EPISODE 4; THE SECRET OF THE MIRROR GATE

A meeting of Dream Knights was being held in the Dream World. The host of this meeting was the Dream king‟s chancellor, who was holding the meeting on behalf of the Dream king.

"I‟ve called you all here today on a very important issue. First of all, the initiation ceremony for aspiring Dream Knights will be held during the next new moon. Secondly, the mission to find and exterminate the Dreamweaver must continue with utmost secrecy and finally…the second mission must commence immediately" the chancellor said.

"Second mission? What are you talking about?" Ayumi asked.

"The Dream king sends his apologies for not informing you earlier on, Ayumi Kirisawa, but this mission is far more delicate than the extermination of the Dreamweaver. I hope you understand" the chancellor said seriously.

"I‟ll put this behind me if you tell me about this new mission" Ayumi said.

"Fine, I will tell you. This mission is to reclaim the Kingdom Of Dreams from the Nightmare king!" the chancellor declared.

There were murmurs among the Dream Knights.

"You say that as if it‟s the easiest thing to do. Don‟t forget that the Dream king who is the most powerful of us all, lost to the Nightmare king and we were once defeated" Mr Kirisawa said.

"Don‟t misunderstand. This is not going to be an all-out assault like we did before. It is a much more subtle approach, one that assures us of victory" the chancellor said.

"How do you hope to accomplish this?" another knight asked.

"I‟m glad you asked, Lightning Knight Fenrir. The Dream king has had a lot of time to think and this is the plan he came up with" the chancellor said as he placed a large atlas on the shield-shaped table.

"After analysing the results of our previous battle, we‟ve reached the conclusion that, the Nightmare king was able to conquer all of Dream world because the elemental stones that define the boundaries of the Dream world were separated from the Eternal Mirror Gate and scattered to the corners of the Dream world. To separate the Realm Of Dreams from the Realm Of Nightmares, we need to redefine the boundaries of the Dream World. And to do that, we need the elemental stones" the Chancellor explained.

"It is a very clever plan but there‟s one big flaw. We have no idea where the elemental stones are" Ayumi said.

"That‟s true but there is a woman I know of who dwells deep in the land of Nightmares. She may have knowledge of a map containing the location of all the stones. We will begin this mission after the initiation ceremony. Any questions?" the chancellor asked.

The Dream Knights remained silent.

"I‟ve heard that, there‟s a boy under the protection of the Kirisawa family that already possesses a sigil. He has already defeated one of the Nightmare king‟s monsters and he is already able to upgrade his sigil. Perhaps he will prove to be an invaluable ally to us" the knight called Fenrir said.

Ayumi frowned.

"Don‟t drag Zan into this mess!" she yelled angrily.

"Zan? Is that what he‟s called? That‟s very interesting" Fenrir said with a sly smile.

"Sir Kirisawa, Lady Kirisawa, please bring this boy to the initiation ceremony" the chancellor said.

"Fine, but I won‟t force him if he doesn‟t want to come" Ayumi said as she disappeared from the meeting.

All the Dream Knights began to disappear as well.

I woke up that morning feeling refreshed. Everyone else was asleep so I took my bath and headed to the kitchen. The servants were up and had begun to prepare breakfast. I helped them. Soon after I had set the dining table, Ayumi and Ai descended the stairs looking as though they‟d never slept and by that I mean, there was not an iota of tiredness on their faces. When Mr Kirisawa came down the stairs, we all sat down to eat.

"Zan, are you already a Dream Knight?" Mr Kirisawa asked curiously.

"Not really, no. Apart from the fact that I belong to the Lion Clan, I don‟t know anything else about being a Dream Knight" I said honestly, well…half honestly.

"Well, would you like to become one?" Mr Kirisawa asked me.

At that moment, I recalled Wanye‟s advice not to trust Dream Knights. I remained silent.

"So what do you choose?" Ayumi asked me.

"Give me some time to think about it" I said, and after that, I remained completely silent.

It was a weekend so there were no classes. Mr Kirisawa had left the house with Ai on a mission. I sat on the ground in the hall thinking of what to do. When I was with Wanye, he usually sent me to Ananse‟s house on Saturdays to watch T.V. and have some fun. But, in the Kirisawa mansion, I still felt out of place so I had no idea what to do…or so I thought. Ayumi walked into the hall carrying a bag. She dropped it carelessly on the floor.

"What‟s in the bag, Ayumi?" I asked curiously.

