The ground's trembling intensified as Ethan and Lysandra approached the red-roofed hangar. A deep rumble emanated from within, accompanied by an eerie purple glow seeping through the cracks in the wooden walls.

"That can't be good," Ethan muttered, tightening his grip on Gilbert's wand. The foreign object felt unusually warm in his hand, almost alive. A strange tingling sensation crawled up his arm, like static electricity searching for ground.

Lysandra's face was grim. "Whatever's happening in there, we need to stop it. Ready?"

Not even slightly.

"I was born ready," Ethan lied.

“Let’s go.”

Lysandra kicked the door open, her own wand raised. "Vari! Step away from—" Her words died in her throat.

In the center of the hangar stood a tall man with Tila's white hair and sharp features. He wore simple clothes, a plain shirt and pants and overalls; the skyship he allegedly captained was no bigger than a fishing vessel, taking up a miniscule amount of the hangar’s space.

Most of that space was taken up by the device.

It was the strangest device Ethan has ever seen. On the floor, an arcane circle was drawn in deep, burgundy inks; a symbol of a star, slightly different from his world’s classic pentagram, was drawn inside. Vari stood in the middle of the circle, as if it were a stage. Over the lines of the circle and the star, electricity was crackling, and a strange array of cables and gears and metal bars encircled the occult stage. It seemed alive, in a way, and Ethan spied a smaller device in the far corner - one that he could only assume was Cole’s stabilizer.

And, floating above the arcane circle, was an ancient tome, its pages fluttering without wind, surrounded by crackling purple energy that cast dancing shadows across the walls. Codex Impossibilis, in all its occult glory.

It looked, in all fairness, pretty bad.

"Ah, the meddlesome detectives," Vari's raspy voice carried a hint of amusement. "You're just in time. Please, have a seat." He flicked his wrist, and a wave of force sent crates flying toward them.

Lysandra reacted instantly, her wand moving up. A shield of golden light materialized, the crates shattering against it. Splinters rained down around them.

Ethan dove to the side as Vari launched another attack – this time a barrage of dark energy bolts. "You know," he called out, rolling behind a stack of barrels, "your sister painted a much nicer picture of you!"

"Tila?" Something flickered across Vari's face – concern, perhaps even fear. "What have you done with her?"

"She's safe," Lysandra answered, sending a series of light arrows arcing through the air. "Which is more than I can say for you once the Guard learns what you've done."

Vari deflected the arrows with a dark shield, but one got through, grazing his shoulder. He snarled, slamming his hand against the ground. Shadow tendrils erupted from beneath their feet.

Ethan stomped at the tendrils. He did not like tentacles, or tentacle-adjacent things. He could go his whole life without dealing with any tentacles, much less ones made of shadow.

“Speaking of, what the fuck are you doing here?!”

Vari laughed - it was a cold, soulless laughter, devoid of any actual emotion.

“I’m disappointed. You’re the detectives, aren’t you supposed to be the ones who figure out what’s going on? I am not spelling it out for you.”

If only I knew how this goddamn world works!

“We’re not here for your amusement, Vari,” said Lysandra, shooting another volley of magic arrows towards him. “I recommend you stop what you’re doing.”

Vari ignored them, his eyes focused on the tome. “Soon, they’ll be here,” he said, more to himself than to them.

“Who? Which page are you releasing?” Which one of the 500 possible souls are you going for?

“Page? You’re so… unromantic,” sighed Vari. “I’m not going for any page. Those souls can burn, for all I care. What I’m setting free is the cover.”

Lysandra’s eyes went wide.

“What the fuck is bound to the cover?” he asked Lysandra, peeling a shadowy tentacle from his shin.

“The Dreamweaver,” she said.

“Is that supposed to mean anything?!”

The entire ground of the hangar was now covered in shadows, moving like a stormy sea. The shadows reached for them, and Lysandra’s wand could barely keep up in shedding enough light to scare it away.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“It’s a demon,” she explained. “A demon from between the stars. Sepulchre, the necromancer who created the Codex, gained his power from the Dreamweaver, and ultimately betrayed the demon for his own gain. But to set the demon free should be impossible. No magic in this world is strong enough to do this.”

“But magic and technology just might,” noticed Ethan grimly.

"The Dreamweaver is our salvation," Vari's eyes gleamed with religious fervor. "It has waited centuries in that tome, bound by filthy betrayers. When it awakens, this reality will be reshaped according to their vision. No more dreams. No more lies. Only the pure truth of the void."

"You sound completely sane and rational," Ethan muttered. No wonder you trained a seven year old to murder! In his hand, Gilbert’s wand was growing warmer and warmer still. Something was pulling at the edge of his mind, like a song he couldn’t quite remember or a word at the back of his tongue.

