EPISODE 28: THE PROMISE

Ayumi woke up that morning, feeling a bit down. It had been a while since she had last spoken to me. And thanks to my dad's act of impromptu…well… "spiriting me away", I couldn't exactly contact her. He wouldn't even allow me to use the Pyrostellis Luminares. Ayumi freshened up and headed towards the Hall Of The Kirisawa Residence. As she approached, she heard angry voices yelling at each other and then the clashing of swords.

She rushed downstairs and hid behind the wall staring into the Hall; Pyrostellis was already on standby.

"Huh?!" she exclaimed in surprise.

Mr Kirisawa and I were really going at it in there; on, a rampage!

Ayumi slapped herself in the forehead.

"That idiot. What is he up to now? This totally ruined any dreams I had for a wonderful reunion" she sighed and slumped to the ground.

I heard the sound and turned to her.

"Hey Ayu! How're you doing?!" I called happily.

"Oh go right ahead, don't mind me. Or better yet, go jump in a black hole as it absorbs the blast of a hypernova" she muttered.

I collapsed to the ground. Overwhelmed by the cruelty of her words. Wow, karma is no fool is she?

"I understand your concerns Zan, but I can't hand the elemental stones to you, even if there is the slight chance that the Princess Of Dreams is alive" Mr Kirisawa declared.

"The person you're talking about is my mom!" I roared.

Bottomline; drama talk, no actual game plan. Truth is, in the end, the only solution I could see was handing the stones to Zanfar and sucker punching him when he started cackling gleefully.

"What's going on?" Ayumi suddenly seemed concerned.

Then she noticed Ai standing in the corner staring at Mr Kirisawa and I with a scared look on her face.

"Zanfar has my mom. And he wants me to bring the seven elemental stones to him before midnight tomorrow or he will show her the quickest way off this mortal coil and then the world as we know it won't be as we know it as Jaden Yuki so finely put it. There's not enough time to come up with an effective plan and well, the Dream Knights, I'm not so sure they're my allies anymore so we don't have resources on our side either" I said.

"Calm down Zan. I understand that you're worried but we can't make rash moves now" Ayumi said as she stood up and approached me.

"How can I calm down when Zanfar is holding my mom hostage?! I've never even met her in real life and now that I know she's alive, even if it is a lie, I want to be sure!" I declared.

O-kay, so let us calmly review my game plan to counter Zanfar.

Previously on Dreamweaver;

Zanfar: Join me Zan!

Me: Hahahaha! Not in a million cross dimensional years you agelessly naïve moron! I will crush you!

A day later:

Me: Heh, you're really naïve Zanfar! I will crush you…by running from you!

I think that was pretty much my offensive strategy then. Ayumi smiled;

"Let's give this sometime Zan, okay? If you think about it carefully, Zanfar may be trying to provoke us into making the first move. In my opinion; it might be better to allow Zanfar to make the first move so that we can counter him from there and come up with a plan; or make one up as we go along. Being impatient won't get us anywhere. So in the meantime, why don't we go out on a date? We haven't really gone out on a date yet have we?" Ayumi asked.

"Eh? In the face of global catastrophe, you can actually suggest a date so calmly?" I asked her.

"Global problems are extensions of more localized problems. If we solve our own problems, the world will eventually solve its" Ayumi said.

"Haaah?! I fail to understand your logic or illogic and we both know I renounced my logic a long time ago so if you a Demi-Dreamweaver is spouting something I fail to comprehend…what hath I wrought?!" I exclaimed in horror.

"Think about it, countries are not run by buildings or roads, but by people which means, its people that influence world affairs. Which means global problems at their root are caused by individuals, then extended through groups, organizations; and then nations. So if the top necromancers; the people who influence affairs and not affairs themselves, decided to stop necromancing, then there we go, problem solved" Ayumi said.

