“Why is it…purple?” Kioko asked.

Jordan turned to face the image of his Governess in his [Psychic Realm]. She too appeared translucent, like a ghost—albeit one with ashen flakes slowly drifting off. Jordan turned to regard his inner realm, and then faced her again with a shrug.

“I dunno—it’s always been like this. Why do you ask?” Jordan responded, wincing slightly with a renewed hum of pain in his head. Strangely, the pain didn’t seem to risk throwing him out. It was inconsistent with what he’d felt when he first used the power, but admittedly he knew very little about how it functioned.

“Why do I ask?” Kioko repeated, turning in a circle as she waved towards the expanse around them. “This has got to be the most boring looking inner Realm I’ve ever seen. Didn’t your Chasm identify this as similar to a [Memory Palace]? So—where’s the palace?”

“Ahhh…I don’t know? It was like this when I got here, okay!” Jordan shot back, and Kioko huffed as she shook her head in frustration.

“Fine, but remind me when we're done to address this…everything you’ve got going on.”

Jordan glared at her, and Kioko let out a sigh. “Look, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not trying to harass you, but seriously this is just…such a waste. A Skill like a [Memory Palace] can do incredible things when paired with the right support Skills. If the Skill you’ve got is even half as good, there’s a lot that could be done.”

“Like what, exactly?” Jordan said, crossing his arms defensively. “I’ve never been able to get anything useful from this place, so I hardly see the point in investing more into it.”

“Aureliana,” Kioko said, shaking her head. “This Realm is a mental construct, there’s no limit to the kinds of things you could create in here. Especially if we get your Oneiromancy working, you’d likely be able to form this space into whatever you could imagine.”

“Oh,” Jordan responded lamely. “That, ah, does sound kind of neat, at least. Could I train or study in here?”

Kioko rubbed at her chin as she knelt down to tap on the invisible floor. It didn’t make any sound as her knuckles rapped it.

“Well, it’s not exactly good for something like that.” She admitted. “Realms like this are used to reflect on your past experiences, or review information you already had but may have missed details in. They’re also incredibly useful for planning things out. But, there are inherent difficulties to translating what you experience in a place like this back out into the real world.”

Jordan glanced away, hiding his scowl. Why can’t anything just work the way I want? He thought.

“Besides,” she continued, “you’d likely find it hard to motivate yourself to do much in a place like this.” Jordan turned back around to see her wave once more to the purple horizon.

Jordan sighed with frustration. “Look, I get it—it looks like crap. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, that wasn’t what I was meaning. Eh, this time.” She said, standing up. “A mental Realm like this will reflect your mind. Without your soul and body to help motivate it, you’re more likely to spin in circles than anything else. With the right Discipline Skills, though, you’ll have a lot more options.”

Jordan quirked his head at her. “Motivation? I don’t think I’m following what you’re saying.”

Kioko gave him a flat look. “Look, there are four types of inner Realms. Mental, Spiritual, Physical, and the Core. A mental Realm like this is little more than a glorified dream. Spiritual Realms can be places where you look for answers, in yourself or the universe as you connect your Soul to places or beings greater than yourself. Physical Realms are mostly obsolete what with Storage rings being so common and all. And the Core Realm, well, you’ve already experienced that—developing it is a part of a cultivator’s journey.”

Jordan nodded, finally grasping what she was saying. Still, something was bothering him.

“If what you’re saying is true, though, shouldn’t I be…less emotional or responsive in here?”

Kioko frowned, and opened her mouth to respond. Her words caught in her throat, and she unexpectedly narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. He backed away feeling nervous, before yelping as she jumped at him. Her hands viciously tickled his sides and Jordan half screamed, half laughed as he fought to get away. After a brief, desperate struggle, he extricated himself and stood to the side breathing heavily as he glared at his Governess.

He stopped, however, when he saw a look of horror begin to form on her face.

“What?” Jordan asked. “What is it?”

“Aureliana, how do you feel about…your family?”

Jordan squinted at her. “What kind of question is that? I love them. Obviously.” He huffed in annoyance.

Her eyes only grew wider in response, further confusing the hell out of Jordan.

“Oh no. Oh no, oh no no no no…” Kioko bit her lip as she began to pace in the formless space.

“What’s wrong? Why are you tickling me and asking me weird questions?” Jordan wanted to curse at her, but he knew that would have been a highly inappropriate way to speak to his Governess, so he held his tongue in check.

“This isn’t a mental Realm.” She whispered, still looking around the area as though hoping to find something different in the empty space.

“Um, it isn’t? Are we not in my mind then?” Jordan was getting so confused.

“I think…well, I know it’s theoretically possible to combine inner Realms.” She shook her head, face filled with undisguised worry. “I think you have what would probably be considered an Astral Realm; one composed of both Mind and Soul. It’s the only way to explain why you seem so…real in here.”

“Are you…not real in here?” He asked.

“What? No I’m Astrally projecting, similar to you right now, apparently. But this is…beyond what I was expecting. I don’t even know how you could have possibly developed a Realm like this. Not without dozens of supporting Skills.” She shook her head once more. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well,” Jordan huffed, “why did we even come in here then?”

