EPISODE 29: ZANFAR’S AWAKENING

We stood in the hall of the Kirisawa Residence.

"Are they okay?" I asked Ayumi.

She had done her best to treat their wounds. Victoria and Face helped. I just watched them since I wasn't sure of how I could help.

"Luckily, their injuries aren't serious. They just need some rest" Ayumi said.

"We can't just leave them here alone" Victoria said worriedly.

Suddenly, we heard the sound of electricity surging and Fenrir suddenly appeared and swung his blade aiming for a strike at me.

In a flash, the Luminares was out to shield Fenrir's strike. He smirked at me and praised me.

"Not half bad" he said. "Anyone that has the power to block a stealthy attack from me probably stands a chance against Zanfar" Fenrir said as he sheathed his blade. "Go Dreamweaver! I'll have Arlene take care of the rest of their wounds. You two should escort them. I think it best for you to conserve your energy for now" he said.

"Why are you letting us go?" Ayumi asked Fenrir.

"The sins of our generation was great. Because of our stubbornness, many good people have died. I don't believe we have the strength of heart to confront Zanfar. But you kids, you're amazing. You've achieved more than we could hope for. You defied us and protected the Dreamweaver! You defeated the souls of evil together and your love was strong enough to overpower the trials fate placed in your path! If there is a human in this world whose love rivals that of the Princess Of Dreams…it's you Zan, her only son. I'll believe in you like I did nineteen years ago. I too will wield my sword for your sake. Go Dreamweaver! Protect the Dreams Of Humanity!" Fenrir said.

I nodded and raised my sigil.

"Face, Victoria, I have an important task for you. It's the last thing I'll ever ask of you and you are the only ones I'll have carry it out" I said seriously.

"Ask us anything" Face said.

I smiled.

"Stay in the Real World and protect it from any form of Nightmare that breaches the Mirror Gate" I said.

"Of course! We'll take care of it! Leave this to us! Just worry about Zanfar!" Face declared.

I could tell that he had absolute faith in my words.

"I'm coming with you regardless of what you say so don't you dare tell me to stay behind too" Ayumi said seriously.

I saw the determination in her eyes.

"Let's go Ayu" I said.

She seemed surprised at first but she smiled as soon as she grasped understanding of what I had just said.

"As faithful knights of the Dream King we call on thee Eternal Mirror Gate! Let us through into thine Kingdom Of Dreams!" Ayumi and I called together and in a flash of brilliant light, we were transported to the Dream World.

When we opened our eyes, we found ourselves in a barren wasteland.

"Where are we?" I asked Ayumi.

Ayumi looked around and turned to face me grimly.

"It's the Wastelands Of The Forsaken. This is the place the Dream King was last rumoured to have been seen. To tell the truth, now that I think about it, it was rather strange that none of the higher ups questioned his disappearance. Chances are, the Dream King hasn't been in the Castle Of Dreams these last twenty years. How much of the true story has been distorted by the Chancellor? This is coincidentally the place where those Nightmares closest to Zanfar reside" Ayumi explained.

"TCH! Leave it to the Mirror Gate to alter our destination. I'm starting to believe it sends us more to where we need to be than where we want to be" I complained.

No sooner had the words escaped my lips than we heard the sound of approaching hooves.

"Oh no! I hope it's not them. Anything but my father's horses!" I cowered in fear.

"It's not horses. Even in the Realm Of Nightmares, there are boundaries. The Nightmare King is not foolhardy enough to invade territory belonging to Zanfar. He may ride Jumen Orkan or Omnicron but Zanfar has his own riders; the wraiths and Giga-Wraiths and they also ride Omnicron!" Ayumi roared.

True to her words, we found ourselves besieged by nine Omnicron. Great black horses with blazing red eyes and legs covered with armoured bones which were rumoured to be the bones of all the warriors they had trampled on. On their backs rode great terrifying apparitions clothed in dark fearful armour. They all wore hoods but their blazing red eyes and the great fearfulness emanating from them were enough to keep anyone frozen in their attempt to assault them. To make matters worse, they all held great swords in their right hands. With their left hands, they controlled the Omnicron by manipulating their reins. Even Ayumi was a little scared.

