1 Chapter 1: Dream in the New World

"Where is the apprentice!"

The long hallways of the basement only strengthened the grotesque voices reach. The person belonging to that voice has seemed to lose his patience.

"I'm sure he will arrive shortly, master."

Another, more soothing voice revealed itself to the world. But it could not be compared to the ugliness of the other one.

Footsteps slowly came closer. Someone was surely running fast. This precise person ventured into the dark and never-ending hallways as if there was no tomorrow. His sweat was slowly leaving his pores, making his clothes bathed in stinking liquid. He whore simple clothes, such clothes that would belong only to a poorly pupil. His dull red robes were aged and worn by many that were in the same role as him long ago. Even so, only he could witness this one moment that no else apprentice could. A grand ritual, one which could be made only all hundred years. One which could change the world. And now, his task was to carry a significant item to this exact rite.

And the boy ran. Fast as he ever could. He knew the importance of his job, and he wouldn't fail this time. Not after he disappointed his masters so many times. But when he had lost all hope, they turned up and gave him a second chance. Out of nothing, they came to him, adjusting their moods to suit his naïve mind. He did not know, nor will he ever. But this naïve boy would've done everything to stay an apprentice, or he would be left out in the streets where nobody could survive.

So he ran. And at his pace, the hood of his robe occasionally clouded his vision, and he had to put it back every time. And his pants would almost drop down, yet he still kept them in place. Nothing was holding him from fulfilling his task. But he wondered, how long would he have to run through this damned hallway? Only the light of torches could guide him, yet there were places where darkness was the only thing visible, sometimes even a few meters across. He didn't know what was there, but he just chose to run through it.

The boy felt something was bizarre. He knew that he lost endurance, yet it was not that. He ran and glanced at his hands, and where once were hands of a teenager were ones that would belong to an old man that would beg for some coins on the sides of the roads. He panicked. He didn't know what was happening to him. But he continued. Even if his speed deliberately diminished, he ran.

And at last, he could see in the very distance a bright room full of his own clansmen. He was glad that he made it here. Still, the next steps he made were not as fast as he would think. He halted down to almost walking speed, and he would only go slower.

He made it into the chamber; he looked around to see many people in it, much more than he expected. It was a large room, which was also not what he thought it to be. But when he thought about it, it certainly made sense.

The brown bricks of the catacombs were not very pleasant, yet the ritual had to be done undisturbed. There were many pillars holding the room together, and in the midpoint was a strange drawing, symbolizing a sort of circle with many unknown letters surrounding it. And the strangest thing was that it was drawn by blood, fresh blood. Better described, it was blood from an innocent spirit. If it was from a human or something other, only the grandmaster knew.

The apprentice neglected the discomfort and passed all the members that looked upon him as if they had seen a ghost. He didn't know what was wrong, but continued to walk to the middle. In his hand was the thing he had to bring here. It was a mysterious apparatus, yet he thought little of it. It was flashing gold and was probably worth plenty of gold coins. But it never crossed his mind to sell it. His own would surely hunt and kill him for doing such a transgression.

And the shape of the object was the most interesting part. It was not any object, but a statue of sorts. He didn't know the one who it symbolized, as he wasn't the most knowledgeable. Only a beginner.

He came near his goal in the midst of the ritual. But as soon as he was close, he fainted and dropped to the ground. He didn't know what happened, but went on to crawl. He crawled and what he could feel like it was an eternity until he finally made it. He placed the sculpture with all his remaining strength and then collapsed into a sleep from which nobody would wake up ever again.

"Well done, apprentice."

The master's voice sounded satisfied, for once. And it was precisely then when the apprentice was already dead. A shame he could not even hear his own master's praise.

"Prepare the ritual. We will begin shortly."

The old man said adamantly, and all people around the room moved to his wishes. The man was dressed in a more fashionable robe than his latter apprentice. But even his robe was very minimalistic to the liking of a sorcerer. Even it was not looking as in its glory days, if it even had some. And it seemed to be burnt, smudged, and much more during its lifespan.

Ready, the members pointed their hands towards the inner part of the ritual. They waited for the signal of the grand master, who took his time rather than his minors.

"Now, we will summon our lord back into this realm. The God of Death, Surshana."

Some members did not know this was the meaning of the ritual and released startled sounds from themselves. But the old man went on without waiting for them to calm down.

"Long have we sought for a possibility, and we have finally found it! A secret item, concealed by the dragon lords! Yet here it is, full of wild magic beyond our own. Our most bravest subjects have retrieved this for us, so that we once again can summon our lord into this domain! Long have we lived in misery and fear! But when our Lord descends once again, his protection will be enough to rise once again!"

The cultists cheered at the old man's words. They all shared the same dream, and now was the moment to put this dream into truth.

"Prepare to be lost, prepare to be devoured by the raw power of wild magic! But do not stop until our Lord has arrived! This is a sacrifice any of us has to bring. It is our pact to the order!"

A few cultists hesitated, but it was far too late to back off now. Most were anxious, others devoted to the cause with their utmost focus. It was a significant moment for each of them. And with a little luck, they would succeed in the ritual.

"Now, let us begin."

All pointed their hands towards the center, and reddish light radiated from all the drawn symbols. The grand master personally stood near the artifact and did the same as the rest. Yet with no hesitation and no fear of the aftereffects that would be applied to his body.

"With this power, we summon you, pull you into this world!"

The wind gently rose upon the sealed room, something which should be impossible. Then, the binding circle symbols began transmitting yellow light, burning away the blood on them. The grand master acknowledged this and continued after a short pause.