“I thought your damn Skill was like a [Memory Palace], remember? It would’ve been the perfect tool for reflecting on what went wrong with your Skill development! Now, I’m not sure. An Astral Realm should be able to do anything a Soul or Mental Realm could, so…maybe we could—”

“Ahhhh!” Jordan grabbed his head as he fell to his knees.

“Aureliana!” Kioko rushed over to hold him. “Screw it—let’s get out of here, okay? We’ll go find Rahm and—”

A tearing sound thundered out into the purple expanse. They both looked up to see a dark rift begin to form as a shadowy beast emerged. Wisps of its smokey body curled and danced like flame against its immaterial form, and a single red orb-like eye sat on its head. It was still quite a distance, but as it turned to regard them, its body opened around its midsection to reveal a maw of white serrated teeth as it roared. Following on its footsteps, more began to pour in.

“Shit—a Nightmare incursion? Where the fuck are your defenses!?”

“I think,” Jordan doubled over in pain briefly as another rift formed. “I think something’s wrong. It feels like my head’s splitting open.”

Kioko looked nervously at the pack of shadowy beings formed up and began to approach. “Okay, new plan. Whatever you do, don't leave this Realm, got it? They won’t go away if you leave, but they’ll have to bypass the last of your defenses to do any harm, which right now means you. If we leave, there’s nothing stopping them. So hold on—I’m going to try and give us some breathing room.”

Kioko’s eyes flashed with an array of colors as the space nearby seemed to compress around her. She growled in frustration, as though struggling to lift something, and then looked up in fear as the Nightmares seemed to detect something in the air. With a chorus of howling they raced forward just as Kioko strained to lift her hands and…

The void faded in an instant.

----------------------------------------

Jordan tumbled to the ground shaking violently as he retched colors onto the floor. Kioko landed next to him, looking just as worse for wear. After a few slips in his mess, Jordan crawled his way onto his feet.

Looking around, he was…back in his bedroom? He wiped at his face, and stared at the colorful mess. It didn’t make sense? Hadn’t he been in his [Psychic Realm]? He hadn’t meant to leave, so why was he back?

Wait, colorful? He looked back at his rainbow splattered hand. Turning to the side, he saw the semi-translucent body of Kioko struggling to stand as well.

“Are we still in my inner realm?” He asked.

“Yeah, we—” Kioko paused to spit gunk out of her mouth, “—are. I gave us a scene change, but it shouldn’t have been that jarring.”

“Scene change? What?” Jordan glared at his Governess, but she held up a placating hand.

“Look, we don’t necessarily have time for me to run you through all the uses of Oneiromancy within immaterial Realms—it’s considered a more advanced use of the Ability. For now, just know that if you were properly trained, you could set dream-like Realms to any scene you can imagine.”

“But this is an Astral realm, isn’t it? It’s not a dream! Eh, right?”

Kioko opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again. “No, you’re right. That didn’t work like it should have. I don’t know if that’s just how Astral Realms function or if there was more to it, but I can’t—”

Jordan shuddered again, grabbing his head. After a brief pulse of pain, he looked up to see Kioko gaping at something. Meeting her gaze, his jaw dropped as well.

Half the wall nearby had dissolved like putty, a few stray pieces of furniture had half twisted on themselves, and the bed had sunk into the floor several inches.

“Great, the scene’s unstable.” Kioko grumbled. “My Master would be so proud of me.”

“Yeah, it looks like the whole damn place is glitching out.” Jordan added.

“What did you just say?” Kioko said, snapping her attention to him.

Jordan winced at the odd intensity in her expression. “It looks like a…glitch?” He said with a helpless shrug.

“What the bloody hell is a gelitche?”

Jordan snorted at her odd pronunciation of the word. “It’s a computer thing.” He said with a wave of his hand. “It happens with games all the time, though if a game I was playing was glitching out this bad I’d play something else.”

“Kom-puta? Aureliana…are you speaking Old Tongue right now?”

“What?” Jordan lightly laughed. “No, I was just…oh.” He paled as he suddenly realized he’d just spoken words he hadn’t been able to say before.

His eyes widened in shock. “Computer. Glitches! Airplanes and super sonic speeds! Cell phones! Apps!” Jordan leapt in joy at the sudden freedom of speech he had.

“Aureliana stop! I can’t understand what you’re saying!” Kioko ran over and grabbed his shoulders. “And what the hell is up with your accent? It doesn’t sound like any pronunciation of Old Tongue I’ve ever heard.”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “Well I’m not speaking old tongue. Obviously—I’m speaking English!”

Kioko gave him a blank look. “You’re not speaking Old Tongue yet obviously you’re speaking Old Tongue? Do you even know what you’re saying?” She began to feel at his forehead and fuss over his Astral-form.

“Wait, I have something important to say!” Jordan said, pushing Kioko’s worrying hands away.

“What is it?” She said, meeting his gaze.

“I’m… not Aureliana. Not really. My name is actually Jor—”

“Noooooooooooooooo!” A screaming figure burst out from under a nearby desk and bodily tackled Jordan mid-sentence. Jordan and his assailant went crashing into some nearby chairs, one of which phased into the ground, spazzed out, and shot upwards to impale itself into the ceiling. The cracks it formed caused a nearby chandelier to slowly begin spinning, inexplicably, and the others in the room began to mimic the motion.