"You're spouting some really malefic things nonchalantly. You do realize that don't you Ayu? Fine, I give; I'll go on a date with you but please stop presenting me with such frightening viewpoints. Next thing you know; calibrating satellites; target confirmed…DE-PYROSTELLIZE AND INFINITELY LUMINARIZE THAT BRAT!!!" I roared as a doomsday scenario played within my mind.

(SFX: Dampierre from Soul Calibur Broken Destiny: YOU COWAARRD!!!!)

And that's how it goes.

Ayumi laughed.

"You'll never change will you? I derive some sense of security from your constancy, you know?" she said.

"That actually came out of her lips!" Mr Kirisawa exclaimed in shock.

Ai was blinking in disbelief as well.

"Could you tell me more?" I raised an eyebrow and teased her.

"You'll pay for this Zan!" she yelled and ran upstairs.

"Oh boy, I think I just ruined my date" I said.

RECAP!

So how exactly did I end up back in the Kirisawa residence? After battling Decay and Sloth yesterday and having to deal with seven of myselves, I just have to say it was quite a similar situation to how I ever ended up staying at the Kirisawa residence in the first place. And with our impending battle with Zanfar drawing so close, I needed to be as close to the Dream Knights as possible, even if it meant I was being monitored.

As I got changed, I took one more look at the Rhino horn chain Wanye had given me. My dad had taken me to my hometown, back in Ghana. It wasn't as glorious a place as I had imagined but I definitely felt something. I couldn't explain it. It felt almost as though I was on the land but not seeing everything it really was. Like I was in the land but it was far away, a feeling similar to nostalgia I can't explain, almost like listening to a mysterious lullaby while watching the stars. I no longer felt like Wanye was far from me. It almost felt like he was close and I had also met, Darag-Arokna and Aralpheisl through the Pyrostellis Luminares, they had told me something I did not yet understand.

"Zanfar can be defeated, Zanbӧngfar can be defeated but if the force you are going to rely on to fight them is your sigil, then you might as well assume that they are invincible".

I wondered if there was a weapon out there that could defeat Zanfar and in the worst case scenario, Zanbӧngfar. I thought deeply, maybe King Arthur's Excalibur actually exists or at least some legendary weapon somewhere on the face of this Reality or at least the Dream World. My father once murmured something about a weapon called the "Kommeno Syndesmo" but then he thought about it and said it would be useless as well since its nature is similar to that of a sigil but then he smirked and said "...it could serve other purposes". As you can imagine, I still have a hard time figuring out whose side he's on.

Meanwhile, Ayumi was done preparing as well. She sat on her bed and stared at the wrapped up package the two men had given her.

THE PREVIOUS DAY...

"Ayumi Kirisawa, you may not know us but we've met your sister Ai once, during the battle of Black Water Bridge. Your eyes are different now than they used to be. You have the eyes of one who has found herself so we will present you with a gift. This blade; it is a sigil but one forged from many feelings. It has the power to sever bonded forces of a polar opposite nature. However, over time, its blade has been dulled by the superfluous feelings roaming this world and that is why truth appears to be a force that holds almost no power in your world. Do you wish to save Zan?" Darag-Arokna asked her.

"I do. If there is a way, please tell me" Ayumi pleaded.

"There is a way. If ever there is a time he is consumed by evil to an extent that he loses sight of who he is, you might be forced to teach him how to be human all over again. As absurd as it sounds, he might have to learn from scratch how to be human. That is what this sword does. Fill it with the depth of your feelings and plunge it into his heart, however if your feelings are not true, he will remain corrupted and destroy you and everything and eventually, himself. Can you live with that?" Aralpheisl said. (Long live Shining Force!) Dibs on Anri! I can't marry a centaur!

"What is this blade?" Ayumi asked as she took it within her arms.

It felt lifeless. There was absolutely nothing special about it.

"Its name is "Kommeno Syndesmo". It means "Severed link"; and so you should be prepared as well...in case the result of its use is that you'll be forgotten again" the two men said as they disappeared.

PRESENTLY...

"This Christmas season sure has been hectic. To think I actually fell in love. I even have a New Year's present for Zan as well" Ayumi laughed at herself.

