In Somnis Veritas

< Surrealism

## Melissa and Steven

The red automobile drove through the hailing, thundery streets. Steven, the driver, and Samuel, his passenger, were free to ride the vehicle through the streets at high speeds. Usually this would be illegal in the city of Silivia, but there would be no law enforcement coming for them. They would not be able to hit anyone, for everything was barren. Not a soul was in the streets, or the sidewalks -- well, except for one. Steven slowed the vehicle down, and moved towards a figure on the sidewalk -- Melissa; whose hair was drenched from the rain. Steven lowered the car's right window, and motioned for her to come in.

Melissa quickly entered the front seat, sitting next to her brother. She shut the door, and he continued driving into the foggy city.

She reached into her pocket, revealing a simple six-sided die -- numbered one, two, three, four, five, and six. Steven briefly took his eyes off the bare road, noticing what his sister was doing. She shook the die through her hands thoroughly, then rolled it on the dashboard. Picking it up, she examined the sides -- they were three "fives", one "fourteen", and a "zero". She smiled.

"Couldn't dream up a sunny beach, huh? Though this driving is quite fun . . . ." Steven joked.

"Eh, it's not my fault! I'm new to this dreaming thing. It's the last vivid memory I have."

"It's. . . fascinating." added Samuel, from the backseat. "For a new dreamer, your dreams are intricate. I mean, you dreamed up a somewhat accurate version of Silivia. From our driving, sure, some parts repeat, but it's really interesting. This is so detailed I went shopping here!" Samuel held up a white shopping bag, showing it to Steven and Melissa. "Maybe once we find somewhere good, I'll show you what I found."

Steven continued driving the vehicle through the barren streets. As the car reached top-speed, the appearence of the hailing city began to change. The buildings quickly morphed like clay, as the group began driving in a road near a forest. Melissa watched in confusion -- as they reached a familiar area. She noticed that they were now driving past the place she had crashed the car those days ago.

"Why are we here?" she asked.

Steven shrugged it off, and continued driving into a different direction.

"Are you taking us somewhere?" she questioned.

"Dreams are unique, Melissa. Locations often change on a whim. To tell the truth, I really don't know why we are going this way."

At once, smoke began to appear from a nearby city. Bloody bodies began to manifest from the ground. This seemed familiar to her, but the loud screams she could hear felt sickening. "Steven, make it go back please!"

Samuel watched from the backseat, mumbling. "Interesting."

As Steven turned the car around, forcing them back to Silivia, Samuel spoke again. "It seems that is morbid scene is from Melissa's past."

Melissa tried to remember where she had seen that city before, but everything came up blank. "What was that? where were we?" She asked Samuel and Steven.

Samuel spoke from the backseat again. "I've seen scenes similar to that before. The brain often has nightmares about scenes like that, sure, but I personally believe that was a bit too morbid and detailed for it to be a random dream. Now, that could be from when the angels attacked Silivia, but I do not remember that tragedy as being that destructive. You remember joining any militia?"

"I don't know.. I don't remember much from before." Melissa answered.

Steven looked to Melissa, the windshield wipers trying their best to keep. Samuel listened to their conversation closely, wishing to see if his theory of a correlation between her lost memories and her dream.

"Well, Melissa, don't you remember? We lived together for quite some time, until you decided to go. Remember how. . . . mom and dad were killed? You joined the Silivian Militia to avenge them." Steven said, as he gave his sister information new information.

Melissa went silent at these new revelations. Riding through the streets, she began to recollect some of her experiences with Steven. As she searched her mind, attempting to remember the happenings before the barn; a new image of the past appeared.

Melissa stood still, her rifle locked and loaded. General Shelton had given her squad orders to check out a small formation of demons. They want to check it out, but their intel was quite wrong. Indeed, it was much more than a small group of demons.

Melissa looked into the car window, and saw that Silivia had once again morphed. Steven drove through the village of Jasinki, again, but this time; it was different. She could see the demons ravaging the city, tearing apart homes and slaughtering the humans within.

As she watched the village, she remembered. Melissa had called for backup, yet no one had shown up. "Backup isn't coming! I'm going in!" She yelled to her comrades. Ignoring their protests, she ran into the village, firing at the demons.

At once, Jainiski morphed into liquid, and the hailing Silivia returned.

"I remember the city... it's named Jasinski, I was there with the Militia." She said in a whisper still riling from the recovered memory.

"You're quite strong, Melissa." Samuel commented, after experiencing the visions once again. "Usually most dreamers wake up at something of that sort. We might just be able to stay until Piett gives us the kick."

