The Dream Sanctum: The Eternal World (14 page)

Every time Kwin struck, a burst of flame
emanated from her hands. Kai wasn’t sure if that was her intent or because she
couldn’t control herself in her anger, but it seemed to be working. Kwin’s
sheer ferocity seemed to be too much for Semyaza to handle for the moment.

But Kai wasn’t feeling good about Kwin’s
advantage. Something was wrong. She was fighting well, but where others might
see incredible skill, he saw danger. Kwin was more than just upset. Something
had snapped, and Kai was incredibly worried for her. As strong as she was, Kwin
relied on certain things to help her remain calm after all she had been
through, and those things were slowly being taken from her. He had watched her
become more and more anxious as time went on, and Alastor, it appeared, was the
last straw. The sooner this battle ended, the better.

He thought about going up to her, to pull her
away until she could recover, but he was afraid. As much as he had learned, a
battle like this was far out of his league. But he knew that if things went too
far, he would have to interfere, Semyaza be damned. This was no longer about
her.

Kwin was not slowing down. Every time Semyaza
would swing at her, Kwin would knock her weapon out of the way and continue
striking at close range, still moving too fast for her opponent to keep track
of. When Semyaza tried to back away, Kwin would follow, and it was all the
angel could do to defend herself.

For the first time Kai could remember, Semyaza
looked afraid. She wasn’t against someone who wanted to win, someone who would
defeat her in battle and then let her be. She was up against someone who wanted
to end her existence completely, compelled by nothing but vengeance. Kwin’s
previous desire to get into the Golden Capital had, for the moment, been
entirely replaced.

But Semyaza was not helpless. As the battle
continued, though she appeared to grow weary, she began to be able to predict
Kwin’s movements despite her speed. Semyaza started blocking more of her
attacks, and soon started to strike back. At close range it was still difficult
for her to swing her weapon efficiently, but she soon realized she didn’t have
to; she had plenty of power behind her strikes.

Rather than try to dodge any of Semyaza’s
attacks, however, Kwin took them as best she could, refusing to move away from
the angel. Desperate to maintain her advantage she remained in close range,
letting the blows glance off her body. Her anger helped her ignore the pain
temporarily, but Kai could tell it was quickly taking its toll on her.

Finally Kwin broke free, flying across the sky
to temporary safety before turning to face her opponent. Kwin’s breathing was
ragged and she looked slightly dazed, but she glared at the woman with all the
intensity she could muster.

“Why do you insist on this fight?” Semyaza
asked. She sounded calm, but was clearly shaken; her body was covered with
injuries that were only now slowly starting to heal. “There is no point to
this. All your anger will not bring Alastor back.”

“You disgrace yourself by thinking you’re
worthy of speaking his name,” Kwin spat, looking at the angel with loathing in
her eyes.

“Be that as it may, it is the truth. So for
what purpose do you fight?”

“Where should I begin? You’ve stood in our way
ever since we met. You’ve treated us like dirt even though we’ve done nothing
to you. And now, with this… you’ve crossed the line.”

“It matters not. End this now or I will do to
you what I did to him, and I will do the same to every person who interferes.
You know what we are and why you cannot win. Listen to reason and save yourself
and your friends.”

“To hell with reason,” Kwin retorted. “I know
exactly what you are. You are delusional and complacent in your immortality,
and frankly, I expected more from the legends themselves. But I waste my time
with words. This is our final conversation, and I will make my point the only
way you seem to understand.”

Kwin vanished from sight, reappearing directly
in front of the angel, and the battle began anew. She attacked Semyaza
violently as though filled with some new energy, and the woman appeared to be
caught off guard. Every time she attempted to defend herself, Kwin would strike
her from another angle, tearing at her with her claws. Semyaza looked
overwhelmed at the prospect of having to relearn Kwin’s tactics again, and her
movements became slower. Every time she tried to use any of her powers, she was
quickly interrupted.

The ground shook softly, and Kai looked around
quickly, instinctively bracing for another earthquake, but then he realized
what was happening. Thousands of voices were rising together, calling out in
unison in support of the one fighting to protect them. Lindsay and Ella joined
them, though the noise was so loud that he couldn’t hear their voices even as
they stood right beside him.

