Jordan slammed into a nightstand, and rolled onto the ground cursing. He glared back up at the infernal thing, oddly grateful he was in the body of a little girl. If he’d been his normal height, he’d have slammed his head on the edge!

Holding his bruised skull, he looked around. The young girl with the tattoo on her head was gone, and the image he had of her was quickly fading, not unlike a dream. He still couldn’t wrap his brain around the idea that he had some crazy thing trapped in his mind, even now, but he breathed in relief that, at least for the moment, he appeared to be safe.

Glancing to his side, he saw that Kioko had landed on a bed, and the purple-haired clone was half embedded in a closet nearby. He frowned, seeing her struggling shape within the packed laundry she’d crashed into. He really hoped she wasn’t going to throw his clothes everywhere getting out. It was going to be a real pain in the ass to—

Wait, my clothes? Jordan did a double take. As he stood up, he re-examined his surroundings.

“This is my…apartment?” He spoke. “In the real world?”

He had no doubt as he took in his humble studio apartment. He was standing next to his PC, still powered on like always with his cellphone on his desk. His twin bed sat across from it, currently sporting a face-planted Kioko. Unfortunately, he really wasn’t prepared for company, and there was clutter scattered everywhere. The overflowing trash can didn’t help with the room's funk, either, and it was all further accentuated by the dark curtains dulling the light and sounds of the city outside.

But still, he smiled. Everything was as he’d left it. He wiped at a few budding tears, surprised by just how much he’d missed it.

“Real what now?” Kioko said, flipping over and sitting up. “Um, where the hell is this?” She asked with no small amount of disgust as she lifted up a dirty shirt she’d landed on. Jordan cringed, remembering he’d last thrown his sweaty work clothes on the bed.

“Help!” The nearby passion cried out, having only managed to free one leg which she was wiggling in the air. With a sigh, Jordan walked over and worked on extricating her.

“This is my home.” He told them both, in-between grunts as he pried the girl out. A few of his poorly folded clothes came with, but that was the problem with not having hangers and throwing everything into the closet. He could’ve bought some, it wasn’t like they were expensive or anything, but he’d grown up sharing his space with his two sisters. They always got the hangers—he got a bottom drawer. And here he was decades later, still just throwing his clothes into piles. He knew his mother would be...disappointed if she saw.

“You don’t look happy to be here.” Kioko muttered, and Jordan checked his expression. He was scowling at the memory. He…really missed her, and the guilt over knowing he’d never see her again seemed all too fresh. After a deep breath, he lightly slapped his cheeks to snap out of it.

“Sorry, just remembering stuff.” He waved dismissively. “It’s not important.”

“You…remembered something? Wait, what do you mean this is your home, Aureliana? This doesn’t look like anywhere on the Estates that I’ve seen, and some of us bothered to look around.”

Jordan winced. His Governess was obviously still upset about his dream-version of the Mansion’s layout. Note to self—explore everywhere if I survive this. He sighed in annoyance, only to blink widely a moment later.

A screen showed up, hovering in the air in front of him, and his words wrote themselves onto it. He poked it, disbelievingly, but the damn thing was solid as steel as it lingered.

Mental Note

Explore everywhere if I survive this.

After a moment, as though waiting to see if he’d add anything else, it disappeared.

“Did anyone else just see that?” He asked, pointing at the empty air. God I hope I’m not losing my mind, he thought.

Kioko tsked as she stood. “Yeah, I assume that was your [Mental Notation] Skill. Internal Skills are likely to be tangible in a place like this, but try not to waste your Ki—you might need it.”

I completely forgot Aureliana had that skill, Jordan thought, blushing in response. Have I ever used it? He couldn’t remember doing so—hell Kioko had given him a damn notepad. Why hadn’t she just reminded him then? Wait, it had taken a lot of Ki for all those ritual skills, I probably couldn’t have afforded it. Maybe I can—

“Hey,” Kioko said, nudging him. “You still with me? What did you mean just a moment ago—do you know where we are?” She then wrinkled her nose as she muttered, “Or why it stinks in here? It smells like someone died, ugh.”