"We will celebrate the New Year together Zan!" Ayumi swore to herself and got up.

"I'll find a way to overcome Zanfar and live!" I swore to myself and left my room.

When I was downstairs, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Zan" I heard Ayumi call to me.

I turned to look at her and was immediately dazzled by her beauty. Ayumi wore a dazzling dress. Well, I'm not used to seeing things as expensive as those so I can't exactly describe what I saw. Punchline though was...Ayu was actually wearing a dress instead of Army camouflage so guess what...I forgot how to breathe and collapsed.

"Zan!" Ayu called and rushed to help me.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a laugh.

Ai giggled as well.

"He's never seen you in a dress before so this might be a rather 'normal' reaction" she said. "You realize what Mom said back then really has come to pass?"

Ayu thought back and nodded with a nostalgic look on her face.

TEN YEARS EARLIER

Mrs Kirisawa had been invited to dinner by one of her colleagues. Ayumi and Ai had insisted on going with her and so she eventually decided to take them along. When she asked them to go and get themselves prepared. They both came back, Ai clothed appropriately; Ayumi on the other hand...in army camouflage.

She sure doesn't know when to quit does she?

Mrs Kirisawa giggled.

"Ayu, I can't take you along if you're wearing that. You'll scare everyone away" she said. "Besides, if you're always going to wear army camouflage, I wonder how you'll find a husband".

"Heh! No thanks. If they're going to be intimidated by army camouflage, then I think its best they stay away. Besides, all the boys I've seen so far are weaklings and if I'm going to get married, he should be about as strong as..."

Lemme guess, Oda Nobunaga right?

"Oda Nobunaga!" Ayumi declared.

Heh, looks like my guess was right. If at that age, your ideal vision of a man is a warlord, then Ayumi Kirisawa, you're one damn scary chick so I think I speak for all boys when I say, the army camouflage is nowhere near as scary as the aura you keep throwing off.

Mrs Kirisawa laughed loudly. Mr Kirisawa rushed in to hear what was going on and when she told him, his reaction was...

"Hahaha! As expected of my daughter! If you ever bring home a man like that, be sure marriage will be the next agenda!" Mr Kirisawa said.

"Fist bump dad" Ayumi said emotionlessly as she stretched out a fist.

Mr Kirisawa bumped her little fist.

"I'm glad to hear you at least have intentions of marriage in mind. I really do hope though that you do not bring a warlord home but whoever you choose, my hope for him is that at that time, you would at least have learnt to appreciate dresses a bit more" Mrs Kirisawa said with a smile.

PRESENTLY...

"I guess Mom knew best right?" Ayumi said with a sad tone.

"Yup, she did" Ai laughed.

I opened my eyes and stared up at them.

"Whoa, I just had a weird dream. I thought I saw Ayu in a..." I tried to sit up while saying; but then I realized there were two Ai's. Either that or one of the girls beside me was Ayu in a dress, and then,

"Oh, my dream was real".

I forgot how to breathe once more and collapsed.

Ayumi laughed and reached for me. I stretched out my hand and took hers.

"Are you ready to leave Zan, for our first official date?" Ayumi asked me.

She had a smirk on her face. But it couldn't hide the fact that the words were struggling to leave her lips. I nodded. It had taken a long time but finally, Ayumi and I had accepted one another. It was time to leave.

Ayumi borrowed the keys to one of the family's many jeeps and we left. We headed to the best places in Upper Dream City.

I couldn't help asking her many times though where we were headed. Before we arrived at our first destination, she replied saying;

"You've shared with me everything about your life; now it's time for me to share my life with you".

When she smiled as she said that; I almost forgot an imminent face off with Zanfar was nigh. I sighed nervously.

"Relax" Ayumi guessed what I was thinking, "we won't do anything overly extravagant" she promised.

However, the first restaurant was beyond extravagant; it was extremely up there at royal level; a Chinese Restaurant to boot.

"And…this doesn't qualify as extravagant…how?" I asked Ayumi.

