The Dream Sanctum: The Eternal World (4 page)

He broke off as a massive shadow passed over
the field. Kai looked up, and it was all he could do to prevent his jaw from
dropping. High above them, blocking out the sun for the entire field, was a
colossal black dragon. As he watched, the dragon seemed to grow even larger. He
then realized that this was because the dragon was coming down towards them –
and was going to land right on them.

“Out of the way!” Kwin called, and they
quickly made for the edge of the forest. No sooner had they made it to the
safety of the trees did the dragon land, the force of its landing sending a
gust of wind towards them with a force that nearly knocked Kwin off her feet.

The dragon was truly enormous. Its wings
stretched nearly across the entire field, and its jaws were large enough to fit
a large vehicle inside. Its scales were jet black and shone brightly in the
sunlight. It looked intimidating and dangerous, and Kai wondered who could have
created such a thing.

It looked slowly around the field, sniffing
the air, and then it turned to look directly at them. Kai felt a chill down his
spine as it looked over them, but it seemed mostly uninterested. Then, however,
it noticed Kai. Its eyes widened slightly, and it turned its head to look up
towards it back.

It was only then that Kai noticed that there
were two people sitting on the dragon’s back. A woman with light brown skin and
white hair sat in front of a very dark-skinned man. The man was dressed in dark
slacks and a simple brown shirt with the sleeves cut off, revealing powerful
arms that held the dragon’s reins. The woman, however, wore magnificent robes
of many different rich hues, and her large, butterfly-like wings were equally
colorful.

A low rumbling sound emanated from the great
dragon’s throat, and the pair nodded. They leapt off the dragon’s back, landing
lightly on the ground, and walked swiftly over to where Kai and the others were
standing. As she got closer, Kai saw straight, snow-white hair and piercing,
stern green eyes.

“Absolutely wonderful, what you’ve got going
on there,” Alastor said in his usual friendly demeanor, but they completely
ignored him and walked straight up to Kai.

“Where have you been?” the woman asked
irritably. “We have been looking everywhere for you! Your time is almost up, we
must hurry.”

“I… I don’t…” Kai stammered, completely and
totally confused.

“May we assist you with something?” Kwin
asked, and Kai was grateful for the rescue. “I’m afraid we don’t know what–”

“Quiet, this doesn’t involve you,” the woman
snapped, then turned back to Kai. Kwin looked completely taken aback, but her
expression of shock was quickly replaced by one of annoyance. “You need to come
with me. There’s trouble coming and you’re standing here admiring the scenery.
Let’s get moving. Asmodiel is getting tired of flying all over the place.”

“Sorry, I… don’t have any idea what you’re
talking about,” Kai said, noticing the expression on Kwin’s face and hoping to
avoid giving her a chance to interject. “Why are you looking for me? What is my
time almost up for?”

The impatient expression on the woman’s face
changed to confusion, and she looked at the man. He said nothing, but the woman
sighed.

“You’re right. He does look a little young,
doesn’t he? But he looks exactly like… even Asmodiel thought… well, never
mind.” She turned back to Kai. “Is there anyone else in the Sanctum that looks
like you? Someone perhaps a little older?”

“I honestly don’t–”

“Fine. We’ll just keep looking. Carry on with
whatever it was you were doing, and try not to mess anything up. Oh, and before
I forget: if you see anything strange, report immediately to the Golden
Capital. Dumar will be stationed there permanently.” At their questioning
looks, she jabbed a finger at the man. “
Him
.
His name is Dumar. People in here really aren’t as smart as they used to be,
are they? While we’re at it, my name is Semyaza. That isn’t necessary for you
to know since you have no reason to speak to me unless I speak to you first.”

“Do you mind telling us for what purpose you
decided to come interrogate us?” Kwin asked icily, stepping forward in front of
Kai.

“I do mind, because it’s none of your business
unless you’re who we’re looking for. And you, certainly, are not. Now if you’ll
excuse us, we’re in a hurry.”

“If you think you can just come in here and
talk to us like–” Kwin started angrily, but Alastor quickly cut her off.

“What Kwin means to say is that if you could
perhaps give us some details on who you’re looking for, we might be able to
help. We’re relatively well connected here,” Alastor said warmly.