Jordan blushed even brighter. “S-sorry about that.” He said. “Ah, just a moment.”

He walked over to the side of the room, and leaned over his bed as he pulled open the curtain. Lifting the blinders, he opened his window and let in a fresh breeze. It carried with it the ambience of the city outside—with car horns, music, and the occasional shout. It was nothing new to him, but when he turned back to his Governess, he saw her jaw had dropped.

He raised an eyebrow and then looked back behind him. What’s wrong? It’s just the city, it’s not like...Oh! His eyes opened wide in realization. However, before he could say anything, Kioko rushed up besides him and poked her head out the window. Her ears flickered at every sound, and she looked like a cat on the verge of a manic freak-out as her tail stood on end.

“I…” She said, pausing as pulled out of the window, and took a few steps back. She quickly reached the other wall, and looked around in shock. “What’s going on? Seriously now, I’ve been to every Capital city in the Koterran Kingdoms and I know none of them look like that.”

Jordan opened his mouth, excited to finally, finally be able to tell someone the truth, but…then his face drooped. He looked back over at the purple-haired clone, and sighed loudly. She’d try to silence him again—he was sure of it.

Meeting his eyes, however, she did something unexpected. She sighed as well, and then gave him a nod. He narrowed his eyes, sure he was misinterpreting her signals, but she just shrugged and waved him on. It was as though she were saying just be done with it already.

He wasn’t sure why she’d held him back before, but he wasn’t going to miss this opportunity now.

“Kioko, I’m, ah, I’m not Aureliana. Not really. I’m actually…Jordan.” He said, wincing as he expected divine punishment to befall him. When no heavenly tribulation struck him down, he opened his eyes carefully, before taking a breath.

It felt like the first real breath he’d had since his nightmare as a little girl had begun.

“I’m Jordan.” He said again, relishing the simple freedom to just…speak. “I’m a forty year old man who got summoned by Aureliana into her world. Somehow I ended up in her body, though I don’t know what happened to her…but, ah, this is my place. Or, well, a dream version of my place, I guess?”

Kioko looked at him with an expression he’d pretty much expected: complete and utter disbelief. After a moment, she swallowed loudly and turned towards the doppelgänger.

“Is this…true?” She asked. “Is that why you called her…he?”

The clone nodded reluctantly.

“Why…why didn’t you say anything?” Kioko asked Jordan, wetness forming in her eyes. She looked hurt, and he wasn’t entirely sure why.

“I…I couldn’t.” He admitted, trembling despite himself. “Every time I tried I couldn’t get the words out.”

Kioko listened, nodding slowly. She then turned her head back towards the Fearful copy.

“Was that you, stopping him?” She asked, and the clone…nodded as Jordan’s jaw dropped. She was the one stopping me!?

“I had to!” She said, gesturing towards the window. “Look out there! If anyone found out about Jordan, they might have asked questions. The more they dig into the truth, the more danger they expose everyone to! No one can know, you hear me? No one!”

The purple-haired girl had a crazy look in her eye as she stormed over to Kioko. The cat-woman whispered, “This is wrong. This is so…wrong.” But she looked away.

“You’re telling me,” Jordan said. “Because of her, everyone thinks I have a split personality or whatever. What the hell kind of questions were you worried about people asking? Would it have really caused an issue if I’d mentioned the word cellphone?” He scoffed.

And surprisingly, so did the clone. “That part wasn’t me, dummy.” She replied. “You’re the one who was relying on Aureliana’s body to speak for you, and she never learned Old Tongue. How was she supposed to say any of that crap for you? Even her language Talent requires something to prime it.” She sniffed imperiously at him, giving him flashbacks to Elina earlier in the day, but her correction made him recoil.