"Here, by the darkness of death, we summon you, we summon you…"

He proceeded to chant as all the others did. The item in the middle shone and floated into the air, with no means of outside help. The golden statue appeared to melt in the air, the gold sinking down towards the ritual circle. Now, behind the gold, something other emerged. A red ruby star presented itself to the cultists. Never have they seen such a treasure and never will they ever again. Abruptly, the star became a sort of liquid. Its edges gradually expanded and moved towards the nearest being. The cultists were frightened, yet did not heed.

"Now is not the time to stop! Continue!"

The moving edges of the liquid ruby shot towards a few cultists with immense speed, linking to their bodies and sucking out their life energy. The others stared, but they did nothing to help them. It was to be called for such a ritual to require sacrifices. So they continued to chant.

"Now we summon you! For once and for all!"

The liquid star slowly lost its movement as if it became solid once again. The bodies hooked up to it were long ash. Only their robes remained to be used by a new, more naïve, member.

The ruby showed cracks. Next, when everybody expected it to shatter outwards, the surface of the star was sucked into itself unexpectedly.

And under the shards, a primordial force appeared to be the cause for it. A cosmic essence floating in the middle of the room with the utmost chaos was not what they thought would appear. Most of the eyes in the room followed the fluctuating anomaly with awe and admiration. Others with shock and fear.

Then the force suddenly expanded, the breeze in the air got strengthened, and the trembling in the room stronger. But after seconds, all sounds ceased to exist. Only a loud thumb could be heard, as one would do when falling to the ground.

"We did it…"

There, a dark figure concealed by a mysterious mask and a black robe laid unconscious. For seconds, nobody dared to move, but when the grand master came closer, they seemed to lose some of their fear of it.

Its mask was the most ludicrous and interesting of its possessions. It was nothing they had ever seen. Then there was a sack that looked like any other leather bag, yet one could not be sure of it. And at last, a crimson ruby, mysterious in every form. It was something a king would put in his treasury to never reveal it to the public again.

"That is not-... Never mind. You there!" The grand master pointed at a nearby member. "Collect the mask, the ruby, and the bag!"

The cultist followed the orders promptly, but was held back by the old man with his strongest grasp.

"Do not damage the ritual circle!"

The man nodded and followed his commands. First was the bag, the hand held firm to it, but after a while even it gave up on the grip. Next was the ruby, only a fast pull, and it was in the man's hands. Although, the mask was a more difficult story. And when he tried, the grand master shoved him aside.

"Get out of my way!"

He pulled his old muscles, giving their best to remove the mask, and gradually he made progress. He took the mask off, and now the face of their summon could at last be seen. Its face mirrored a man's and, if it was one, he looked very obscure, yet not hideous, but attractive. Dark hair and pale skin were the most obvious features the man possessed. Something that was not common in these lands.

"This is not our lord, this is someone else!"

The grand master spoke and all were aghast. Was it all for nothing, their comrade's life for nothing?

"We will imprison this one for further information. Prepare a Sealing Spell!"

The ones who weren't exhausted once again cast a spell toward the almost nude man. And as magical runes popped up around the hands of the casters, a purple barrier came up around the target. Now, he could not possibly escape this place.

"Let our guest recover. And guards! Monitor him all the time!"

The grand master left the room. No one noticed his temper, but as he left, he released a loud tone from him which could be heard from far away.

"Dammit! Damn it all!"

He left towards the darkness, to where ever he needed to be.

...

A week passed. Two. Then he came back, cheerful as ever. His fellow cultists greeted him accordingly. Yet he only cared for one thing. He came near the sealed man. But he wasn't entirely sure if he was just a man, but something more.

"You weren't the one we desired to summon. But you can help us as well. You see, we desire immortality out of the most things. And I am sure you can grant us this. Then we could talk about a release from your prison here. It's that simple."

The grand master shouted proudly as ever, as if he would talk with any other man. Yet no answer came. Nothing. Not even a movement.

"You dare! Dare to not answer!"

The grand master was furious. He hit the barrier with his bare hands. But nothing disturbed the man.

"You will submit to my request! That's why you were summoned! Do it!" His voice almost sounded desperate. But he wouldn't give up.

...

For some seconds, he still stood there. But then left in a much faster way than he had entered. He would return many times and be rejected, each time with nothing but silence. What a devilish way to not care about one's freedom, he thought. But not even freedom convinced the entity to speak. Did it not care? Was it maybe incapable of communication? The grandmaster knew this was not the case.

…

Weeks, months, years, decades passed. But the grand master wouldn't stop demanding insane requests until his death muted him. And his successors would only carry on this madness. Until something unexpected happened.

Centuries occurred from when he was summoned. Now he sat there, waiting for a chance to escape. He heard something in the distance. It suggested to be people fighting. And he could only hope someone would help him escape from this seal.

He waited, his gaze only concentrated towards the only door in the room. He could feel the strings of fate favoring him. And he smiled inside.

The guards inside the rooms heard the commotion outside, but didn't dare to leave the man alone. However, the noises only came nearer, and they feared what has come for them.

They put their back towards the imprisoned god and readied themselves against whatever was to come.

Sweat was falling to the ground. The situation was intense. The rumbling got louder and louder, only for it to stop before their door. And as it was no longer heard, they both loosened up, thinking their fellow cultists dealt with the intruders already.

...

The door flew open, hitting one guard with it. The other could only watch his comrade getting crushed, only to be defeated with a kick shortly after.