“Ow, get off of me!” Jordan said, fighting a new pair of hands that were pressing in on his mouth and eyes.

“No! Don’t look! Don’t see! No!” A familiar feminine sounding voice cried out, struggling somehow even harder than Jordan was.

“What the fuck!?” Kioko said from nearby. Jordan tried to say something to the effect of ‘a little help please’ but his voice was muffled by the hands pressing in.

Eliciting a keening wail, Kioko removed the assailant and Jordan stared up at…Aureliana? She was a picture perfect replication and clearly not an Astral being. Though her dress was torn and ragged and for some reason her hair was purple. Jordan blinked dumbly at the replica, who was struggling in Kioko’s arms with a wide eyed panicked expression.

“Who the hell is that?” Jordan cried out, pointing an accusatory finger at the doppelgänger.

“If I had to guess—oof!” Kioko shouted as she took an elbow to the face. “This is one of your wonderful Eidolons. I was wondering what the hell they were up to.” She flopped the purple haired Aureliana onto the ground, and the clone looked up fearfully at the cat-woman. “You know, normally they aren’t supposed to be copies of their host. This is downright creepy.” She muttered.

“Please. He can’t know. Please! Don’t let him see. Please?” The strange copy begged.

“He? Who’s he?” Kioko asked, and then looked incredibly confused when the copy pointed directly at Jordan.

She knows about me, Jordan realized.

“Protect him. You must protect him!” The clone crawled up and bowed before Kioko. “If they get him…they’ll let it out. And if he knows, it could escape. It’s waiting for him. He is the key to the sword!”

“The what is what now? Oh my Devas, Aureliana, why…is nothing ever simple with you!” Kioko growled as she shot a quick glare at Jordan before turning back to the purple haired lass. “Listen, I don’t know what the hell you’re on about, but your master is literally being invaded right this second. Why aren’t you fighting for her?”

“I…can’t. And the others are…disrupted. Something broke the connection.” The copy said, turning away as she trembled. In…fear? Jordan could practically feel the emotion emanating off of her in thick waves.

Right, if I remember correctly Aureliana had emotion based Eidolons or something, he thought. Is this one fear then? It would explain why it can’t fight at least.

“Disrupted? That isn’t how Eidolons work! Besides, why would you still be—” Kioko froze mid-sentence. Lifting her hands, she waved them around with quick gestures as she murmured something. Her eyes flashed, before opening wide as she backed away.

“You’re…you’re not an Eidolon. Not a regular one at least. By the Devas, you’re a bloody Passion!” She cried out.

“What’s a passion?” Jordan interjected.

“It’s an Eidolon that’s bonded with a Concept, or outside force of some sort.” She snapped back at Jordan. “It’s…powerful, but dangerous. It can learn, grow, evolve and aid in a number of tasks a regular Eidolon couldn’t.”

Oh, so sort of like an Artifact version of a magic item? He mused, and then said “That doesn’t sound so—”

“It can also,” Kioko interrupted, “act completely independently of its host’s will and has led to countless deaths over the centuries by those dumb enough to embody and grant agency to the Beliefs in their mind. It’s almost like sharing your head with other minds can cause problems.” She tsked.

As Jordan grimaced in response, Kioko rounded back towards the ‘passion.’ “What the hell ideal have you bonded with?”

The clone looked anxiously over towards Jordan, and then looked up at Kioko with a worried look. Right before it broke into a large grin.

“Ins—”

Jordan blinked in confusion as something...whispered in his mind? He didn’t understand the voices and he stared at the purple-haired clone. She looked like she wanted to punch him, but he was distracted by something that was…calling to him? He could hear drums beating, like something pounding on a cage as someone cried. He could do it. He could let it out if only he knew how. He only had to listen for just a—

“Pay it no mind, darling.” An older, but familiar voice said. Looking up, Jordan felt his mother’s hand caress his cheek lovingly and he gave her a [Perfect Smile]. He wasn’t sure why he’d just had…an episode? But it was fine now, of that he was sure, and he put it out of his thoughts.

“Mercia?” Kioko said. “Wait, no, that’s…that’s a regular Eidolon? How the fuck did she…er!” Kioko growled as she grabbed a chair hard enough to snap the wood. “Of course she did.”

“Mom?” Jordan asked, and his mother hugged him tight.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll protect you. No matter what.” She gave him her own [Perfect Smile] and Jordan finally breathed in relief. He was safe now.

His clone, however, seemed less than pleased. The purple Aureliana hissed at Jordan’s mother and backed away. Her voice quickly took on the tone of a displeased cat, as she disappeared into the shadows beneath a table with a lingering, mewling wail.

“None of this makes any damn sense,” Kioko growled. “You have a fucking Skill for your Eidolons so she shouldn’t even be here.” Kioko jabbed a finger at Jordan’s mother. “And you—” She pointed at the shadowed clone, “Shouldn’t even exist at all! And this—”

She was interrupted by a pained noise from Jordan. His mother held him close, but it hurt so damn much! In the distance more thunder clapped.

