“By the Devas, can you stop cursing yourself for five fucking minutes!” Kioko screamed.

“Four minutes, final offer!” Jordan shouted back, twisting the steering wheel as he swerved past a sedan. It should’ve been impossible to take manual control over the Uber, but, surprisingly, smacking the dashboard had given him authority. He might have questioned it more, but—

An explosion rocked the world behind them. While the sun was no longer red after their latest scene change, the thing that had slipped into his [Psychic Realm] was hot on their trail. Unlike the nightmares, scene changes seemed to barely slow it down.

“Do we even know what that thing is?” Jordan asked, cutting through increasingly panicked traffic. Looking through his rear-view mirror, all he could make out was a multistoried twister of colors following them with a dark, humanoid silhouette inside. Every time onlessenede of its strips of color interacted with an object it sliced through it effortlessly—leaving diced up chunks in its wake.

“I…by all the Gods and Realms, I think that thing’s the Slasher of Dreams.” Kioko said. “That shouldn’t even be possible!”

“Wait, that thing that wiped out those, ah, Slothborn guys?” Jordan said, taking an offramp into the city. He’d brought them to LA lacking anything easier to reach, hoping the tall buildings would give them cover.

“Yes, but that was a century ago!” She said. “I don’t understand why it would be here, or now of all places.”

Jordan’s chest burned as his heart continued beating a million times a minute. It hadn’t slowed since the thing arrived, and he knew it wouldn’t anytime soon. The red line of fate tying him to the Slasher told him all he needed to know.

“Yeah, about that. I’m pretty—shit!” Jordan swerved as a chunk of a car, complete with chunks of a family, bounced past them. Taking a sharp turn that left the tires squealing, he got off the thoroughfare and behind the cover of buildings. It slowed the creature down, but only just.

“Where did you learn to pilot like this!?” Kioko shouted. She’d gotten into the passenger’s seat after the truck stop and was holding on to the ‘oh shit’ handle for dear life. Jordan figured that was appropriate.

“I drove shuttles for years back before they all went automated. I’m not really that great of a driver, but for some reason everything seems really slow and…easy.” He emphasized his observation with another perfectly executed drift down the street. He’d never have been able to pull that off in real life.

“Well, maybe Aureliana’s reflexes are better than yours were?” The purple-haired clone offered. “You seem to be constantly surprised how strong or tough you are too.”

Jordan opened his mouth to argue, but shut it as he cut past a line of cars, driving down a sidewalk. Miraculously, everyone seemed to naturally jump out of the way for him, never cutting him off or risking an unexpected collision. It must be the backdrop's natural tendency to aid me, he thought. Even still, the clone is probably right. I got slammed into a damn wall the other day and walked it off like it was nothing, and carried Kioko like she was a feather.

“Well,” he said, “it seems a good enough theory for me. But speaking of theories,” He cut down another street as a dust cloud billowed behind them—the Slasher had wholesale taken out a building to keep a bead on them. “I’m pretty sure that the Slasher of Dreams, or whatever, is actually the Demon King. Or his soul and all that.”

“What!?” She screeched, grabbing onto his arm in suspense. She quickly let go when he hurled the vehicle back onto the street to take another sharp corner, cutting through an intersection at full blast. “How could you possibly know that?” She finished asking when all four wheels were back on the asphalt.

“Look, all I know is that I have a fate connection to that thing, and it comes from my heart. Last I learned, that thing was tied to the big guy himself since that Westhell girl was trying to rely on him for her apotheosis stuff.”

“By the Devas.” Kioko cursed, before squealing again as Jordan cut into a meridian, narrowly avoiding traffic that was stuck at a light. Sirens blared from a police officer who started to give chase, but they broke off when a flash of light exploded behind them. The twister cut through another building and appeared in Jordan’s mirror once more. It then grew substantially as it rushed them with a burst of speed.

“Hold on!” Jordan cried out, and steadied the wheel as he channeled Oneiromantic Essence. Activating a large mental note, he manifested it in front of them in a gradually curved, C-shape. The car hit the lip with a bounce, and his two passengers screamed in fear as the car quickly went horizontal, speeding along his twisted, impromptu ramp. As they veered off, they barely avoided the Slasher. The creature careened past, shattering through the remnants of Jordan’s note effortlessly.

“Ah, new problem!” His Fearful copy shouted, pointing ahead of them where something new, but also old, appeared. As they drove away from the Slasher, they were now barreling straight towards the Aberration. It and its horde of nightmares had finally caught up. It seemed the thing had decided chasing the Slasher was a better way to find them, and it was right.

The gibbering beast rose up, towering as high as the Slasher. Six of its ten legs lifted it up as it loomed in the air like a giant centipede. Its long, bulbous body, covered in eyes, smiled with glee before half of them opened up into mouths that roared a thousand times over. It’s ‘head’ parted in a familiar Nothring-like fashion as vine-like whips appeared all over its black, oozing flesh. They waggled like tongues eager with excitement.

“Um, hold on again!” Jordan shouted, and began to channel more and more Essence. The gibbering beast galumphed forward as the Slasher reappeared behind them, screaming with thunder. At any moment, Jordan and the group were going to be pasted between two kaiju. Fear fainted in the backseat.

Another mental note appeared in front of them, slanted at an extreme angle and the car took it into the air. Another followed, and another, sending them further and further up. They shot skyward, and the gibbering maws beneath roared in fury as it reached up to intercept them. It smacked into the notes, which Jordan extended as wide as possible. As the tendrils of the creature’s body swirled around to grab them, the group was already out of reach. With a deafening crash, the Slasher smashed through the bottom of Jordan’s newest ramp and collided with the Aberration.

Hundreds of feet into the air, Jordan and the girls quickly approached the edge of his notes.

“Kioko!” Jordan shouted. “How do I do a manual scene change?”

“You…!” She glared at him with shock before speaking rapidly. “Fuck! Imagine the scene you want in your mind and channel Oneiromantic Essence around you, like you’re pushing against the world. The closer to the current theme, or the more emotion you can invoke with it the more likely it is to—OH MY DEVAS!”

The group went launching into the blue. Briefly, they hung suspended over the monsters battling below. Unbidden, even as he channeled motes, his own scream joined Kioko’s as they plummeted back down.

The ground rushed to greet them as Jordan’s vision began to blur. Ripples emanated from their vehicle, causing the buildings and roads nearby to undulate like a reflection in a pond. Jordan continued focusing on the one time in his life he’d felt the fear of crashing from the air, pouring Essence into the picture taking shape. The sky parted, and the world was briefly enveloped in light before Jordan crashed into something.