From the dust, a young woman emerged. She looked not to be younger than 21, with her medium-length black hair, her green eyes, and a face most would desire. Her dresswear composed of a short gray cape that looked to have seen some tough times, a red top suited for any flat-chested woman, and brown adaptable pants with gray boots suited for the job of an adventurer. Around her neck swung a leather collar with a platinum plate attached to it. Dream thought it would mean something, but couldn't guess what.

As she entered the room, her eyes instantly focused on the locked man. This kind of thing probably startled her, as she didn't expect the cultists to hide a man down here.

The woman came closer. She deliberately recognized what was inside the barrier. A man with black hair and a long black robe, just sitting there. However, he didn't even look at her or try to speak.

"Uhm… Hello?"

She greeted the man, but he didn't reply. She was confused. A savior came, and he was not even happy?. Although, she had to release him. Thereafter, the girl touched the barrier, slowly gliding her fingers along the smooth surface.

"Let me free you from this place. I'm sure whatever these people did to you wasn't pleasant."

Still, the man didn't speak or move.

"Okay, they taught me how to break a seal at the imperial magic academy. So this will be easy for me. Just stay there until I'm finished."

She extended her other arm towards the seal, and silver runes appeared around her hands.

"[Break Lesser Seal]"

The barrier cracked like glass, shattering into thousands of pieces that disappeared after a while. Yet the man still didn't move.

"Uhm… Your free now..:"

Subsequently, the man moved. He pointed his fingers towards the drawn circle on the ground, preferring to show her something important.

"You want me to destroy the circle?"

She asked, but no answer was given, of course. Cautiously, she neared the circle and used her foot to rub off whatever they wrote the circle with. After that, she backed away, waiting for the man to stand up. Which he did, but not as fast as she thought. He slowly rose and went near the circle, gently putting his foot over it and exiting his century-long prison. Finally, he had done it, and his happiness would be everlasting if he would've been a human. But that was not the case.

"Hey, you don't look okay..."

After three steps, he collapsed, his strength leaving him and leaving him knocked out.

"Oh no!"

She ran towards the man, looking for any injuries he got from the fall. But she could find nothing serious. So she was relieved.

"Don't worry, I'll bring you to an inn. There you can rest and sleep as long as you need."

…

"My Lord, please, I advise you not to leave. It is dangerous if you would suddenly disappear, Sire. The realm could collapse."

"Do not worry, I will return..."

...

Days later, he awakened from his fall. It seems his sleep has restored his strength quite a bit. But he wondered how he could rest in the first place. He rather thought of it as a state of regeneration. Because he couldn't sleep like any other human and dream like any other human. As he was personally an incarnation of dreams.

He looked around and found himself to be in a bed, encircled by four wooden walls and one window and a door. He noticed the interior was like how humans would live in the medieval ages. Yet, he saw only one room and one door that he was in at the moment. So he must be in a sort of accommodation. That was his first theory.

As he left the poor bed, he instantly detected the cracks the floor made. He noticed what he did. He just alerted everybody in this house about his presence, which he was not fond of.

Swiftly, the door flew open and the same girl rushed in who saved him before. Her expression was as if her hope finally paid off and a long awakened prince woke up from his slumber.

"You're awake! Thank the six. I was worried abo- Wait, don't stand u-"

Dream ignored her words and followed his own instruction. He stormed outside the room and went downstairs towards the exit. The girl pursued him without question.

"You can't just leave! Hey…"

He opened the wooden door to enter the streets of E-Rantel, which was nothing he knew of. He turned right and left, only to see a road leading in both directions to some place he didn't know. Yet he decided to go left.

"Wait!"

The girl was still behind him. She didn't give up on the person she saved and kept in a room for a whole week. She wanted some answers as compensation. As to why he was in there and who he even was to begin with.

But Dream wasn't having any of it. He walked faster every second, but something was off. He felt it. Soon, his legs gave up on his body and he fell once again. His strength seemed to leave him again, and he slumped.

"Not again... Do you know what a pain it was to carry you to the inn? Whatever…"

She grabbed him by his hands and pulled him back into the inn. Just then, the owner greeted her with a pleasant smile.

"Oh hello Alais, I see your friend passed out again?"

"Yeah, he must be very exhausted. Could you maybe help me carry him up the stairs? I don't want to hurt him in the process."

"Of course, darling."

The slightly larger woman helped Alais carry him back to his bed. It didn't look pleasurable for him, but there was no way she could carry him without him touching the ground. And as they brought him back to bed, she checked again if he got any injuries, which, of course, were none.

"Weird. I would've had blue marks all over the place if I let myself fall this often."

…

"No! Please! My Lord! Let me stay! Please!"

"You will return to the Dreaming with me, Corinthian."

...

Again some time later, he woke up in the same bed as before. But this time the girl was sitting beside him, waiting for him to wake up.

"So you're awake, again…"

Dream did little, only straightened up.

"Hey! I saved you! The least you could do is thank me and stay here for a while. Because... You don't look very well. You need rest, food."

The words from a human would make sense to another human, but he was far more than that.

"Fine."

She jumped slightly at his first word, yet continued to act as normal. His voice was the most calm and soothing one she ever heard. But she didn't show it.

"Okay… Good. Then why don't you come down and eat something? You look rather skinny. Some food won't hurt."

The man nodded, and the girl left, expecting Dream to seek her, and such he did. They descended the wooden stairs to what looked to be a tavern. Dream could remember walking through this place when he tried to leave for the first time, which didn't really work out for him.