“That Skill he learned…” the shadow nearby hissed. “It disrupted the connection, which was already too weak. Now, they’re coming. They’re all coming! Ahahahaha!” The clone cackled as it began to slam its head against the wall.

“Disrupted the connection?” Kioko repeated. Turning around, she pulled back one of the window’s curtains to look outside. She immediately let out a gasp.

From Jordan’s position on the floor, he could see that the horizon seemed to be a mix of blue and purple, like a nebula showing in the midday sun. It was beautiful, except it also seemed to expose an odd array of golden lines hidden in the sky. The circular structure and fractal patterns looked familiar to Jordan as lines of energy moved about like clockwork.

“Oh. My. Devas.” Kioko intoned, dropping the curtain moments after. She turned back to look at Jordan, her ephemeral features taking on a surprising paleness. “You carved a Mandala into your mind. That’s how you got an advanced Skill so quickly—you built it off of your damn Ritual Specialization!” She pointed another accusatory finger at Jordan.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything! This is all news to me too.” He returned the jabbing fingers, as his mother attempted to sooth him. She stroked his hair and whispered reassuringly in his ear, and he eventually calmed down.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Kioko, meanwhile, began to pace in the room in earnest. “A Mandala. A fucking Mandala just carved into your damn mind like it’s nothing. Wait—it’s worse than that, you had to have carved into your soul as well! That’s the only way to have made it like this. Ugh, this is the kind of crazy shit a fucking Immortal would do! This is so stupid!” She kicked at another chair, which flew several feet before dropping back onto the ground inexplicably. She screamed at it before resuming her pacing.

“What’s the big deal, anyway?” Jordan asked. "Isn't that how the core realm works and all that?"

His Governess paused, before walking over to Jordan. “The Core Realm very specifically does not connect to anything outside your own Pattern, and it's built off of the work of millennia. This though? Come with me,” she said as she hauled Jordan up. His mother looked like she wanted to protest, but she allowed Jordan’s slight manhandling. Kioko then dragged him towards the window and pulled the curtain back again. Pointing at a part of the sky where the Mandala was exposed, she said, “I need more information. Can you identify any features from here?”

“I think so,” Jordan said. Reaching into his Ki reserves felt strange from within his [Psychic Realm] but it was something he’d done before, and despite the apparent invasion of his mind going on, he was still able to activate his analysis skills.

“Um, that’s really, ah, complicated.” Is all Jordan could say after a moment.

“I’m going to need more than ‘really complicated,’ Aureliana. What do you see?” Kioko prodded.

Jordan huffed. “Look, it’s as overly detailed as Rahm’s, okay? All I can tell you from here is that the—” Jordan squinted. “The, ah, Outer Edge has multiple parts? I can recognize…” Jordan gasped. “Shit, that’s a connection to that dark place out there. The umbral something or other?”

“That forbidden Skill you had?” Kioko asked. “The Umbral Realm?”

Jordan nodded and Kioko hissed loudly. A half beat later, the clone hissed as well.

“You said multiple parts though,” his Governess said. “What else can you see on that Outer Edge specifically?”

“Um, it mostly looks like it connects to something I haven’t seen before. It looks kind of like, hang on. [Mandala Lore]. Ah, there we go! It’s connected to something called the Oneiros Expanse. Wait, I don’t think I heard of that before though.”

It’s kind of strange I could identify it if I’ve never seen it, right? Jordan pondered. Hadn’t that not worked before with Rahm’s ritual?

“The Oneiros…Expanse? Expanse!? Are you sure?” She grabbed his shoulders and stared straight into his eyes. “Absolutely sure?”

“Y-yeah. Why? Is that bad? It kind of sounds like the word Oneiromancy doesn’t it?” He mused as Kioko released him. She staggered back again, but this time ended up falling onto the floor. Any sign of her frustration or anger had disappeared. She looked...afraid.

“Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no…Aureliana, what have you done.” Kioko said as she slowly rocked on the floor.

“That doesn’t sound…good.” Jordan said lamely. His mother put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, but the anxiety growing in his chest was getting worse.

“Aureliana…Oneiromancy is supposed to connect to the Dreaming Realm, which is a part of our Prime Expanse. The Onieros Expanse is an entirely different universe. It’s a higher plane—the actual source of Dreams as a concept that exists in this, or any, reality! It is to the Dreaming Realms what the Heavenly Expanse is to the Solarius Realm. This is like saying you connected directly to the Heavens! And you can't just connect to a higher plane and bypass local Realms. That’s not only suicidal, it's impossible. It's...at least, it should’ve—oh. That’s...the problem, isn’t it?”

Her ears flattened against her head, and she grabbed onto her hair as she groaned. Jordan knelt down next to her, his headache getting worse now with every passing minute, but he needed her to snap out of it.

“What’s wrong?" He asked. "Do you know?"

She looked up, her eyes bleary. “Aureliana, that draw Skill you learned connects you to the Dreaming Realm. It’s where you should be drawing Oneiromantic Essence from. If it caused a Skill conflict that can only mean one thing. Your Skill, this [Psychic Realm], already was a Draw skill and...our assumption's otherwise put us in this situation. My assumptions, specifically. This is my fault."