He couldn’t deny that her explanation was…kind of obvious now that he thought about it. He literally hadn’t been able to speak in Aureliana’s body until he’d figured out how to relax and let it do the talking for him. Why had it ever been surprising that, what amounted to him asking a girl who’d never spoken English to speak for him, had failed?

“Is that really your biggest concern right now?” Kioko said, and Jordan looked at her curiously. “You’re not going to ask her what she’s been hiding, or why there was a chained up—”

“Stop!” The clone shouted. “You can’t explain it to him, it’s too dangerous!”

“What’s too dangerous?” Jordan said, raising an eyebrow. He squinted, recalling the images he’d seen…just before? It was hard to tell. Right, he’d been trying to remember something, hadn’t he?

“Why not?” Kioko said, voice trembling. “Why bloody not? Isn’t there enough going on with…his head? Why are you doing this? Is…is she even still alive?” She asked with a whisper.

Oh, right…she cares about Aureliana, doesn’t she? Not…me. It hurt a little, that odd reminder that he was just…a passenger in a body. Everyone thought he was Aureliana, so…did any of the love and kindness they shared with him actually mean anything? He wanted it too, he really wanted…he wanted…

…to…save…her? He wanted…to save…

Drums were playing in the distance. A rhythmic sound that seemed to draw him in. In his mind’s eye he could swear he could imagine her, sitting in the darkness, that red sigil just beginning to—

A flying haymaker snapped his jaw sideways, twirling him on the spot like a ballerina, before he crumpled to the ground. His ears rang as he felt his mind get punted into the next year.

“See? He keeps slipping into her wake. If I don’t stop him, he’ll become just another victim to it.”

“I don’t understand, why didn’t my Master just get rid of that…thing?”

“If he had…she’d have died, Kioko. He couldn’t disconnect them without losing her forever, so he left them connected. We…need him.”

“You…need him? …why?”

“He’s the only one that can save her.”

“That’s bullshit! Unless…oh.” … “By the Devas that can’t be true. Is it? But…if that’s the case, why don’t you tell him tha—”

“Because he can’t know. It…it would consume him. And the more he knows about it the more it will slip into him, through her, and that’ll be...”

It took a minute, but Jordan’s head finally settled, and he glared back at his clone. He didn’t know what the hell those two had been yammering about, and Kioko’s eyes were flashing as she looked at him in horror, but this was just typical! Women always got away with this kind of crap, just hitting a guy for whatever reason they damn well pleased—with no retribution!

He grumbled as he hauled himself up and stormed past them both into his small kitchen on the far side of the apartment. Opening his fridge, he pulled out his only beer.

I fucking knew I hadn’t had all three. He cracked it open and sat at the rickety chair to his fold out-dining table. He was about to take a drink, but he noticed both women glancing back at him. They looked upset, and…

He put down the beer and took a long breath. Brushing away some hair that had come unbraided, he tried to walk back his emotions. He was angry at the way he was treated, yes, but he could acknowledge that being a sexist d-bag about it wasn’t a very mature response. Something about being back in his old apartment seemed to be bringing back some of his bad traits.

Still, it wasn’t all awful. He was one of those aforementioned women-folk now, so if she punched him again…he’d just punch her back. In fact, if anyone upset him, he could probably just clobber them too! He nodded, a [Perfect Smile] on his face as he sipped his beer. It tasted like literal water in comparison to the tea he’d gotten used to, but it was nostalgic nonetheless.

“Okay, so what’s the plan then?” He asked.

“Plan?” Kioko breathed out the word, shaking her head. She seemed so overwhelmed right now, but he supposed the revelation of his true self was rightfully shocking.

“Yeah, plan?” He repeated. “Can we still fix the skill and stuff?”

“Fix…? Oh, right.” She said, shaking her head. “I don’t…think we can. I was going to channel Oneiromantic Essence and guide you through a meditation exercise to fix it, but…it’s not going to work. Every time I’ve tried to channel, it gets harder and the outcome gets worse. Outside of a few internal traits for analysis, I don’t have a way to help anymore.”