"This is never ending. . . ." Steven, wishing to take a break, slowed the acceleration and parked the car next to a set of repeating hair salons. The wind-shield wipers stopped, as the rain stopped any visibility through the front window.

"Eh, I like it." said Samuel. "It's certainly beautiful, and I don't need to worry about getting wet." He looked to Melissa, who was examining her die once more. "Lucid dreaming is fun, isn't it? You were quite nervous when we first got to the lab."

Melissa just nodded in response, her eyes were focused on her die as her mind was thinking of the recovered memory. Everytime she remembered something, it left her with even more unanswered questions than before.

"What do you think Chris is up to?" commented Steven.

Melissa looked up hearing Steven's voice. "No clue, do you think we could find him?" she answered.

"About time we go fetch him. Shouldn't be too hard." began Steven.

"Just how are we suppose to find them?"

Steven continued. "Well, Melissa . . . . as Samuel commented earlier, you are preforming exceptionally well so far. There are some things that you may be unable to stop from appearing in your dream, but remember; you're still lucid. As long as your mind wants us to find them, and you focus hard on doing so, I'll just drive the car in a general direction and we'll find Chris. Confusing, I know."

Melissa nodded, going silent. She tried her best to focus on them finding Chris, but her worries for Savannah clouded her thoughts. Previously, they had spent hours at a police station attempting to find her - - to no avail.

She shook her head and sighed. Melissa leaned against the window of the car in boredom. She allowed her breath to touch the window, and she drew a heart in the cloudy window. Melissa looked at Samuel, still with mysterious shopping bags in his hand. "Why are you so silent? Also, what's in the bag?"

"Well . . . . put it like this. You don't often find yourself talking much in your dreams, do you? I've done this so many times; that now I'm just taking it in, enjoying the scenery; so to say. You don't see stuff like this in Silivia . . . .well, Silivia, I mean, yes; real Silivia.." Samuel took the up the bags from his vehicle's mat, and slowly began pulling black; branded packages from them.

"As for these . . . funny story, really. I got these from one of the buildings in the city, well, this city. We've probably seen several different renditions of this - alright, getting a bit off topic.." Samuel naturally was prepared to go on a tangent on the dreamscape of Melissa's Silivia, but he decided to save that for another day. Melissa listened in fascination. "Before we picked you up, I visited a large shopping mall. It was relatively stable, I suppose. It was around thirty floors, and in them, I found these. . . ."

Samuel opened the black packages, peeling off the tape that sealed each. Within them, he presented a mysterious black dagger, an Alchemilia Corporation sign, a single bullet, and a collection of photographs of red lights.

Melissa's hand instinctively went to the dagger. It was quite familiar to her, though it was difficult to piece together where it was from. She turned the hilt, looking at the design. It was 14 inches long; an old dagger with a stainless steel black blade, and a black scabbard. Melissa gripped it; feeling the dagger fit perfectly into her hand.

Once again, a new recollection came to her. Melissa smiled softly. "This is familiar. When I was in the militia, one of my squad members . . . Amellia. She gave this to me not long after I joined; a welcoming gift."

She stopped talking, and examined the other objects. Looking at the bullet, she couldn't miss it -- it seemed to be the one from when Marshall was shot. Melissa then picked up the photographs, looking confused. 'What is this? I've seen this before, I think . . . . The barn, isn't this The Demon's Light?"

Samuel looked to Melissa in awe. "Marvelous . . . Seems to be from when you were at the barn, yes. Are you sure you remember all of these? I expected these objects to just be random constructs of your mind; but whoa. . . "

Melissa looked up at Samuel. "Yes I'm sure I remember all these things, my past is coming back to me in bits and pieces."

Steven was happy to hear his sister was slowly becoming . . .his sister, once again. He rolled down the driver-seat window, only to notice a figure manifesting in the distance.

## Atticus and Blossom

Sitting down for their dinner date, Atticus looked across the table at his girlfriend, Blossom Cane. She was gazing down at something in her lap with her dark, brown eyes, her brown hair falling perfectly onto her shoulders.

"Well, I'm here now. Sorry for being late, got caught up in an issue."

As soon as he addressed her, Blossom looked up, smiling.

"Hi, babe!!!" Blossom smiled, gazing at Atticus. "It's alright, all that matters is that you're here now."

She looked up and down at Atticus with his well combed dark hair, wearing a black and white suit with a bold bow tie. She got lost in Atticus' gaze before he broke the silence.