Semyaza cried out in pain, and Kwin took this
as a sign to continue. She ignored the angel’s attempts at further attacks
completely and instead focused all her energy on her own assault. She grabbed
the angel by her wrist and flung her in one direction, only to appear from the
opposite direction and slam into her at full speed, knocking her completely off
balance. Semyaza’s clothes were torn and bloodied, and she looked as though she
was losing the strength to fight.

As they fought, Kai could hear Kwin calling
out to her with each strike.

“You dared come to this world, to
our
world–”

Kwin vanished from sight, then she and two
mirror images of herself struck Semyaza from three directions at once, causing
the angel to double over as her breath was knocked from her.

“–you locked us out of our own cities and
intimidated the innocent–”

She pulled aside the angel’s arm as she feebly
tried to defend herself and struck her forcefully in the face with her fist.

“–you took advantage of us and assumed your
link to the Creators meant that none of us would fight back–”

She grabbed Semyaza by the wrist again and
flung her upward, resulting in a sickening crack as Semyaza’s shoulder snapped
from the force. By now there were tears in Kwin’s eyes as she spoke.

“–you took Alastor, you took
my best friend
out of this world, like
you had
any right
–”

Kwin vanished from sight then reappeared in
the glare of the blinding sun, her wings casting a shadow on the ground far
below like a sinister eclipse. Semyaza looked upward, but could not see her
against the light.

“–what you did to him was your last mistake.
NOW. YOU. DIE.”

Kwin dove downward and caught the angel by the
throat. She held the struggling woman tight in her grasp and sped towards the
towers of the golden city below.

Lindsay’s grip on Kai’s hand tightened, and he
knew she was thinking the same thing. Kwin was really going to destroy the
angel. He wanted to call out, to say anything at all, but he knew he would not
be heard. He could only look on, unable to tear his gaze away.

Kwin and the angel were now almost a blur as
they moved faster still. With one final cry, Kwin flung Semyaza from her grasp
towards the city’s highest tower. As she did so, she spread her wings wide
behind her; they caught wind and slowed her descent, allowing her to veer out
of the way at the last second.

Semyaza, however, was not so lucky. With
seemingly no strength left to even try to change course, she collided with the
tower wall with a horrifying crash. Part of the tower collapsed inward on
itself with the force of the impact, and the angel vanished in a cloud of dust
and rubble. The rest of the tower soon followed, and a cloud of dust rose high
into the sky amidst the sounds of crumbling rock and shattering glass.

Kwin glided swiftly down through the dust,
back over the gate and down to where Kai and Lindsay were standing in total
shock. Her appearance flickered momentarily as she reverted back to her normal
form, and as she landed unsteadily, Kai quickly stepped to her side. She gave
him a nod that told him she was okay, then focused her intense stare on Dumar,
who now stood alone at the gate below Asmodiel.

“Now, get out of my way, or you’re next,” Kwin
commanded, and from behind her, every dreamer in the world erupted into
thunderous cheers and applause. Anything further Kwin wanted to say was lost in
the deafening roars of approval, and where Kai once felt fear, he now felt
defiance and confidence.

Far from looking perturbed, Dumar simply
looked at Kwin for a few moments before nodding. He stepped aside, and with a
gesture of his hand, the gates to the city opened once again. For the first
time that Kai could remember, he spoke. His voice was deep and smooth, and the
sound of his voice brought the crowd to stillness and silence.

“The Creators expected resistance from you,
and in light of your determination they have granted you access to the city.
What you hope to find within I do not know, for only the keeper may save this
world. For all your great deeds and demonstrations of power, you have not been
chosen, and that will not change.”

Without hesitation, Kwin strode forward
towards the gates. Kai and the others hesitantly followed. Kwin did not even
look at Dumar as she passed, and she swept into the city.

The gates closed behind them as they walked
in, and there was only silence. But it was all Kai could do to stop from
gasping in astonishment at what he saw, and the others stopped moving to take
it all in.

The entire magnificent city appeared to be
fading out of existence. Nearly every building, down to the collapsed piles of
debris and fires burning in the streets, were almost completely transparent.
Only ghostly outlines of what was and what should have been remained. If what
they were looking for was here, Kai could not see it. It seemed only a dead
city, devoid of all life and color. It was hard to believe he had stood here
just days before, experiencing it in all its glory.