She grinned at me mischievously with her eyes tightly shut and gave me a thumbs up.

I glared at her suspiciously as we walked into the restaurant. Inside were a lot of affluent looking people dressed so well, I practically felt rightly like a kid. Ayumi suddenly grabbed me by the hand and pulled me to a table. I honestly had no idea about any niceties or lady pampering then so I sat down without first pulling out a chair for my dear little Ayu. She didn't seem offended. In fact, this trait of mine seemed to be what endeared me to her even more.

As quickly as we were seated, a waiter was at our table requesting our orders. I requested some coca-cola.

"Excuse me?" the waiter seemed confused.

"I want a coke if you don't mind" I ordered.

"Are you trying to be funny mister?" he asked me.

If that waiter wasn't going to shape up soon, me was planning to visit him in his dreams and deliver a twilight kiss to his neck; WITH MY FANGS! Seriously?! What manner of restaurant was so affluent, they hadn't heard of a coca-cola or made provisions for one! To top it off, the waiter looked insulted when I should have been the offended party.

"Am I laughing?" I raised a questioning eyebrow.

"H-Hey, calm down, both of you" Ayumi got between us both before we could create a scene. "Bring us the best non-alcoholic wine you have" she ordered.

"TCH! What lousy service! They don't even know what a coke is" I muttered not realizing then how foolish I was being.

Soon, we were served. I had never drunk anything so good in my life. Next, we received the menu. Every kind of food I was familiar with was on that menu including extras I was unfamiliar with.

"I've tried fufu, so why don't you try something Japanese? It's your turn to suffer some consequences" Ayumi said with a smirk.

Well, between the time she said that and the time I finally returned from the washroom, I leave the rest to your imagination. Ayumi mocked me so much I almost felt like crying.

Finally, the killer part came and I'm sure you can guess what that was; the bill! I had honestly never seen so many zeroes in my life. I learnt a very valuable lesson that day. The value of any money bill was in the number of zeroes it could hold. I counted twelve zeroes if my eyes did not deceive me that day. That was enough to buy a Suzuki Hilux in 2012. It appears cars get expensive the older they become; something about collectors I didn't know. I wondered why such a trade secret would exist anyways. Who would want an old car? I was shocked when Ayumi told me people would kill to get their hands on some old models. It made sense if you thought of it in the sense of a museum but welcome to Lower East Side Dream City where we don't actually care. There, food comes first before cars!

However, I was also forced to acknowledge at that moment just how expensive Ayumi was. Would I ever be able to provide her with all of these expensive necessities she was used to having? Ayumi noticed my discomfort.

"Is something wrong Zan?" she asked me.

"Honestly Ayu. What do you see in someone like me? I'll never be able to give you these luxuries" I admitted brokenly.

Ayumi placed her hands over mine.

"Zan, you should know by now that all of these luxuries mean nothing to me. (Heh! You can only say that because you haven't lost them. You wait till you lose them and you will see how hard it is to let go!) I'd give up all of these in a heartbeat, just to spend another moment with you" Ayumi said sincerely.

She was staring deeply into my eyes. Her golden gaze seemed to pierce into my soul.

"That's a bit overly dramatic" I said in disbelief.

"I'm serious Zan. I consider myself very lucky to have been fortunate enough to find someone like you; a knight of your calibre is not easily found; not even in the world of dreams; of that I am serious too" Ayumi said.

I felt the truth in her words but Ayumi turned away from me.

"What's wrong Ayu? I asked her.

"On the other hand, I've been unable to honour my mother's words to protect the one I love; I keep getting in your way and you have to be the one getting hurt trying to protect me. Chaos said something to me once that I was the one drawing you to the darkness. I've seen his words come to pass over and over again" Ayumi said.

"And why is this starting to sound like another reason to stay apart?" I asked Ayumi.

"It's not. It's true you've been enraptured by the darkness due to the anger you've felt towards me for the death of Wanye but I've seen you break out of it as many times as you've been trapped within it. You are going to do it one more time aren't you Zan? Zanfar won't overcome you will he?" Ayumi asked worriedly.