The waiter approached Atticus and Blossom, a tall man with white hair dressed in a bright green tuxedo. He walked past them, instead tending to the many tables of faceless men in massive suits of armour. He carried a plate contaIning a blue, live lobster that writhed in pain.

After watching the man - who seemed eerily familiar - walk past them, Atticus turned his attention back to Blossom. "So, what plans do you have for tonight? I know we have dinner planned, obviously. But anything else?"

The armoured men in the restaurant, all entirely identical, ate like brutes and animals. They seemed to be vaguely translucent, emanating a faint blue glow.

As the waiter stepped further from the couple, his legs could be seen. Or, rather, lack thereof. He was simply floating like a ghost, his legs replaced with an ethereal tail.

"Hmm," Blossom thought for a second. "Well, I hear there is a lake behind the resturant. Maybe we can go visit there at the end?"

"Yeah, that sounds good!" Atticus said. "Any plans on what -" He paused mid-sentence, looking around. "Have you noticed anything strange about this place? Something doesn't feel right.."

Blossom looked down at the red tablecloth. As she looked at it, it changed colors rapidly. It continued changing from red, to orange, to blue, and a variety of other colors. "Um.. yeah, something definitely doesn't feel right." Blossom didn't want to tell Atticus about the cloth in fear of him reacting poorly.

The waiter, his back turned to Atticus and Blossom, had seemingly exchanged his lobster for a strange sickle dripping with a blue liquid. The translucent. armoured guests transitioned from eating like brutes to acting like them, engaging in fisticuffs with one another as soothing music played throughout the room.

Atticus began to feel uneasy as he stared around the restaurant. He stood up from his seat and brushed off his pants. "Sorry, Blossom. I feel really uncomfortable and I want some fresh air. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Wait, Atticus!" she stood up, following him. "Can I please come with you?"

"Yeah, you can. Let's just go." Atticus quickly took her hand and walked towards the entrance of the restaurant, the feeling of unease remaining with him.

Being dragged along by Atticus, Blossom looked outside. The leaves of the trees kept alternating like crazy. Pink, to green, to orange, to none. All the seasons spanned through each other in a matter of seconds.

"Can we sit? Please." Blossom looked a bench beside her. "I'm feeling really nauseous."

The bench began to move like a conveyor belt, the wooden planks sliding across the top and bottom of the bench in a circular motion. Blossom's voice was strangely loud and echoed, yet seemed to be muffled as though it was underwater.

"Sit down if you need to. What is wrong?"

At that moment, Atticus began to notice the bench moving and stepped back in shock. "Uhh, Blossom? Do you see that too?"

"I do..." Blossom sighed. "So you've been noticing all the crazy things too?" she held onto Atticus' arm fearfully.

"I don't feel safe anymore."

A strange, ashy hand began to pry at Blossom's fingers, separating her hand from Atticus' arm. It seemed to be floating and disembodied.

"What the hell?" Atticus quickly jumped into action, grabbing at the hand to pull it away from her.

The ashy, crumbling nature of the hand began to spread up Atticus' arm as he touched the hand, giving him the texture of cracking sandpaper. The hand itself began to turn to sand and fall to the ground, however, as wind began to come from all directions.

Taking a few deep breaths after the hand dissolved into sand, Atticus then turned his attention back to Blossom. "Are you okay? Doing alright?"

"Not really..." Blossom sighed. "It feels like everything is fading away." She turned and looked at Atticus in the eyes.

The grass continued blowing in the impossible wind, quickly turning to long purple ribbons. The rain began to crystallize, shattering when it hit Atticus and Blossom as the ribbons began to wrap around their ankles.

"We need to go back in," Atticus told her, taking her hand again and leading them back towards the restaurant.

"Atticus, no please. Something isn't right about that place. Didn't you feel it too?" Blossom said, pulling away from him.

From within the restaurant, a loud thud rang out. And then another. And another. One of the armoured guests was banging on the seemingly unbreakable windows, trying to break through to Atticus and Blossom. It wasn't long before the others joined in, as the mysterious waiter held all of them on various multicoloured leashes.

Hearing the banging from the restaurant, Atticus stepped back. "Uhh, maybe we need to get out of here." Grabbing Blossom's hand again, he started to sprint down the road.

Blossom followed quickly behind him, nearly being dragged. "Where are we going?!"

Finally breaking through the restaurant, the armoured phantoms began sprinting at Blossom and Atticus like a horde of angry gorillas. The road began to feel like mud, or maybe quicksand, though the phantoms had no trouble traversing it.