“Oh…” Jordan trailed off. “Then…what do we do?”

Silence filled the apartment as the question hung in the air. After a few minutes, sounds of screams and crashing cars began to drift in through the window.

The nightmares had returned.

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

Jordan saw Kioko rub at the side of her head again. The hoodie she was wearing looked out of place on her, given the warm weather outside, but it was the only thing he’d had that hid her ears that she liked. She’d complained bitterly about having to wear Jordan’s boyish clothing, as had the purple-haired clone, but it had been necessary for them all.

It was known as ‘blending in,’ which was a silly term in Jordan’s mind, but in a dream-realm it meant they took on the appearance of the dream’s denizens. Simply dressing up and trying to integrate into the scene caused their translucent, ghostly bodies to take on a realistic look. Now they were a squad of wannabe grunge girls with baggy clothing and poor attitudes.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Shit, another pack around the corner. Double back.” Kioko said, eyes sparkling before turning around as the rest of them followed. Another scream was heard in the distance as pedestrians went running away and a siren blared as a cop car sped by. The city was slowly devolving into chaos, though it seemed sporadic and inconsistent.

“Do you think the police can stop them?” Jordan asked, and Kioko spared a glance towards the vehicle.

“Are those guards of some sort?” She said, and Jordan nodded. “They might help, and they’ll probably prioritize your safety above all others. But even still, they won’t do more than a door, or a wall would for us. They’re just bystanders, Aure… um, Jordan. Not real Eidolons.”

He...smiled when she used his name. It felt incredible. “How long do we have to sneak around then?”

“I told you, I can’t get a response from Charlie.” She huffed. “We just need to hold out until he gets Rahm, okay? Just keep going for now, down that break in the buildings.”

It was Jordan’s turn to sigh as he followed, the group ducking into an alleyway. Kioko had managed to send a message to her Familiar, but Astrally projecting as she was had still left her with severe limitations. She’d also refused to leave Jordan’s side, which…

Which Jordan hadn’t said anything about but was still sniffling over. He really was terrified, even if it felt like the emotion was distant. As such, he was incredibly grateful that she’d refused to leave.

Even if he…wasn’t the person she actually cared about.

As they reached the end of the alley, they could hear the baying of nightmares behind them. Turning the corner, they rushed down the street.

“I thought you said we were disguised.” Jordan hissed, and Kioko glared at him.

“I said we're blending in. They won’t be able to pinpoint you directly, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have a general idea.”

A crash nearby interrupted them, as a car came screaming down an intersection and smashed into oncoming traffic. A fleet of horns followed as even more cars came tearing through before a shadow cast over them all. The ground shook as the silhouette undulated, terrifying the drivers even more.

“Fuck, it’s the Aberration.” Kioko said. Jordan stared disbelieving, but the shadow grew larger as the ground rumbled more. He couldn’t see past the buildings on the street, but there was no doubt the Aberration was huge, and was getting close.

“Where do we go now?” He asked.

“You know these buildings, right?” She responded. “Would that place of commerce there have an exit on the far side?” Kioko pointed at a clothing store across the road.

“It should.” He agreed, and the group rushed across the street. It was mildly dangerous, as traffic was already beginning to drive away in a panic, but they weren’t the only people running across.

As they reached the store, the pack of nightmares that had been on their trail poured out of the alleyway, further scattering pedestrians. The group ran inside the building and Jordan lost sight of their pursuit.

Screaming panic greeted them on entry, as distant snarling indicated the building wasn’t clear. Kioko immediately crouched, and Jordan and his clone followed suit as a few people who’d followed them, turned tail and ran as a lone security guard stood in the entrance looking about in panic.

Sneaking down an aisle, they paused when Kioko spotted a nightmare down the way chewing on the corpse of an unlucky bystander. She motioned for them to backtrack, and they waited as she poked her head up to scout the surroundings in-between the racks of clothing.