Cursing as he held his nose, he glared at the back of a chair as the airplane was briefly rocked by turbulence. His expression quickly turned to relief, as he let out a nasally sigh of gratitude. It had worked. It had actually worked!

“Where…where are we?” Kioko asked, seated to his left with the coveted window seat. She stared out the glass and glanced back and forth between it and Jordan. “Are we in a fucking airship?”

Jordan nodded, but recoiled when the person to his right screamed. He was sandwiched between the two girls, and Fear had woken with a start. She blushed fiercely when passengers nearby gave her looks, and tried to shrink in her chair.

“You did it.” Kioko said. “You actually…that was impressive. Um, Jordan. Good job.” She let out a sigh, taking a moment to breath.

Jordan blushed. It was still…new for her to call him by his name, but he relished every syllable.

“Thanks.” He said. “For everything, Kioko.”

It surprised him, but in response Kioko grabbed his hand and squeezed reassuringly. While there still seemed to be an awkwardness between them, it seemed seeing his world and finding proof of his existence had finally sunk in. It was a fast turn around, but Jordan wasn’t about to complain.

“Ahem, anyway,” He said awkwardly, before turning towards his clone. “So where are those defenses? I think we could use them right about now.”

“Oh, right.” The doppelgänger said. “The others. I don’t actually know how to reactivate them.”

“Wait, what?” Both Kioko and Jordan said in unison. The copy cringed.

“I’m sorry! I’ve never had to reconstitute so I d-don’t know. Vigilance usually takes care of the defenses and I just run away!”

A flight attendant walked by them. “Would any of you like refreshments?”

“No!” Kioko and Jordan shouted in unison, again. The Fearful copy withdrew her hand.

“Ugh, Kioko do you know what to do?” Jordan twisted in his seat to face her.

“I’m…not sure. Regular Eidolons should have come back automatically, but with everything being based off a grand formation of Mandalas, there could be a process that you need to initialize, or damage that needs to be resolved. Welcome to the joys of custom Skills.”

Jordan tried, and failed, to suppress a growl of frustration. “Well, any ideas on where to start then?”

“Well, we could go to the heart of your dreams. That would be the natural choice to center Mandalas around, but…”

“But?”

Kioko sighed. “If we lead any of what’s pursuing you to it—and we can’t get your defenses working immediately—you’ll die.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded. “It’s the bridge between your waking self and slumbering self. The point where they could cross over into reality through your mind. As long as any of your defenses remain, the road to it will remain closed—but if you just lead them there…”

“Then there’s no point.” He finished. “Great. So the place we need to go is the one place we can’t lead them. So we’re stuck? Again?”

Kioko frowned. “Perhaps not. In theory, this could be as easy as supplying your Eidolons with the necessary Essence to revive them. The problem is, so far with your Oneiromantic draws you’ve been raw and wild.”

“Raw and wild?” Jordan prompted, before squealing briefly. Echoing cries issued from other passengers as the plane dropped briefly, rocked by turbulence once more. The captain came on over the speakers, announcing that the storm front had picked up its pace and was fast approaching.

“Well, fuck, it’s already on us again.” Jordan muttered. “Well—what did you mean then?”

“I mean,” Kioko replied, “that you haven’t been reaching for specific Essence types. It’s like saying you’ve been drawing any available Elemental Essence near you, but you’ll need Fire or Water Essence deliberately for what comes next. Just, in the form of ideas or concepts.”

“And I’ll be able to do that freely with the [Psychic Realm]?”

“You should if it works anything like the classic draw techniques. But how much Essence you get will depend on the strength of your associated Beliefs. If you care about or believe in something more, you’ll draw more associated Essence with your channel. Does that make sense?”

“Oh, yeah, absolutely. I’m following all of this super well.” Jordan said with a deadpan tone. He gripped his armrest harder as the plane began to inexplicably veer to the side. It was likely deviating from its flight path to avoid the approaching danger. That would buy them time, but he didn’t know how much.

“It will feel a lot like the scene change did,” Kioko said. “Picture an image of the concept or idea you want to channel, only this time once you establish a connection through your draw, you’re going to want to find some connection point in your Pattern to your Eidolon Skill. I don’t really know with this one, but I’m hoping that if you bank on invoking the appropriate emotion while you’re imagining the concept it should channel correctly.”

“Great, I love vague guidance!” Jordan chirped, and Kioko shot him a glare. He sent her a quick apologetic look, and then closed his eyes. The plane began to feel like a roller coaster, it’s movements growing more and more erratic as the Slasher got closer.

“Start with Vigilance!” He heard his copy-cat say. “She’s the natural guardian of all of us, and if we get her help we might last long enough to get the others.”

Jordan nodded. He wasn’t sure what the emotion of ‘vigilance’ really felt like, but the idea of being a guardian gave him a point to start with. It’s probably not about being on edge, I hope. Something about being alert, or anticipatory. Someone like a vigilante maybe? Or a…hero.

The image began to take shape in his mind, and he reached through his connection of his [Psychic Realm]. Before, it had been stuttering and inconsistent. Now, with the skill conflict gone, it felt like the gears were moving smoothly as the world he was in responded to his desire.

He reached outward, trying to strengthen the image in his mind, and shouted briefly when he felt his connection grow taut. Terrifyingly, it felt like something had caught onto the thread of Essence he was sifting for and pulled from the other end.

Unbidden, the picture in his mind became more and more clear: his sister, Anna, returning home after volunteering. It wasn’t the most powerful thing he could imagine, he knew that, but no one in his life had ever personally felt like more than a hero to him. No one had ever watched out for him more. So while Batman might have been stronger, he believed in Anna in a way he didn’t believe in comic book heroes.

Jordan sputtered internally, as a surge of Essence flooded his system. The image of his sister took shape, no longer remaining static in his mind as she smiled and waved at him. He felt her place a hand on his shoulder as she told him ‘Everything will be alright.’ He wanted to believe her.

Next, he took the image and its bundle of Essence and reached through his Pattern. Sifting through it was harder without a Mandala enhancing his ability to perceive it, but he could feel active skills well enough to identify his Eidolon skills. He wasn’t entirely sure which was which—he knew one created them and the other established their paradigm—so he poured his newly drawn Essence into both of them, hoping one would stick. There was so much Essence flowing through him, it was easy to do.