"What a terrifying combination! Giga wraiths riding atop Omnicrons! Zan, be careful!" Ayumi warned me.

"What's wrong Ayu?!" I asked her starting to feel scared myself.

"These are not your average Nightmares. The warriors riding atop the Omnicrons have the power to suck the strength of their adversaries. They also have the power to unleash the Omnicron's latent abilities!" Ayumi warned me.

At that moment, the Giga-Wraiths pulled on the reins of the Omnicron and the Omnicron gave a chorus of terrifying neighs. The sound of their neighs were so powerful, they seemed to tear sound itself apart from reality. We began to feel a sinister aura emanating from the Omnicron.

"Here they come!" Ayumi exclaimed.

A moment later, the Omnicron charged on us. Attempting to run from them would have been foolish. We could only hope to defend ourselves from them or fight back. We also had to prevent being cornered or surrounded. We fought against their attempts to trample us as though we were clashing swords against swords and I began to realize a fundamental but harsh reality to this side of dreams. That if I could not break the feet of Omnicron which were subjects of Zanfar, how then could I break Zanfar who was their overlord.

Fortunately, it only appeared as though they were testing our strength. They seemed amused at the fact that we were able to shield ourselves from their charge by deflecting their terrible kicks with our blades so they circled around and faced us.

The Giga-Wraiths pulled on their reins a second time and the tremendous sinister aura could be felt again. This time, the Omnicron opened their mouths and it seemed to me like they were gathering energy particles from the atmosphere.

"ZAN! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Ayumi screamed and pushed me out of the way.

No sooner had she done that than terrible red flames; a physical manifestation of curses came out of the mouths of the Omnicron and narrowly missed us.

"Zan! Are you alright?" Ayumi asked me.

She had felt their ill intent even before I could perceive it and was vigilantly preparing herself to shield us from the attack if need be. She had saved both our lives.

"Just a little stunned, that's all. Are you hurt?" I asked her.

She shook her head. I stood up and helped her to her feet.

"We can't just stand here and anticipate their attacks. If we don't attack, it's just a matter of time before they get in an effective hit" I suggested.

"I am Prince Ayzan Nightbane!" I called. "And I am Ayumi Kirisawa, true heiress to the House Of The Kirisawa bloodline!" Ayumi called. "In our time of need do we call upon thee, the Flaming Star, Heavenly Lights; reveal thine form; Pyrostellis Luminares!" we called to our swords.

The Pyrostellis Luminares appeared in our hands as they did before; Luminares made out of Light in my hands and the Pyrostellis made out of flaming stars in the hands of Ayumi.

"Let's attack them!" I declared and took the lead.

Ayumi followed close behind me and we charged on them. A bit of a foolish plan to charge on horses and their riders from the front but when you were faced with an enemy which could easily outrun you, there really was nowhere to go. You had to keep them within your line of sight for defence or a counteroffensive. Ayumi and I had begun to discover that her Pyrogeysers and my Silver Dream were not completely lost either. There were times they appeared when we called out to them and they were the tools we used to fend off the earlier attack. Since the Pyrostellis Luminares consumed a lot of mental energy to keep in use, we decided on a way to deal with that. When our initial weapons appeared, we'd use them instead and if they didn't, we'd use the Pyrostellis Luminares. But when the Pyrostellis Luminares ran out of energy, they more often than not reverted to our initial weapons. Even the Pyrostellis Luminares were not enough to cut through the bones of the Omnicron. It appeared to be an established fact that no weapons could cut through them.

So we changed our tactics. We decided to try out an energy based attack instead.

"Too weak! Your attacks are too weak!" the Giga-Wraiths said and swung their blades at us.

We evaded their attacks with little difficulty since we now knew what to expect.

"Our attacks don't penetrate the armour of the Omnicron" I said.

"Now, it's our turn to attack!" the Giga-Wraiths roared and pulled the reins of the Omnicron.

The Omnicron gave terrible neighs and I felt a terrible bloodlust. The Omnicron opened their mouths once more and we knew an energy attack was bound our way. It was so concentrated in power that it was black unlike the initial crimson like energy they shot out.

