Chapter 10

Aaron found himself in his soul chamber in his sleep. Helena was looking at him from her wall of vertically standing black water. Gregor smiled at him from the featureless black wall that rhythmically moved as he chuckled. Owen glared down from above as the thick silver ropes collided with one another, emitting sounds of battle as they did. However, instead of his space being empty as usual, Aaron found himself looking on at a familiar sight.

It was his family, and he gathered around a table. It was his eleventh birthday, and the number "11" was plastered across a chocolate cake sitting in the center. His parents were there, but others were not. Children his age were around him as he blew out the candles. And what was even weirder was a golden retriever was among those celebrating, the golden-furred dog barking happily as it stood near Aaron.

While this dream was familiar to him, it was also confusing. Almost all his birthdays, he, Gale, Elizabeth, John, and Suzie had been there. He distinctly remembered his mother bought a vanilla cake rather than a chocolate kind on his eleventh birthday. And while they had a dog, he was a labrador rather than a golden retriever. Also, he died of old age two years before this event. Also, he needed to recognize the house this took place in, as he'd lived in the same house all his life.

Aaron never thought much about the dream because he always brushed it off as a figment of his imagination. However, now in his soul chamber, he found himself utterly lucid while observing the events. It caused a certain dissonance he'd never before known.

"What is this?" he said. "This isn't right. My birthday didn't happen this way. Why...where is this? That can't be me."

"Hahahaha," Gregor laughed, the wall his face was atop and the floor beneath Aaron rumbling with music as he did. "Should I tell him?"

"Aaron," Owen said. "There are some things that we must do for the greater good. This is one of them."

"Aaron…" Helena said. "Please don't take it too hard. The truth...the truth is sometimes uncomfortable."

"What are you even talking about?" Aaron said. "I admit it's weird, but... it's just a dream. It doesn't mean anything anymore than most dreams do. I once dreamed I was a rabbit pulled out of a hat by a magician. It doesn't mean it's really any more than this dream."

"To be honest with you, hmhmhm," Gregor chuckled. "You aren't all that different from a rabbit. Do you remember the controversy about experimenting on animals by spraying substances in their eyes, like rabbits, to see their effects?"

"Yeah," Aaron said. "Doesn't everyone?"

"Well," Gregor said. "There you go."

He turned to stare at the man with holes in his face. His red eyes lit up with a twisted sort of delight. It honestly reminded Aaron of the pleasure one of his classmates, Frank, had when he told Aaron that there was no Santa Claus. A childish, immature human about breaking a harsh but obvious truth to a naive mind. Honestly, his expression was more confusing than scary.

"I don't get it," he said rather plainly.

"You don't need to," Owen said. "It's not for humans to understand."

"Aaron," Helena said. "Even if your parents never love you again... know that you can always rely on me at least. I won't leave you like they did because I know...I know that this time is rather difficult for you."

Her statement was more confusing for him than heartwarming. He knew she meant well, but their deal over this dream was dramatic for a nighttime delusion. It's almost as if they were saying this dream was a piece of something greater than Aaron hadn't realized. As if this dream was a second life he had once lived…and he slowly realized what they alluded to.

"So it could have been real?" Aaron asked. "You mean...what I'm seeing right now is...real? But it can't be because I remember on my eleventh birthday I-"

Then it hit him.

"I remember," he said. "I...I remember…"

He looked back to Helena.

"Is this real?" Aaron asked. "Is this memory real, or is the other one real?"

She stared at him blankly, clearly not sure what to say. He looked up at Owen.

"Did your guys do this?" he asked. "Did...did you tamper with my life as you did with my friends and family?"

Owen was like Helena, saying nothing. He then turned to Gregor, who still had that weird smirk. He was trying to suppress laughter.

"Are my dreams gateways to…?" he said. "To other memories?"

Aaron looked up to Owen.

"So, which one is the true memory?" he asked. "The one with or without Gale and Elizabeth?"

Owen continued to stay silent.

"Tell me!" Aaron demanded. "I need to know!"

That was when he woke up. He wiped at his eyes to find they were wet. Aaron sighed as he noticed he'd been crying in his sleep. He sat up to find that Luis and Akemi were still asleep as Kaitlyn was no longer in the manus house. He shook his head before sitting upright and shook his head.

"What is going on?" he asked. "I've never been fully conscious in a dream before. And that dream...you make it sound like it was fake."

And he had no answer. The beings who existed in his soul chamber were bereft of his mind. He felt alone, as they had withdrawn entirely from his presence. The last thing he remembered was Gregor laughing maniacally and relishing his pain.

"The truth is you don't know what part of your life is fake and which is not," he said. "While an armor wielder, Yeltael can't change your memory. But before that…the rest of it might as well be fiction."