She got quiet as she curled up more, but Jordan put a hand on her shoulders.

"Hey, if it hadn't been you, it would've been me, I'm sure. Is...is there a way to fix it though?"

She paused, but reluctantly nodded. "We might still have a chance. Whatever Mandala you setup is likely pulling from two sources simultaneously now, one of which is a pale imitation of what it was likely designed for. If we can repair it, we might be able to stop this before it gets out of control. But Aureliana, this is...beyond dangerous—we’re lucky that only a few Nightmares have shown up.”

“What…” Jordan chewed on his lip, contemplating her words. “What exactly are nightmares?”

Kioko sighed, but almost out of relief it seemed. “Malignant Spirits that are native to the Dreaming Realm. It could be worse. If something from the Umbral came through…” She trembled as she shook her head. “We can get through this. If we stay smart, work together, and focus, we’ve got a good chance.”

Jordan opened his mouth to ask another question, but before he got his words out a disturbing chuckle came from the darkness where his clone was holed up.

“Oh, don’t worry,” she said, laughing. “The thing’s servants are coming too. They’ll be here soon…”

Kioko and Jordan exchanged glances at the cryptic warning. Kioko curled up even more as her eyes darted about in panicked thought.

“What are we going to do?” Jordan whispered.

Kioko shuddered, holding her legs tight not unlike…a kid, Jordan realized. Before he could worry more, however, his Governess breathed deep and slapped her own cheeks.

“No,” she said through gritted teeth. “Not now, not when she needs me.” With clear effort, Kioko shakily stood up, her body trembling as her ephemeral tail wrapped around her legs. Jordan joined her, standing next to her, and as she set her jaw and met his eyes.

She grabbed him by the arms. “We need to fix the Skill you learned.” She said. “It shouldn’t be too hard now that we know what’s wrong, but it’ll still take time. The problem we have, is that even if—” she glanced back towards the clone, “Even if nothing else shows up, we aren’t going to have enough time here, not if the scene is unstable. We need another scene change to buy us time, but I’m not sure if it’ll work.”

“Is my realm going to collapse if you try?”

Kioko shook her head. “No, that’s not it. Your Realm fought me when I tried. I wasn’t sure why at first, but now I know it’s because your Realm is a higher caliber than what I’m trained with. The fact I was able to change anything at all is likely due to you having done nothing whatsoever to establish, eh, anything really.”

“Then what do we…do?” Jordan asked again.

Kioko sighed out. “We’ll have to fight them off. Somehow. My strength is limited, considering I’m not here physically and my drawing has been stymied.” She grimaced before nodding at Jordan’s mother. “We still have one functional Eidolon though. So at least what your mother did had some positive outcome.”

“What she did?” Jordan quirked his head at Kioko.

“Pay it no mind dear.” His mother said gently, and Jordan nodded in understanding.

Kioko made a face as she dropped her hand from Jordan’s shoulder. “Alright, the best idea I can think of is we look for a natural crossing point into another scene and hope like hell she can protect us on the way. Oh, and hope that your inner Realm won’t operate completely outside of dream-logic.”

“Why do you keep saying scene?” Jordan pressed. “What is that even supposed to mean?”

A howling sounded in the distance, drawing both of their gazes towards the window. The shadowed clone gave a frightened squeak.

“Look, I’ll give you the details when we aren’t in dire straits. Just know that when it comes to dreamweaving, it tends to use artistic terms. Do you remember seeing any plays at all?”

Jordan raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“Good. Then think of Eidolons as the stars of the show, working to keep everything going, and the stage you’re on is the scene. Everything else is just backdrop, unless it plays a key role to your psyche or the scene, in which case it’s a Prop. Now, shall we start running?”

“Er, sure.” Jordan said. “Where to though?”

“Crossing point.” She said again. “Typically, it’s anywhere your mind will logically assume there should be a transition to another location. Gates, doorways, and the like are good options. So, we’ll start with the Mansion’s entrance and select follow up locations as we go, though I'd suggest we try the Archives first.”

“And if…this place doesn’t operate on dream logic?”

Kioko didn’t answer as she dragged him out the door.

----------------------------------------

The three of them ran down the hallway, the purple-haired clone having stayed behind. They quickly arrived on the overhang in the entrance hall, and Kioko immediately let out a string of curses. The front doors were shaking as a multitude of thuds hammered against the sturdy wood. It was already beginning to show signs of giving in.

“Well, guess that plan’s out.” Kioko growled.

“Where do we go then?” Jordan asked, and Kioko shook her head.

“Let me think real quick.” She replied.

“Perhaps we could visit the veranda?" Mercia said. "The weather outside is lovely."

“Oh shut up you infernal puppet.” Kioko snapped.

“Hey! Don’t talk about my mother like that.” Jordan snarled, but Kioko just rapped him on his noggin.

“I don’t need backtalk from—”

Mercia moved in quick flourish, brandishing a fan of all things up towards Kioko’s neck. His Governess froze, and cautiously held her hands up. It was only the tiny trickle of color rolling down Kioko’s ephemeral neck that made Jordan realize that the tips of his mother’s fan were metallic, and sharp.