“I… I don’t understand,” Kwin murmured.
“Something was supposed to be here. The keeper was told to come here, so there
must be something…”

“What you see here is happening all over the
world,” came Dumar’s deep voice from behind them. “The world is dying. It does
not have the strength to exist anymore. Soon it will not have the strength even
to let dreamers inside.”

“Why… why can’t we do something?” Kwin asked
helplessly. “What is causing the world to die? What can the keeper do that we cannot?”

Dumar shook his head.

“The world will only accept its keeper. That
cannot be changed, no matter how strong your will or how great your passion.
That is the truth of it. If you want to save your world, find the keeper. He is
our only hope.”

“Has this got something to do with me?” Kai
asked quietly. “From the first day you got here, all three of you kept
confusing me with this keeper of yours.”

“There is… something unique about you, that is
certain,” Dumar answered thoughtfully. “But still, you are not him, and that is
also certain.”

“But… there must be something…” Kwin said
weakly.

“I am sorry,” Dumar finished gently.

With that, he turned and left them alone.

For at least a minute, not a word was said.
For his part, Kai didn’t know what he could say. He was filled with
hopelessness and anger, thinking that there was something more he could have
done, but he didn’t know what. Semyaza, the one who had stood in their way, was
now gone. But was that going to do them any good?

All the motivation he had felt earlier at the
angel’s defeat was now gone, and his friends looked like they felt the same
way. They had hit another dead end, they still knew almost nothing, and their
time was almost up.

Finally, Kwin cleared her throat, and when she
spoke, she sounded as though she were doing everything in her power not to cry.

“We… we should go check on Alastor,” she
murmured, staring at the ground. Without waiting for an answer, she vanished.

K
ai and Lindsay met up in the
hall outside their bedrooms. He could hear Kwin, Alastor and Ella in the
entertainment room, but Kai wasn’t sure he felt like joining in, and he knew
Lindsay felt the same. She looked dejected, but still forced a smile as she
approached.

“You all right?” Kai asked, though it was a
question of habit more than anything.

“I guess. I’ve been thinking a lot about this
over the past few days, you know… if it turns out that we lose the Sanctum, I
guess I’ll be okay with that. I mean, it’s really great and all, but it’s just
a dream. And besides, all the people I go in there for, I have here already. I
suppose… I feel like I wouldn’t really be losing all that much.”

 
Kai
didn’t show it, but he felt even worse upon hearing these words from her. He
had been thinking similar things lately, but didn’t want to admit it to
himself. He thought that if he were to start trying to make the Sanctum’s end
sound palatable, it would cause him to give up hope. He didn’t want to stop
trying until it was too late, but there was an undeniable truth to Lindsay’s
words, and he hated that.

“As much as I don’t want to admit it, you have
a point,” he relented. “But I’m not done yet.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Lindsay exclaimed
quickly. “I’m just… you know, trying to prepare myself for the worst. But we
can still hope for the best, right?”

“Yep! We definitely can,” Kai said, and they
shared a long hug. It had been a while since the two of them had been alone
together, given that they were staying in a house with three other friends, and
Kai realized he kind of missed their time together. “Anyway, we should see what
everyone else is up to. Maybe we can still figure this out yet.”

Kai took a breath and opened the door, and
they walked inside. To Kai’s surprise, he found Alastor sitting on a nearby
couch looking quite pleased.

“Seriously, that’s so cool, well done,” he
said, patting Kwin on the back. “I wish I could have been there to watch it.”

“This isn’t a victory I feel particularly
enthused about, Alastor, though as long as you are pleased I suppose it was not
for nothing,” Kwin replied blankly.

“I guess this means you’ve finally surpassed
me, kiddo,” Alastor continued. “She was a challenge for me, but from the sounds
of things you completely destroyed her, and part of the city in the process.”

“It was not due to a difference in skill,”
Kwin said. “You misread your opponent and used inappropriate tactics against
her. I also had the advantage of fighting her after you tired her out.”

“Whoah, hold on, what did I do wrong?” Alastor
asked earnestly.

“You attempted to overwhelm and confuse her
with illusions, and while this was effective to start, she was able to adapt
and lure you into a spot where she had an advantage over you. You took too
long. I had more success because I did not give her room or time to use any of
her strengths.”

“Fair enough! Shame I won’t be able to request
a rematch. You know, after she beat me, my biggest concern was whether my hair
was actually on fire or if it just smelled that way–”

“Alastor… are you okay?” Lindsay asked uncertainly.