“Ah yes, Alastor the champion and Kwin the
prodigy. I’m quite familiar with the both of you,” she answered dismissively.
“While I appreciate the offer, we need to do this work ourselves. Continue what
you were doing and don’t concern yourselves with our affairs. Everything will
be taken care of.”

Without another word she turned her back and
walked back to the dragon with Dumar. As soon as they were on its back it took
to the sky with a powerful thrust of its wings. As quickly as it had come, it
was gone.

A short silence followed, then Alastor cleared
his throat.

“Well, you heard the pleasant lady. Back to
practice! To teleporting we go, come on you lot.”

They walked out from the trees towards the field,
but Kai hung back. Kwin had said nothing, but she looked very troubled. For a
moment he thought he detected a flicker of fear in her eyes. She looked up at
him and shook her head.

“What’s up?” Kai asked, not intent on moving
on just yet.

“Those three. Semyaza and Dumar, and their
dragon. That was not an encounter I was ever hoping to experience.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m actually surprised
I’ve gone this long without seeing someone act like a jerk and try to abuse
their powers in here,” Kai said comfortingly. “But I have no idea who they are,
and I’d like to keep it that way.”

Kwin looked at him darkly.

“That’s the problem. I know exactly who they
are, and their arrival means nothing good.”

However, it appeared that Kwin felt she had
already said too much; despite Kai’s persistence, she flatly refused to say
another word on the subject and turned back to watch Ella practice. Since she
did not appear to want to join the others, Kai stayed with her, and they stood
together in a comfortable silence.

Though Kai’s mind was reeling from the
encounter with the massive dragon and its riders, he eventually let it go. He
had learned that Kwin would speak when she felt it was necessary – and not a
moment before – but that she would eventually. She always did. He was among the
privileged few she confided in, and he had learned to be patient.

Within the hour, Ella’s training was over.
Ella looked exhausted, but content, and Alastor’s proud grin seemed to
establish that she had done well.

“She’s no Tournament of Blades competitor yet,
but she’s a quick learner,” he said. “She might even be ready for the Cloud
Skipping.”

“I’m going to be trying it whether I’m ready
or not,” Ella replied firmly. “I already have a lot of experience falling on my
face from the sky, so I’ll be totally fine no matter what happens.”

The siblings laughed, and Kwin rolled her
eyes.

“Anywho, I was thinking we could go to Aqua
Capital and check out some of the museums,” Alastor continued. “There’s
apparently this huge new exhibit all about the Nightmares and it’s one of a
kind, considering Aqua was the first major city to be taken. Supposed to be
full of just terrifying stuff. Oh, those were the days.”

“I… I think I’d like to stay away from that,
actually,” Lindsay said nervously, and Kwin nodded.

“I do apologize, but I must go to the library.
I find myself in need of brushing up on some old subjects, and while I’m there
I think I’ll find the city’s research group and inform them of my… proposal.”

“Sounds good! You’ll have to let me know when
that’s going down, I’m not going to miss that for the world. But all right,
I’ll take Ella to Aqua and we’ll meet up some other time. Have fun, whatever
you guys do!”

Alastor and Ella departed, flying off in the
direction of Aqua Capital, and they soon disappeared from sight.

“Are you all right?” Kwin asked suddenly,
looking at Lindsay concernedly.

“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine,” Lindsay replied, though
she seemed uncertain. Kai noticed that she seemed rather pale and was
determinedly avoiding eye contact. “I think that dragon has me a little
spooked, that’s all.”

“Understandable,” Kwin answered, but she
didn’t look convinced. “Perhaps you should take a normal sleep tonight and to
avoid the crowds and excitement of this world.”

“I think… yeah, I think I’ll try that,” Lindsay
said distractedly, and before Kwin or Kai could say another word, she vanished.

“That dragon must have really gotten to her,”
Kai said, but Kwin shook her head.

“Her discomfort began after Alastor suggested
visiting the exhibit on Nightmares. It would appear that our friend is
suffering some anxiety from her experience with them, so much that the mere
mention of their name makes her uncomfortable. I would recommend keeping her
away from such things, and I will speak with my former tutor. He is hopelessly
clueless when it comes to picking up on nonverbal… Kai? What is it?”