This time, it was my turn to save Ayumi's life from the massive streams of black flames. Their attacks blasted a rock behind us. So massive was the shockwave that we were knocked quite a distance. I succeeded in shielding Ayumi from both the flames and the shockwave but I wasn't doing so well. I could feel a warm liquid oozing down my forehead. I didn't need Ayumi to tell me for me to know I was bleeding.

"Ayu, are you okay?" I asked her.

She shook her head as though she was trying to overcome the shock.

"I'm fine but…you're hurt" Ayumi said as she touched my head.

My blood covered her hand.

Ayumi tore off her sleeve and tied it around my wound.

"Now is not the time to worry about that. Ayumi, let's use the Dual Luminous Blaze now" I suggested.

"We might have to wait for the right moment. I bet they're going to use a more powerful breath attack next. Listen Zan…" Ayumi whispered to me.

"That's an interesting plan! You're a genius!" I praised her.

"But if we fail, the backlash will be severe" Ayumi said. "And we can't waste our energy here. We might still have Zanfar to face. Perhaps it was fortunate that the Eternal Mirror Gate brought us so close to him".

"I don't know what you're planning Dream Knight and Dreamweaver however, your attacks will be futile. The bones of the Omnicron can absorb energy attacks too" one of the Giga Wraiths said.

"Ack! He can speak!" I exclaimed in shock.

"I'm more surprised by the fact that they are intelligent" Ayumi teased.

She sure has become even more brutal than she was in the first three books.

"Well, if you're that sure, could you just stand there peacefully and take an energy shot from us. If it doesn't actually work, we might consider giving up. There is nothing to fall for if there's no chance of losing for you" I said with a smirk.

"Well then, you can test the futility of your…" he was saying when Ayumi and I charged up the Dual Luminous Blaze.

We shot it at the Omnicron and Giga Wraiths but just before our technique hit them, the bones of the Omnicron on their legs spread out to protect them. Our technique was effective enough to take out three of them much to our dismay. Six of them now remained.

"What?! It didn't work!" I exclaimed in shock.

"It did work. We got rid of three of them" Ayumi informed me.

"Those were used as defensive shields. Your attack is powerful but it won't work twice!" the Giga-Wraiths said and charged towards us with their Omnicron.

Ayumi and I leapt out of their line of attack and attempted a counter attack but it only breached the Omnicron's armour by a few centimetres!

"Ayumi, can you think of any ways to defeat them?" I asked her.

"I have just one more idea" Ayumi said as she called me close and whispered the plan to me.

"Ayu! You're brilliant!" I praised her.

"Don't praise me yet. The backlash will be severe if we fail" she said grimly.

I gulped and stared at her, and then I stared at the Omnicron.

The Giga-wraiths laughed at us in amusement.

"We are impressed. You actually managed to survive two energy attacks from us. The previous attack, we named the Hellfire technique. If you can survive our next attack, there is no reason, you can't go through us" they mocked us. "We call it the Reins Of Synchronized Hellfire!" the Giga-Wraiths said as they all pulled on their reins at the same time.

All the Omnicron neighed in anger. So loudly it was almost as though they were roaring. Then they opened their mouths and we saw energy as crimson as blood and black as darkness itself gather around their mouths. The energy came together as a ball focused in one place, then overcompressed.

Ayu and I responded by building up power in our Pyrostellis Luminares.

When the Omnicron shot the darkness out of their mouths. We rammed the Dual Version Luminous Blaze into their Reins Of Synchronized Hellfire. It was now a battle of force. The Pyrostellis Luminares constantly balanced the strain between myself and Ayumi but it began to warn us of potential strain. We were being pushed back when we felt a firm hand hold us from behind.

"Mind if I transform your Dual Attack into a Delta attack?" a kind elderly voice asked.

"Who are you?" we attempted to ask but he instructed us to focus on our enemy.

"What then should we call this new attack?" I asked him.

"Is now really the time?!" Ayumi complained.

"I agree with the lad. The power of a technique lives in its name so let's call it…"

"THE FLARING LUMINOUS BLAZE!!!" we roared together as the man's sigil activated.