As Jordan peeked up as well, he watched the disgusting, shadowy beast. The thing was wolf-like in shape, despite its terrifying second stomach mouth, but it didn’t seem terribly intelligent. While it was disturbing to watch it eat what looked like a real person, Jordan mulled over the possibility of trying to use bystanders to bait the creatures if he could.

A small rustle from next to him drew his attention, and he looked just in time to see the snout of another nightmare poke through the clothes adjacent to his head. His heart skipped a beat as he remembered a scene in Jurassic Park he’d watched as a child. It had given him nightmares, and it seemed this particular beast had decided to reenact it.

“It’s—it’s a clever girl!” Jordan stammered as he fell backward. The nightmare roared as it raised up, but it’s pounce missed him as his fearful clone pulled him out of the path. She continued to drag him by his collar as the nightmare spun around to give chase, before being tackled by Kioko. She wrestled with the creature, tumbling into racks of clothing. Meanwhile, the one that had been snacking roared in response to the noise.

As Jordan fought to get his feet under him, the beast leapt onto a shelving unit filled with pants, hissing down at them. Jordan’s clone screamed in fear and cowered, holding onto Jordan in an inadvertent chokehold. He tried to pull them both back, but before the creature could go for the kill, a small dart-like object struck it. The beast seized up, convulsing as it unceremoniously fell to the ground.

Jordan turned his head to see the terrified security guard. The poor man stammered something about aliens, but then screamed when the nightmare recovered and charged him. Jordan didn’t look to see what happened next, as another scream reminded him Kioko was in danger.

Shoving the clone off of him finally, he rushed over to where he’d seen Kioko and her nightmare roll away. In the pile of clothes, the nightmare had managed to gain the advantage, biting into Kioko’s bicep. She screamed in pain as the nightmare dragged her along, twirling her around like a rag doll. Desperate to help, Jordan grabbed onto a nearby mannequin and charged the beast.

It saw him coming, and spun, throwing Kioko into a wall where she smashed into unmentionables before crumpling onto the ground. Jordan skidded to a stop, suddenly aware he was alone, facing off against a nightmare with only the aide of a plastic woman to save him.

He gulped, and dropped the mannequin. Raising his hands, he made soothing noises, trying to calm the beast down.

It didn’t work.

It roared, black spittle flying everywhere before it charged, leaping into the air, mouths opened wide as it went for the kill.

Not like this! Jordan thought, raising his hands as he fell on his ass, heart racing as Ki flowed through his body distant and slow. Activating a skill, he prayed for salvation.

Mental Note

Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in—holy shit did that just work!?

The words to the familiar prayer filled the box, which shimmered slightly when the nightmare smashed into it. It made a pained gurgle as it slumped down, but then shook its head as it snapped out of it. With not much else to do, Jordan rolled to the side and activated his skill [Visualize Words].

“Fuck you!” He shouted, and the words appeared in the air. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed onto them, throwing them at the creature. The words unfortunately bounced off, as the letters scattered ineffectually. The beast snarled as it lurched forward, snapping at his legs. Jordan backpedaled, not knowing a way to make the words any bigger. But maybe he could make them more deadly?

He focused on the image of a ‘<’ sign with a series of ‘=’s following it. As they manifested, he threw his makeshift spear at the creature, but once again the ‘word’ broke into pieces. Cursing as he threw himself to the side, with the creature bounding into another stack of clothing, Jordan brought up another mental note.

He imagined a specific image in his mind, and then tried to visualize it in tandem. Unbidden as he did so, his hand reached into the mental note hovering in front of him and pulled the image out wholesale. The nightmare roared as it came barreling into him, and Jordan pivoted and swung with all his might.

The 🪓 emoji he’d imagined had transformed into a full-blown fireman’s axe in his hands and cleaved straight through the creature’s ephemeral form. Black oily liquids splashed the clothes nearby as the corpse slid to a halt by his side.

