The constant beeping of machines filled the room. Zerin and Dex watched as a handful of researchers darted around the Dream Room.

Zerin felt the weight of exhaustion increasing, every second it was tugging at his eyelids, it was tolerable, but it was still prevalent, nonetheless. He forced himself to straighten his spine as he sat in this unbearable chair. The chair was masterfully made to make the seater suffer.

Dex on the other hand was losing the war he waged against the call of sleep. A quick glance over at him was a scene that fitted him well.

Dex was slumped in his chair, fighting off the sleep with the grace of a drunk. Jerika, knelling at his side slapping his face to keep him awake.

Her voice was panicked as she began to shake him awake. "Dex! It's not time to sleep yet!"

Dex groaned in response and pushed her hands away, irritation mixing with the fatigue on his face.

"Alright, damn it!" he spat.

It had been an interesting few months---the majority would say distressing. For the first time in a decade, a Nightmare Creature was spotted just outside the city walls. It was quickly disposed of, but the public's fears were far from settled. And another addition to the surge of concerns was footage released by farmers, of their cattle and fields being ravaged by Nightmare Creatures. And to top it off, today was the first day of the solstice. The news even reported that a handful of people have already succumbed to the call to sleep, meaning that it was only a matter of time that they would surrender to the call as well.

She extended her hand out to his, her tone was stern. "Give me your hand."

Dex still fighting the fatigue, slapped his hand onto hers. His face twisted with anger, but held much more weariness.

"What?" he snapped.

"I'm giving you a memory..." She spoke gently but firm, "It's not much, but it's better than nothing..."

His face edged with skepticism along with his tired eyes. "Is it a weapon?"

"Not exactly---"

He threw his hands in the air. "Then what is the damn point?" he shouted.

She sighed with anger, "I thought you were the weapon."

As Dex averted his gaze towards Zerin. He could see that even in his tiredness Dex wouldn't set apart his pride in his own capabilities. But even though he tried to act strong, he looked so drained that every second seemed like a monumental effort for him to keep his eyes open.

The day before, in preparation for today, Dex trained harder than ever, which seemed to have contributed to his current fatigue. But Zerin took a different approach—he took the last three days off, and now he was thankful for it.

In a kind gesture, Jerika patted a hand on Dex's head, the touch was aimed to comfort him. However, he quickly slapped her hand away as she stepped away from his side and moved towards Zerin.

Her heels clicked against the tile floor. She knelt down to meet Zerin's gaze, her eyes searching his.

"Alright, the pods are ready, Jerika..." One of the male researchers announced. He stood behind her, his white lab coat slightly crumpled.

"Just a minute," She turned and said to the man.

She smiled as she glanced back at Zerin. "You don't look as tired as Dex over there..."

Zerin stifled a yawn, "I slept a lot yesterday..." a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Didn't really do much did it?" Jerika teased lightly.

"Not really," he admitted. The call to sleep wasn't something you could fight; it would always win in the end.

She extended her hand out to him, "Well, it's time to receive your memory."

"Is it any good?" He asked.

She smiled weakly as she shook her head. "It's nothing too special; it should help you in your journey, though. Sorry."

Over the past few months, the Nightmare Creature scare had caused a frenzy of memory purchases. What had been a stable diverse arsenal of memories had been rapidly diminished due to the clans and other awakened. The people were desperate, and Zerin knew he was fortunate to be getting anything at all.

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Zerin extended his hand toward her, and she placed her delicate hand upon his.

[You have received a memory.]

She tugged his hand getting his attention. "You two need to find each other and stick together. Survive no matter the cost, you got it?"

Her intensity caught him off guard, and he wondered how they had arrived at this point. Just earlier this year she was just a stranger and now she took the role of the guardian in his life, dare his say mother figure.

Zerin's gaze drifted to Dex, who had already surrendered to the battle. His head lolled to one side and his body slumped in the metal foldable chair.

Zerin blinked a few times, trying to shake off the infectious desire to sleep. "Looks like he beat me to it."

Jerika followed his gaze, her playful demeanor vanishing upon the very instant she saw his current state. She abruptly stood up and marched over to his slumped figure to shake him awake.

"Dex!... Dex! Shit!"

It was pointless; Dex was already in the Dream Realm the minute he closed his eyes to rest.

Zerin stood up slowly, every muscle in his body, felt as if it gave up before his spirit did. He felt as if he might crumple to the floor at any moment.

A wry smile tugged at his lips, 'Is this what being old feels like?'

He shook his head, it was amusing, really. Dex and Cael had rubbed off on him more than he realized, he had now begun to regain an inclination for casual jokes, an old comforting habit.

With a deep breath, Zerin walked over to his pod, its metallic surface gleamed, under the harsh fluorescence. He reached out and opened it, the mechanism hissed as it opened the sealed door of the capsule.

Meanwhile, Jerika had ordered three researchers to gather Dex and place him in his pod.

Zerin stood beside his open pod, watching her move around with purpose.

No wonder she is tired...

He yawned as he leaned against the pod, feeling his eyes begin to flutter shut. Just before his eyes were fully closed, he felt a light slap on his face, waking him up.

She looked at him with worry, "I need you to get into your pod Zerin, can you do that?"

He smiled slightly, he must have looked something unholy because she didn't reciprocate the same smile, instead her face held worry. She slowly helped him get into the pod, one foot after the other.

As he sank into the pod, he felt heavenly, nothing he had ever felt, felt like this before, the cushions in the pod felt otherworldly to him.

As he lifted his eyes to Jerika to speak, he froze---a single tear glistened on her cheek catching the light momentarily before it fell.

He was shocked he didn't expect to see such vulnerability from her. But before he could speak, she sealed the pod shut.

It was jarring, once again, he was stopped from saying what he truly wanted to say, from The First Nightmare to even now. Even if he wanted to call out to her or offer any words of comfort it would be futile as the pods were completely soundproof. The mechanism locked and that was it, he was completely sealed in the pod until he returned from the Dream Realm.

The urge to sleep began to grow overpowering. He turned his gaze towards Dex's pod. Through the transparent glass of the pod, he could see his friend sleeping soundly.

'He looks comfortable..." Zerin thought.

He yawned again, and then he was confused to why he was even fighting the urge to sleep in the first place.

But as his consciousness slipped away, he remembered, he forgot to say goodbye.

[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Zerin!]

He heard the voice of the spell, and the comfort he had previously felt was instantly replaced by the sensation he hated most: A terrible cold.