“Do not strike my daughter again.” Mercia said. “Whether in jest or not, I will be forced—”

Her words were interrupted by the sounds of scrabbling; like paws scratching against wood. Jordan turned to look towards the outer-facing window on the walkway and realized the sounds were fast approaching.

“Ah, guys.” He said, tugging at his mother’s sleeve. “I think they might be climbing up.”

Mercia turned her head just in time to meet the first of several red orbs pressed against the window. She released Kioko, and rushed forward just as the glass began to crack.

With a sharp crash, the window shattered, and wispy beasts came pouring in, yipping and yowling incessantly as they did. Mercia opened her fan, raising it to her her face as she pulled a second one out, and her forehead erupted with glowing horns. Dropping her first fan down, she screamed at the approaching nightmares, making Jordan slam his hands over his ears in pain.

The walls distorted with her voice, panels cracking and splitting as paintings fell and vases shattered. The beasts themselves twisted in on themselves, or were simply rent asunder. Panting after her yell, Mercia charged the scattered pack and laid into them. Her fans swept through the air with a dancer's grace, and more nightmares fell, pieces of their malformed shapes littering the area with splashes of oily liquids—but more kept pouring in.

Jordan backed up to make some room, and Kioko stepped forward waving her hands.

“I thought Oneiromancy was a silent magic type?” Jordan said.

Kioko rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t mean you can’t use other art styles to supplement it, brat. Now step back and watch a master at work!” She gave an obviously forced grin as energy flowed around her hands, drawn from the surronding world that began to fizz out. She held her hands up, pointing towards the clustered mass that Mercia was holding back, and with a flash she dropped them. The nightmares seemed unaffected.

“Ah, master?" Jordan said nervously. "Anytime now.”

“I’m trying, but this damn place just keeps fighting me tooth and claw!” She snapped, holding her hands up again. Another flash occurred, but once more—nothing seemed affected. Kioko screamed in frustration, but went silent when a crash of glass sounded out and a baying answered her. It was distant, but the noises were fast approaching.

“More nightmares are coming down the hall!” Jordan shouted.

“I fucking know!” Kioko roared, and twisted at a mass of energy forming in her hands. More nightmares pushed their way in through the window nearby, and Mercia began to fall back towards the group, slicing frantically as she twirled in the air.

“Here, take this you sons of bitches!” Kioko yelled as she finally got her spell off. It barely missed Mercia as it slammed into the mass of shadows.

The roiling mass, however, absorbed her colorful display and began to grow tendrils that bore into the surrounding wood. Like a tumor growing in fast forward, a bulbous lump sprouted, only to split open and reveal a hulking three legged nightmare. It had twin, whip-like arms, and three heads each with bisecting jaws that repeatedly snapped and gnashed at the group of them.

“What the fuck was that!?” Jordan yelled.

“Fucking backlash!” Kioko cursed. “Get behind me, I’ll do this the old fashioned way then.”

Jordan complied, as Kioko stepped towards the hallway to cover the flank. The large nightmare struck out with a whip, stabbing into Mercia’s shoulder as she rolled backwards. Jordan cried out in worry, but Mercia tossed a fan up towards the ceiling. She hit a chain suspending one of the endless chandeliers, which fell on the empowered nightmare. A sudden scream and yelping noise drew Jordan’s attention back to the flank where Kioko was already engaged.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Kioko said, dodging to the side as she threw a roundhouse kick. She punched at another nightmare, holding them back, but the surge coming down the hallway made it clear she wouldn’t hold for long.

“Where are your dagger things? Or Charlie?” Jordan asked.

Kioko spun around, knocking a group of Nightmares back as Mercia shouted again, knocking the big nightmare into the wall. “I don’t have access to my energy pools, remember?” She yelled between strikes. “I’m doing the best I fucking can without weapons here!”

Jordan grimaced, looking back and forth between his guardians, before running towards a nearby table as an idea came to him. As he did—all the nightmares surged in response to his movements, causing him to cry out in fear as he stumbled. Mercia took another vine whip, but it was a glancing slash across an arm and Kioko yelled as one of the nightmares got a lucky bite into an outstretched arm.

Wasting no more time, Jordan grabbed the vase he’d seen and tipped it over. He then picked up the flowers and packed them into a bouquet. “Head’s up!” He yelled and tossed the flowers over to Kioko. She snapped her head towards him and then glared at the flowers before her features lit up in recognition. Grabbing them midair, she then swung the botanical arrangement.

The soft petals smashed into the shadowy figure with all the strength of steel, sending it flying backwards into the wall. “Got another?” Kioko laughed, and Jordan quickly supplemented his first offering with a second.

Armed with twin bouquets, Kioko spun in the air like a whirlwind, pulverizing her foes into an ephemeral slurry. Several more launched upwards in response, making their way along the upper walls with some effort. But Kioko leapt to the side, smashing one before Catella-jumping into the other.

Jordan cheered her on, seeing a break on her side, but then turned when he heard his mother shout in pain. Another whip had come from the empowered nightmare after it threw off the chandelier and slashed across her stomach. Her dress was torn up and colors were running freely down her midriff.

