It took about an hour before the chains disappeared, and instead of the five of us ganging up on the two Zeros and the Mid Number, we just let them go. While there had been a rather brutal fight between Ravik and Cystella no one had been maimed or killed, and it wasn’t like they three of them could go against the Nine.
Cystella kept her eyes glued to the Zero’s as they lumbered away looking contemplative. I walked towards the girl, but was distracted by a yipping bark. Burst with his guts hanging out was bounding towards me, his tongue lolling out.
He rubbed his head on my shin and I squatted down to rub his head. I also noticed that the ground was starting to shift to the color of skin once again. Apparently whatever had happened wasn’t permanent.
“Would you like some assistance with your wounds?” I asked Cystella.
Her clothes were torn in a few places and purple bruises had already begun to form on her milk white skin.
“I do not like being touched.”
I nodded and didn’t get too close. It was something I could understand. Even the feeling of someone putting their hand on my shoulder was deeply uncomfortable.
Still this was a chance for some good will, and maybe I could instantly cash in that good will to question her about the specifics of the fight.
From my pocket I pulled out a handkerchief. It had been crumpled when I had been running around so I might as well go all the way and let Cystella wipe her blood on it.
She took it from my outstretched hand with a nod and started to put pressure on her nose and lip. With her other hand she started dusting off the dirt from her clothing.
I sat patiently on the ground with Burst on my lap, he was slowly becoming more and more vivid in detail so I knew that we didn’t have long. Professor Alyci had said that multiple Dreamers in the same place wouldn’t be good in the forest.
The three Champions had conversed among themselves and started to change out the Sun Stones in their weapons and armor from the extra Private Icy carried. They had also checked on the two of us, but I noticed that there was an additional wariness to the way they spoke to Cystella. Much more than before she had shown how powerful she was and had just been a non crazed Skulker.
Cystella stood, still holding the handkerchief to her face.
“I am leaving, but I can see that you still have questions. After your assignment you can come and talk to me.”
Then without waiting for a response she turned and walked away, taking the handkerchief and her umbrella with her.
I felt as though the goal for their excursion into The Forest of Living Dreams was not nearly as important as trying to gleam as much as possible from Cystella, but maybe this was a good thing.
This gave me plenty of time to write every question that came to mind so I could ask them all.
—-
For Elina the first few weeks on the humid island were annoying, but she hadn’t felt excessive danger in that time. Unless of course one of the many bugs that had bitten her carried some terrible disease, but she had no way of know about that for now.
Luckily she was able to find a stream of water and was successful in catching a few animals to eat. There were even a few times where she would trade some rabbit for some fish when another student would come by.
Elina didn’t understand why they were there. Maybe the peaceful outdoors were supposed to coax their Dreamscapes open, or maybe being in a different environment was supposed to change their view on themselves.
Either way it wasn’t working for her. She was just sweaty, annoyed, and wishing she had brought some spices with her to enhance her food.
So after two and a half weeks she decided that she would search for the Nightmare. If it turned out to be too much of a challenge then she would run away. Perhaps if she did kill it then she would be allowed to leave the island early, or go to where ever the teachers were and be able to eat their food.
Was it a smart plan? No. But Elina never pretended to be smart. Of course she in no way considered herself stupid. A stupid person would have just drank the water from the stream without boiling it.
So on her way she went twirling her clubs. The month of survival training from Professor Pure helped her not get lost or eat a berry that would make her vomit her guts out.
She had heard some rumors through the grapevine that was the food trade that the Nightmare was living in the wreckage that was the harbor city of Refill. A terrible name for a city in her mind. It sounded like the city was made of sewage.
With Nightmare being such an umbrella term for anything non-human that uses Dreamer like powers there were plenty of different types that the Nightmare could be, but the Professors had said that if they were properly prepared then they could kill it.
Her idea was that if it was inside a building she would just burn it down, or maybe try and crush it with a rock. She needed more information first.
Her trip through the island was rather uneventful, she said hello to a pair of students that she met but didn’t really know personally. In fact she did have a few people that could be considered friends, but she didn’t really feel that way.
They were more of friendly acquaintances due to circumstance. They were taken from all over the country and only barely reaching a hundred students they had essentially lost all their friends by coming to the academy.
She wouldn’t mind having more friends, but right now most of the other kids saw her as the weird fashion girl that hung out with the creepy Empyrean boy that stabbed another kid with a pen. Being the weird fashion girl wasn’t a bad thing to Elina, she liked clothing makeup and style. How was that any different than liking cooking?
She had found that if anyone liked something too much then others would consider it weird. You like food too much? You were a glutton. You like weapons too much? You were a criminal case ready to happen at any time.
Elina had wondered many times if her “Dream” had to do with fashion, but what would that even look like? Monty had told her a lot of what he had learned, and had even explained his reasoning for crafting a river stone in his Dreamscape.
Would she just create different outfits and when she thought of them they would invoke a feeling in her? Why not just wear that clothing then instead?