“Holy shit I did a thing.” Jordan gasped. It was unexpectedly effective, and looking down he realized the axe had almost more substance to it than the items around. Had he made a prop? Hearing a moan from nearby, he let out a curse before rushing over to the crumpled form of Kioko.

“Hey are you—” He was interrupted as the building itself shook, and the shadow outside left no doubt what had caused it.

Wasting no more time, he slung Kioko over his shoulder, marveling slightly at how easy it seemed to be to carry her, and then started running to the far end of the store towards an emergency exit in the distance. His purple-haired clone caught up, jumping out of some clothes giving Jordan a mini-heart attack, but they made their way through the back and into another alley.

“Scene change…scene change…” Jordan panted out, wracking his brain. “Oh, of course!”

He made his clone hold the axe as he dug into his jeans and fished out his cellphone. He’d only remembered to grab the damn thing because he was finally wearing something with pockets. Pulling it out, he ordered an uber. Following the App’s directions, he rushed towards the nearest indicated car available for use, and flopped Kioko into the back. Shortly after, the automated machine had them high tailing it, leaving the beasts fading into the distance.

“What…what are we in?” Kioko said shakily as she came to. She looked like she was in bad shape, bleeding realistic blood from her upper arm.

“We're in a car,” Jordan replied. “I, ah, I don’t know where we’re going though. I kind of just set it for out of the city. Do we need to, um, bandage you? Or something? I don’t really know first aid.”

“How did you escape those Nightmares?” She asked, and Jordan explained as his purple-haired clone began to tear at excess clothing to fix up his Governess.

“I think there might be something else,” he said and Kioko perked up. “I think I might be able to make a Mandala using that mental note skill.”

Kioko quirked her head in confusion. “How would that work?”

He smiled, practically giddy to share his idea, but then frowned in disappointment when he failed to summon the screen. After a moment, he realized why.

“Shit, I’m…” He sank into his seat. “I’m out of Ki.” He blushed, Kioko’s earlier warning about watching that coming back to haunt him.

Minutes passed in silence, as the mood grew dour. The scene outside changed, several times, to various locations and places in the city he was familiar with, but he kept the car going—the automated system seeming to prioritize keeping him away from the invaders more than sticking to his destination.

“There is…one option,” Kioko finally said. Jordan turned to face her, and she let out an anxious breath. “I’m not sure if those Skills are set up for it, but I think it’d be likely considering…Aureliana’s difficulties with using Ki.”

Jordan noticed the way she made a distinction, and he appreciated it, even if it seemed to upset his Governess even more. “What’s your idea?” He asked.

“You might be able to channel Oneiromantic Essence to activate those Skills, [Mental Notation] and [Visualize Words]. They’re both Oneiromancy Skills, and if Aureliana’s [Psychic Realm] is a draw Skill, she probably had a reason to need it.”

“Wait, wasn’t it drawing that caused this whole mess? How is drawing more going to help?”

“I don’t know for sure.” Kioko admitted, staring out the window at the passing city. There were explosions in the distance as Military fighters filled the sky. “I just know that if we wait, more could show up. If you don’t want to risk it, I understand.”

Jordan mulled her offer over. “What are your thoughts?” He asked, turning towards his clone.

She shrugged. “I’d hide under a bridge.”

“Helpful.” He responded, staring at her blankly. She gave him a cheeky [Perfect Smile] in response, and he rolled his eyes. A faint burst of pain hit his skull, like a distant migraine, and he made up his mind.

“Screw it,” he said. “Walk me through it, and let’s see if we can make this work.”

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

Learning to draw through his [Psychic Realm] was both easier and harder than he thought it would be. On one hand, it followed many of the procedures he’d learned in the skill book for [Dream’s Budding Formation].

On the other hand, it was also like trying to use it in complete reverse, all while spinning in centrifuge—the connections between himself and the mythical ‘Oneiros Expanse’ were in constant flux, and the power seemed to stutter down the lines. But, after a bit of practice, he got it working.

