with them?

Dream's head snaps around, staring at Matthew with anger in his eyes, though he seems more offended than anything.


 * Daniel Hall: No.

Matthew recoils again. Dream glares at him before turning back around, slumping in his throne.


 * Matthew: ...Why're you upset?
 * Daniel Hall: Your place is not to question me, Matthew.
 * Matthew: C'mon...

Dream rests his chin in the palm of his hand. He sighs before turning to face Matthew again.


 * Daniel Hall: I do not know myself. I apologize for snapping.
 * Matthew: It's fine. But... you probably should talk to them. Family can help you out with stuff like this, you know.
 * Daniel Hall: They are not my family.
 * Matthew: You probably shouldn't talk like that about them.
 * Daniel Hall: But it's true. Is it not? I was grown in a womb unlike the other members of my kind.
 * Matthew: They can be family without being... well, "family". You get me?
 * Daniel Hall: I do not.
 * Matthew: Well, the point is that they can help you out. I mean, they're super powerful, right? Why're you so scared to talk to them?
 * Daniel Hall: I am afraid of nothing, Matthew. I simply... I do not know. It does not feel right. I apologize.
 * Matthew: ...They probably miss you, y'know. I'd definitely miss my brother after a million years. If I had one, that is.

Dream turns away, once again resting his chin on his palm.


 * Daniel Hall: ...I have not spoken to them in quite some time. But perhaps you are correct. Perhaps visiting them is what I need. But just one of them.
 * Matthew: Which one?
 * Daniel Hall: The one with answers.

Dream stands up. He gestures for Matthew to come with him and Matthew perches on his shoulder. In front of them, a hedge maze manifests inside the palace, breaking through the ivory walls and shattering windows as it does.


 * Matthew: Couldn't you have, like... make the palace bigger so that it would fit?
 * Daniel Hall: Where would be the fun in that?

Dream walks into the maze. He wanders the stone paths, surrounded by shrubbery walls, though he seems to not have any place he's actually going.


 * Matthew: ...What's happening?
 * Daniel Hall: I am wandering the halls in hopes of entering another realm.
 * Matthew: Uh...
 * Daniel Hall: I am attempting to enter the Garden of Forking Ways to communicate with the eldest of the Endless. To do so, one must enter a labyrinth and become lost.
 * Matthew: I, um... I don't understand the connection.
 * Daniel Hall: I am not surprised. It's hard for beings born in the mortal realm such as yourself to comprehend us.

Dream reaches up and gently scratches Matthew's head. In spite of being a raven, Matthew is clearly very confused by the gesture but doesn't pull away.


 * Matthew: ...Alright. Y'know, I don't think I've ever been in a realm other than The Dreaming before. I mean, I've seen the others, but I dunno if I've ever been in their places. Or have I...? I dunno, after the first thousand years it gets hard to keep track. Anyway, whose realm is this?
 * Daniel Hall: You will see.
 * Matthew: Huh?
 * Daniel Hall: I would prefer it to be a... surprise.
 * Matthew: Man, you really do act weird now.
 * Daniel Hall: Maybe you act too normal.

After a lot of wandering, Dream tracing the walls with his hand, the pair finally reach the center of the maze. In the center stands a massive stone pedestal, behind which stands seven gigantic stone statues that depict the Endless. All of them face forward, completely still, except for two. The first is the statue of Destruction, who faces away from everything. The other is Dream's own statue, whose head is hung, staring at the ground. In the distance, a castle that expands further than the size of the maze should allow can be seen. On the stone pedestal stands one of these Endless, standing before his own statue and mimicking its pose as he reads the book chained to his wrist.