"So our guest has come to senses, I see. Take a seat, you to Alais." A slightly obese woman said enthusiastically. This was what he remembered to be the owner of this place, a slightly elderly woman, which cared too much for her clients.

"Of course. Thanks."

Dream chose a random table and sat down right against a wall. The girl sat on the opposite side.

"Sooo, can you tell me what's your name? Oh, my name is Alais, if you didn't know."

Dream only looked at her with a hollow expression and decided to give her an answer for once.

"Morpheus. My name is Morpheus."

Again, the girl looked surprised that he said something. As if she expected him to almost remain mute at all times.

"Well, you got an interesting name, Morpheus! Until the food comes, we can talk a little. I mean, I would like to know why you even were imprisoned there in the first place."

Roughly a few seconds passed until Morpheus said another word. It was difficult for him to explain such.

"They wanted something from me I couldn't give. Simple as that."

That answer gave her even more questions. So she decided to ask him again, "So, what was it that they wanted from you?"

"Well... they wanted immortality."

Her mouth burst with laughter after she heard what he said. She didn't expect him to be this well with jokes, but this was phenomenal.

"Haha… Im sorry I was- It's great how you threw your joke into the conversation and your face- It's so unemotional that it caught me off guard haha…"

Morpheus was a bit taken aback. He couldn't understand the meaning of her joy, but guessed she didn't take him seriously. A trait which many regretted.

"Here it comes! One whole chicken with some bread for the two of you!"

"Thank you, Natalie! It looks great!"

"Oh dear, your words are too much. Now, dig in!"

The tablets dropped onto the table and Alais began eating straight away. But the food did not move Morpheus.

"Hey, Morpheus! You gotta eat something!"

He looked at the woman and then towards the food. He guessed one bite couldn't hurt. He took away one chicken wing and began eating into it. His teeth tore away its crunchy skin, and the deliciously cooked meat was soothing his very tongue with the most different flavors. But the seasoning made it even better with oregano and other tasteful spices, giving the food a whole new scent. It was not too dry, nor too uncooked, just perfect to please a man with every bite. The temperature was also perfectly adjusted to not burn the tongue.

Both eating, a few people looked at the mysterious man, as they never saw someone this pale and with dark hair. It was quite rare.

"So, Morpheus. From where are you exactly? You don't look from around here."

A troublesome question to answer for such a person like him. He had to think fast.

"From a land of your dreams. That is where I come from." He answered truthfully.

She almost let the meat drop out of her mouth. His jokes always took her off guard, even if they weren't meant to be jokes.

"You got me again, Morpheus. Haha…"

"May I ask a question as well? But I'd hate to impose."

"Huh…" It surprised her he was once asking something, but she didn't deny his request. "...Yes, what do you want to know?"

"Where are we right now?"

...

"Ey...We are in E-Rantel..." The man still didn't seem to recognize the place. "...A city in the kingdom?" Still, Morpheus did not know of such a place.

"I confess I do not know where this city or kingdom is or what it is. I am rather out of place." He confessed to her.

"You don't know about the kingdom? Just from where are you, Morpheus?" She looked him deep in the eyes, really wanting to lift the secret of this man before her.

"I told you before. But what takes my interest is this so-called magic of these lands. How do you use it?"

"Uhm, well, we use our own mana to cast spells. Each spell can be from different tiers. And so far known there are only 5 tiers of spells. The higher, the more powerful the spell."

"Interesting. I've never heard of this before. I thank you." He felt as if he gained another new human to tell him all the secrets of the mortal world. It was truly fascinating to listen to their stories in person. He noted to do this more often.

Later, Morpheus stood up, ready to leave. The girl surprised, looked at his plate only to find nothing left on it.

"Can you at least wait for me to finish eating?!"

Yet Morpheus disappeared upstairs, back into his room. Inside, he looked at a small rustically mirror on the right side of his bed and saw himself in some old, shoddy clothes. With a wave of his fingers, his whole body was draped in blackness, and out of it came a dark robe, a shirt, pants, and boots, all the same color. As if he didn't even try to change his life. He just liked black so much, didn't he?

"I am ready."

He turned around and was just about to leave the suite when the girl entered without warning. If he was half a meter closer to the door, he would've tasted the wood personally. However, he somehow foresaw it and waited for the right moment to leave.

"Wait!- Where did you get these cloth?- No matter, where are you going? I can't just let you leave?"

He looked at the girl with annoyance, yet replied.

"I have important things do to. Now step aside."

He walked closer, expecting the girl to let him leave, yet it stayed there, blocking the way for him.

"No! It is my responsibility that you are safe to leave! And you are definitely not, even if you look a lot better. Stay, and you may leave in some days. After our talk, you don't even seem to know anything about these lands!"

Silence enveloped the room. He didn't say a thing for a while, just stared at the petty woman that wanted to help him.

…

"Fine. I will stay. But not here, but with you. If you don't wish to leave me alone, then you can accompany me where I will go, as I will indeed need some assistance. My powers have undoubtedly weakened in the last centuries, so I presume an aide would be needed."

"What?! I'm sorry, did I hear that right? Centuries? For centuries you were in there?! I mean, time can feel pretty long when you're imprisoned, so you could be feeling that w-... Wait, are you a vampire? Your pale skin, your talk about powers, telling me your centuries old, that could only mean one thing…"

"I am no vampire."

"Prove it!."

Now that was a difficult task to master. How would he prove to her that he wasn't a vampire, yet not a human either?

"You have a short dagger made out of silver. Give it to me."