I need someone to watch out for me. He thought. Someone to protect me and guard me. A hero, like my sister, who will be there for me! It seemed silly, but he repeated his desires over and over again as he tried to bridge the gap between his image and the skill.

Just as he felt the connection begin to form, he was violently thrown out of his meditation. The plane had begun to dive.

Passengers screamed. Jordan opened his eyes to see a flash of color from the window. The left wing had been severed, and they’d begun to spiral. Yells of panic filled the cabin as oxygen masks dropped. Lights flashed, alarms blared, and the screens on the back of chairs flickered with static. The fuselage cracked open, and the sky became visible as a black shape, cloaked in swirling colors, filled the horizon.

“…Mine….” It said with a deep, reverberating voice. “Mine…” It reached towards Jordan with a massive, shadowy hand.

Jordan screamed, fumbling with his channel to try another scene change, or cast something, anything, but his mind blanked. Panic overtook him and he dumped the Essence he’d carefully gathered into his Eidolon skills. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a light in the sky. Briefly, a series of Mandalas lit up the world, creating a mosaic of a woman. It flashed an orange light before detonating, filling the sky like a nova.

Instantly, the light enveloped them, and the Slasher looked up in confusion as the glow faded. In its place, a skyrocketing figure approached. It hurtled like a meteor before slamming into the creature. The Slasher roared at the comparatively small figure, but recoiled when the thing struck it with enough force to dislodge it. Everyone fell as it dropped the plane, screaming in panic as the world spun wildly, the ground rushing forward.

Two metal covered boots crashed into the aisle besides them as a woman in white full plate with burnished gold accents landed. She swung a shield over her back, and flashed them a smile. She looked like the strangest blend between Anna and Aureliana, only with flowing orange hair.

“Apologies for my absence!” She cried out, grabbing onto the seatbelt of Fear and ripping it clean off. “One moment and I’ll have you all free.” Quickly she did the same for Jordan and Kioko, then grabbed them all before leaping straight into the air.

As they went careening into the sky, the plane falling in a trail of smoke, they began to twist and turn with flashes of orange as the woman flew away. The Slasher behind them roared in fury, quickly giving chase. Slowly, even as they rocketed away however, the ground began to grow larger.

“Why do you keep flying down?” Jordan shouted over the rushing wind.

“I can’t actually fly.” The orange-haired girl said, holding Jordan and Kioko in an arm each as Fear clung to the shield on her back.

“Then what, you’re falling with style?” Jordan accused.

“As best as I am able!” Vigilance said with a smile. “However, I suggest another scene change before we are all destroyed in the landing process. It will be quite abrupt.”

Jordan wanted to snap back at her something to the effect of ‘no shit,’ but held his breath. Instead, he focused on the one possible scene that came to mind that could resolve the falling process.

“Can you do a loop de loop?” He asked. She’d been maneuvering through the air inexplicably, so he hoped his idea could work.

“A midair roll? Possibly, but the Slasher will gain ground if I do.”

“It’s fine—I’ve got an idea! Just spin around at the end and fall backwards.” Jordan shouted.

Vigilance nodded, not asking questions about his strange request, and then kicked the air forming a sheet of orange light. The group of them hurtled forward, then up and backwards as she continued landing strikes against a series of her manifestations. As they spun around, Jordan channeled more Essence as the world went upside down, but took on the familiar rippling distortion. The Slasher closed in, all of them facing it while falling backwards. Its arms stretched out as another flash filled the sky.

And then they all screamed as the roller coaster finished its loop and came into the station backwards. Going past the station, they were lifted up a vertical rail to hang in the air. It appeared as though the entire ride was about to start a second time as they dropped, before slowing down at the last second to re-enter the station, stopping for real.

As they climbed out of the machinery, Kioko stumbled forward and let loose a torrent of rainbow colors. Jordan patted her back—she clearly wasn’t handling his scene changes well.

“What—” She spit out more gunk. “What the hell is wrong with your world?”

“Hey, don’t knock it! Déjà vu here just saved us.” He waved towards the Six Flags roller coaster he’d ridden when he was younger. He missed those days but he was glad the, at the time traumatizing, experience had given him something to latch onto.

“I don’t even understand what you’re saying anymore.” The cat-woman moaned. He continued to rub at her back as Vigilance stepped up next to him.

“Quickly—you need to reconstitute the others,” she said. “I’ll hold the Slasher off as long as I can, but I’ll need support when the other invaders arrive.”

With her words, Vigilance brought out her shield and took a battle stance, turning towards something in the distance. Following her gaze, Jordan could see the storm front had crashed down just outside the park and was quickly approaching. Vigilance took off, disappearing into the scattering crowds before she began to leap, bounding forward to gain ground and intercept.

Jordan turned back towards the others. “Ah, what are the rest of the Eidolons again?” He asked.

Fear quickly listed them out. “Love, Awe, Joy, Disgust, Rage, and Sorrow.”

Jordan grimaced. “Do I need to bring all of those, or which are the best choices?”

Fear hesitated, biting her lip, but Kioko grabbed Jordan’s arm to draw his attention.

“If you’re going to bring any of them,” she said, “you should probably bring all of them.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “Your Eidolons don’t seem to be normal, and it could be the case that all of them are slowly becoming Passions. Given the possible inner conflict that could bring, your best bet may be to rely on diplomacy between them if they refuse to help.”

Jordan sighed. “Great. Wonderful.”

“Hey,” Kioko said. “Even if they don’t seem useful, keep in mind that if it wasn’t for her,” she gestured at Fear, “we’d be dead by now. Just because she doesn’t fight doesn’t mean she didn’t help. If we’re going to get through this then commit to all of your defenses being up. Any one of them could mean the difference.”

A roar sounded out as Vigilance clashed with the Slasher, and as if to prove a point, Jordan found himself hauled up and carried piggy-back style by Fear as she fled. He wasn’t particularly pleased to be lugged around, but he knew he had a job to do and if he could trust anyone to run, it was probably her.

Alright, who’s next then? Love? What reminds me most of love? Immediately the answer came to him, as though waiting for the opportunity. There was no doubt that the person he loved most was his mother, Mercia. Her dream version had even sacrificed herself for him!

Working in reverse, he started from the skill itself, feeling more accurate after his success at reviving Vigilance, and then reached out through his connection to the Oneiros. He sought the concept of family, using both new and old versions to fuel his desires. After a bit of searching, he felt the new connection form. While nothing audibly spoke to him this time, he felt the distinct crackle of a fireplace and the warmth of a living room. Home and family—things he’d wanted but foolishly eschewed his entire life.