Kai stared at the trees on the other side of
the field. They looked completely normal, and yet, he could have sworn he saw…

“There. There it is again. Did you see that?”
he asked quickly, pointing at the trees. “It just… flickered.”

Sure enough, as they watched, the tree seemed
to flicker in and out of existence. After a few moments it vanished completely,
as though it had never been.

“Is that supposed to happen?” Kai asked
quietly, and Kwin shook her head.

“If this is happening… they never found…” she
murmured to herself, then cleared her throat and looked at Kai. “I need to
hurry. I would ask that you not come with me this time, but I promise that I
will tell you everything. I… I hope that is all right.”

Kai was taken aback. She looked genuinely
troubled, even frightened. He shook his head.

“That’s fine. Just let me know if you need me,
okay?”

Kwin nodded, and to Kai’s utter incredulity, hugged
him tightly. Without another word, she disappeared.

K
ai awoke the next morning to
find that Kwin, surprisingly, was still asleep. Ever one to start her day
early, she was no doubt still busy with whatever business she suddenly needed
to attend in the Golden Capital’s library. This concerned Kai further as he
knew how she could get when she became focused on something. She was prone to
overworking herself, which was never good.

He decided against waking her, however, and
headed out into the hall. From the sounds coming from the entertainment room
nearby, everyone else was already awake. Kai walked in and took a seat on one
of the couches next to Lindsay, who appeared to be doing her best to pay
attention to Alastor and Ella despite her obvious tiredness. She gave him a
weary smile as he sat down, then turned back to the others.

“Morning!” Alastor greeted him cheerfully.
Ella waved at him, unable to speak through her mouthful of breakfast croissant.
“You’re just in time. I’m telling Lindsay about the little tour I took Ella on
last night. We got to Aqua by airship, and I had to stop Ella from leaping off
the dock, you know how she gets. Then we headed down and went immediately for
that exhibit on Nightmares. It’s huge, you should really–”

Kai looked at Lindsay, who already looked
uncomfortable.

“That sounds great, I’m sure we’ll check it
out sometime. Did you go anywhere else?” Kai interjected, hoping to politely
nudge Alastor off topic. Evidently Kwin hadn’t managed to speak to him yet.

“Yeah, but we’ll get to that,” Alastor
continued unperturbed. “The city was restored completely, but there’s this
whole set of photographs from people who were there during the siege.
Absolutely crazy to see, and we were there when it happened. Lots of those
people were taken by the Nightmares just after the photos were taken, it’s hard
to imagine.”

“That’s really great, but–”

“I know, right? They had little short films
and stuffed animals, and even this neat little 3D section where the Nightmares
just pop out at you. Almost looks like they might just reach out and sink their
teeth into–”

He broke off as Lindsay abruptly stood up. She
took a deep breath, and her voice wavered slightly as she spoke.

“Sorry, I um… going to take a walk,” she said
breathlessly, then quickly left the room.

“I got it,” Kai said hastily to Alastor who
made to get up to follow her. Alastor’s look of concern followed him as he
left, looking for where Lindsay might have gone.

He found her pacing outside in the garden, walking
back and forth, wringing her hands and muttering to herself. Again she looked
pale, and Kai had a feeling it was more than tiredness.

“Are you all right?” he asked quietly after
she stopped pacing. She looked up at him in surprise, and he guessed she hadn’t
even noticed he had been standing there.

“I’m fine,” she answered unconvincingly. “I’m
just a little tired. I hardly got any sleep last night.”

Kai took a seat on a nearby bench, and Lindsay
sat next to him. She stared at the ground between her feet, and looked
completely exhausted.

“I think it’s a little more than just a bad
night’s sleep, don’t you?” Kai pressed gently. “Come on. You’ve seemed out of
sorts lately, and you don’t run out of a room because you’re tired. What’s
going on?”

Lindsay resolutely avoided his gaze, and she
sighed.

“I don’t know, that’s just it. I don’t know
what’s wrong with me, and I’m starting to get scared. This has happened a few
times now and I don’t know why.”

“Why what’s happened?”