"Wha- How did you know?! Never mind..." She took her dagger out of her holster and held it against Morpheus "...Touch the blade. I'm not giving it to you." She demanded.

Morpheus moved his hand towards the silver dagger, and Alais's gaze was only focused on it. Then he stopped right before the blade would make contact, and in milliseconds, touched the blade with a firm grip.

Nothing happened. Morpheus was seemingly undamaged by the weapon.

"Im sorry, I though- Just forget it! I was just not sure what to think. I mean, you're certainly not a normal individual."

She wasn't so loud as before, as she was a hell of embarrassed for thinking Morpheus was an undead. Yet he didn't look to mind it too much.

"For once, you are right. Normal is everything I am not."

A skeptical look overcame the face of the girl, yet she foresaw that much.

"Well, looks like it's getting dark. I'm going to sleep, and you, my friend, should do the same. We'll discuss anything further tomorrow. Okayy, bye!"

The girl ran out of the room, but closed the door with the utmost care. It confused Morpheus why the girl acted so strange, but decided to hear her out tomorrow.

Outside, the girl had to lean her body on the wall; she was exhausted even outside physical means. This man was certainly an exceptional case. But now, her sleep was more important for her than to think about it.

"Huh… This dude is really something else. I really need some well-rested sleep, or I'm going crazy."

She casually made her way into her room. It was almost the same as Morpheus had, but slight changes were made in this one. She quickly undressed and put on some sleeping garments for the night. The bed itself wasn't that comfortable, but she could live with it. When she was lying on the bed, her eyes closed faster than ever, and soon she was sleeping in a deep, deep dream.

...

Her eyes opened again, but this time in a whole different world. Surrounded by grass and trees, she stood up. She could see a cliff up ahead, and a man looking down on the wonderful grasslands. Somehow, she knew that person. But with his back against her and his hands behind his back, she couldn't quite recognize him from that distance. But then something changed. She herself didn't move, but the ground. It brought her closer to the man in black robes. And just before him, it stopped moving.

"Do you see it now?"

Shocked that he could speak, she rose up and took on a fighting stance.

"What is going on? Where are we?"

"This is your dream, isn't it marvelous?"

The confusion overran her, and her body froze to a certain degree. Was that really happening right now?

"What, my dream? How…"

"Don't you remember this place? This was your home, long ago. Look down there."

Morpheus pointed down towards a small village. A forest surrounded it, though the villagers weren't afraid of the darkness the trees provided. She looked at it and remembered everything from back then.

"I lived her-I mean there. But how… How am I here?!"

"It is your dream, Alais."

"Then how are you here? Did you cast a spell on me or something?!"

"Nothing of the sorts…" He stretched out his hand towards the surroundings and turned around to look at her. "...This is my domain, Alais."

…

She didn't understand the meaning of his words. She was only a simple adventurer, no Wiseman or philosopher.

"I dont understand…"

…

"You don't have to. Your understanding is not needed, but I told the truth… Now, it is time to wake up…"

The sky cracked, the ground collapsed and terrible sounds made themselves known. "No, wait!..."

It was too late. A former reality collapsed and her vision went dark.

...

Awake, she immediately straightened up. Was it all a dream? Was it only her imagination? She didn't really know.

Then she did the usual. She cleaned herself, put on her adventurer clothes, made her hair in the mirror, and finally stepped out of her room. She looked down at the tavern and spotted Morpheus sitting at one table. She was certainly not foreseeing that.

She quickly went down to join him, and was surprisingly greeted.

"Welcome back. You slept well?"

"Uh.. Yes. You?"

Morpheus looked at her and took a sip of his tea. From its smell, she could guess it was a simple made apple tea, but delicious. She knew this tavern had a secret recipe, but not even to her did Natalie reveal it.

"Heyy! I asked you something!"

He didn't react, but continued to sip on his tea. A little furious, she grabbed a chair and sat on it very vigorously.

"Your not fun, Morpheus. So, where did you want to go in the first place? I mean, you're not from here."

He looked at her, put his teacup down and said; "We will find something that belongs to me. It was robbed of me unjust, and robbed from them that robbed me."

"What did they take? And how'd you know where it's at?"

"I don't. But we have to find my magical bag full of sand first. It will lead us to the other stolen possessions."

"Magical bag... And how do we find tha-"

A rather older voice interrupted her, even when she was almost finished speaking.

"If your searching that you should better give up now. It belongs to a strong swordsman, and he's not gonna give it freely."

The old geezer lured dreams interest. "You know where it is, my bag?"

When Morpheus looked at the man, he saw an older gentleman with white hair and a long beard. He looked to be nothing more than a laborer, yet his knowledge implied otherwise.

"Oh, I know where it is. Of course, for a small price hehe..."

Dream turned around and looked at Alais as if he wished to say something. But before his mouth opened, she answered him.

"No! That's my money. I'm not giving that guy my coins!"

Morpheus waited and waited until she eventually gave in. He learned this from her sister, that people will most likely give into your requests if they really care about you.

"Fine! Here you go old man!"

She was just too nice, and she really wanted to change that. But her nature always got the better of her.

"Mmh... I thank you. Now, the man you search is in the upper northern district inside a hidden tavern, currently celebrating... Well, you will find him there. Search for an iron door and knock three times. If someone opens, you may enter. The rest is up to you."

"I thank you."

The old man nodded and continued to stare into nothingness. The short talk somewhat made his day less boring, which he appreciated, to be honest. In his last days, he would love to fulfill his dream, of being the guy to stand up against criminals. But he could only go this far with his age. Getting information was the only thing he could provide, anything else was up to the heroes, or in this case, Dream and Alais.