Several of the tiny tentacles came together, coalescing into a giant hand with long talons. It swiped forward, towards Ethan.

Ethan felt Gilbert's wand pulse in response. Without thinking, he pointed it at the approaching shadows and pushed. The hand wavered, then bent to his will. "What the—”

"Let’s end this madness," Lysandra grimaced, launching a concentrated blast of golden magic at the tome. At the same time, she sent him a mental message: Whatever you can do with those shadows, do it NOW!

Vari deflected her attack with a shield spell, but the distraction gave Ethan his chance. He let instinct guide him, drawing on the shadow magic that seemed to resonate with his very being - Gilbert’s very being. Tendrils of darkness shot from his wand like striking snakes, wrapping around Vari's ankles and arms.

"Release me, filthy heathens!" Vari struggled against the shadowy bonds. "You don't understand what's at stake!"

"I understand enough," Ethan grunted, struggling to maintain the spell. It felt like trying to hold back a tidal wave with his bare hands. "You're part of a cult that worships some ancient demon, and you're trying to set it free. Did I miss anything?"

Lysandra took advantage of Vari's immobilization. Golden chains materialized, wrapping around him in a complex pattern. "It's over, Vari. The Guard will—"

A pulse of energy from the tome knocked them all off their feet. Ethan's shadow bonds dissipated as he slammed into a wall, the impact driving the air from his lungs. Through blurring vision, he saw Vari struggling to his feet, Lysandra's chains still binding him.

But they were too late. The tome's pages burst open, and a voice that seemed to bypass their ears and speak directly into their minds filled the hangar:

Oh, how nice.

Its voice was both deep and guttural and gentle and soft at the same time.

A dark form began to coalesce above the book – something that seemed to be made of living shadow and starless night. Ethan's magic reacted violently, the wand nearly jumping out of his hand. Every shadow in the hangar writhed and twisted toward the entity like moths drawn to flame.

"The Dreamweaver comes," Vari laughed, wriggling out of his bonds, blood trickling from his nose. His eyes were wide with ecstasy. "And soon, you'll understand. We'll all understand. When it remakes this world, you'll thank us. No more dreams. No more lies. Only the pure truth of the void."

The Dreamweaver's form continued to materialize, and with each passing moment, Ethan felt reality itself beginning to warp. The shadows in the corners of the hangar writhed with newfound life, and he could have sworn he heard distant screaming – thousands of voices crying out in languages that had never been meant for human tongues.

And the Dreamweaver turned directly towards him and Lysandra.

An elf of the dusk and a traveler from beyond. How nice it is for you to welcome me into this world.

“Oh, the Dreamweaver!” Vari went down, first to his knees, then fully prostrating before the demon. “How long we have waited. How long we’ve dreamed. On behalf of the Dreamless, please, o Great Weaver, please accept me as your new vessel in this world and save us all!”

The demon turned to look at Vari.

Oh.

“I offer myself to you, o great and rightful god of this realm! Please, enter my body, and use it as you see fit!”

Oh. There was an awkward pause. I, Um. Your fervor is noted, dear follower, and I appreciate being freed. And I’m sure you’re a great guy and all, but I just don’t think you are really… My style.

“What?” Vari looked up, flabbergasted.

Uh, yeah. You’re kind of… a lot. And I think I’d feel more comfortable in a female vessel. A cute one, preferably. Got any of those here?

Vari stammered, still on his knees.

Yeah, that’s what I thought. Well, um, thank you for freeing me and all, very nice of you. Well, I was stuck in that book for a while, and I didn’t really have any snacks in several hundred years, so I think I’m going to find myself a cute little vessel and find some snacks. I will, uh, I’ll totally call you later. I just want to enjoy this world a little before I go around destroying it, you know? Otherwise, how will I know what to destroy and what to keep? Right? Right. Yeah. Thanks a lot, man. We’ll stay in touch.

And just like that, the Dreamweaver, a great demon from beyond the stars, disappeared amongst the shadows and left the hangar.

Vari remained motionless on the floor, too shocked to move.

“Sorry you got dumped,” said Ethan. “Let’s get you to the Guard.”

Lysandra summoned a pair of manacles to restrain Vari for good. He did not resist.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad would you say it is to have that demon walking around Arcalis?” Ethan dared to ask Lysandra.

“Once its destructive nature kicks in, 12,” she answered. “Hopefully, its search for a suitable vessel will buy us some time. Now let’s go, we have some loose ends to tie up.”

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

Ethan and Lysandra handed Vari over to the Guard, and told them what had happened. They then went back to their own office to write their own report to have on file.

“Ah, so good to be back!” said Ethan, taking in the office he has never seen before in his life.

Lysandra closed the door behind them, and locked it.

“Game’s up, Shadowveil. I know what’s wrong with you, and this time, you’re not getting out of it.”