“Kioko, my mother can’t last much longer! You need to finish your side!”

“I’m working on it!”

“Well work—” Jordan was cut off as Mercia was smacked with a back whip and slid past him. He looked up wide-eyed as the nightmares rushed him. He stumbled away, screaming in panic, but Kioko launched herself backwards and smashed into Jordan, sending them both off the mezzanine and into the entry hall below. She broke his fall as he landed on top of his Governess with a groan.

Glancing back up, he could see that the nightmares were already scrabbling up the rails to follow them, but they were hit with another sonorous blast from Mercia. A splintering boom rang through the air, and Jordan turned just in time to see a nightmare’s muzzle pierce through the front doors. Cracks ran along new seams as the entrance gave in.

Heeled feet landed just next to him as colors splashed onto the floor.

“Get my daughter out of here!” Mercia said, lifting them both up and pushing them away. She turned, taking a ready stance, as the nightmares jumped the railing and burst through the door.

“Mother!” Jordan shouted, but Kioko grabbed his collar and ran for it, dragging him behind.

Jordan watched helplessly; arm outstretched as the nightmares descended on his mother. She twisted back and forth, twirling in-between the masses, but couldn’t avoid every strike. Ribbons of color appeared as her attire fell in pieces alongside strips of flesh. One maw latched onto her shoulder, snapping bone as another dug its claws into her already exposed guts. It pulled out the contents like a toddler excitedly tearing at the wrappings of a Christmas present.

Jordan could only cry and babble at the sight as Kioko dragged him down the hall. As they turned the corner, he listened to the final moments in horror. In the end, he couldn’t tell what was worse—the way her screams kept digging into his psyche, or how surreal and awful it felt when they went silent with an ungodly crunch.

“It…it isn’t real, Aureliana. I promise you it’s just like a nightmare. I promise.” Kioko panted as she dragged him along. Jordan wanted to believe her, he really did. More than anything.

But he felt so hollow now, as though all the fear and worry from his predicament suddenly caught up to him and left him numb. Too overwhelmed to feel anything except complete, and utter dread. Exposed and alone.

Something snapped inside him. “I need to leave. I can’t stay here!” Jordan screamed as he yanked at Kioko’s grip.

“Aureliana don’t! If you leave they’ll have unrestricted access to—”

“I don’t care!” Jordan closed his eyes, and reached outward. As his energy flowed and he felt himself drawing up, he hit a wall. He bounced off, and landed back in the hallway with a terrified looking Kioko.

“It…didn’t work?” She said, and Jordan stared at her in equal terror.

“I don’t understand, it should—ah!” He doubled over. Kioko dropped her flowers and grabbed him, carrying him on her shoulder as she turned another corner. “Something’s…wrong.” He panted. “Something’s…Incursion Detected. Eidolon Defense Network—Unresponsive. Aberration Detected.”

“What the fuck?” Kioko faltered as she stared back at Jordan. He gaped at her, equally confused why he’d suddenly shouted all that—“A fucking Aberration was detected? We’re…”

Howling called out again, and they turned to see the tide of shadowy creatures pouring through the halls.

Kioko opened a door, and cursed when she saw only another hallway through it. She ran through it anyway, and opened another door before running down yet another hallway, quickly getting them both lost.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!” She yelled as tried another door to no avail. “Do you really not know what’s in any of these rooms Aureliana?”

“I…haven’t explored the mansion yet.” He said softly. He expected her to yell at him some more, but she didn’t.

Instead, she turned down another hallway, running past a few nightmares that looked equally lost and confused, but bayed at their motion. Down another hallway, they turned back just in time to avoid a swarm, and on the next turn…

Was a dead end with a single door. When Kioko tried it, however, it was locked.

“Fuck! I’m going to have to risk another scene change. Fuck!” Kioko propped Jordan against the far wall, next to the door. It had odd scratch marks on it, like a child had been scratching at it in desperation to get in.

Kioko began to work at casting another spell. Nightmares turned the corner in hot pursuit, but with a flash…Kioko’s spell failed again.

“Oh…damn.” She said lamely, as she looked up to meet the maw of the leaping beast. It opened wide to engulf her, but was caught short by a swinging door. The marked door had opened and a purple-haired Aureliana poked her head out.

“In here—now!” She hissed, and Kioko wasted no time as she grabbed Jordan and dragged them both inside. The fearful clone then slammed and locked the door, which immediately began to rattle as the beasts tried desperately to get in.

“I thought you wouldn’t help!” Kioko snapped at the Eidolon/Passion thing.

“I said I wouldn’t fight, not that I wouldn’t help!” She snapped back. “Now, real quick.” She walked over and booped Jordan’s nose. He blinked at her, suddenly feeling the overwhelming terror leak out of him. While he didn’t feel fine by any means, it was a hell of a lot easier for him to concentrate.

“You know we really gotta work on that whole just lying back and accepting death thing.” The purple-haired girl said. “Fight or flight! That’s how Fear is supposed to work!” She waved at him exasperatedly.

“Well, thanks and all,” Kioko said, “but unless you know another way out this only buys us a couple minutes at most.” She gestured towards the door, which was already showing signs of giving.