"Well, I'd say you just answered yourself" I said as I drew my chair closer to my dear little Ayu.

"Zan!" Ayumi called as she wept on my shoulder.

I placed my arm around her to comfort her.

"Let's try a less solemn place than a restaurant. All that devouring might have had a bad effect on our conversation" I said to Ayumi and we walked to her jeep.

Once she calmed down, she asked me where we should go next. I replied telling her that I was unfamiliar with the Upper Sides Of Dream City.

"Why don't we go shopping then?" she suggested.

I felt uncomfortable with the use of the word "shopping" considering the huge crevasse in our classes.

"Ayu, I really don't want you to spend your money on me" I said quite truthfully.

"No enthusiasm for clothes huh? What about gadgets" Ayu asked.

"I don't think so" I said bluntly.

"Videogames?" she asked me.

"Mmm, lemme think, though they qualify as gadgets and sound convincing…may…be…nah!" I deflated her balloon of excitement that was swelling up.

Little did I know then that she was holding back her trump card; which I should say was an ace of spades that give birth to a legendary poet.

"What about anime?" she said in a seductive tone.

No way in a million; no, a bazillion cross-dimensional years was I going to say no but I couldn't make it seem like I was too eager either.

"How many?" I asked her.

"All you can eat?" she said with a smirk.

"At least you're no pirate. I'll have you know that there's no turning back from this dear little Ayu" I challenged her.

Soon we were at an anime shop. Well, don't know if it has an official name but the movies were purely anime. Ayumi ushered me in and pointed to the treasure trove of untouched pretties.

"I'll take this and this and this and this too. Don't forget those and that one" I chose greedily.

"You might as well just buy the shop" the shopkeeper interrupted us.

"Are you offering?" Ayumi asked.

"SERIOUSLY?!" he screamed.

"Ayu" I gave her with the "you can't be serious" look. "It might not really be about the money. The shopkeeper may have a sentimental attachment to his shop" but before I could make my point, the deed to the shop was already in Ayumi's hands and it was a done deal.

"ACCCCCKKKKKKKK" was all I could say.

The world up there sure is a scary place. Ayumi handed me the deed.

"There you go dear. Now you can manage all the animes you want" she said.

"AND TELL ME HOW EXACTLY I'M SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?! I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE WITH THESE KINDS OF THINGS!" I yelled at Ayumi.

She hired the shopkeeper to manage affairs and my case was settled.

I stared at her in shock. This bride to be of mine was a member of the frightening aristocracy, plutocracy, and all other decorated bankruptcies as my dear friend Emma Colette would so fondly put it.

We stuffed the trunk of the car with as many valuables as possible for a hopeful movie marathon we'd agreed to watch together with the family after the entire Zanfar business was over and done with. Whether it was denial or an extreme hopefulness for something that seemed almost like a literally doomed venture, we'd already made up our minds that we'd survived the terrible imminent onslaught of Dreams versus Nightmares that was about to unleash itself on the world.

We were now in the jeep a third time and a third time yet again, I asked dear little Ayu where our next destination would be. This time she only answered saying;

"It's a surprise so look forward to it".

Ayu drove us to the outskirts of Dream City.

She noticed that I had been calling her Ayu a lot now and told me once she'd feared she'd never hear that name escape my lips ever again. She'd feared it. I hadn't noticed it myself. I reminded her that I was under the impression that she hated that name. She replied by asking me whether I purposely called her that to annoy her and I told her, she should have already known that.

"You're really something else Zan" were her words and then silence reigned for a while between us.

We now climbed a mountain at the outskirts of town. A mountain overlooking the entire Dream City. We left the jeep and finally breathed in some cool outside air. The mountain had a small town on top of it but was mostly a forest plain of sorts. (Me needs to update me vocabs). Ayu and I sat down and overlooked all of Dream City.