‘I did it!’ hung from the rear-view mirror by a chain of O’s he’d strung together. The words and letters acting far more malleable than they had before. The only current issue he was having, was a slowly growing headache. He’d worried it was the draw itself, but Kioko suspected it was more nightmare breaches. The way her eyes flashed as she stared in the distance gave him confidence she knew what she was talking about.

“Alright, if you really think you can draw a Mandala,” Kioko said, “we can give it a try, but we’ll need to stop somewhere first.”

Jordan nodded, setting the coordinates on the self-driving car for a truck stop he was familiar with. He’d stopped at it in the real world, sleeping in a rental, on his drive from the East coast back to the West for his Father’s funeral. It’d taken him more time, but he’d saved some money compared to flying, and now it gave them a route to take that was full of constant scene changes. Each one bought them more and more time.

But time was something that Jordan knew...wasn’t on their side. As much as he rather liked the idea of running until help arrived, he hadn’t told either of the others yet about the time dilation in his [Psychic Realm]. He hadn’t been able to influence it once they’d entered into the scenes, but based on Kioko’s knowing looks and resigned attitude, he believed she knew.

They’d likely be long dead before help arrived.

The group pulled in behind the stop, and poured out of the vehicle. Wasting no time, Jordan began to draw on his mental notations the lines and sigils of a Mandala. He experimented with putting them on the ground, and found using his new draw technique let him resize the mental note’s window. He was easily able to draw a mock Mandala and place it, but before long he stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Fear asked, poking at his side.

Jordan blushed. “I, ah, I don’t remember how the ritual was drawn. Um, Kioko? I don’t suppose you remember what it looked like?”

Kioko sighed, shaking her head as she stared back the way they came. Ready for the inevitable to catch them.

“Shit! We were so close though. I finally got this stupid thing working and now I have to wing this and hope there isn’t a backlash or something? Fuck!” He cursed as he kicked a wheel on the car. They’d been in such a rush, he’d overlooked the obvious.

“So…do we just go back to running?” The purple-haired clone said hopefully.

“Yeah…we should keep moving.” Kioko said, before getting back into the car. She looked so…defeated already.

Jordan stood there helplessly, hands grasping at lines of Essence that should be his salvation, but were instead a mocking reminder of his shortcomings. Without an actual diagram or book to copy, he had no way to make this crap! How had Aureliana ever even—

His eyes widened, as an idea struck him. “Wait, Kioko, we might have a chance still!” She rolled down the window and leaned her head out, waiting to see his ‘big idea.’

Closing his eyes, he drew on his newly explored channel to the Oneiros, pulling at the Essence and pushing it inward. It was uncomfortable, as though the Essence itself was resisting him, but he directed it towards a trait in a similar fashion as he did for any spell. It took several tries, but eventually the power slotted in, and a…book appeared.

Kioko’s jaw dropped as his purple-haired clone squealed in fright at the sudden apparition. Jordan rolled his eyes at her antics, but quickly flipped open the contents of the book and found the pages he needed.

“How…how did you summon a book like that?” Kioko whispered, getting out of the car with a growing sense of excitement.

“It’s Aureliana’s birth talent.” He responded. “The, ah, fading memory one. The one that allows her to experience books in her dreams.” He waved the book he’d used just hours ago in the real world.

He was smiling smugly, hoping for some praise for his brilliance, and yet he was still surprised when Kioko hugged him. He squeaked, and even blushed as she told him, “Good job.”

He scratched at the back of his head. “Um, thanks. Ah, anyway let’s get started then, if you think we still have time here?”

She nodded, and so they got to work. It was exciting, creating a large window in which he drew the shape and design of the Mandala he wanted. In some ways, it reminded him of what he’d experienced with the picture choices in his trial, and while his artistic talent was severely lacking, he found that once more he could rely on Aureliana’s abilities instead. It was...almost too easy to draw and place the Mandala down.