"Videogames. Ai and I used to play them for a while but we quickly lost interest in them. They are yours now" Ayumi said nonchalantly.

"REALLY?! THANKS AYUMI!" I exclaimed excitedly.

Ayumi unpacked the game console. It was a Playstation 2. After connecting it to the flat screen which was humongous by the way, she proceeded to unpack the game discs. I picked them up and stared at each of them. I wasn‟t really interested in the games I‟d seen so far. That was until Ayumi pulled out two discs at the same time.

"Lemme see those" I said.

Ayumi gave me the discs. I stared at the cover art on the cases of the two discs. One read „Phantasy Star Universe‟ and the other read „Kingdom Hearts II.‟ I read the blurb at the back.

"Now this is what I‟m talking about!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Which of those do you want to play first?" Ayumi asked.

"Phantasy Star Universe of course!" I exclaimed.

"Why? I think Kingdom Hearts is way cooler" Ayumi argued.

"Maybe so but the hero ain‟t got a light-sabre" I said as I inserted the Phantasy Star universe disc and switched on the console.

Soon, I was deeply engrossed in the game. While I was playing, there were times I took short glances at Ayumi but I found her deeply engrossed in a book. I didn‟t know why but there was something about playing as Ethan that made me want to be a guardian and then I realized that the closest thing to a guardian was a Dream Knight.

"Hey Ayumi" I called nervously.

"What is it Zan? Bored already?" Ayumi asked without looking at me.

"Hey Ayumi, I‟m in Chapter seven already and this stupid guy is thinking of sacrificing his own daughter!" I suddenly blurted out.

It wasn‟t what I meant to say but I hated being ignored.

"WHAT?! CHAPTER SEVEN ALREADY?! THAT‟S IMPOSSIBLE!"

Ayumi exclaimed in shock but it was true.

"I think I‟ve been playing for ages, I‟m tired. I‟ll beat this Adahna-de-Gahna thing later" I complained and turned off the console.

"But it has only been three hours since you began to play" Ayumi stared at me in surprise.

"Well I guess I was so engrossed in the game that I ignored the time. It seems to be moving so slowly" I said.

"I don‟t think he has realized that he literally ignored time. Could he be a Time Knight as well?" Ayumi wondered with a worried look on her face.

"Ayumi, a Dream Knight is kinda like a guardian right?" I asked seriously.

"Why are you asking. Are you seriously considering becoming a Dream Knight?" Ayumi asked.

"I think so" I answered uncertainly considering the fact that I was ignoring Wanye‟s advice for the first time in my life.

"You must be absolutely certain. There‟s no compromise in becoming a Dream Knight. You either want to become one or not. That‟s all there is to it" Ayumi said.

I thought about her words for a while.

"I want to become a Dream Knight" I said with determination.

Ayumi didn‟t seem happy.

"If that‟s your decision, I won‟t object. You can inform Ai and dad when they return from their mission" Ayumi said glumly.

"You don‟t seem happy Ayu, what‟s the matter?" I asked worriedly.

"It‟s nothing important" Ayumi said as she turned away from me.

"If Ayumi is worried then it‟s not nothing. You can tell me" I assured her. "Honestly Zan, I don‟t like the idea of you getting involved in a mess created by Dream Knights" Ayumi said.

"Why is that?" I asked suspiciously.

"It‟s…well…it‟s…it‟s just too dangerous for you" Ayumi struggled to say, then she brought her book close to her face.

"I‟m honoured. You actually want to protect me" I said happily.

"It‟s nothing like that you idiot! Don‟t get any ideas, I just don‟t like it!" Ayumi yelled angrily.

"Jeez, you don‟t have to get so angry!" I grumbled and turned away from her.

She ignored me and we remained angry at each other for a while but after a few minutes, I was already fed up with being angry with Ayumi.

"Hey Ayu…I surrender. Truce?" I said with an outstretched hand.

Ayumi glanced at my hand and returned to reading her book and I began to feel foolish. I knew she was still in a bad mood so I remained silent. Then, a brilliant idea slowly began to enter my mind. I got up and rushed to my room, took out one of my note books, drew a stikomik, tore the sheet and rushed back to the hall.

"Hey Ayumi!" I called.

"What now?!" Ayumi said in a fed up tone.

"LOOKIT!" I exclaimed as I dropped the sheet on her.

Ayumi took the sheet and this was what she saw.

Ayumi read the stikomik and began to giggle.