 * Destiny: An unusual way of entering my realm for you. You could have called upon me, but instead you enter my realm the way humans do.
 * Daniel Hall: How I entered your realm is not the issue, it is why you should be asking.
 * Destiny: We are able to call upon and locate each other at any moment and yet you chose the longest way you could possibly have chosen. One cannot help but wonder your motivation in the matter.
 * Daniel Hall: If I called upon you via your portrait, I could risk being seen by the other Endless. And I could prefer them not to see me. At least not for now.
 * Destiny: Strange yet stranger. What would possess one of our kind to not wish to be seen by another of our kind?
 * Matthew: Hey, uh... boss? Why's your statue look like that?

Destiny looks up and closes his book. His face is shaded out by his hood, so it's impossible to know what emotion he could be feeling.


 * Destiny: A simple journey and yet you felt the need to bring a raven?
 * Matthew: Am... am I in trouble?
 * Daniel Hall: No. Destiny has no right to punish you. Your book holds all of the information to have ever existed or will exist, so I trust there is a reason why you are speaking to me in this manner, Destiny.
 * Destiny: I am simply interested. You have softened since your rebirthing. You cannot blame me for comparing and contrasting you with your previous incarnation. He was with us for so long and it has been some time since an Endless was reborn.
 * Matthew: Wait, if he has infinite knowledge in his book, why's he... interested in this? Shouldn't his book already have all of his answers?
 * Daniel Hall: Something you will care to take note of, Matthew, is that Destiny is a cryptic sort. His words always have some double meaning.

Though the pair as too far away to notice, Destiny smiles slightly beneath his hood.


 * Daniel Hall: Let us get down to business.
 * Destiny: Indeed.
 * Daniel Hall: You know why I am here, I trust?
 * Destiny: You wish to know the truth.

Destiny approaches Dream, towering over him as he does. While Matthew recoils back slightly, Dream remains still, unintimidated by Destiny's looming presence.

Dream stares at Destiny, and Destiny stares back. Dream's face makes it clear he is not willing to accept this answer, while Destiny's remains as blank as ever.
 * Destiny: You wish to know why the divine Creator allows the universe to be reset. You wish to know the truth behind all of the Great Resets.
 * Daniel Hall: Do you possess this knowledge?
 * Destiny: I possess all knowledge. The knowledge of now, then, and there.
 * Daniel Hall: And why have you chosen instead to string me along rather than simply giving me the information which I seek?
 * Destiny: When one such as me exists, one whose information is infinite and possesses all answers to all questions, it is easy for anyone, whether demon, god, or Endless, to rely on it. I could tell you everything, but once I do, once I answer the question that none but myself and the Creator know the answer to, you shall be unable to form proper conclusions on your own.
 * Daniel Hall: You believe me so weak-willed that I will become a blabbering shell of myself, unable to cope without your assistance?
 * Destiny: In this particular case... yes.


 * Daniel Hall: Then I will summon The Fates.
 * Destiny: You came to me first. I believe you know that they do not possess the answers you seek.
 * Daniel Hall: I know...

Dream hangs his head, staring at the ground.


 * Matthew: ...Is--

Destiny's head suddenly snaps in Matthew's direction. Matthew flinches at his gaze, but does his best to remain calm.


 * Matthew: U-uh... Is there anything you can tell the boss to help him? Anything at all?
 * Destiny: ...I suppose.

Dream's head darts back up.


 * Destiny: You will not enjoy it.
 * Daniel Hall: I have experienced countless things I do not enjoy. Adding another to the pile will not be an issue.
 * Destiny: ...Very well.
 * Matthew: ...So?
 * Destiny: It will keep happening.

Dream tilts his head slightly.


 * Destiny: You may combat it or chose to believe, nay, hope that there is a slight chance that it will stop, but it will not. The Great Reset shall occur time and time again. All people and things will be forced to start from absolute zero and crawl their way back through history. The only beings able to remember the previous worlds being our kind, the divine Creator, and Lucifer. Yet the only one with any sort of immunity to the reset is the Creator himself. Even I, Destiny of The Endless, have been reset. The book that remains chained to my wrist throughout every occurance of the resetting now possesses information that was never there before. I find myself speaking in ways unlike me, doing things I feel as though I would not do. And you... Dream.