Flowing through the taught line, the Essence collided with the skill. He opened his eyes as Fear came skidding to a halt, a group of nightmares cutting them off as another detonation sounded in the distance. The creatures hissed, before the sky once more flashed in color, this time a vibrant cyan. They all looked up to see a familiar woman crash down nearby.

A Cyan-haired Mercia, healthy and hale breathed in, looking at Jordan with a brief, yet [Perfect Smile]. She then lifted her fans and sliced through the air, ripples in the wind flying towards the nightmares and cutting them down.

“It’s good to see you again, darling.” The woman said, moving to their side. “While I missed you, let’s keep moving. That Aberration will be here soon and I’m not strong enough to hold it at bay.”

Jordan nodded, and then patted his purple clone’s back. She’d been glaring at Love inexplicably and yelped in surprise at his touch. Running again, Love and Kioko kept pace.

Closing his eyes, hearing again the sound of battle intensifying in the distance as the gibbering Aberration roared as it entered the park, he focused on his next choice.

I need more firepower. Rage sounds like a good option, right? He hoped so, and began to focus. It was getting easier, and faster to channel Oneiromantic Essence, and the image of anger came easily. He still felt a deep, simmering frustration over the unfairness of the world he’d found himself in, and tapping into the repressed feeling let him quickly grab both image and Eidolon simultaneously. Completing the circuit, the Essence flooded into his Pattern and as he opened his eyes the sky flared red.

“Oh I really hope she’s in a helpful mood,” Love said, and Fear giggled nervously. A streak of red came crashing down, showering them with debris from a vendor stand the newest Eidolon smashed into. As Fear came skidding to a halt, they found themselves face-to-face with another Aureliana clone.

The biggest difference, aside from the unsurprisingly red hair, was her clothing. She wore a salmon-colored, low cut dress with a leather belt loosely wrapped around her waist—and yet she also had heavy, black metal gauntlets and greaves. They entirely encompassed their associated limbs. As she turned to meet Jordan’s eyes, she immediately growled, showing long sharp teeth.

“Kill!” She screamed, leaping at Jordan as the ground cratered around her. Love let out a curse as she intercepted, smashing Rage to the side before both figures rocketed into the stone sign of ‘Goliath,’ shattering it.

“Well that fucking figures!” Jordan yelled, before they fled from the fight, courtesy of Fear.

“You might need to issue a command to them,” Kioko said, panting as she ran to keep up.

“How!?” He shot back.

“Channel more Essence while imagining the command? I’m guessing here—that’s how summoner’s usually function. Or there’s diplomacy like I said earlier. Just remember that—”

Fear screamed, skidding yet again before leaping to the side as Jordan’s stomach dropped. Nightmares had cut them off, and as Fear high tailed it Kioko shouted as she barely avoided the mass of creatures. She dove to the side, splitting off as the nightmares began to swarm. A wrenching sound of metal thundered out as one of the roller coasters was torn asunder. The Aberration had spotted him and was making straight for him. He worried about Kioko, but he knew she was safer away from him.

But it didn’t change the fact that he was alone now. He knew that if it wasn’t for the calming effect that Fear had given him, he’d likely have broken down into a babbling pile of goo. Shit, which one do I try then? Can any of them actually help me? He grimaced. Or will the next one attack me too?

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Of his four remaining options, he decided to pick the one that didn’t sound outright useless: Awe. Drawing on the image of a star-filled sky that had left him speechless during his first camping trip, he quickly tethered the funneled Essence. A flash of gold filled the sky before a figure dropped down beside them.

This clone was blonde, wearing a dazzling dress, jewelry, and a big smile the moment she saw him. She looks like a cross between Aureliana and Usiu, Jordan barely refrained from a disbelieving laugh. The snarling and snapping of nightmares hot on their heels helped with that.

“Jordan! It’s so good to see you again! We’re in trouble though, aren’t we?” The girl chatted amiably as she effortlessly ran alongside them.

“Yeah, great to see you too? Look can you please do something useful? Please?”

The girl looked at him in shock, before breaking into a laugh. “Of course! Just leave it to me—I’ll buy you time.”

She reached out and booped Jordan on the nose. He watched in confusion as the girls’ hair drained of color, turning black as her clothes shifted into the baggy, grungy look he’d been sporting. The loose hair in his vision, spilling out from the braids that had long since fell apart, instead turned yellow. With a start, he also realized he was back in a damn dress.

“Did you just swap our appearances?” He accused.

The girl laughed brightly. “Do me a favor, bring out Joy next, okay? I’m going to need some accompaniment.” With a wicked grin she bounded to the side and waved her arms into the air. “Yoooo whoooooo, come and get some sweet Jordan action my babes!”

A flash of gold lit the eyes of the nightmares pursuing them before all of them turned as one to give chase. Awe slowed down, letting them close in and Jordan was sure he was about to see a very unpleasant reenactment of his mother’s earlier demise. Only this time, it would be with his own flesh and blood.

A nightmare leapt forward, jaw snapping into the air as Awe twirled last second. Spinning on her feet, she kicked off another nightmare before cartwheeling through the group. With more laughter, she danced through the mass of death with ease, and the beasts frenzied around her like a pack of piranhas. The shadow of the Aberration descended, as the thing smashed through the area, closing in towards Awe.

“She won’t last long, b-bring out Joy!” Fear stammered as she came to stand still again. Nodding, Jordan set to it.

He found it unsurprisingly difficult to focus on something like fun in the middle of screams, explosions, and the threat of death. It didn’t help that his initial choice of his time spent gaming, oddly enough, failed to spark a sense of joy. With a start, he only now realized just how much he’d turned his gaming into an escape—an empty task he committed to more like a chore to feel some semblance of accomplishment. Hollow, like everything else in his life.

Well that’s fucking depressing, he silently lamented. Whatever, I need to focus on something actually useful here. Casting wider, he tried to think of the last time he’d had fun doing something. Anything. Surprisingly, the answer came from a much more recent experience than he’d expected.

Music. The feeling of his hands dancing across the Piano’s keys. He’d associated the feelings he’d had at the time with satisfaction at doing something, anything, with competence, even if he felt like a fraud. But he realized now he’d also just…had fun. It was something so simple, and yet, it connected without difficulty.