"Alais, you know where this is?"

"Uh, yes. Just up to the main gate and then right! If you wa-"

"We must go now. There is no time to waste."

"But I haven't eaten! Cmon!"

Morpheus was already at the door. She wondered how fast he got there, but followed him outside.

"Hey! This way!"

Morpheus looked back to her, seeing her pointing in the other direction of the road. He quickly changed route and went along with her.

"Morpheus? Why do you need this bag so seriously? I mean, it's just a bag."

He said nothing, only walked further down the road. To say his bag was "just a bag" could be called blasphemy.

"It is a part of me." Dream stopped. "Would the loss of your arm, hand, or finger not anger you?" She nodded in agreement. But how was it related to his bag? "Then you see, that is the reason." He continued to walk again. Yet Alais didn't follow his words entirely.

...

Both walked for some minutes until they arrived at the stated gate, yet they did not exit the city but turned into a dark alley. Lesser guards and more criminal faces were more visible on this site of town. That is only because of the 8 fingers and their located base in this district. A shame what influence an organisation could do to this part of E-Rantel.

"This part of the city is quite known for its criminal neighborhood. Be ready to run if you see something suspicious."

"Noted."

They continued to go deeper into the district, getting nearer to the desired item with every step. But there were so many houses and even more doors. How would they find the right one?

"Hey, Morpheus' You see, any iron door? It's kinda hard to find one in a whole town."

She didn't realize it was not fitting to ask such a thing at this moment. But her curious nature got the better of her.

"Not yet."

He stopped her and pointed towards the left alleyway. It seemed darker than the one before, and she really didn't want to enter that hole.

"Are you sure? That seems… pretty dark."

This alley experienced no kind of light, even at daytime. That was the cause of the wall nearby and the high buildings.

"Darkness is only the absence of light. Now, would you fear a tree only because it is in the darkness? No, it is still a tree."

She knew that should mean something to her, but she wasn't the best at figuring out metaphors.

"Hey, you there!"

A voice from behind them suddenly called out to the two. As they looked back, two individuals appeared out of the darkness, and as they turned around, two others blocked the other side of the alley. They were clothed in leatherwear, fitting for a textbook thief or bandit. In their hands were old and used daggers, each different from the other. Their masks hid their faces, yet they didn't look like the most intelligent people.

"You got a lot of nerve coming into this part of town! And you gonna regret that!"

"Yeah!"

"That fine girl is gonna be our haha!.."

It was not a bad move from them, and it would work on any other normal citizen, however, they got the wrong folk this time.

"You are blocking the way. I would advise you to step aside." Morpheus said, in a calm tone, nothing that would provoke the thieves even further.

"Who do you think you are? You know what, I'm gonna show you some respect, mister!"

One of the four raised his dagger and ran towards the robed man. How did he provoke this man to act aggressively? Dream could guess the man was nervous and his instincts triggered only of his voice alone. The girl didn't seem to be as calm as him and panicked at the first sight of an attack.

"Get him dude, and then we can get the girl haha!"

The bandit rushed in on Morpheus, closing the distance between them somewhat.

"No, Morpheus!"

She was too far away to defend him, as he was unarmored and wouldn't be able to fight them with no weapon. She expected the worst. Her swordsmanship was not bad, so she knew she could defeat these bandits in a one-on-one duel.

"Take this, you bastard!"

The bandit wanted to make a fine cut through his face, and as he got nearer and nearer, he could almost see the blood flooding from his wounds.

The blade of the dagger came closer than ever, and the smile of the bandit grew larger every millisecond. Yet, nothing happened, how the bandit wished.

"H-How…"

With two fingers, he held the blade of the dagger firm in his grip. Not that he was a monk or any other martial artist that let him do that, but because of his immense powers beyond humankind, even in a lessened form.

"Morpheus… How did you-"

The blade snapped between his fingers, only leaving shards of metal on the ground. A dark spot could be seen in the thief's pants. His instincts accidentally strengthened the muscle in his bladder, making him leak a little. The thief heard of nobody that could break metal with his fingers, and never would he want to ever again.

"I gathered some strength with the collection of dreams. Such an attack will not hurt me any longer."

After the bandit was released from his own shock, he ran away and his companions followed him quickly.

"Run, that dude is crazy!"

"Fuck, and we needed something to eat, dammit!"

Gone, away from the sight of the two, only he and Alais remained in the alley. Yet, the confusion about what happened remained.

"W-What did you do?.. Was it a martial art-I-It has to be.."

...

"Let us continue."

He walked past the half-frozen girl towards his initial goal. Only later she freed herself and went after him again. After a while, Morpheus abruptly stopped.

He turned to look at a metal reinforced door, difficult to break with sheer force. That was exactly what the man described. But it was not entirely an iron door, only looked like it from the outside.

"There, inside this place. That is where we will find it."

He neared the door and knocked on it with the code the old man had told him. Now was the moment to see if the elderly man lied or not. The door crackled and made all kinds of sounds, but opened soon after his knocking.

"Wait, you're not the bos-"

Sand flew from his hand towards the bulky man. He lost all sense of consciousness and joined the floor. The girl couldn't stop to be overwhelmed by what tricks he had up his sleeve. Were they tricks or did he really have sand that could make people sleep? She didn't know. She was just an adventurer. Not an expert in knowledge. But she could always ask.

"Let us head inside."