Destiny points at him.


 * Destiny: You, too, have been reset.

Dream goes quiet, staring up at him.


 * Matthew: You know, boss, I don't think you act any differently than--
 * Daniel Hall: Of course you don't, Matthew. You, too, have been reset.

Matthew stares at him and stops talking. Dream very slowly turns his back and begins to exit Destiny's realm. Behind him, Dream's statue has changed. He is now crouched down and gripping his head.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): A story that continues ad nauseam is a story that has no purpose. The stories of this world have repeated time and time again. All I am able to do is watch. And experience. The year is currently 1920.

Dream sits naked in a glass ball, strung up by chains.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): Within the newly reset world, I am captured. A handful of years ago, the magus Roderick Burgess, in an attempt to capture death itself, summoned me. He chose to turn the situation into his advantage, trapping me with a magical glyph drawn in chalk. This is the second time this event has taken place...

Roderick Burgess bangs on the glass, gritting his teeth and screaming at Dream.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): I am able to handle my imprisonment with ease. I know I will escape, after all. It is how the story goes. The story is a far less interesting one to tell this time around. Not only because it has already been told once before...

Roderick Burgess walks away, accidentally smudging the chalk glyph that keeps Dream sealed away.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): ...But because it is over much faster.

The glass shatters and Dream reveals his full, unending power to Roderick, who crawls away from him, screaming, crying, and pleading for mercy.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): It is as though the universe itself knew this tale has already been told and chose to grit its teeth and get it over with. When I was my previous self, I despised Burgess. I wished to reveal my potential to him and have him realize the grave error he had made in sealing me away for so long. But now that I have managed to do so...

Roderick cries for his mother, slumping against a wall as snot and spit run down his face.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): All I feel is pity...

Roderick closes his eyes and waits for death. However, when it doesn't come, he opens them again, revealing Dream has chosen to leave him behind, having taken his belongings with him. Dream simply returns to The Dreaming, wandering through a hall made up of infinite mirrors, his appearance reflecting over and over in a single mirror due to the bouncing light from the others.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): My belongings were stolen during my previous capture. It lead to stories. Horrific and often traumatic stories, but stories none the less. Instead, I escaped early and took my belongings with me. These stories do not, and will never exist.

As Dream mentions the stories that don't exist, he passes by dream representations of these things that don't exist anymore in the mirror. The first is Hob Gadling, who Dream never met. The second is John Dee, who never possessed the Dreamstone. The third is Emperor Norton who, while he likely went through similar events, was never influenced by Dream. And the fourth and final reflection is that of Rose Walker, who was never born in the first place. Dream stops walking to stare at this final reflection. The reflection of Rose stares back, almost looking disappointed in him. Dream turns away and continues walking.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): So many stories that I remember but can never occur... And there is nothing I can do about it. The world will loop. And loop. And loop. There is absolutely nothing I am able to do to stop this. I could recreate these stories, but it would not be the same. They would not be the same. What is the point in recreating a story that has already been told if there is no way to improve upon it...?

Dream passes by some Dreaming residence, such as Lucien and The Corinthian, who simply watch him as he walks past them. There is rain in The Dreaming, as it reflects the emotions that the Dream King himself is feeling.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking): There is no way to "fix" this. It is not broken, after all. But even something that doesn't need repairs can sting like it does... There is no communicating with the Creator. And if there were, it is not my place to make demands of him. I must simply go through the motions. Go through his "plan". His plan for a world that simply loops, changing the very essence of it and losing a piece of it each time. Even I, myself are affected by this. I cannot imagine how much of myself has been lost with each reset. And I do not wish to imagine...

Dream simply takes his seat back on his throne, slouching down with a face that has absolutely no emotion to speak of on it. He has resigned himself to his fate.


 * Daniel Hall (thinking) I... give up...

Continued in Issue 2...