Blossom turned around and noticed the creatures, the mud covering her ankles. In a panic, she looked around for a place to hide. There was a narrow alleyway in which only Atticus and Blossom could fit through, as the phantoms were too large. She tugged on Atticus' arm. "This way!" she yelled.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Atticus charged in the direction Blossom pointed and ran into the alleyway, hiding from view behind garbage bins. "Hopefully those creatures don't find us here," He told her in a surprisingly calm manner.

Blossom and Atticus hid in the alleyway, praying that they wouldn't be attacked more.

"Atticus.." Blossom asked. "Do you think that we'll make it out okay?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. They might hear us." Atticus whispered to her, watching as the monsters glided by the entrance of the alleyway and past it. "We'll be fine, I just have to figure out a way for us to get back to the others. Wherever they are."

For some reason, Atticus could not even remember the last time he had spoken to his group of friends.

"Forgetting something . . . young Aneothite?" Atticus could hear an omnipresent voice coming from somewhere.

"Well we definitely can't leave the alleyway yet," Blossom replied quietly. "and if we do we have to be sneaky."

Hearing the voice speak his name, the surroundings around Atticus drowned out and seemingly faded away. "W-who is there?!" He looked around the area frantically, feeling his sense of control slip from him.

"What are you talking about, babe?" Blossom questioned. "Are you okay?"

"Can you hear me?" The voice repeated itself, affirming its presence. It was deep, muffled, and had an odd reverb to it. "I know everything seems confusing at the moment, but I promise, everything will be explained soon. You may not trust me just yet, but I promise, everything will be explained soon."

The voice seemed to cloud Atticus' mind and thoughts, keeping him suffocated in its presence. Although it spoke with calming words, he felt disturbed and panicked as he searched around and could no longer see Blossom. \*Where is she?!\* He thought. \*She was just here, we were just together.\*

"Who are you?" he called out to the voice. "What have you done to me? What are even you talking about? WHAT will be explained?"

"I just need you to trust me, alright? Are you in pain?"

The sound of the approaching phantoms began to fade, as though they had passed by without paying any attention to their surroundings. The chaotic sound of the horde was shortly replaced by a few heavy footsteps, coming from what seemed to be a singular individual.

Trust you? Why should I?

Why are you even asking this? Who are you?" Atticus yelled, still frantically looking around for the source of the voice.

"I just need you to follow my instructions, alright? Listen, I need you to take the object in your right hand, and hold it up for me; if you can." Atticus was bewildered to the voice's instructions; but they soon became clear as reality shifted once again. Atticus found himself in a large, open; raining sea. The sky was dark and bleak. He and Blossom now sat atop a large enclosure, made of numerous logs.

"Where are we?" Blossom looked around, confused and frightened. "What happened? How are we breathing?"

Looking around his new surroundings, Atticus became more confused. Glancing down at his hand, he noticed a long shining knife suddenly contained by his grip. He held it up, seemingly without control. "This is what you wanted to see? How did it get here? How did I get here?"

"There is not much time. I need you to take the knife, and point it at the figure in front of you."

Atticus then noticed Blossom again. She was standing directly across from him on the other side of the raft, looking horrified and soaked by the pouring rain. Without even wanting to and feeling controlled, he began to move towards her, the knife raised upwards.

"W-what are you doing? Atticus, stop!" Blossom slowly backed up to the edge of the raft, shivering.

"You're doing a great job. The next step is to take the blade, and rest it on the figure's neck. In order to ensure this does not fail, I want you to take your left hand and hold the figure in place. Once all precautions have been mate, I need you to seep the blade into the throat."

The strange ocean around them began to flicker like a malfunctioning tv set, and the alleyway they were in previously could be made out. Quickly, they were back in the alley as though nothing had happened.

Ignoring her cries and the change of landscape, Atticus walked up to Blossom further and grabbed her by the left arm, slamming her towards the alley wall. Pinning her to the wall, he unwillingly pulled his hand upwards and placed the blade on her throat, feeling her take heavy breaths out of fear.

Blossom closed her eyes, shaking. She stayed silent, hoping Atticus would stop.

Gently covering her mouth with his other hand, he dragged the blade across her throat and quickly took her life. Her heavy breaths coming to an abrupt end and her body slumping against him, he let go of his grip on her and let the girl drop to the ground. Stepping away from the puddle of blood slowly building, Atticus heard the voice once again, giving him further instructions. Sighing quietly, he turned his blade on himself, following the same fate.