“Now, normally this is a process you need to take nice and slow.” Kioko warned. “However, we’re not trying to make a full Skill here, we just need to disable one you’ve already got. So I need you to try and identify it, then find the point where the Skill reaches out beyond your Pattern and into the Dreaming Realms. Once you do, spend Experience to shape it, pulling it away and cutting off the connection.”

“Is…is the skill a complete waste?” He asked, and wasn’t surprised to see Kioko nod.

“I’m sorry. We might be able to make use of it in the future, but for now you just need to disable it. If we end the Skill conflict and reactivate your defenses, we might have a shot against that Aberration.”

Jordan nodded, and began to focus like she’d told him. Using the Mandala in his [Psychic Realm] was disorienting at first, as he felt a layer of disconnection between himself and his Pattern. After a few tries, however, he got the hang of it and set towards scanning his Pattern.

It didn’t take him long, thankfully, to find the connection point she’d described, as even if he had a stuttering, lagging connection, his [Psychic Realm] seemed to enhance how effectively he viewed the intricacies of his Pattern. He wondered if he’d be able to use this combination of skills in the waking world, but he figured it was unlikely. Those ‘internal’ skills didn’t actually tangibly appear in reality, but he figured he might be able to find some use when he had time to experiment.

Reaching out, he began to draw on his experience pool, as emotionally painful as it was, to begin shaping the strength of the connection. It felt just like forming the skill earlier, but it was suddenly a lot more distressing when he didn’t have a blueprint to base his actions on. He pulled on the node, the point where multiple lines of energy interconnected in his being, but he ran into an immediate issue.

His Pattern seemed to be resisting in some way, and he couldn’t help but feel like he was using the wrong approach. He tried to ‘cut’ at the line, but that accomplished nothing, and in frustration he settled on his initial brute force approach. He grabbed on with all his ethereal might and pulled on it like it was a fate thread. He held his breath, hoping for it to snap.

But it resisted. The node felt stuck, not just in its connection, but as though it were a tool caught in gears. He realized other aspects of his Pattern must have been interfering, but he didn’t think he had the time to search for them. So he double downed, again. I can’t give up. Not when I’m so close!

Gritting his teeth, and digging into the line, he channeled more and more Oneiromantic Essence through himself while he sparingly utilized another point of experience. That finally seemed to accomplish something, as his entire [Psychic Realm] seemed to shake in response, and Kioko and the purple-haired clone cried out in alarm. His heart beat in his chest like thunder as the connection began to fray, but it still felt like trying to tear a chain asunder.

His heart beat even faster as he felt, rather than saw, a thread began to appear in his senses. It was as though it was drawn to the bright light of the node he struggled with, which had exploded in light at the use of his experience. The thread was just like with his companions earlier, but it seemed completely unexpected. It was also...red?

With a terrible understanding, Jordan realized his assessment of brightness wasn’t entirely inaccurate. I’m grabbing onto the point where my Pattern connects to another Realm and flashing it like a damn lighthouse, he thought. Even now, he could feel the massive amount of Essence he was channeling through the Oneiros shooting out the line and into the Dreaming Realms, like a beacon. He pulled harder, determined to finish before whatever he’d drawn the attention of showed up.

But the red line grew larger as his heart beat faster. The node began to unravel, disconnecting finally, but flowing in its wake something caught up and funneled through. It slammed into his [Psychic Realm] and Jordan fell backwards with a yelp, blacking out momentarily.

When he came to, he knew he’d succeeded at disconnecting himself, but he also knew there was a serious problem.

The Sun in the sky had transformed into a red, glaring orb as the entire world trembled like an apocalypse had befallen it. Whatever had slipped in at the last second was big, as big as the Aberration, and it also…

Was connected to him.

Jordan could feel a thread, familiar and red, pointing him towards the newest invader far in the distance. While a part of him deliriously hoped that maybe this was, in fact, a companion here to save him...

He knew in his frantically beating heart, that it wasn’t here to help.

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