“There.” The purple clone pointed towards the center of the room. Both Jordan and Kioko turned to see what she was indicating.

The floor of the room was covered in a sprawling Mandala carved into the wood, blemished by old blood stains as it led to the central foci. Chains wrapped around an object sticking up from the middle, embedding into the floor as prayer scrolls were spread about, attached to several links as well as the object itself.

Squinting, Jordan could see in the dim light the ever so faint glowing metal of a sword underneath the chains. It had a wavy pattern to its metal, and Gold of such luster for the hilt and handle, Jordan had to do a double take until he realized it was Orichalcum. Looking back at the steel of the blade, he also realized it was more than it seemed—like looking at the surface of a lake, he’d only seen the reflection at first. Even knowing that, he could scarcely begin to peer into the depths of the gleaming gray material.

“Is that a fucking Conceptual Blade!?” Kioko shrieked. “Wait, that’s Rahm’s sword! Why the bloody hell is it in your damn brain, brat?”

Jordan’s Governess rounded on him, but Jordan could only hold his hands up helplessly. “I don’t know,” he said, “I remember him stabbing me with an invisible sword thing, but I thought he took it back with him.”

“Yeah, I bet he told people he did too,” Kioko said, rage extinguished as she shook her head disbelievingly. “The bastard loves to mislead people—especially when it serves his asinine schemes.” She turned towards the purple-haired clone. “So, what, we pull the sword and fight? Is that your plan?”

The doppelgänger’s eyes widened dramatically as she pulled at her hair with an inhuman screech. Both Jordan and Kioko backed up several steps as the clone trembled in place before letting her hands drop to her sides. Looking up at them with tears staining her face she gave them a manic [Perfect Smile] and laughed. “Don’t. Pull. The. Sword.” Her head craned sideways in a disturbing fashion. “Please?”

“You know, she’s, ah, asking so nicely so maybe let’s not.” Jordan said, and Kioko shot him a rueful glance.

“Well what are we supposed to do then.” Kioko hissed.

Jordan looked around the room, trying to find an answer, when he noticed an odd…distortion near the door the nightmares were attacking. It was dark, but had the appearance of a broken mirror with cracks that slowly formed or moved about. Jordan couldn’t see anything through it, but for some reason he felt drawn to it. Like it was familiar, and loving. Warm, like sunshine.

“Well, what’s that?” Jordan asked, and Kioko turned to look where he pointed.

“Fuck me that’s a damn Dream bridge.” She whispered back.

“Hell yeah! So we can get out with that then?”

Surprisingly, Kioko shook her head. “No, it’s closed. Even if we did, it would put whoever was on the other end at risk.”

“The other end?”

“It’s a bridge into another person’s dreams. You can make them with Oneiromancy, though they can also happen from Backlashes.”

“Wait, who would’ve…” Jordan’s words trailed off as he remembered suddenly the warnings he’d heard about Catella. She’d found her sister after her accident, and had been having nightmares ever since.

Looking back towards the Mandala on the floor, he activated his analysis skills again.

“Oh. This…this is the ritual she used to summon me, isn’t it?”

“It is.” The purple-haired passion said. “This is where it began. This is where it ended.”

“But…why did you bring us here?” Jordan asked. “I don’t understand.”

The door buckled nearby, a snout poking through.

“You don’t have time. This is a Crossing point. Use it to escape!” She shouted.

“Where, the sword?” Kioko asked, and the purple-haired girl tsked, pointing instead to the ceiling above them. Both Jordan and Kioko looked up, but Jordan could only see darkness. He stared a moment more, his heart beating furiously in his chest before he finally noticed the near-invisible ripples swirling above them like a…

“A portal.” He whispered.

“Yes, you need to go now! But you must keep your eyes closed while you cross. Sight draws its gaze, for to see is to be seen. If it meets your eyes and sees you...it will become you.”

The chains rattled in response to her declaration, the sword glowing with a pulse as the movement stopped. Jordan’s heart beat even faster, and he winced from an inexplicable pain in his head. It lasted only a moment, but it had felt like something had…scratched at him. Like an animal trapped in a cage.

“What the fuck even is it.” Jordan asked, but he didn’t get an answer.

The door broke open, and one of the nightmares pushed through.

Kioko grabbed Jordan’s hand and dragged him towards the portal, and Jordan cried out in alarm when the damn purple-haired girl jumped on his back. She covered his eyes, whispering nonsense about him not being allowed to see as he felt Kioko’s pull draw upward. Moments later, his feet left the ground as well, and he fell towards the sky, tumbling as all sense of direction was lost.

Lurching around like a raft caught in the rapids, Jordan grit his teeth as he was flung about. He yelped when his foot caught on something, and he swore he heard…a girl crying? The hand covering his eyes slipped and out of the corner of his vision he saw…

A girl chained in the darkness. Her face was shrouded in shadows, but something was glowing on her forehead, like a sigil or an…

Eye. It began to open, to see—

The clone covered his eyes once more.

“Who’s…there?” The young girl stopped crying as she asked. A soft, familiar voice. He could sense her reaching out, a hand outstretched, hoping against hope for...

The soft voice screamed as the group was swept away.

----------------------------------------