"This is a sacred place for my family. When my mom was alive, my dad, Ai and I used to come here a lot. We don't usually visit the place together now that she's gone" Ayumi said.

I realized then how much Ayumi valued me to have brought me to such a sacred place.

"Why have you brought me to such a sacred place?" I asked Ayumi.

"It's because I want you to know me…the real me" she replied as she stared deeply into my eyes.

"I already know the real you silly; now what's the real reason" I asked.

"Look, you can see all of Dream City from here" Ayumi said as she pointed.

I could already see how high up we were but to avoid sounding rude, I looked over the horizon and beheld all of Dream City. The sun was starting to set and I felt like I wanted to stay up there for a longer while. But when it began to dawn on me that we'd have to get down soon; I wished there were lunar flowers up there even after the sun set and resolved to bring some up there eventually to surprise Ayu.

"It's really beautiful in the sunset isn't it?" I asked Ayumi.

"Yes, it is. I'd like to spend my life like this, watching sunsets with you" Ayumi confessed.

There was a slight sound of embarrassment in her voice.

"I'd also like to spend my life watching many more sunsets with you" I promised Ayumi.

Ayumi held my hand and we sat on the mountain grass watching Dream City glisten in the sunset.

"Zan, the truth is that…I'm scared. I'm really scared of the future. Now that we've gathered all of the stones…what if Zanfar is too strong for us. What if he overwhelms you and takes over your mind and body? I don't want to lose you again" Ayumi said.

"I am scared too Ayu; but that is why I need you to be strong for me; so that I too can be strong. Zanfar will not overwhelm us. We are stronger than his darkness. We will not lose to him!" I declared.

"But Zanfar is the darkness no human could defeat. It took God Himself to finally beat him down" Ayumi said worriedly.

"And in whose image were we made, if not God's. It's true, the Devil was cursed to eat dust, the material from which man was made but it was in this same material God chose to incarnate and crush him for good. If you can't believe in me, don't doubt the God that I serve. You've seen just how much of a lucky bastard I am haven't you. So blessed I'm cursed. Not many people have that title in all of existence" I smiled at Ayumi.

She laughed at me.

"If it makes you feel any better I will make you a promise" I said.

Ayumi nodded. "I do believe in you Zan, but I'm still honestly scared. I have been a Dream Knight for a long time. Far longer than you have and talk concerning Zanfar isn't something you take lightly. You sh…." Ayumi was saying when I interrupted her.

"I promise on this sacred mountain that we'll celebrate the New Year together. I promise not to die by Zanfar's hand or to get taken over if it can be helped. I promise to live on with you and to see the future with you and…I promise to protect you even if the adversities we face seem hopeless" I promised Ayumi.

She smiled.

"I also promise to believe in you and in your promises; to protect, love and to see the future with you Zan. On this sacred mountain, I make my promise" Ayumi promised.

"There, do you feel better?" I asked her.

"I trust you Zan. There is no way you'll break your promise now is there? You've always kept your promises" Ayumi said.

"Of course silly but after all of this, I'd say we're engaged" I laughed.

Ayumi laughed too.

"I guess so" she said.

When the sun finally set, the moon finally showed itself; it's beautiful silvery white colour…we began to feel happy…then (CRUNCH!) that stupid Zanfar decided to bad time us! A gigantic omega red symbol appeared around the moon as though an evil eye was watching us.

"Wh-What's that?!" Ayumi asked me in shock.

"It's…the Seal Of The End! Zanfar's Insignia!" I exclaimed in horror.

Almost immediately after I had uttered those words, a red dark flash of energy descended to the earth in the direction of the Kirisawa residence.

"It's towards the house Zan! We've got to check up on Dad and Ai!" Ayumi declared as she took out her cellphone and attempted to call both of them.

The dial tone could be heard but no one was picking up their calls. So we cut our first date short and rushed to the car. Once the engines had been revved, we were off and I had found one more reason to smack Zanfar's tail across the galaxy.

"Something's wrong! I can sense it" Ayumi said grimly as she tried to remain calm and called multiple times.