I stared at it in shock for it was the Nightbane! We had just found His Majesty Keiran Daymare; the Dream King!

The force of our combined powers grew till they outmatched the powers of the Omnicron and Giga-Wraiths. The latter were blasted into smithereens and disintegrated into ashes.

We then turned to face our rescuer.

"You are the Dream King!" I declared in horror.

"Why did you help us?" Ayumi seemed sceptical about his intentions.

"I haven't seen a sigil like yours before. And the boy's. You do resemble Ayumi Kirisawa Of The Pyrogeysers though. I was amazed to see her battle on the Day Of The Battle Of Black Water Bridge!" the man said with a laugh.

"You watched that battle Your Majesty?" Ayumi asked.

She seemed really happy. I was mad on the other hand. She was readily accepting a compliment from the man that had hunted me all my life.

He nodded.

"And I am the Dreamweaver whose life you've plagued!" I roared.

"So you're the son of Sanziri Nightbane and my daughter, Ariel are you? I guess I owe you an apology then grandson" he said with a laugh.

"KI-MI! Look how casually he's taking it!" I roared.

"Life really is a funny thing, if I ended up saving the life of the person I swore to destroy. But I only aimed for your life once. The one pulling the strings now is my treacherous chancellor Tyrannes. I withdrew into the realm of Nightmares to observe how he intended to move things since I had my suspicions. I never suspected though that he was the sixth soul of evil, Sloth and that he intended to unseal Zanfar. Judging by the corruption that is occurring at a rampant rate around the areas close to the Mirror gate and the Mirror Gate itself, the taking of life of creatures within that vicinity. I would say, the only thing hindering Zanfar's awakening now is the elemental stones of sealing" the Dream King said. "I'll pay him back for the life stolen from my daughter!"

"Actually, my mother still lives" I informed him.

He opened his eyes in shock.

"Are you sure of this?!" he suddenly seemed excited.

"Out of my dad's own mouth" I said.

"I see. If he says it then I believe it to be true. Your dad is so powerful he practically has no reason to lie. The first human Nightmare King. He is an anomaly in his own right" the Dream King said with a weird look on his face.

I could almost picture my father mocking him as a comic figure.

"Haa, I know the feeling" I sighed.

"You just committed treason against your father" Ayumi mocked me.

"Wh-What?! H-Hey Ayu! That's not fair!" I exclaimed.

"We have no time to waste here. Tell me. Do you still have the elemental stones. I heard news of them being in the possession of the Kirisawa Order Of Dream Knights" the Dream King said.

"Until tonight, the chancellor moved against us. They took the stones and hurt my family! I'll make them pay!" Ayumi roared.

"The feeling is mutual! Tyrannes has harmed my people long enough!

Born of earth,

Free as air,

I summon thee creatures of Light

Which hast forsaken the Darkness,

As a Nova Wraith, I call on thee

Obey mine command and show thine glory,

Appear Jumen Orkan!"

The Dream King called and in a flash of golden light, three winged horses appeared.

In a way, they resembled Omnicron. Their eyes were like golden flames and their legs were covered in golden armour. On their nostrils were two great horns made of a metallic substance.

"Amazing! Jumen Orkan! I've heard of such magnificent creatures but never actually seen one" Ayumi exclaimed excitedly.

"What are they?" I asked her.

"They are Omnicron that have forsaken their bloodlust and become pure creatures of light. However, unlike the gentle unicorn, they are terrifying warriors with unmatched strength, speed and agility. But I was under the impression that they could only be summoned by a Nova Wraith" Ayumi looked at the Dream King.

"When you've lived in darkness for so long, it is easiest to see even a tiny ray of light. When I abandoned my hatred for Zan and the Nightmare King, I was granted by God, the power to become a Nova-Wraith at will. That is how I survived in this accursed Desert for so long" the Dream King informed us. "There is no time to waste here! Let us depart now!" he ordered as he gestured towards the Jumen Orkan.

There was one for each of us.

"Are you perhaps implying that we need to ride these?" I asked him.

"The fastest way to the Mirror Gate; the fastest way to stop Zanfar's awakening so yes" the Dream King said.