The sky flashed pink, and a child-like Aureliana plopped down next to them. She blinked, wide-eyed, before smiling wide.

“Jordan! Yay!” She bounced on the spot, giggling.

“Um, yay? Look, ah, Awe needs you I think?”

“Ah ah?” She asked, cocking her head. “Oh! Awe! No worries, Captain!” She gave a silly salute, and turned to look towards the battle. “Hmm, looks like we have a good ol’ fashioned dance battle! This’ll be...SO MUCH FUN!” She shouted at the top of her lungs as Jordan and Fear cringed from the surprising volume.

Pulling out a small paint brush from her frilly pink skirt, the girl waved it into the air casting colors that hung, unaided, before coalescing into an image of a violin and bow. Grabbing them, the girl wasted no time beginning to play.

And play she did. She stomped her feet like drums, the ground reverberating deeply, and her arms blurred, playing at a ridiculous speed. A series of pinkish silhouettes formed behind her, each with their own instruments—like backup band members joining in. The sounds of her rapid-fire violin music filled the entirety of the world with an orchestral level performance. As her violin screeched with a rhythm and a fury, the form of Awe began to blur with speed as all the nightmares began to move in predictable patterns.

Over, under, to the side, she danced, ducked, bobbed, and laughed all while tendrils from the Aberration came crashing down around her, smashing nightmares into paste. Music drowned out the creature’s roar as it lurched, trying to crush her with its bulk, but she just grabbed onto one of its legs and flung herself into the air. She spun, flipping over a nightmare that tried to pounce on her, and dove through the battle like a leaf on the wind.

“Best. Day. EVER!” Pink-Aureliana yelled as she picked up the pace even more. Jordan’s eyes watched her arms in a mix of awe, and strangely, envy. Could he learn to do that?

No, I need to focus! They’re buying me time, but I need an actual solution! Commanding his focus again, he turned back towards the last feeling he’d readily felt—Disgust. He couldn’t imagine it actually being that useful, and it was almost comically easy to find aspects of his psyche and memory dotted with contempt to draw on. Funneling the Essence, the sky turned green as another woman appeared.

She manifested on the spot, not bothering to fly or land. Green of hair, she was an adult, super-model version of Aureliana: tall, beautiful, regal, and overly endowed. However, she had an expression that seemed to look down on Jordan in every conceivable way. He felt an immediate dislike for the Eidolon, and it was clear the moment their eyes met that the feeling was mutual.

“Ugh, why can’t you just die already?” The green-haired Aureliana said.

“Oh look, another unhelpful Eidolon. Why am I not surprised?” Jordan said, and Disgust scoffed, before crossing her arms and looking away.

Whatever, maybe that last one can do something then? At this point, he was feeling…less than hopeful. He’d been banking on Rage smashing everything for him, not getting into a fight with Love and taking itself and her out of the fight.

Reaching into his mind, the Essence of Sorrow was both the hardest and easiest concept he’d reached for yet. There was a barrier at first—a separation. As though by instinct, he knew it was because…he kept pushing those feelings away. In moments like this, with a hectic battle around him, it was even easier to block out that quiet voice. That reminder of the loss, and the pain. Of guilt and misery. But those feelings never truly went away, or even lessened. It just got easier to ignore. To convince himself that he’d forgotten.

So, when he stopped fighting, it all came back easily. The image of an empty bedroom, for an empty person, in an empty world. As the power flowed through him, it hurt in a way the others hadn’t. It was deeply personal in a way that was entirely Jordan.

Even still, he was very surprised when he heard the sound of a gun being cocked. When he opened his eyes, an all too familiar Colt was being leveled at him.

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

Staring down the barrel, he looked up to see a girl standing in front of him. She wore a funeral veil that was as black as her long dress, and her blue hair was tied back in a bun. While he couldn’t see her eyes, he felt the intensity of her gaze as she held the gun to his face.

“S-sorrow, what are you—”

“Shhh, quiet Fear. I’m taking care of this, before it gets even worse.”

“But—”

“Drop. Him.” She leveled the gun towards Fear, and with a squeak she dumped Jordan on the ground and scurried away. The blue-haired Eidolon walked forward, pointing the gun inches from Jordan’s forehead.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked. “What did I ever do to you?”

The girl cocked her head, as though in thought, before slowly shaking her head.

“You don’t understand. You never seem to understand. I’m not doing this. You’re doing this.”

“Me? How am I doing this?” He shot back. “You stup—” He instantly quieted when Sorrow pressed the blood-stained barrel to his flesh. He gulped loudly.

“You keep pretending that everything is fine. You let yourself walk into dangerous situations over, and over again, never once giving proper thought to what you’re doing or planning ahead. You want to die, no matter how much you claim otherwise. I’m only granting you mercy.”

“Mercy? You think leveling the gun that killed my father and brother is a fucking Mercy?”

“This isn’t the actual gun. This is a Prop. A manifestation of—”

“I don’t care what it is!” Jordan screamed, pushing his head against the barrel. “And I don’t know or care what emotions you think you’re talking about. Yes, I’m a Goddamn moron about things, but I’m doing my fucking best, alright!?”

“This is your best?” She repeated.

Jordan ground his teeth. He wanted to scream at her, or retort in some way, but…was she right?

Was he truly giving his all in this new world?

“I…I accepted the path or thorns and all that, okay?” He whispered, “What more do you want from me?”

The girl squatted next to him, never taking the gun away. Reaching up, she removed her veil, revealing the tear-stained face of Aureliana as she frowned deeply at him.

“I want nothing. I am nothing. Just a reflection of you. The part of you that keeps feeling sorry for yourself. That quietly resents everyone and everything. The part you bury the more you throw yourself at the world. You think a false bravado makes everything go away?”

“What am I supposed to do?” Jordan said, wetness forming in his eyes. “I’m trying. How is that not enough for you?”

“Are you trying to be Jordan…or are you trying to be Aureliana?”

“What…what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Have you really not noticed?” She tisked. “You said it yourself. If you can’t fix your own life, you’d fix hers. Do you remember deciding that?”

Jordan reluctantly, and very carefully, nodded.

“You gave up on yourself. You decided to pick whatever traits were most convenient. You follow threads of Fate towards people you don’t know, never asking more.”

“Well, how am I supposed to—”

“You could’ve asked Rahm. You could do research in the Archives. Hells, you could hire a mystic to do a Fate reading on you. You had one done to you in the trial.”