When she called a few times more, the lines were dead.

"Zan, whatever that was could be after the Elemental Stones Of Sealing" Ayumi said.

The serious look on her face terrified me. Ayumi drove like crazy breaking as many traffic laws between the mountain and the Kirisawa residence as could shorten the time we could make it there. My mind was focused on the insignia over the moon above us.

"Something really ominous is about to happen" I thought.

I glanced at Ayumi every now and then. The more serious she became, the more scared I was.

"Ayumi, I know this sounds out of place but could we make a quick stop at the church in Northern Dream City?" I asked her.

When she turned to look at me, I could tell she was trying to conceal her impatience and that she couldn't understand my request but she didn't object and turned towards Northern Dream City.

We found ourselves at Christ the King Catholic Church. I pulled Ayumi towards the altar.

"Zan, what are your intentions?" Ayumi asked nervously.

I could see how out of place she felt in this sacred place. When we arrived on the altar, I knelt on the stairs and beckoned Ayumi to do the same beside me.

"What are you doing?" Ayumi asked me.

"I know it's silly but I figured now is the time to introduce you to Jesus Christ; the God I serve, my one and only true God" I said and smiled at Ayumi. Then I turned to the huge crucifix looming a few metres away from us; hanging on the wall. "Hello Jesus, I know you already know Ayumi but I figured a formal introduction should do us all a lot of good. Jesus, the girl before you is Ayumi Kirisawa, the girl I love; the woman I've decided to spend my mortal years with. Ayumi, this man hanging from the cross is Jesus, the only man in all of existence that loves you more than I do. Feel free to voice your worries. Jesus, I am placing my faith in you once more. I know you have never disappointed me before, so please do not disappoint Ayumi" I said.

"H-How do I talk to him?" Ayumi asked nervously.

"He doesn't mind you just speaking to him as though you were speaking to a dad or friend but when we speak to him formally, it is appropriate to kneel and clasp your hands together with your thumbs crossing each other, shut your eyes so that you do not get distracted. Now take in a deep breath and speak" I instructed Ayumi.

She obeyed.

"Now voice out your worries" I said.

"Hello Lord Jesus,

I've heard a lot about you. Even the Dream Knights speak highly of you. You were the very first and prominent human we know to choose death over life for the sake of others even when you were completely innocent; and you were the only human to ever defeat the evil no man could ever beat; The Deplorable Dream; Zanbӧngfar; a dream that struggles to deny the existence of God.

Once I was close to you but I lost my faith after losing my mother to an unfair death. Our family was broken. You probably know best what I went through but in spite of my faith, I can tell you are the reason Zan is surrounded by such life. He sure knows how to stand from a brutal beating"

Ayumi teased me and opened one eye to look at me.

"H-Hey Ayumi! That's very unfair!" I scolded her.

"But I'm really scared now" she said.

I remained silent, hoping to hear her true feelings.

"I've never been this scared in my life and it scares the hell out of me. Right now, I too am close to confronting the dream that no human could ever beat, the Deplorable dream; Zanbӧngfar. It would be a lie to say that I do not fear for my own life but I fear for the lives of my family, friends and comrades even more. Most of all, I fear for Zan. I feel he is the most vulnerable amongst us all because amongst us, his fate is most closely tied to that of Zanfar's. Protect him and give me also the strength to defend him from Zanfar and help us get through this hellish night. If it makes you feel better, think of it as payback against the evil souls for running amok and ruining the months of your Holy Nativity" Ayumi prayed.

When she was done, a draft of cool air blew through the windows. She reacted to it instinctively by inhaling deeply. She was smiling now, as though life had returned to her eyes.

"I really feel much better now Zan, thank you" Ayumi said.

A moment later, we heard the bouncing of a ball. It was a very familiar sound to me so I turned around and beheld the boy Jesus as he walked into the chapel.