Alastor’s smile faded slightly as he looked up
at her.

“You know, actually, I’m quite thoroughly
bummed about all this. Getting kicked out, especially. The Sanctum was
seriously one of my favorite places to go, and I’d have gone back every night
for the rest of my life if I could. But really, joke’s on Semyaza; if that
keeper doesn’t show up, no one’s getting back in, so it’s not really a
punishment, is it?” Alastor stood up and stretched, and then his encouraging
smile returned. “Don’t worry about me. It’s not the end of the world. Well… you
know what I mean.”

Lindsay couldn’t help but laugh, and the mood
seemed somewhat lightened for now.

That was, except for Kwin. Throughout the
evening she tried to smile whenever anyone talked to her, but she didn’t speak.
Kai couldn’t remember ever seeing her so miserable. When conversations dwindled
into silence, she stared at the wall without really seeing it, as though her
mind was miles away. Just hours before she had seemed so confident, so sure
that she knew what they needed to do, and now, finally, she seemed out of
ideas. But then, they all were. They were almost out of time, and they were no
further along than when they had started.

She appeared calmer now, but Kai knew she
couldn’t possibly have recovered completely from what had happened earlier. He
guessed she was probably feeling fragile, and that as much as he wanted to help
her, he needed to leave her alone for now.

But as the sun fell lower in the sky, Kwin
came to him as he sat alone in his room. She said nothing, and didn’t look at
him. She looked exhausted and hopeless, and it was all he could to do avoid
hugging her or saying something himself.

Finally, after minutes of painful silence, she
spoke.

“I don’t know what is becoming of me,” she said
quietly, still not meeting his eyes. “I feel like I am losing myself to
madness. My fight with Semyaza is proof of that.”

“What are you talking about? You couldn’t have
known there was nothing there. It’s understandable you were upset, too, what
with Semyaza treating Alastor like–”

“You don’t understand. Not only did I feel the
urge to kill, I acted upon it. One could say that it’s only the Sanctum, that
it doesn’t count in a dream, but I find no solace in that. What I did then, I
thought such a thing was beyond me. I’m afraid. Maybe I don’t know myself as
well as I thought. Maybe those darker things I thought safely outside my reach
are actually within me.”

Kai took her gently by the shoulders, and she
finally looked up at him.

“Listen to me,” Kai said, looking her straight
in the eye. “I’m not going to pretend like what happened wasn’t serious, but
all it says to me is that you’re someone who loves your friends and who
sometimes makes mistakes. We’ve all been pushed to the limit, but you’ve got a
connection to the Sanctum and to Alastor like none of the rest of us. And it
is
different in a dream. Everything is
different. You got into an all-out duel with Alastor, and I know you wouldn’t
do that here.”

“It’s the intent that worries me,” Kwin
replied, but Kai shook his head, undeterred.

“Right, so answer me this, then. Would you
ever even consider doing that to someone here in the real world? Even for a
moment?” There was a pause, then Kwin slowly shook her head. “Exactly. The
dream changes how we look at everything. You might have wanted to kill Semyaza,
but she was an imaginary enemy in a dream just like the Nightmares were. The
only difference was that she could talk.”

“That’s a dangerous way to think,” Kwin
protested. “We shouldn’t attempt to justify such acts by demeaning the value of
another’s life, imaginary or not.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. What I mean is,
you felt the same way about the Nightmares, and you didn’t come out of that
like you were afraid you’d start hurting animals in the real world or
something. Even if you think going after Semyaza like that was a mistake, it
wasn’t such a big mistake that it suddenly means you’re an awful person. The
rules are different in the Sanctum, and as long as you still know the
difference between the two, you have nothing to worry about.”

Kwin turned her head slightly to look at the
floor, but she seemed more thoughtful than upset now.

“I… I can’t deny that there is a difference
between our worlds. All the same, this is something that I need to think about.
I think I need some time away from the Sanctum until I’ve processed this
properly. But… thank you. Your perspective is always helpful.”

Before Kai could reply, Kwin stood up and
walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Night soon arrived and it was time for bed,
though no one seemed very excited. Not only was the Sanctum in disrepair, but
Kai, Lindsay and Kwin were going home the next day. Kai didn’t want to go. It
had become almost a tradition for everyone to stay at Alastor’s house while
they figured out some Sanctum-related mystery, and the fact that they were
leaving seemed only to reinforce the idea that it was time to give up.