“It’s hard to explain. I’ll be talking to
someone, taking a walk or even just sitting there listening to someone else,
and out of nowhere I’ll feel afraid. Terrified, even. It comes up inside me out
of nowhere. I can’t breathe, I feel like I’m about to cry, and then I just get
this… this
need
to escape. I have to
get out. I don’t know why, but something happens, and I just…”

“Panic,” came a voice from beside them. They
looked up to see Kwin walking towards them. She too looked tired, but that was
because she had clearly just woken up. “Apologies for butting in, but I felt my
input might be useful. Alastor told me what happened, and I regret that I was
unable to speak to him before he opened his big mouth again. May I join you?”

“Of course,” Lindsay replied, making room for
her on the bench. Kwin sat down and stifled a yawn. “Sorry, what were you
saying?”

“What you felt back there was panic. You
experience anxiety that, when triggered, is intensified into total panic. It
usually only lasts a few minutes, but during that time you are afraid for your
life even though no danger is present. Am I on the right track?” She paused,
and Lindsay nodded. “I figured as much. In that case, you should also know that
this doesn’t happen out of nowhere. There are certain things that trigger such
a response. Do you have any idea what that might be? Think about what you were
doing each time it happened.”

“I don’t know,” Lindsay murmured. “They seem
so random. I’ve even had them in the Sanctum. Last night I felt it as I was on
the field, and this morning in that room upstairs. Two completely different
places, the only thing I can think of is that I was with Alastor and Ella, and
they wouldn’t make me feel that way. We weren’t even doing anything scary! Ella
was eating her breakfast and Alastor was doing something as innocent as talking
about…” she trailed off as the realization struck her. Kwin nodded and put her
hand comfortingly on Lindsay’s arm.

“I thought it might be that, too. You are the
only one of us who was taken by the Nightmares. I cannot say I know what that
was like, but every victim I’ve spoken to has said it was one of the most
frightening events of their lives. Whatever the case, it was undoubtedly a
traumatic experience for you, and even the mere mention of the subject is
enough to cause you incredible discomfort.”

Lindsay looked intensely thoughtful for a
moment, then a look of relief passed over her face.

“Wow, you’re right. I can’t believe I didn’t
put two and two together.”

“That’s entirely normal. Sometimes people have
to spend a great deal of time attempting to narrow down the things that are
causing their reactions, myself included,” Kwin said kindly. Lindsay looked at
her in surprise.

“You? You’ve felt… this? What could do that to
you?”

Kwin looked down and her voice became much
quieter.

“As you know, I attempted to take my own life.
That’s not something anyone can get over quickly. I thought that after I awoke
from my year in the Sanctum after that attempt, everything would be easier and
I could put it behind me. It turns out my most trying days were still to come.
It has been… difficult.” She sighed, then looked back at Lindsay with a smile.
“But that also means that I have learned a great deal, and I will always be
more than willing to help you. All you need to do is ask, any time of day or
night.”

Lindsay didn’t say a word, but her thankful
expression said it all. They sat in silence for a moment until Lindsay spoke up
hesitantly.

“Hey… have you ever had like… actual
nightmares? Not like ones from the Sanctum, I mean.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Kwin replied, then smiled at
the look of surprise on Lindsay’s face. “What, surprised that someone like me
might be afraid of something? I used to get nightmares all the time, which is
one reason I chose to learn how to control my dreams. You already know how,
obviously, but at the time I had no prior information about lucid dreaming, so
I taught myself.”

“How did you do that?” Kai asked.

“At the time, I taught myself what I called
‘trigger phrases’ so that if I heard certain words or phrases in my dreams I
would remember to test whether I was dreaming or not. I conditioned myself to
perform a reality check whenever I heard those words and phrases in real life,
so that when I finally heard them in my dreams, I instinctively checked to see
if I was dreaming. For example, one phrase I created was ‘Tell me what you’re
feeling,’ because it’s something my counselor would always tell me, and as a
result it would often show up in my dreams. Crude, I know, but it ended up
working.”

“That’s… really smart,” Lindsay replied,
clearly impressed.

“I have since modified my methods to the point
where I am never
not
lucid unless I
intend to be. But that is all in the past, before my Sanctum days.”