## Marshall and Li

Marshall walked cautiously along the streets of Silivia. Although he felt free, he remembered that the police and Alchem may still be looking for him. For the first time in years, he saw the beautiful rows of cherry blossoms northern Silivia is known for. White and pink petals were scattered all across the sidewalks. Marshall stood there for a few minutes, immersing himself in the rare beauty.

A tall lady, with brown hair in a beehive hairdo, dressed in what seemed to be work clothes approached the black haired boy. Marshall had not noticed this, until she had spoke.

"You okay there? You seem a little lost."

Marshall was startled by this.

"Uh. Oh, no, no. I'm fine, thank you."

"Oh, okay, take care of yourself, young man." she said as she walked away.

Marshall continued walking along the rows of shops that lined the streets. He finally realized how beautiful the City of Silver Lights had been. He looked down and saw the perfectly paven brick sidewalks. He began to realize it wasn't an awful place entirely, it had beauty, it had been preserved.

He spotted the shop he had been looking for. Plant Empire. He walked up to the store and entered it. He was greeted by an old man tending to some orchids.

"Hello there. My name is Wen Li. Welcome to Plant Empire."

"Uh, hi Mr. Li, I'm Marshall."

Wen Li nodded at Marshall to enter and Marshall looked around. The plants were so organized, herbs, flowers, houseplants all in their own little sections.

Marshall first scoured the herb shelves, taking a basil, a cilantro, mint, and an oregano. He made his way over to the flowers and grabbed a poinsettia. Lastly, he spotted one lonely bamboo plant in the houseplants. He took a chance and picked it up as well. Wen Li had finished tending to the orchids and they both walked over to the counter.

Marshall set the plants down on the counter. He shoved his hand into his pocket and tried to pull out some change.

"Uhh, all I have is this."

Marshall pulled out the strange coin he had found in the alleyway. Wen Li started examining it. He pulled out his glasses and put them on.

"Hmm. This seems to be a bronze struck coin from 109 AP. I will take it."

"Thanks, Mr. Li."

Marshall picked up his plants and started walking towards the exit.

He suddenly stopped and turned back to Wen Li.

"Yes, Marshall?"

"You seem to know a lot more than you seem. Do you happen to know anything about The Demon or angels or even Alchem Corporation?"

"Ah, yes. Sit down Marshall, as I will now tell you about how it all began."

Marshall pulled up a nearby chair and set his purchase on the wooden floor.

"Long ago, Xeren, or as you may know him, The Demon created Euclid. He later sired a son, named Kaz. Kaz used dark magic to separate Xeren's soul from the god. About 300 years ago, a portal was opened by Gabriel Alchemilia. Demons and angels. both entered that portal. They brought their war here. They started fighting with humans as well. That is the extent of my knowledge, but I am happy to clarify more if needed."

"No, no. Thanks again, Mr Li."

Marshall returned the chair and grabbed his plants.

"One question before you leave. What are the plants for?"

"Oh, they're for my friends."

"Ah," Wen Li smiled. "Come again some time."

"I will, Mr. Li. I will." Marshall said as he exited Plant Empire.

Marshall backed up into Plant Empire once more.

"Uh, Mr. Li? I may need a little help getting these to the lab."

"Lab you say? Come."

Marshall followed Wen Li through the back of his shop outside to where his truck was parked. Marshall set his plants down in the back of the truck, and they got in.

"Where is this lab?"

"Uhh, I got this address here."

"I know exactly where."

Wen Li drove along the smoothly paved roads of Silivia to the lab. Along the way, Wen Li asked Marshall some questions.

"...after that, we were freed and attacked by angels and ended up in the hospital."

## Chris and Savannah

Somehow, Chris found himself in a bakery, where there seemed to be very good-smelling donuts lining the shelves. But where on Euclid was everybody?

Chris looked around outside of the donut shop, feeling the rain on him. The rain had no effect on him at all this time, and through the fog, Chris could see a girl. As she inched closer and closer, Chris began to sense familiarity in her features. "Savannah?" Chris asked, also getting closer to the girl with intrigue. "What activities have you been partaking in since we parted ways?"

Savannah turned around, blinking water out of her eyes to look at Chris.

"Uh, hello? Do I know you?"

Chris backed up a bit, with some unease. "It's me, it's Chris.." Chris said, taking a glance at the slowing rain. As he looked at Savannah again, she growled, terrifying Chris. This was not their Savannah. The look of pure hatred behind her eyes had Chris absolutely traumatized. He tried to get back into the donut shop for safety. "Leave me alone, whatever you are!"