"Where do you get all these crazy ideas from?" Ayumi asked.

"They seem to be the only thing that can cheer you up" I said with a nervous laugh.

Ayumi stared at me for a while. She looked sad.

"Don‟t tell me the only reason you do this is to cheer me up" Ayumi said.

"That‟s exactly why I do this. I didn‟t use to draw stikomiks often and anytime I did draw one, it was always to cheer someone up. I don‟t know why but it‟s kinda like my gift" I said seriously.

"Zan, when we first talked, you said you believed that the Dream World could be merged with the human world right?" Ayumi suddenly said.

I nodded.

"Then listen closely Zan. Within the Dream world, there are two sub-realms.

The first is the Realm of Dreams and the second is the Realm of Nightmares. One thing prevents these two realms as well as the two worlds from merging, and that is the Eternal Mirror Gate. It ensures that the Dream World and the Human World remain mirror images of each other. This gate is controlled by seven elemental stones" Ayumi explained.

I listened with rapt attention.

"These stones keep a terrible evil sealed but no one knows what that evil is except for the two kings of the Dream World. Each stone has a unique function and seals a particular attribute. The stone of earth is the symbol of hope, it seals Despair. The stone of wind is the symbol of freedom, it seals Enslavement. The stone of water is the symbol of purity, it seals Decay. The stone of fire is the symbol of courage, it seals Cowardice. The stone of time is the symbol of order, it seals Chaos. The stone of lightning is the symbol of wit and swiftness, it seals sloth. And the stone of Light is the symbol of truth, it seals Lies. These stones when united with the Mirror Gate seal the seven souls of evil that make up the evil sealed in the Mirror Gate. Do you understand?" Ayumi asked.

"Yes I do" I answered.

"However, almost nineteen years ago, an abomination was born that threatened the Dream World. It came as a result of the Light in the Dream World crossing the darkness in the Nightmare realm and it has the form of a human. The most elite of Dream Knights including my father and Fenrir the Lightning Knight were sent on a mission to eliminate the abomination also known as the Dreamweaver. However, they failed and do you know why?" Ayumi asked me.

"Because they thought he was cute?" I joked and laughed but Ayumi had a serious look on her face.

"Precisely, that freakish abomination beguiled them with childish playfulness and they couldn‟t kill him. They threw the child through the Mirror Gate and ensured that the child would never be used for evil by separating the elemental souls of sealing. But in doing this, they unwittingly unsealed the seven souls of evil thus the Dream World fell to the Nightmare King" Ayumi concluded her story.

"That doesn‟t sound good" I said.

"It‟s downright bad! Zan, if you become a Dream Knight now, you will inevitably come face to face with not only the Nightmare King but also the seven souls of evil as well as whatever form of evil that is within the Mirror Gate" Ayumi warned.

"Then you are not safe as well" I said worriedly.

"Constant danger is part of my daily life. But you Zan, this might just be too much for you. Don‟t become a Dream Knight, at least not for now" Ayumi said worriedly.

"I‟ll change that" I muttered with a serious expression on my face.

"What are you talking about?" Ayumi asked.

"I promise you Ayumi that, a time will come when constant danger will not be part of your daily life" I promised.

Ayumi seemed surprised at first.

"And I‟m not doing this just for you. I hate the fact that dying in your sleep has become even more feared than this world‟s greatest diseases. I don‟t want people to fear sleep and I certainly do not want them to fear dreams" I said.

"He has never showed this kind of determined expression before" Ayumi thought to herself. "Okay Zan, I wish you luck and I think I‟ll honestly enjoy working with you" Ayumi said with a smile and I began to feel embarrassed.

"Sure, I hope we can work together Ayu" I said.

"I SAID DON‟T CALL ME THAT!" Ayumi roared as she began to chase me around the house.

Just when she cornered me and began to crack her knuckles, we heard the horn of the car blowing. By then it was sunset.

"Looks like they‟re back" Ayumi said as she began to walk towards the main door that led into the mansion.

I followed her outside. Mr Kirisawa and Ai descended from the jeep.

"Hi Zan, Ayu, how was the day?" Ai greeted cheerfully.

"It was quite uneventful" Ayumi said in a bored tone.

"Wha…?! Don‟t lie Ayu! The day was really cool. First, I played videogames, then I drew a stikomik, then Ayumi laughed and then I called her Ayu and she got mad" I said excitedly.

"Zan, did you think about becoming a Dream Knight?" Mr Kirisawa asked.