"In some ways, he's just as brutal as my dad" I thought.

"Guide the Jumen-Orkan with the reins but be gentle. They are beings of immense pride so if they perceive that you are attempting to order them around or control them, they will rebel against your guidance and go wild" the Dream King whipped the reins hard and his Jumen Orkan flew into the sky.

They respected him that much, I reasoned.

Ayumi whipped her reins gently and her Jumen Orkan flew as well. But for me, I wanted to see just how wild a Jumen Orkan could possibly be and whipped my reins hard. I regretted it far sooner than I expected. With a terrifying neigh that caused an earthquake of sorts, my Jumen Orkan leapt turbulently into the air as though it intended to throw me off. Ayumi slapped her forehead.

"You just don't listen do you?" she muttered.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor stood before the Mirror Gate with an army of Dream Knights he was manipulating with an evil spell.

"Finally, after so many millennia, the power of the Dark Lord Zanfar will belong to me. It will all be mine! The Dream World, the Real World and…"

"Don't you even dare say the Nightmare Realm or so help me I'll bury you; but not nearly as politely as my son makes it sound!" the voice of the Nightmare king interrupted the depraved chancellor.

"Who said that?!" he roared and looked around.

All the Dream Knights turned around and beheld a fear worse than the chancellor; the Nightmare king; my father.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT MY MAGNIFICENT MOMENT OF GLORY?!" the Chancellor roared.

"More like maladjusted nonsense with no remedy. Do you seek your own demise? I do not expect a weak minded man like you to be able to control the power of Zanfar. A fool like you is at best a puppet. A worthless pawn to be disposed of later at Zanfar's convenience" the Nightmare king said.

"How dare you?! Dream Knights, make him suffer!" the chancellor roared.

Within seconds, the Dream Knights surrounded the Nightmare king. He battled them with non-lethal force, knocking them unconscious and binding them with binding spells to restrict their movement.

The chancellor walked to the Mirror Gate. There was an omega symbol engraved at the centre of the Gate. The symbol was surrounded by seven slots. Each for a specific elemental stone.

"Sealed by fire, by fire undone!

Tempered by water, by water undone!

Freed by wind, by wind undone!

Blocked by earth, by earth undone!

Ordered by time, by time undone!

Bound by Light, by Light undone!"

The Chancellor chanted as he placed each elemental stone into its assigned slot.

Seven souls of virtue once sealed seven souls of evil; but when the positions are reversed, they free the ultimate evil; humanity's greatest Nightmare, the animosity known as Zanfar. As presumptuous and hasty as the chancellor was to gain power for himself, he had presumed that the stone of light would be unnecessary and that it could hinder Zanfar if used to unseal him and for that reason, he made a grave error in judgement; for Zanfar though powerful, would now never truly be whole.

"AWAKEN! ZANFAR! ETERNAL LORD OF DARKNESS!!!" the Chancellor commanded.

Almost immediately after he had said that, two immensely evil crimson eyes appeared on the Mirror Gate and slowly, but surely, it began to open.

The Dream King, Ayumi and I were nearing the Mirror Gate when we saw it open slowly. We knew in our hearts that our worst fears had just been realized. Zanfar was now free; the devil's ultimate living sigil and the coordinator of evil. He was now free and darkness was about to be birthed anew.

"OH NO! WE'RE TOO LATE!" Ayumi exclaimed in fear.

The Mirror Gate opened and beyond it, only eternal darkness could be seen.

We descended to the ground and dismounted from the Jumen Orkan. All the possessed Dream Knights stopped fighting and bowed down on one knee facing the Mirror Gate. The Dream Of Evil was about to be realized. We watched the Eternal Mirror Gate hoping against hope that nothing would come out but then; our hopes were crushed when we heard light footsteps approach us from beyond the darkness. And slowly but surely, we saw the figure of a man walk out of the Mirror Gate. The figure was shrouded in darkness almost as though it were wearing immaterial clothing. A black hood covered its head but his evil crimson eyes could be seen behind the hood.

"Are you Lord Zanfar reborn?" the chancellor asked, uncertain himself.

"Could you be perhaps, the one that unsealed me?" Zanfar asked him.