"Sure…"

They enter a misty place, full of moaning sounds and other pleasurable tones humans would give from themselves. Alais, curious, decided to look in one of the rooms in the hallway, and she saw something terrible, something she never wanted to see.

"By the fo-"

Morpheus shut her mouth with his hands. He wanted little attention from any other party right now. Carefully, he released his hand from her mouth after a short period.

"Did you see that?! There's a woman in there all beaten up! We gotta save her!" Alais screamed silently.

Morpheus only glanced around to the other rooms and said; "That is not our objective. And who would carry all the women outside?"

"Wha- Women?"

He pointed towards the rest of the doors in the hallway, showing her there were even more tortured girls in this place.

"This can't be true…"

"This is miserable human nature, indeed. But we can change little. Follow me."

He was ready to go further inside until; "What!? How can you say that? How? Where is your huma–... Wait, you're not a human, are you after all?..."

Morpheus didn't respond, but continued to walk down the hallway. She didn't follow first, but sought him later. After this was all over, she and Morpheus certainly had something to discuss.

At first, she was hesitant to leave the woman behind, but she promised herself and all the slaves here that she would return one day. She knew the suffering they had to endure, and she didn't want them to go through it ever again. But life was not so simple, rather dark and unforgivable.

But that situation only made her more cautious of Morpheus. Maybe there was a reason for his imprisonment. Was he a monster? He didn't look or feel like one. Nothing of the sort. She just wasn't sure what he really was.

At the end of the hallway, they find a door, and behind it sounded to be a feast of sorts. Morpheus opened the entrance, as nobody would really acknowledge the sound of a door opening in such a loud crown. He resolved it would not be a bad decision.

Behind the door looked to be a tavern of sorts, hidden and with no other entry except the one Morpheus used. This was truly a place for criminals. Something like this was the worst thing in a city, a place for criminals to exchange information, knowledge.

He motioned Alais to follow him. Both of them walked past a few drinking men, most would say savages. Initially, nobody noticed them, but after they got to the center of the room, almost everybody's eyes were fixated on their frames. As if a rat entered a lion's home, but the rat was secretly a god.

"There. You see that bag on his waist? That is mine." Morpheus pointed to a middle-aged man with a curved sword hung from his waist. He was styled like a middle eastern bandit, and was probably from the warmer regions of this continent, as seen by his slightly browner skin. His design of clothing showed he was great at plundering and didn't mind showing his stolen wealth.

Morpheus approaches the man, who at first didn't notice him, but only when he stood before the guy, unmoved, he got his attention. And as expected, he was half drunk and not pleased by his appearance.

"What do we have here?.. A young lady with a very pale, skinny man.. haha.. Maybe you'll want to join me tonight in my bed, honey, I make it worth the time." He smiled at the young lady, which looked somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. The whole room laughed at his remark, yet Dream didn't share the laugh.

"She is not the point. It is that." He pointed towards the leather bag the man carried. "That is mine. And you will give it to me."

His smile suddenly changed to a darker face of sorts. One only a man like himself could put on. He looked at the bottle of beer in his right hand and pulled a small gag on the two. With a swing, he emptied his bottle onto the pale man, and the whole room started laughing louder. The man looked around at the crowd, which, after a brief period, stopped giggling. But when he turned around, he saw the unexpected. The fluid didn't even leave a mark on the man's clothes, rather; the beer floated in the air with what most would think was magic, and with a sudden motion of the man's hands, the beer flew towards the drunken man and made him wet instead of Morpheus.

No laughter was heard, everybody was still as a lizard hunting insects. Yet the man was furious. His clothes of pristine silk were soaked in beer, something too humiliating for him to accept.

"Now you'll pay, asshole!"

He tried pulling his sword out of its sheath, yet instead of his own sword, a yellow banana was in his hands. Confused, he looked at his holster to see nothing in it. But he wasn't that drunk, was he? He looked back at the man, and his last brain cells concluded it was his doing. With that known, he wanted to beat him in the face with the hardest blow ever known, yet after a few steps, his legs slipped, and he landed on the hard wooden floor. Morpheus quickly grabbed his bag, flying through the air as it escaped the man's belt. Ultimately reunited with his sand, his face created a small smile, yet nobody noticed. The first touch he made gave him memories of the last time he had it, and now it was back with him.

Alais on the other hand, was too stunned to speak. "Did he plan that far?"

"No… Not my bag…"

They left the man on the ground and turned around to take their leave. But just about then, somebody faced them.

"Not so fast, buddy! You weren't invited, so I ask you to return that bag to the gentleman over there. 8 fingers commands it!"

A robed man, what looked to be clothed as an assassin, blocked the exit with daggers in each hand. They weren't anything like the ones the bandits they first met used; they were carefully crafted to pierce the flesh of humans with precise sharpness.

"Stand back!"

Alais pulled her sword on the man, who only smiled in return.

"Ohh, what do we have here? A pretty lady pretending to be a knight? Haha, don't make me laugh, girl."

She bit her teeth with hatred towards the man. She couldn't stand people who disrespected her or her dream to be an adventurer, just because she was a female and not a "strong man".

"Wait."

A gentle hand touched her shoulders. It was that of Morpheus, but what was he planning?

"I suppose you have a better plan to fight him. That is a highly trained assassin from 8 fingers, a massive criminal organization. Nobody messes with them. We should be careful."

"Don't worry."

Morpheus took something out of the bag, but the assassin couldn't guess what. It was too small to be a weapon, so he thought it was just a bluff, and Morpheus didn't take anything out of the bag.

"Hey! Hands of that!"