Of course there was always a chance that her “Dream” had nothing to do with clothing, but apparently Monty had opened his when thinking about the anatomy of the eye. Based on a few of the snips of information she had gotten about Monty despite him not liking to talk about his own interests outside watches she knew he liked biology and physiology.
It would make perfect sense if her Dreamscape was tailored for tailoring. She did do a lot of her own designs and adjustments, even if she was still rather novice at them.
As she crested a ridge she shook out of her thoughts. The ruins of Refill were right below her now. It wouldn’t do to be caught unawares by the Nightmare below.
The city had been rather large it seemed, though most of it was now covered in shrubbery and sand now. There was still plenty of stone foundation visible, but a lot of the wood had disappeared from either rot, erosion or looters.
How could two people destroy an entire city. Well apparently the Drowned King had destroyed the entire civilization before The Coal Empire so this was considerably more tame.
She saw a few moving figures and crouched down instinctively. Looking through the underbrush she could make out the familiar figures of Brax and his entourage of lesser bullies.
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Ever since she had heard about what Brax had done to Monty, or more of Monty stabbing Brax in the thigh. Elina had kept an eye on the large boy. He was, to put it simply, a two-faced asshole. Anyone that was not part of his posse, he treated like shit. Anyone that was he treated like gold. For most of the students that meant they just steered clear of the boy, but for those with low self worth they clinged to him like koala’s.
He was with the three main people of his little posse, a rat like boy that was in the same class as her that carried a bow and arrow. A homely girl that carried a spear, and a tall thin boy that carried a sword. Brax himself also carried a sword.
They were prowling around the ruined streets of the city sometimes checking buildings that still had some semblances of rooms. It seemed they too were hunting for the Nightmare.
Doing it in a group was definitely smarter, but only one person could get the potion to open their Dreamscape. At least she assumed so based on what Mr. Rider had said.
Elina sat as she watched Brax’s group. This was the boy that had bullied her friend for weeks. So what right did he have to kill the Nightmare, unless one of his three whipped dogs decided to steal the kill from him in the last moment then it would surely go to him.
So Elina was going to steal the kill. She couldn’t have Brax get the awakening potion then begin to bully Monty again. She needed to protect him.
Elina made a mental map of where they currently were and made her way around the ridge so she could follow their tracks. Once she made it inside the cit y Elina felt a chill go up her spine.
Looking at it from above was like seeing a picture of it, it didn’t bring the same feeling of quiet tragedy that actually walking amongst the houses did. How many people had lived here? Five thousand? Ten thousand? Had any of them survived or had it been a total wipeout.
She knew the way of people and there must of been dozens if not hundreds of people that had come here like roaches and looted every inch of the ruined city after the disaster. No care for the lives lost, only wanting to make a few bucks.
The group of four were easy enough to track. Their sandy footprints staying in an almost completely straight path. That must mean that they have a decent idea of where the Nightmare was. She wondered if they had attempted to kill it before, they didn’t seem injured when she had seen them from afar so maybe the Nightmare was even weaker than she had imagined.
Eventually the tracks took a turn onto a smaller street and Elina knew that she was close to her goal. A few feet ahead she saw that the tracks once again turned and a sly smile grew on her face.
The barking of orders and a deep ground shaking groan made her freeze in place. They were engaged with the Nightmare she was sure. She would need to get to a position to be able to jump in at the last moment.
Those plans instantly fell apart the moment she laid eyes on the battle. Not because the Nightmare was already dead, or that the Nightmare was too dangerous to fight. It was because the only female member of Brax’s posse came flying straight at her.
For a moment she hesitated, not sure whether she should drop her clubs to try and catch the girl or to jump out of the way. It ended with her being rammed into full force by the oncoming body. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of something long and serpentine coiling away and the sounds of the boys yelling.
Pushing the girls body off of her Elina rolled to the side. The girl, Elina didn’t remember her name, gave out a coughing groan. Then after a few moments of that, screamed.
Elina flinched back, surprised by the sudden noise, looked over to the girl. There was a hole in her stomach. Blood was pouring out of the wounds, staining her clothes and creating a pool of crimson on the sandy ground.
For a few crucial seconds the two girls just stared at one another, both in shock. Then Professor Pure’s training kicked in. She pulled off her over-shirt and balled it up. With her other hand she moved the girls fingers out of the way and pressed the shirt down. Then she put all of her weight into her arms and held down pressure.
“W-what are you doing here?” the girl asked Elina.
“This isn’t the fucking time,” Elina growled back. “Just make sure to breathe. Y-you can breathe right?”
The girl was still squirming, each movement bringing out a groan. Tears were now streaming down her face.
“Y-yes… how bad is it.”
“I don’t know,” Elina said sternly.
She wished the girl had been knocked out so she didn’t have to do patient care as well as first aid. Crashes and curses could be heard from behind her as the rest of the girl’s group fought the Nightmare.