Chris banged on the door of the shop desperately -- only to find it melting away into a room of Alchemilia Corporation. And Savannah was still right there behind him, except now she had frog legs, which were even scarier.

Savannah gave Chris a creepy smile showing off all her pointy teeth before pouncing on him, like a lioness, and pushing him onto the ground. She steps on top of him, blocking him from any movement with her frog legs. She gives him another smile and her dark eyes flash red.

"I haven't eaten in a while" she said in a very deep and un-Savannah like voice, "I guess I just caught dinner". She leaned forward and was about to bite Chris' face off before suddenly turning into mist and disappearing.

Chris, shaken by the disastrous experience, trudged away from the looming building, pondering whether or not Savannah had truly been there at all. Looking through the once-again watering skies, Chris longed to see at least one familiar face, hopefully not on some hideous monster.

Finally, Chris saw a car that had two people at the wheel who looked a decent amount like Samuel and Melissa, though he couldn't be sure unless he got closer. Hoping it was them, Chris headed towards the car, but then stopped himself, remembering what had happened with Savannah or whatever she was.

The car melted away into a pile of ash, and everything surrounding Chis melted away as well. A hand arose from the ash and grabbed Chris, filling him with dread. The ashy hand morphed into his own outline, and an ominous echo filled the atmosphere. "Chris is a lowly replacement," Ironically, the echoing voice was quite similar to Chris' own.

Chris walked around aimlessly for what felt like hours to him, waiting and waiting to see a sign that his friends were around somewhere.

Chris found himself climbing a vast mountain, which had not previously been there. There seemed to be garbage everywhere, but weirdly he was unable to smell it. As Chris walked, he noticed something unnerving. It was a human eyeball. The eyeball appeared to be wearing a monocle, and there was a white eyebrow above it.

As he got a closer look, Chris realized the eye, eyebrow, and monocle belonged to someone very familiar, but he couldn't quite figure out who it was. not even from his mop of white hair. The man was holding a gun, Chris realized, as he fell off the mountain top. Except it wasn't a mountaintop, it was a pile of important papers. The papers that Gabriel (yes, that man was Gabriel Alchemillia, how could he forget that?) had had stacked up in his office. At least, Chris recalled them from the previous visit. He turned to look at Gabriel's gun, and then at who he was shooting at, then did a double take. He was shooting at Melissa! Chris could not let this happen, so he jumped away from the papers and landed on Melissa. Somehow, his efforts to stop the bullet from penetrating Melissa's skin failed. Everything then suddenly blacked out.

Disturbingly, Chris arose in a position he had never known his body was capable of, and a red substance was oozing from his arm. Could it be? Was he actually human now? He then looked around at the area surrounding him. It was a car-a wrecked one, at that, not unlike the one he had tripped on on the way to Silivia. Lying next to him were Melissa and Atticus. Savannah and Marshall were groaning, likely both in pain from being in the crash. There were also footsteps. Two men were using false words, but they did say at least one real thing. "Devlin android," One said. 'We must get her," The man reached his hand and grabbed Melissa. "Hey, give Melissa back," Chris tried to yell, but he was paralyzed on the ground. Melissa was taken away, leaving Chris more confused than ever. Why had Melissa both been shot by Gabriel and mistaken for an android?

Savannah then appeared next to Chris. This time, she didn't have a beastly face, or frog legs. But she was bleeding. She limped over to Chris and grabbed him, pulling his arm closer to her.

"You have to help Melissa! Please" she pleaded, pain swimming in her eyes. Then, just like she appeared, she disappeared.

Marshall and Atticus disappeared as well, continuing to shock Chris even more. He looked out the window at the helicopter carrying Melissa, only to touch the car's gas pedal. The moving, wrecked car created some sparks in the ground, burning away at everything. Chris then escaped from the fire, feeling as the fact that he could still not feel any pain proved he was not entirely human. As he saw the car burn up, some instincts kicked in. Chris ran towards the forest, silver lights ominously lighting it as opposed to Silivia.

Two figures resembling Harry and Piercy Provost materialized before Chris' eyes.

"What...what do you want?" Chris asked.

The figures suddenly appeared to randomly fade away, so Chris set out into the oddly-lit forest.

Climbing through some twisted branches and surrounded by shadows from the silver lights, Chris finally saw something that looked familiar. It was a die.