“I…”

“You stopped caring about yourself. And the moment you came back to this place, these memories, your first response was to bury them. Again. What have you learned? What have you changed?”

Jordan tried to speak, but no words escaped his lips.

“Just…say the word. Say the word, and I’ll end it. I’ll even make sure it isn’t the end for Aureliana. One of us will pick up the pieces for her, instead. Wouldn’t you prefer that? You don’t have to be the one to bear this weight. You couldn’t even if you wanted to, and you know it.”

Her eyes bore into him. The way her face had gotten blurry was proof to Jordan that he was crying, again, but…he choked down a small sob. There were sounds of battle all around him. Chaos centered on him. And the worst part…

Her offer was tempting. So...very tempting.

Jordan heard footsteps behind him. Heeled boots if he had to guess. A shadow descended over him, before emerald hair entered his view. Disgust hovered just over an ear.

“The thing I hate about you the most, is that you don’t really care. You just pretend to care.”

“I care. I—”

“You what? You think declaring a silent, hopeless war against the High King means anything? You don’t want that, you just couldn’t accept the alternative. You don’t want anything. You don’t deserve anything. So take Sorrow’s offer. It’s better for all of us.”

“I…I…” He didn’t know what to do, and he squeezed his eyes shut. His heart was hammering in his chest, and it felt like it was crawling up his throat. Thundering in his ears as the world fell apart. The only thing he could hear over its deafening thumping, were the insidious whispers telling him to—

“If you die, we can’t play anymore.” A girl whispered from a far. She sounded beleaguered, tired even. Jordan opened his eyes and saw Joy still playing away on her violin, but she was looking straight at him.

Disgust snarled in her direction. “He doesn’t deserve—”

“Everyone deserves to be happy!” Joy interrupted. “It doesn’t matter if he lived a bad life. If he wants to live a better one now, then stop hurting him!”

“Say the word.” Sorrow whispered. “Say it. End it.”

“You promised to teach Catella, Jordan.” Joy’s eyes begged him. “Please don’t break your promise.”

“I…”

“Ugh, one of us can do that, instead.” Disgust said. “He isn’t needed to—”

“This…this is just like the cultivation vision. Again. You…you even told me right from the beginning. Say the word.” Jordan turned his gaze towards Sorrow. She pressed the gun harder into his forehead, but now he realized the truth.

She couldn’t pull the trigger unless he let her. He was in control.

He grabbed the gun. She didn’t fight him as he pulled it away. Standing up, he brushed dirt off the ridiculously glamorous dress Awe had left him in and stared Sorrow in the eyes.

“You’re…right. About a lot of that. For that…thank you.”

She nodded silently.

“But…I don’t want to give up.” He said. “I promised and I…I’m going to follow through.”

“Just remember what I said. Stop trying to be so much like Aureliana. You—”

“Deserve to be happy!” Joy jumped in. Sorrow paused, but then nodded reluctantly.

“Ugh, we were so close to being rid of you too.” Disgust said.

Jordan glared at her, and the beauty sighed, holding out a hand. He stared at it curiously, before with another dramatic sigh she reached forward and wrenched the gun from his grasp.

“H-hey!” Jordan yelled, terrified that just maybe he’d misjudged things. However, Disgust leveled the gun not at him…but at the nightmares nearby.

A deafening blast issued from the firearm as Disgust obliterated the nightmare. She swept her arm in a casual, contemptuous arc, pulling the trigger again and again as a dozen more nightmares followed. Dropping the clip, she reloaded out of seemingly nowhere before tossing her hair aside with another sneer.

“I’ll take care of the fucking trash then. Let’s get this place cleaned up, I guess.” She snarled as she marched forward, reigning destruction down on the Aberration’s minions.

“That’s…unexpected, but alright.” Jordan said. “Um, what should we do now?” He turned towards the three Eidolons nearby. Joy and Sorrow looked to him pensively, while Fear peaked her head up from behind cover.

“Well, I can keep helping Awe.” Joy said. “But if someone doesn’t relieve Vigilance soon, she’s going to be torn apart. That Slasher guy is a real mean cookie.”

“Hmm,” Jordan said, “is there any way we can get Love and Rage to stop fighting?”

Sorrow nodded her head. “I can take care of that. Love often incites Rage, even if she doesn’t mean to, but few things can direct Rage as well as Sorrow.”

“Um…cool,” Jordan said, flashing a thumbs up. “Kind of sounds like a fortune cookie, but let’s make it work, shall we?”

The blue-haired clone nodded solemnly, and both she and Jordan took off towards the relatively small scale battle between his Eidolons. Joy stayed behind, still supporting Awe, but Fear squeaked as she sprinted forward to keep up with Jordan.

When they caught up to the two struggling figures, the cyan-haired Mercia had managed to wrestle the red-haired Aureliana onto the ground. She held Rage steady in a full nelson—the girl’s face squished against the concrete.

“If you’d only calm down, darling!” Love said, struggling to keep the other Eidolon wrapped up. “You’d see that there really is no reason for us to be fighting.”

Rage glared back at her and spat, snarled, and screamed incoherently as her armored legs kicked uselessly. As much as it seemed Love was trying to soothe the screeching girl, her words were only serving to continue to agitate her.

Looking up at their arrival, Rage snarled hopefully as Love sighed out.

“Thank goodness you’ve arrived, darling.” Love said. “Can you help me tame this temper of yours?”

“Um, possibly.” Jordan said. “Sorrow—you said you could help with Rage?”

The blue-haired clone nodded, squatting next to the struggling form of Rage.

“Hey.” She said, poking the girl.

“Kill?” Rage said, looking up quizzically.

Sorrow frowned slightly less—an expression for her that seemed to be the closest to smiling she could manage. She lightly patted the red-haired girl’s head.

“That person wants to hurt us. If he does, then a lot of people who we care about will get hurt in turn. So please...rip his entrails out and boil him from the inside with your fire. I want to see his eyes burst and to dance on his ashes.”

“Fucking Kill.” The red-haired clone gave a sadistic smile. “Kill!” She effortlessly threw Love off, causing the cyan-haired Mercia to yelp in surprise. Slamming her clawed, gauntleted hands into the ground, she lifted herself up as the air around her rippled with heat.

“Kill!” She howled towards the heavens, before running towards the colorful twister nearby. The orange light that had been holding it back showed dozens of cracks and breaks as a beleaguered Vigilance finally fell back. No sooner had she made room, than a torrent of flame escaped Rage’s lips as she leapt into the air at the Slasher.