Elina had wanted to jump in at the last moment unawares and kill the Nightmare, but despite her lack of affection for Brax and his group she wasn’t going to watch one of them bleed out.
A shadow pass overhead and her head shot up in fear. Had the Nightmare come to finish off the girl? In a gust of wind and the smell of rain Professor Pure landed beside her. He was wearing a simple pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt.
The incredible thing were the two wings spread out from his back. They were a slightly translucent glowing blue with arcs of lightning going from feather to feather. The wind was swirling naturally around him, kicking up leaves and sand.
He looked to her and his gaze felt more wild, not in the sense that he was going to attack, but in the sense that he was no longer thinking of her as a student, but instead an animal. Then the wings, along with his gaze, disappeared.
“Let me see her, you just continue doing what you were doing before,” he said taking hold of the shirt and pressing down himself.
“Y-you know what I was planning?” Elina asked in surprise.
“We are keeping an eye on you all.”
How? There were only three teachers and almost a hundred kids on this island. It must be their “Wit” or the fact that Professor Pure can apparently fly and see them all from above.
“You w-were going to steal the kill?” the girl accused.
Elina shrugged.
“Quiet,” Professor Pure told the girl.
A pulse of sky blue light rippled across the teachers tattoo’s and he took away the shirt to expose the wound. With his other hand he placed it on the girls stomach, who’s eyes were wide with fear. Pink fire lit up the teachers fingertips and Elina remembered Monty saying how the pink fire could heal wounds.
“You can go, she will live.”
Elina nodded, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. Before seeing what the Nightmare was capable of she had treated this like she would hunting a rabbit.
Still she didn’t want to be left behind by Monty, not only was he terrible at making friends, she also just didn’t like the idea of not seizing the day for herself.
If she had to steal to get what she wanted then she would. Her hands clenched her clubs and she set her jaw, taking a step forward.
“Brax! This girl is trying to take the kill!” the wounded girl yelled.
Elina looked back at the girl with her mouth agape. Elina had saved her life! And she was instantly tattle telling on her!
“You bitch,” she muttered.
The girl, who Elina had considered a spineless follower gave her a resolute glare.
“Thank you for saving my life,” she said, keeping eye contact.
Professor Pure chuckled, but didn’t intervene.
Well, it was now or never. Elina turned the corner, ready to stop an attack from either Brax’s group or the Nightmare.
In the wide street Brax stood, red Intent gushing off of him. He had opened his Dreamscape. By the surprise on his face it had just happened. The tall lanky follower was on the ground, his arm bent at an unnatural angle.
The third follower was on a rooftop, his quiver empty as he pumped a fist in celebration.
As for the Nightmare it was on the street. Put simply, it was a giant frog. It looked like it would go up a bit past Elina’s knee in height and was fat. A sword was sticking out of its body, bent at an unnatural angle along with half a dozen arrows. Thankfully though it was still alive.
The Nightmare croaked, and Elina once again felt the ground tremble beneath her. The Nightmare’s throat expanded to be as large as the rest of its body then the Frog opened its mouth.
A large tongue shot out and Brax jumped away, his body slamming into the stone of a wall thanks to the empowering Intent. The tongue stabbed into the ground and a huge plume of sand was kicked up from the impact.
That was what had pierced the girls stomach. The Nightmare leapt and the kid with the broken arm rolled to the side as it slammed into where he had been a moment before.
Brax stood and gave a shout as he ran to help his follower, giving Elina a glare as he did so. The one on the roof no longer had any arrows to shoot with so he threw a rotten plank at the Nightmares head to distract it.
If he had Intent then Brax might not kill the Nightmare himself. By letting one of his followers kill it instead he would deepen the bond they had. Elina would take it for herself then.
She dashed forward. There was the chance that Brax would kill it anyways thank to her presence, but she would take that risk.
Brax kicked the Nightmare and yanked out the crooked blade from the frogs body.
“Russel!” Brax yelled, then tossed the blade up to the boy on the roof.
The ratty boy, Russel, caught the blade by the handle in a display of surprising dexterity, then leapt from above onto the Nightmare. His blade was pointed straight for the frogs skull, ready to kill.
The blade slipped, because it was bent it couldn’t bring the full force of Russel’s body straight down for a decisive blow so it bit into the frogs head and slipped under the skin to poke back out near the frogs eye.
A croaking scream was heard as the frog thrashed, trying to leap away. It hit another wall, sending the stone tumbling and fell onto its side only a few feet away from Elina.
This was it.
Without a breathe of hesitation Elina slammed her first club down on the Nightmares head. It could have cracked it skull, but she didn’t plan to take the chance. A second blow came, then a third. In the most savage moment of her life she crashed her clubs over and over into the frogs head.
Gone was the fashion and wanting to be pretty, right now she wanted to win by combat. For just a moment, she felt something open in her minds eye. Then she was tackled to the ground by a fuming Brax.