"Yeah, and I‟ve made up my mind" I said examining their faces for signs of suspense and heck, it was really effective.

"Tell us already" Ai pleaded.

"I‟ve decided to become a Dream Knight" I declared.

"That‟s great!" Ai exclaimed happily.

"You made an excellent choice Zan. The initiation ceremony is three nights from today. You have enough time to train and prepare yourself. Don‟t relax now" Mr Kirisawa advised me.

"I‟ll try my best" I promised.

"Ayumi, Ai you‟ll help Zan with his training won‟t you?" Mr Kirisawa asked.

"Of course papa" Ai said.

"TCH! Training a weakling like Zan will only make me weaker" Ayumi said rudely.

"Hey! I‟m standing right here Ayu" I said in an offended tone.

"Remember Ayumi, you can only gain true strength by understanding true weakness" Mr Kirisawa said philosophically.

"Fine, I‟ll train Zan. But remember Zan, I‟m not going to take it easy on you. If anything, consider yourself in hell" Ayumi threatened.

"Yeeiii! She‟s really scary" I thought.

Little did I know that things were about to become a little more scary.

"Okay, let‟s all go inside and have supper" Mr Kirisawa suggested.

At that moment, my stomach began to growl. Ai began to giggle.

"Hungry much Zan?" she asked.

"Jeez! How can playing videogames make a person as hungry as I am now?" I complained.

"It‟s because you were having so much fun that you didn‟t realize you were hungry. Videogames tend to have that effect on boys. Males are not exactly the most intelligent species" Ayumi said.

"Stop talking about me as if I‟m some kind of lab rat Ayumi! It‟s not nice saying that kind of thing to a person‟s face!" I scolded Ayumi.

"Fine, fine, I did not mean to offend you. I actually meant it as a joke" Ayumi said.

"What is wrong with this girl? Is this the latest definition of the word „joke‟? Someone bring me the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary" I thought but aloud I said;

"Ayumi, there really is a limit to the kind of jokes that are acceptable. Anything else will only hurt another person‟s feelings. Try to remember that" I advised her.

There was silence for a while.

"Don‟t be a hypocrite Zan. Those stikomiks you draw, don‟t you think they offend the people concerned?" Ayumi asked.

I knew she was right.

"You got me there Ayu" I laughed and we entered the mansion.

The dining table had already been set and I tell you, I had never seen so much food in my life! On top of that, the food looked delish so I clasped my hands together and thanked God and my stars. When we were seated, I offered to say a short prayer. As it turned out, the Kirisawas did not believe in God and do you know why? After attempting to read the Bible once, they read the first chapter of Genesis and found it ridiculous that the world was created in just six days. Secondly, they found it more ridiculous that, the whole Supreme God used one full day to rest and yet, the world did not end. Ayumi tried to read more because she loves books but when she saw that a whole woman was deceived by a mere snake and ended up introducing death to the world, not to sound blasphemous or anything because I believe in God more than I believe in anything else but, Ayumi concluded that the writer of Genesis was an annoying sexist who hated women. Man I hate saying that but it‟s for the sake of y‟all that are interested in my story and these are the words of a pissed off narrator.

After eating, Ai suggested that we should watch some movies and I wasn‟t about to object. Ayumi of course wasn‟t interested but Mr Kirisawa said it was all for the best so we called all the servants to the hall, dimmed the lights and Ai brought out one of her favourite Animes. It also became one of my favourite animes and it was none other than Buso Renkin.

After watching about four episodes, we began to doze off one by one till everyone was asleep except for Ayumi and I.

"I really like this anime. Ai‟s choice of animes is top-notch!" I said in an attempt to start a conversation.

"According to Ai, they‟re the source of her strength. I think it‟s ridiculous to say that though. I‟m off to bed. You should rest as well Zan. Your hell with me starts tomorrow" Ayumi said and I could tell that she was really enjoying herself.

"Hell?" I asked.

"Oh, did I say hell? I meant training" Ayumi laughed and then she went to bed.

I turned off the T.V. and DVD player and lay down to sleep on the couch. I tried not to think of the next day but anytime I recalled Ayumi‟s unpleasant smile, I felt my heart sink to my stomach. I had to shank (visit the toilet) about six times before I could finally fall asleep and you can imagine the sort of nightmares I had.

Well what else do you wanna hear, I slept okay?! That means end of this episode. Now get some rest or find something else to do!