With contemptuous ease, the silhouette of the Demon King swatted Rage out of the air like an insect, cratering her into the ground. It laughed before rushing towards Jordan.

He fell back, crying out in shock before another gout of flame slammed into the shadowy titan, forcing it to take several steps back. It turned to look at the figure embedded into the ground.

Rage was bleeding, but not color or blood. A glowing, reddish liquid like molten iron was pouring from her body, and the black steel of her armored limbs began to multiply and extend over her form. She grew larger, her body distorting as her neck stretched, her fingers elongating, and her body bloated. More molten liquids burst out of her, covering her sides like fans as she stretched out. With a final burst of flame, she roared as she morphed into a metallic Wyvern, rising up to meet the Slasher of Dreams.

The fire drove the creature back, and Vigilance stumbled up to them. Her armor was shredded, and her body had more slash marks than flesh. She was also missing an arm. As she lurched towards them, Sorrow caught her and laid her down to rest.

“I’ll work on restoring her, but I’ll need some time.” The blue-haired clone declared. “But we’re going to need a plan—this isn’t a winning strategy.”

“What do you mean?” Jordan asked incredulously. Looking up, he watched the Wyvern bite and tear a chunk out of the Slasher. It thundered out in pain, slashing into Rage, cutting her arm off. Only, as it flew off it dissolved into molten fire, splashing the areas around them in burning metals. A new wing burst out of her body, Rage not seeming to care in the slightest as she continued to press the attack.

But neither did the Slasher. His shadowy flesh re-knitted almost instantly, and for every step back he was forced to take, he took a pound of Rage’s hide in return.

“Right…an Immortal.” Jordan said. “I take it Rage can’t keep going like this forever?”

“No fire, no matter the fury, will last forever.” Sorrow responded.

“Fuck.” Jordan sighed.

“You said it…” Fear muttered, pulling at her hair. “Both battles are entering into a stalemate.”

Glancing back and forth between the zones of carnage, Jordan had to agree. While they’d made significant progress—thanks, oddly, to Disgust and her single-minded genocide of the errant nightmares that had previously swarmed the battlefield—it was clear it wouldn’t last. Rage was holding her own, toe to toe against the Slasher, but the damage she dealt just didn’t stick, and Awe was only serving to keep the Aberration busy. Even now, he could see the picture perfect recreation of Aureliana bouncing around in-between tendrils while Joy played battle music. How long until Awe slipped up and was finally struck?

It was also still disturbing how she looked just like him, saddling him with the damn yellow hair of hers. If only she could…

“Wait, I think I have an idea.” Jordan said. “But…crap, I’m not sure if it’ll work. Um, well, fuck it—let’s find out! Fear and Love, with me—the rest of you keep the Slasher busy!”

“What are you going to do?” Sorrow asked.

“We’re going to swap dance partners!” He yelled, before pausing briefly. “Oh, and by the way—Vigilance?”

“Y-yes?” She coughed out.

“You did a really good job. Thank you.”

“I…it was an honor, Jordan. Good luck.” She held out her remaining arm, and he clasped it. With a final farewell, he took off.

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As Jordan made his way to the other side of the battlefield, he met up with Kioko. She’d taken shelter in an employee-only area, but thanks to Disgust she’d been able to rejoin the fight. Running alongside them now, she was clearly impressed by Jordan’s wrangling of the bag of cats that was his Eidolon defense network.

“You said you have a plan to…swap dancers though?” She asked while they ran. “What exactly do you mean?”

“Pretty much that, really. We need to focus our targets—that means distracting the Slasher and taking out that Aberration. Then we can all gang up on the Slasher.”

“That sounds great, but how…?”

“Well I got an idea, but there’s some possible holes in it. Do you know how intelligent that Slasher is?”

“Intelligent?” She repeated. “Well if it really is just the Soul of the Demon King, it would have rudimentary sapience at best.”

“Perfect!” He flashed her a [Perfect Smile]. “Then this might just work after all. Just, ah, just believe in me, okay?”

“I…I will, Jordan. Let’s finish this then, shall we?”

“Agreed!”

The group approached, running up towards Joy. While she’d changed which song she was playing, she’d kept up a high tempo battle music, and at the moment it was only Awe and the Aberration fighting. Looking around, Jordan didn’t see where Disgust had gone, but he also didn’t see any stray nightmares.

“What’s the plan?” Joy panted. “Or did you guys want to join the dance?”

“Something like that.” Jordan said. “Um, just one minute while I set some stuff up. Oh, and hey Joy—do you know if Awe needs to have a picture of a person to copy them?”

“Um, I don’t think so. It can help, but I think she can reflect someone’s desires.”

“Oh good, that makes this much easier.” He sighed in relief. He’d had a couple of wild ideas, but he was glad he didn’t need them. He knew with his luck, he’d have ended up with a dozen more curses for his trouble. So instead, he focused on making several mental notes, layering them like a bunker around them.

“Love, if it busts through or sticks any gross tentacle stuff in, cut those off, okay?”

“Of course, darling.” She said, giving him a quick hug before taking a ready stance with her fans.

“Hey!” Jordan yelled, trying to catch Awe’s attention. When it was clear it hadn’t worked, he frowned. “Shit, she can’t hear me!”

“Oh, I can take care of that.” Joy said. “What do you need from her?”

“I need her to retreat to us.”

“Gotcha!” Joy smiled widely. She took in a deep breath, and he noticed Kioko cover her ears. He decided to mimic her action, and was grateful he did.

“AWE IT’S TIME TO COME BACK INSIDE!” Joy shouted, the mental notes vibrating from the incredible volume the young clone gave out.

Immediately, Awe twirled away from the Aberration and came darting towards them. The lumbering insectile creature gave chase, slamming into the bunker as Awe slid inside. The poor girl was drenched in sweat—a feat Jordan had thought impossible given the strange physiology of the Freyhell Demon lineage, and her clothes showed evidence of far too many close calls.

“Whatcha need?” She rasped.

“I need you to take the form of Westhell Demetria. Think you can do that?”

Awe raised an eyebrow, but then looked behind Jordan to see the Slasher battling the Wyvern in the distance. After a moment of thought, she nodded. She walked forward; hand outstretched towards Jordan’s chest as a few predictable tendrils snaked their way into the bunker. They were quickly, and thankfully, cut down by Love.