Morpheus didn't listen. Instead, he placed his closed palm in front of his mouth. The gesture seemed meaningless, yet not for him. He puffed into his wrist and a handful of sand flew towards the attacker.

Such a tactic caught the man by surprise. He had never heard of something like this. But he found himself in a sort of trance very fast.

"What! No-Stop it!-"

Surrounded by the sand, his body and mind gave in to the Sandman's powers. He fell to the ground as if he fell asleep instantly. However, Morpheus walked past the sleeping man as if nothing happened. As if he would do this every day.

"Was it a spell? No... But how can he keep doing this? It must be one? Or is it just some special sand? Agh...I have to ask him afterwards."

The tavern was silent. Nobody dared to say a word again until the pair left. Even then, one or two checked if they were already far away, and only then they began discussing what happened.

When they exited the building, Alais called Morpheus out. "Hey! Can please explain yourself! I know nothing about you or how you keep doing these weird things?! Tell me, now!"

Dream turned around halfway, looking at her with his slightly depressing and arrogant stare. "Have I not showed you in the dream you had? Did it not prove enough?"

...

"H-How do you know about my dream?.. It can't be… That was real?!"

"Not real, but a dream. Just that I entered it and showed you what I am. A construct of reality itself." A primordial aura rose from Morpheus, one which showed all the stars itself. Her eyes were wide open, her knees got weak, and she fell to the ground. Astonished and frozen by fear were two different things, yet she had both emotions at the same time. "I am Dream of the Endless, Lord of Nightmares."

...

"So… You're like a god…"

"Dear Alais, I am far more than that."

Dream turned around and wandered off as nothing happened. He left her alone on the street, kneeling on the ground and still thinking about what happened. She had felt it, the feeling the person before her gave off. It was nothing normal, yet not of an evil source. It was abstract, an anomaly in this world.

Now, tens of minutes after, she lazily rose and went back to the inn. She looked almost lifeless, as if her brain was not with her body at this moment. But when she entered the inn, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Hey, Alais! Look at you. What happened? You don't look well."

"It's okay, Natalie. Just get me something to drink. I need time to process something."

"Oh, if it's like that, then I got the right stuff for you! Just wait where ever you want, dear!"

Alais didn't quite understand what Natalie thought the situation was like. But how could she know of Dream's true nature? She probably thought that she had problems with a lover, and it would be best for her to keep thinking that.

She sat herself in a corner with dim light shining to its darkest spots. Morpheus joined her by surprise, seemingly voluntarily. He sat on the opposite chair, making eye contact with her the second he was sitting.

"Did you have time to think? I know humans with religions have problems with acknowledging my kind. Yet I don't expect you to believe me."

"Well, I know you're not a monster, but not a human either. But... my faith in the four elemental gods stays. I was born with strict parents that believed in them, and after their death, I will gladly carry on their religion."

"I understand. Now, if you wish to follow me, the next item won't be this near. It would be best to get a decent sleep. Don't drink, it will only keep you awake."

"Ugh.. Fine… Natalie! Forget it! I'm going to sleep! I don't need a drink!"

"Okay, dear, whatever you want!" She heard the girl from even a room apart, impressive for her age.

After informing the barkeeper, she made her steps up to her bedroom and prepared for her sleep. In her bed, she thought to herself if she would meet Morpheus once again. But soon her eyes closed, and she was no longer in the waking world.

...

In a faraway land, far from reality, she jumped around a green landscape full of flowers with thousands of colors. Alais bounced around the grass, touching every blossom she passed. She sounded joyful being in this false reality. And she was not even noticing that this was not real. Just a concept of her mind, and that was the most fantasizing thing to Dream, the power of the human mind.

But nothing lasts long. Not even her dream would live on forever. She sensed something, an unfamiliar feeling in her dream was making her appear uncomfortable every second. Like glass shards, her vision of the dream was replaced with the dark interiors of her room. She noticed the window was wide open on both sides, wind howling into her room. She went to close it, yet saw something unforeseen.

A man, dressed in a pure black robe, was floating before her window. He seemed to look at the moon, yet sensed her presence from far away.

"You are awake, Alais."

The half asleep girl did not put on any facial expression. She was just that tired of not even react to something like this.

"Yes, probably because of you, Lord of Dreams." She teased Morpheus with her selective wordplay and her sleepy voice, yet he did not care or looked provoked by her chosen words.

"The winds have changed, Alais. The dreamless, hundreds of them rose. And that is not good."

"Dreamless? Is it some kind of a special name for something, or did you wake me up to tell me just that?"

Her question was expected. Nevertheless, he explained it in simpler terms, just for her.

"You call them undead. And many of them have suddenly awakened. I don't know how exactly and why this happened, but they now roam free on the living plain."

"What you mean undead, near here?! Where?!"

He pointed in one direction she feared the most, towards the place many necromancers would, of course, be drawn to. A place to be feared by the living and loved by the dead.

"That is not good…"

"Yes. Unfortunately, this city will fall to their hands."

"What are you talking about?! We're gonna save this city? You have the powers to do so, and if not, then I'm not being your guide after all!"

Lucky for her, nobody was there to witness her scream out of her window. Many would think of her as a crazy witch, but if they saw the man floating there, they would surely take a big leave instead of thinking at all.

"...As you wish. Then be prepared, Alais. This will be a night without rest!"

The moon's shining light was ever so bright, and even when this day was one of the full moon, he didn't think it to be connected to the undead's appearance. More rather a work of some familiar faces, better known as the ones who captured him for so long, Zurrernorn.