"I am. For that, I desire power and riches beyond any imagination! Give me the power to rule this world!" the Chancellor ordered.

(What does it profit a man to gain the entire world and lose his existence?)

Suddenly, a tail escaped from behind Zanfar and bit the Chancellor on his neck. As we watched; Zanfar's hood fell off.

"Zan! He's…!" Ayumi exclaimed in shock.

"An exact replica of myself!" I exclaimed in shock myself.

But that wasn't entirely true. Zanfar had characteristics that showed inversion of myself. We both had dark skin but where my eyes were white, his were black, where mine were mercury like in color, his were crimson red. Where I had the Seals Of Identity, Zanfar had two long scars running down his eyes almost like bloody tears till they reached his chin.

"Utter moron. You'd think someone who claims to be evil would know how to behave before supreme darkness. Before this world, there can only be one ruler, and that is I" he said in an expressionless tone.

Then he turned to face Ayumi and I as the chancellor dried up and began to crumble into dust.

"I have no use for a human chancellor but perhaps, I might have use for my former fragment Sloth; the bahamut also known as Sin" Zanfar said as he absorbed the soul of the chancellor into himself.

"It is nice to see you after so long Zanviel; the Beautiful Dream. You ran away before we could settle the previous battle. I hope you do not intend to disappoint me this time Zanviel. You had the seven souls of virtue to aid you in the past but now, I have on my side the seven souls of evil. Need I inform you of the overwhelming difference between yourself and I on the power scale? It is no longer a mere talk of tipping. To defeat me, you will have to destroy the scale itself" Zanfar boasted. "I prefer however that we settled things differently. Come and be one with me" he said with an outstretched hand.

"IN YOUR DREAMS! RETURN TO ME MY MOTHER!" I ordered.

Ayumi could sense my rage. The Pyrostellis Luminares began to discharge energy quickly almost as though it was about to go beserk.

"Why? Is it your desire to join her?" Zanfar asked coolly, almost to the point of being mocking.

"STOP MESSING AROUND! RELEASE MY MOTHER AT ONCE!" I demanded.

"Why don't you join her? She is within me after all" Zanfar said with a sly smile.

"You are free now! I will demand one more time that you release my mother!" I was becoming angrier by the second.

My mercury coloured eyes began to darken and the seals of identity on my face began to disappear.

"Now why would I do that? If I release your mother, you will never unite with me. If you want her so bad…come and get her" Zanfar said with a smirk.

I shut my eyes and felt the rage shoot to both my head and heart.

"You'll regret making me so angry!" I roared as I opened my eyes.

They were now looking as sinister as Zanfar's.

"Zan!" Ayumi called to me but I ignored her and charged towards Zanfar.

"TAKE THIS! RAGING ULTRAVIOLET ATTACK!" I roared as I leapt into the air, concentrated dark energy into the Pyrostellis Luminares and attempted to burn Zanfar to death.

Ayumi sensed the danger and charged at Zanfar from the ground.

"You certainly act more like me though" Zanfar smirked.

His words were almost silent but powerful enough to distract me.

In that moment, Zanfar phased and grabbed both Ayumi and I by our throats and slammed us to the ground. He had stopped my attack with his bare hand and stopped Ayumi at the same time. We felt crushed.

"The darkness doesn't suit you; after all…I am the one that taught you that technique!" Zanfar declared.

(Everything you know, even your battle style itself; was invented; by me. Do you really think it is enough…to stop me?)

"Let me show you the true power of the Raging Ultraviolet Attack! I am Zanfar; the true king and origin of nightmares; also named; the Evil Dream and the Eternal Darkness! I summon all the darkness dwelling within the hearts of men and scattered across the universe! Appear Armageddon!!!" Zanfar called.

His voice permeating existence itself and as though in response; a massive force of darkness consumed him. A force so great it blew us to the ground. A force beyond anything we had literally experienced so far.

"His power…is unparalleled!" Ayumi exclaimed in fear.

"That is the power of the lord of darkness! Humanity's worst Nightmare!" the Nightmare king stared in awe.

It appears that this time we are faced with an evil that is beyond us. Can we overcome it? So the story continues…