“You might feel a little bit of a sting!” Awe warned, before her hand plunged into Jordan’s chest, irrelevant of the physical matter in-between. It truly felt like someone fishing around his insides, and Jordan was hit more by a wave of nausea than pain. Eventually, her flailing hand found whatever she was looking for and pulled.

Immediately Jordan’s heart skipped a beat, and he felt in vivid detail the red line of Fate connecting him to the Demon King. His breath caught in his throat, but out of the corners of his eyes he saw his blond hair return to black. Sadly, he was left in a dress, but he watched Awe’s form shift into an unfamiliar girl. She had short, bobbed hair of a more natural black (unlike the silvery-sheened locks of the Freyhells), and the natural black and red eyes of Demonkin. Awe didn’t bother shifting her clothes, but a small, spaded tail poked out from behind her, flicking back and forth experimentally.

“Okay, I think that worked—”

An inhuman roar filled the world, shaking the [Psychic Realm]. They all turned to see the Slasher barreling past Rage, ignoring the Wyvern that took a few last chunks out to slow it down.

“Well, that was even more effective than I thought it would be.” Jordan muttered. “Joy, can you make a car or something? We need a way for Awe to be able to keep distance.”

“Keep distance?” Awe said.

“Yeah,” Jordan answered her. “I know you’re good at dancing, but running away is probably a better option here.”

“Oh, running away!?” Fear jumped in. “I love running away! Let me handle it.”

As the thunderous cry of the Slasher fast approached, Jordan shrugged. “Sure—fucking go nuts!”

“Yes!” She cried out before grabbing her face and pulling. Jordan immediately stumbled back, barely holding back a scream as the damn girl peeled her flesh off. As she did, the bone underneath shifted and reformed, stretching her skull as she fell down onto all fours. The sounds of her skeleton cracking and shifting filled the bunker, but in lighting speed Fear transformed into a damn horse of all things. She was pure black, with a fiery looking purple mane.

“A Night Mare, Fear? Really?” Awe laughed, as she jumped on her companion’s back. “Well, let’s run then, shall we?”

Fear whinied, and the duo ran out the bunker, darting underneath the Aberration. It looked down in confusion, before glancing up to see the Slasher’s mad charge. It wisely backed away. Fear took off into the distance with a glowing figure of Demetria on her back.

“Mine…!” The Slasher intoned as it barreled past. “My bride!”

The group of them stared in silence for several heart beats as the Slasher blazed past. It left only a torn wake of destruction as it quickly faded into the distance. After a moment, a voice spoke incredulously.

“Did it just say…” Joy began.

“Bride?” Love finished.

“Oh of fucking course!” Jordan cursed, slapping his forehead.

“What the hell?” Kioko shouted.

“That stupid Demetria girl found a way to harness the Demon King’s soul for her apotheosis. Of course it was something as ridiculous as her trying to marry the stupid thing!”

Kioko stared at him. “I…I think I should have asked for more to become your Governess.” She muttered.

“You really should have.” Jordan agreed, before wincing as the Aberration slammed into the bunker. Its bulbous mouth split open and it struggled to try and fit the entire bunker in its maw. Failing that, it pulled back and jabbed its needle-like limbs into the walls, shattering through the first few layers of Jordan’s entrenched defenses. As the final layers began to splinter, its mouths smiled with glee as it stared hungrily at Jordan.

Jordan, for his part—smiled back. Which confused the Aberration, and it cocked its massive head, before turning just in time to get a face full of fire. The metallic jaws of Rage slammed down on one of the creature’s shoulders, instantly tearing off a limb as she bodily tackled the giant. It let out a tremendous, warbling wail of pain as its outer carapace was instantly charred to a crisp.

“Let’s fall back,” Jordan shouted, “and I’ll establish another fort. Then we’ll work to get Vigilance back on her feet and—”

A massive detonation rocked his fort, breaking through the final layers as the group fell to the ground. Rolling over, he turned to see Love standing astride him, shielding him.

But…the Aberration was gone.

“Did…Rage kill it?” He mumbled, but the Wyvern merely looked annoyed before it roared into the air. Then, as though having a seizure, it spasmed before twisting in on itself, reverting back into the shape of the red-haired girl as excess mass fountained in a molten rain. Rage immediately began to sulk, kicking at parts of the scenery as she shouted various inflections of the word ‘Kill’ into the distance.

Sorrow approached, supporting Vigilance who still looked rough.

“What happened? Do you guys know?” Jordan asked, taking his mother’s offered hand and standing. She brushed him off as he spoke to the others.

“It’s not defeated. Not completely.” Vigilance said. “I can still sense it, but it dispersed itself to avoid annihilation.”

“Oh for the love of…what’s that mean for us then?” Jordan said, pinching at the bridge of his nose.

“It’s not bad.” Vigilance assured him. “The invader has nowhere to go, and most of its power has been spent. It’ll only take a bit of time to clean up what remains.”

“So what now?” Kioko jumped in. She shrank back when the full brunt of half a dozen Aurelianas turned to look at her. “So creepy…” She muttered.

“I…don’t know.” Vigilance admitted. “I don’t think we can actually defeat the Slasher. I’m sorry. However, we could hold him off until help arrives. With us here, you’ll be able to retreat from your [Psychic Realm]. We should be able to keep you safe.”

“Should?” Jordan asked.

Vigilance blushed.

“She doesn’t know for sure.” Love said, taking his hand and squeezing reassuringly. “She just doesn’t want you to worry, darling.”

“Any ideas?” Jordan asked Kioko, and she scrunched her face in thought. After a few minutes, however, she came up with nothing.

“I’m sorry, Jordan.” She said. “The Slasher is the Soul of an Immortal. Rahm is the only one I know that might have a chance, and even then…”

“Even then?” Jordan prompted.

“The Demon King killed one of the Deva, Jordan. I don’t know if my Master can actually defeat something of that Level. Maybe we could set up the defensive wards designed by the Slothborn long ago to deal with it, but I’m not sure how long that will take.”

“And…in theory those two can’t keep running forever.” Jordan said. Silence answered him. After a minute, his mother pulled him into a hug.

“I promise we’ll protect you. No matter what.” She said, and he hugged her back. He was glad she was here. If it hadn’t been for her and Kioko, he wasn’t sure he would’ve made it. Now, if only his mother could just yell at the Slasher of Dreams and make it go away. His mother…

His mother…and the Slasher of Dreams?

“Um…guys. Don’t freak out, but I, ah, I may have another idea.”

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