Kai set his alarm, got into bed and stared at
the ceiling, and for the first time in many months, he did not return to the
Sanctum.

Sarah arrived early the next morning to pick
up Kai, Lindsay and Kwin. The friends shared hugs all around before they left.
Kwin buried her face in Alastor’s chest, looking completely heartbroken to have
to leave, but said nothing.

Her silence continued on the ride home. She
responded politely whenever Sarah spoke to her, but otherwise returned to
staring out the window.

As soon as Kwin was dropped off, Sarah turned
to look at Kai and Lindsay.

“What’s wrong with your friend? She seems so sad.”

“She’s just… busy with school stuff, I guess.
Really stressed,” Kai said, hoping he sounded convincing. Sarah looked
skeptical, but didn’t say a word.

“Lindsay, dear, would you like to stay the
night? Your mother told me she’ll be out of town, and with your sister gone too
I wouldn’t feel comfortable with you staying home alone.”

“Oh, I… sure, thank you very much,” Lindsay
answered, looking relieved.

“Wonderful. I’ll drop you off at home so you
can pack your things and come over any time.”

Ten minutes later, Kai opened the door to his
room and set his backpack down, then sat on his bed. He was thankful his mother
decided to invite Lindsay over – he didn’t feel like being alone – but he
wasn’t sure he himself would make good company. But then, there was a chance
she felt similarly, and simply being together would be enough for both of them.

Kai looked up as someone walked into his room,
expecting to see Lindsay there, but instead he saw his mother. Sarah stood near
his bed, looking at him with concern.

“Are you all right, Kai? And don’t give me a
story about school stress. Don’t think I can’t see it when you and all your
friends have something on your mind.”

Kai sighed. He knew he couldn’t tell her the
truth, but he couldn’t lie to her either.

“I don’t know if everything is fine, but it
will be. We’re just working through some stuff together,” he explained slowly,
trying to find the right words. “I mean, we’re not fighting or anything, and
it’s not too serious. We’ll figure it out.”

“It seems serious enough to me,” Sarah replied
quietly. “Is there anything you want to tell me? Maybe I can help… you know you
can trust me, right?”

Kai felt a pang of guilt at her words, and for
a moment he felt tempted to tell her everything. He knew she might think it
strange or bizarre, but he also knew that she would try her best to understand
and accept it. That was the kind of woman she was, and he never liked having to
keep anything from her.

At that moment, however, the doorbell rang,
and Sarah turned to hurry downstairs.

“For all the times I have told that girl she
can come in whenever she likes, she insists on being polite and asking
permission. Make sure your room is tidy, Kai, I’ll go let her in.”

Kai looked around, looking for any spare socks
he might have to toss into the laundry, but his room was clean. He always
cleaned it before leaving for any extended period of time, a habit Sarah had
taught him as he was growing up.

Lindsay walked quietly inside, giving him a
cheerful smile, and handed him one of two plates piled with grilled cheese
sandwiches.

“She refused to let me up the stairs unless I
took up lunch,” Lindsay laughed. “She seemed to know that all Alastor ever
orders is pizza.”

They settled into a comfortable silence, and
Kai turned on the TV to give them something to do while they ate, but it was
clear that they both had the same thing on their minds. Being home, eating good
food and being with his best friend was helping Kai feel better, but only so
much.

Still, they carried on like they normally
would. Even though it seemed a little forced at times, Kai genuinely enjoyed
himself. For her part, Lindsay did as well. But as the sun set and they began
to get tired, they could no longer hold back.

“We have to do something,” Lindsay said
quietly. Her smile was gone again, but this time she seemed more worried than
sad. “Kwin is so depressed. If we don’t help her she’s not going to take care
of herself, you know that.”

“I know. I just don’t know what we can do. I
know I could cheer her up if I had answers for her, but… I don’t.”

“I know. None of us do.” Lindsay sighed, then
smiled again. “First thing tomorrow we’ll go visit her and make sure she’s had
something to eat. We’ll bake some cookies for her. I know she can’t resist
those.”

Kai finally had to smile, and with their
decision made, it was time to get ready to sleep. Lindsay headed to the
bathroom to change into her pajamas, and Kai had just closed his bedroom door
to do the same when he heard a voice from downstairs.