"The evil you are about to face is the summed total of all of humanity's wickedness. Believe in yourselves and failure shouldn't be an option. Believe in me and it will not even exist. Beware of its cunning. Beware of its forked tongue. Evil knows only lies and it will most definitely seek out the emptiness in your heart. It will attempt to confuse you and to deny everything I stand for. It will attempt to possess you but you must triumph. Zan Nightbane the Human Dreamweaver; Ayumi Kirisawa Of The Pyrogeysers; the two of you shall become the key to the instruments through which I shall subdue the Devil and trample him underfoot. I believe in you. Know that there shall be times it may seem I am not there. When those times come, recall my final everlasting promise; "I will be with you, even until the very end of age" Jesus said with a smile and as he said that, a bright light surrounded him; a warm light transformed him from a child into an adult.

Ayumi and I just stared at him in surprise.

"My task here is finished. As I promised my friend Wanye, I have guided you to become the man we all wish for you to be. And as I promised your mother Ayumi, she will live to see your future. The future she yearned for. A future in which your family was united with the family of the man you love. I have returned the joy you lost when she fell asleep. Now I can only watch you from a distance but I'll never leave your side. I believe in both of you. See you again, in a little while" Jesus said as he ascended into the heavens. The roof of the church itself was what hid him from us just as the clouds hid him from his disciples.

He kept waving till he became a part of the painting in the churches roof. Ayumi burst into tears.

"Thank you…mother" she said.

"Thanks a lot, Wanye" I said gratefully.

"Now, let's head home" I said to Ayumi.

At the Kirisawa residence, we were met by darkness and gloom. Ayumi parked the car in the garage and we got down and rushed to the door. Ayumi knocked a few times. No one was responding so she opened the door and we rushed in. The hall was dark. All other lights inside the house were off as well.

I didn't want to disturb Ayumi but the setting definitely reeked of an ambush. Ayumi found the switches by relying on memory and turning them on. The lights came on and to our utter chagrin, the room was in a mess. The walls had broken parts and pictures and pieces of broken glasses, tables and chairs were scattered everywhere.

"AI! DAD!" Ayumi called as we rushed to the hall.

What we saw scared us. Mr Kirisawa and Ai lay wounded on the floor, just barely conscious.

"DAD! WHAT HAPPENED?! Ayumi asked her father.

"Th-They've taken them. They've taken the elemental stones. Zan…" Mr Kirisawa struggled to speak.

"Who took them?!" I asked him.

"The Dream Knights. S-Something's wrong with them. It was almost like they were under some spell. They couldn't even recognise us. All they did was follow the Chancellor's orders. I fear, the Chancellor might be the mastermind behind everything. He might have been desiring the release of Zanfar…all along" Mr Kirisawa said as he finally lost consciousness.

At that moment, we heard the blaring of horns.

"Who is that?" I wondered and rushed to the door.

There were two jeeps in the driveway

Victoria descended from one and Face from the other.

"Zan! You've got to get outta here! The Dream Knights are after you!" Face warned me.

"It's good to see you two still on my side" I said happily.

"We'd never turn against you. But we don't have time to talk about this! We should get outta here. They've declared you traitors and have begun a hunt for you for the capture of the Elemental Stones Of Sealing" Face declared frantically.

"They attacked the Kirisawa family. They've already stolen the stones. I should have known better. They were only using me till they needed me no longer. And here I thought that kind of cliché only actually existed in fiction" I joked.

"Actually, it is a more prominent feature of reality" Victoria wasted no time in correcting me.

"This is beyond anything I believe the Dream King would do. The Chancellor has probably been acting independently so now, the real question is, 'where has the Dream King been all this time?' I've never heard that he was a selfish man. In fact, most of his mistakes were in being overzealous about protecting the world of dreams. What's worse is that he may very well be one of Zanfar's minions" I said angrily.

"So we've all been deceived. So what do we do now Zan? Victoria asked me.

I smirked.

"Isn't it obvious?! We'll stop the Chancellor from unsealing Zanfar. If by some chance we're unable to do this…THEN WE'LL KICK ZANFAR'S TAILS ACROSS THE GALAXY!" I declared.