Chris picked up the die, and began to analyze the situation. He had randomly arrived at Alchem. Corp and seen Melissa get shot at by Gabriel, only for her to become an android. People were disappearing randomly like Savannah, Atticus, and Marshall. Things were out of place like the silver lights. Intriguingly, Melissa appeared to be the center of all of this. What on Euclid was the connection there? Would this die be a part of it? Chris decided to roll it and find out.

Chris looked at the die, which displayed some random numbers. 'Oh right," Chris said, realizing he remembered what it was. As he stared at the numbers, the forest and silver lights faded away. Chris ran fast back towards Silivia, seeing yet another car that appeared to have Samuel and Melissa in it.

Chris stared longingly at the car, which didn't vanish this time. Hoping his perception was as acute as ever even in this strange situation, he slowly and cautiously made his way to the car.

Chris finally made it to the car, and was relieved to see he had been right after all. He gave Melissa a wave, hoping to get her attention.

Melissa looked up startled, then realized the being in front of the car window was Chris. She opened the door and hopped out smiling. "Hey Chris!" She exclaimed while hugging him.

"Good to see you," Chris said to Melissa, hugging her back. "I have quite an insane story to tell,"

“So that’s what happened to me,” Chris said as he finished his story. “But what happened to Atticus?”

"He's with Blossom, remember?" responded Samuel. "Blossom and Atticus are doing -- well, I don't know. Probably having fun though."

“Right, Blossom,” Chris said, suddenly remembering. “Your assistant?”

## The Mysterious Light

Atticus Anoethite forced himself to open his eyes as sunlight began dominating his vision. He was nauseous, and the hard surface beneath him failed to make the experience tolerable. He sat up and tried to examine his surroundings.

An ajar door brought the sun's harsh light from outside to the spot where Atticus had slept, leaving the remainder of the area untouched. A lantern which had seen better days sat at the center of the room, allowing Atticus to discover that he was not alone. Three people slept on the floor, their appearances indistinct under the poor lighting conditions.

Blossom Cane awoke in a corner, feeling a cold draft against her. She shivered, rubbing her head and trying to jog her memory. She couldn't seem to remember anything about her past. She looked around and saw three people that she couldn't recognize.

A voice echoed, this time clearly beyond Atticus' mind and throughout the dreamscape. It touched upon both the decaying barn that the couple were in and the car housing Melissa and the others. It was calm, soft, and regretful, yet filled with force.

"I've come to see the door to this world." It was a deep voice, but not a very old one. "This world has been connected-"

Samuel's calm demeanor broke. Though he couldn't quite place it, it gave him a feeling of unease. Something was off, and it felt different from anything he'd ever witnessed in a dream. The voice, yet again, continued.

"-Tied... to the darkness. You do not know what lies beyond. There is so very much to learn..." The skies began to swirl with a slow and subdued purple glow. "...You understand so little. One who knows nothing can understand nothing..." With a sudden jolt of the car, a distant, red barn became visible to Samuel's group. Meanwhile, alongside Blossom and Atticus, the other figures began to disintegrate, collapsing like particles of sand.

"What in the world was that echoing voice?" Chris wondered. He poked his head out the window for answers, only to see the barn coming into view, as an even bigger shock. “And why have we returned here?"

Blossom watched as the figures disappeared. Confused, she sat up and looked around. 'What was that voice?', she thought. 'Where could it have come from?' It was far too loud to be the one remaining person in the barn.

Hearing the voice seemingly shout and surround the two with its words, Atticus clenched his forehead in pain. "What the fuck is that?" He called out to the others.

Suddenly, two of the figures collapsed and turned into particals of sand-like texture, blowing across the barn. Jumping to his feet, Atticus shot backwards and away from the mounds.

"Who are you?" Blossom stood up, pinning the source of the voice to Atticus. She looked in his direction, slowly moving closer to him.

Seeing the girl approach him, he thought for moment before answering. "Why should I tell my name first? Who are you? What are we doing here?"

Melissa was quite bewildered at the present situation. The voice did not sound like anything she had heard before; and she was confused on how the dreamscape could change so suddenly. "What happened?" She turned to Samuel; who was a bit of uneasy.

"That was . . . um . . . . " He could provide no answer. That voice was no projection, he thought to himself.

"Well, since we've been sitting in this car for a while; why don't we check out the barn? Might hold some more secrets."

"Sounds like a good idea . . . " Melissa said, still unsure of what is going.

The barn began to turn to sand as well, though the small particles floated upwards rather than scattering on the wet, muddy ground. A group of seven hooded figures waited nearby, the ground corrupted by a purple substance wherever they stood.