She stood up and the others did the same,
ready to get back inside. Before they moved on, however, Kwin paused and turned
to Lindsay.

“Whatever may happen, there is something that
is vital for you to remember: you are not weak, you are not broken. This may
last a week, a month or the rest of your life, but that is fine. It is an
unpleasant feeling but a feeling nonetheless, no less valid than anger or
sadness or joy. If nothing else, remember that.” Lindsay looked surprised, but
nodded. Kwin smiled encouragingly, then turned back towards the door. “Now, let’s
get back inside. I have instructed my oblivious best friend to behave, and with
that in mind, we can discuss topics of much greater amusement – namely, the
Golden Capital research institution’s imminent demise.”

Kai and Lindsay laughed as they headed back
upstairs and rejoined Alastor and Ella in the entertainment room. Alastor
jumped to his feet as they approached and walked straight over to Lindsay.

“Hey, look, I’m sorry about earlier, Kwin told
me what–”

“It’s okay!” Lindsay assured him hastily. “You
didn’t know and I didn’t tell you, because… well, I didn’t know either. I guess
I can thank Kwin for figuring me out before I did. But really, it’s okay. I’m
just looking forward to not hearing about them again.”

“Never hearing about who again? That was a joke,
by the way,” Alastor added. Lindsay had opened her mouth to answer, and her
cheeks turned slightly pink as she realized what he was getting at. “Anyway, I
believe Kwin has some exciting news.”

“I do indeed,” Kwin said, taking a seat on a
couch as the others sat in a semi-circle in front of her. “I wish I could say
that I engaged the institution’s president in a thrilling battle of wits and
won, but I am afraid the reality is not so embellished. I invited him and his
group to present their findings in front of the entire city, and said that I
would like to join them.”

“You
what
?”
Kai asked in surprise. “But just the other day you were so–”

“Oh I never said I would
agree
with them, though that may have been heavily implied,” Kwin
answered.

“I like it, but you have to admit that was a
bit dishonest,” Alastor said, though he did not look displeased. “That’s no way
to handle an adult conversation.”

“I’m eleven, Alastor,” Kwin replied, a
vampiric smile flashing across her face.

“Fair point! Besides, this is still totally
fair. They have every opportunity to present a compelling argument and win.”

“But they won’t, which is why this is going to
be so deliciously fun,” Kwin said slyly. “It’s going to take place tomorrow
night, and I’d like all of you to be there. The only other time I get to enjoy
people watching me annihilate my adversaries is during the Tournament of
Blades, and there’s almost a full year to wait for that.”

“I’ll definitely be there, I can’t wait to see
this go down,” Kai chuckled, and the others nodded. Ella in particular seemed
excited at the prospect of watching her small but intimidating new friend in
action.

“Excellent. That’s the good news.” Kwin
lowered her voice. “Now we must discuss something else. Last night, Kai and I
witnessed something very strange. A tree on the field vanished into thin air.
Upon arriving in Golden Capital I heard many other people talking about similar
occurrences. It would appear as though the flickers, as they are called, are a
widespread problem.”

“What are they? What’s causing them?” Alastor
inquired, looking intrigued. “I heard mention of similar things in other
places.”

“I have no information at all, and that
bothers me,” Kwin answered. “I’m going to investigate tonight, and you are all
welcome to join me. I would appreciate the company, and it’s beneficial for all
of us to be on the same page.”

“You got it! I want to get to the bottom of
this myself. It seems pretty harmless for now, but when it comes to random
things disappearing, that’s not a problem we want to get worse,” Alastor
agreed.

Unsurprisingly, Lindsay was the first one to
enter the Sanctum that night. She was standing in the Golden Capital’s city
square and waved cheerfully at the others as they approached.

“Thank goodness you’re here!” she exclaimed
when they were close enough to hear. “That mean lady with the butterfly wings
was here. We made eye contact and it was awful. I think she recognized me.”

“Don’t mind her,” Kwin said dismissively. “I
don’t know where she suddenly appeared from, but our current priority is
regarding things that are
disappearing
.
Unless, of course, you can think of a way to make her disappear as well.”