"What the hell?" Blossom looked around, startled. "I'm Blossom, but I don't think we have much time to talk." She backed as far away from the hooded figures as possible.

"Uhh."

Ignoring Blossom, Atticus began backing away from the hooded figures. "What are these guys?"

At once, what could be seen of the sun was eclipsed by a black moon. The nearing clouds distorted, curving as if this moon was a black hole. Descending from the moon onto the grass, were hundreds of metallic pieces. They were white, falling in a uniform manner. Situating itself near the seven figures, the pieces built themselves into a figure of some sort -- a thin humanoid in armor. In the distance, various parts of the armor had a strange; golden glow to them. The figure looked at the travelling dreamers.

Samuel could provide no explanation for what was occurring as he closed the car door, entering into the grasslands. He could only look in horror, as the sky became dark and the figures approached.

"S-Steven? Chris? Samuel? Anyone . . . ." Melissa looked in fear.

Chris looked at Melissa, and then out the car window. He stared at the sandy area where the barn had once stood, as well as the nine figures left in its wake. "Who are those individuals? That isn't the actual barn, is it? It just evaporated, so it couldn't be..."

The central figure, identical to the others, began to speak.

"Alright, Alright, hold the applause." His voice was clearly the same as the booming one only seconds before, though much more whimsical. He spoke with his hands, gesturing wildly as he moved. "Bravo, Atti, I really have to thank you!"

The figure moved closer to Atticus, uncomfortably so. "We really couldn't have done this without you!" He pinched Atticus' cheeks with his thumb and forefinger before shoving the boy. His arms crossed as his voice shifted to be much more serious. "Alright, milord, my work here is done. Do what you will with the kids." Two eyes, one purple and one gold, looked down on Atticus with contempt.

The figure returned to his six companions, standing among them straight. "Euclid. Always thought it was so small, myself..." With that, the seven of them vanished, consumed by a dark purple smoke as the primary figure gave two thumbs up.

Atticus clenched his fist, processing what the man had said and done. The harder he clenched, the more he realized that he was holding something. Something angular and square. Small, round grooves could be felt on each side, signifying numbers. "The die..." He spoke, to nobody in particular.

"Midgarde . . ." Speaking the name of a mysterious location, the remaining figure disassembled itself; situating themselves above Atticus. The being raised its hand towards Steven, Samuel, Chris, and Melissa. They could only watch with great awe, as their bodies were lifted from the floor and brought near Atticus and Blossom.

"A six-sided die? A simple situation -- though you chose not to use it, Aneothite." The voice was deep and muffled -- oddly familiar to Atticus; though he could not piece together where he had heard it before. "Look at the numbers, roll it, and look at them again."

"What are we even doing here?" Chris asked. "What happened to the car...?"

Gazing directly at the creature and noticing the sudden arrival of his companions, Atticus lifted his hand up and began to shake it, preparing to roll the die.

The die fell from Atticus' hand, though he wasn't sure if he was prepared for the results. As it hit the ground, it sank in partially as though it was dropped on a cushion. It seemed to keep turning long after it should have stopped, though when it did it revealed seven randomly-placed dots. Blossom opened her mouth to speak, but whatever she said was drowned out by a loud, powerful musical note, rising in pitch until it began to vibrate the surrounding area.

Atticus' eyelids unstuck from each other while he moved his hands to his ears in an attempt to stop the ringing in his head. A bright light pierced his vision, a welcome sight after all of the darkness he'd endured, and he used an elbow to prop himself up and take in his surroundings. The others were beginning to do the same as Atticus realized his location; the Laboratory of the Mind. His breath was heavy, as though he'd just ran a few hundred meters, and he was drenched in sweat. His unfocused eyes picked out a target among the group, a dark-skinned man sitting down on a chair. One of the lab assistants stood next to him, speaking to the half-asleep Samuel.

"Sir, I would like you to meet a mister 'John Fontaine."

## Epilogue

Sitting atop an immense pillar of stone, six figures were engaged in conversation. They spoke in hushed voices, casually discussing strange concepts foreign to Euclid. With their hoods down, each of their faces were unique, though they were all dressed identically. The seventh figure was not listening. A grin rested upon his face as he stood, staring at the moon in the night sky. He lifted his hands, framing the glowing moon within his fingers. His two eyes, gold and purple, were decorated by the shining lunar celestial. With a small chuckle, he formed his fingers into a heart shape.

Carpe Diem >