Nightmare

Reyes walked alone in complete darkness…

Even though he couldn't see anyone, he felt as if he weren't truly alone. Deep down, a part of him knew this was true, but he just couldn't accept it.

Just as quickly as the feeling came, it left…

What replaced it instead was the scene of his fight in the hyperbolic time chamber, when he wasn't himself. It was as if he were outside of his own body. He felt so powerless as a spectator.

He watched as the claw generated by his aura slammed into his brothers sword, shattering it into pieces. He watched as Solomon was almost powerless against the strength before him. It was at this moment, he heard something.

"Power."

A dark demonic voice whispered in his ear, so subtle that he almost missed it. The fight before him vanished, leaving him standing alone in the darkness once again.

"Who is there!"

He tried to use mana sense but it didn't work. The feeling of powerlessness washed over him once again.

"You have not earned the right to know who I am boy…but soon you will meet me, it is our fate!"

The demonic voice removed any hint of subtlety and resonated all around him, but still he couldn't sense or even see anything.

It was just him alone still within the darkness.

"Show yourself! Who are you and what do you want!"

He shouted, his voice echoed through the grand expanse of darkness all around him.At that moment, he saw something come to shape within the darkness.

A crushing pressure began weighing him down to the point he could no longer stand. The very air he was breathing felt so dense around him, it was like trying to breathe underwater.

"You seek power, do you not? Unlike you, I am not weak. You barely even know how to control the power bestowed upon you. Your own ignorance annoys me."

The pressure kept increasing the entire time he was spoken to. It was so intense now that he was forced to lay flat on his stomach within the darkness. He couldn't even lift his head to look at the being speaking to him.

He began to twist his neck to try and get a better look at who spoke to him. Gritting his teeth in pain, it felt like his neck was extremely close to breaking.

Suddenly, a clawed foot slammed down onto his head forcing him to scream out in agony, the foot preventing him from turning any further.

"Look at the ground worm! You got lucky the power attached to your soul didn't take over your entire body, yet you wish to attempt gazing at a divine being such as myself? Your soul can't even withstand my spiritual pressure. I'll be damned if I let a runt like you gaze upon me."

The pressure increased to insane levels, making every bone in his body scream. For the first time since he was a kid, Reyes truly felt fear…

He could tell whatever was stepping on his head was unlike anything he had ever encountered before. He felt like an ant in it's presence, which was something he would never forget.

At that thought, a demonic laugh began to echo around him.

"You had better not forget this feeling boy! Fear breeds anger…anger breeds hatred…hatred breeds power. Hope, Fear, Love, Hate, Anger, Light, Darkness....All these things mean nothing before true power!"

"So...you...can...r-read my thoughts? Then....read this you....s-s-son of a bitch, I will kill you!"

Reyes could barely speak, but that didn't matter to him. He forced himself to speak. He would never let anyone or anything look down on him like that, no matter what.

"Well then, looks like the worm has a mouth on it. Sadly for you, you will never have the chance to kill me. In a way, you could say that I am already dead…"

Lifting it's foot just enough to pat Reyes on the head a few times, it laughed at him before kicking him hard on the side of the head.

Just as his consciousness faded, he heard it's voice speak to him one last time.

"You have a lot to learn worm, stay out of my domain until you gain more power. Now wake up!"

At that, the being stomped on Reyes's head so hard he was jolted awake.

...

In a cold sweat, Reyes looked around. He noticed he was no longer in the cave, rather, he was in a comfortable bed. To his relief, his brother was next to him, sound asleep.

A throbbing pain suddenly surged through his head, almost bringing tears to his eyes. The memory of his nightmare came rushing back to him while he grit his teeth. He swore to himself that he would figure out whatever that thing was and utterly destroy it.

Sitting up in the bed, another wave of pain hit him. That pain, combined with the pain in his head, made him cry out.

Footsteps quickly made their way to the door of the room he was in and who came inside surprised him.

Melony came running over to him, hugging him tightly. She was so excited that she briefly forgot about his wounds, remembering instantly once she felt him recoil from the pain.

"Sorry Mister Reyes, I thought you were going to die. Mister Wolfie brought us here so Miss Saphira could help. I think you owe me a thank you."

Smirking, Reyes nodded and thanked her while patting her on the head. Melony was more gleeful than ever, smiling ear to ear at Reyes.

"Who is this Miss Saphira you speak of?"

"I think that I could answer that question."

Saphira came casually waltzing into the room and sat at the edge of his bed, looking at Reyes curiously.

"So you must be Saphira. You have been taking care of me and my brother?"

"Well, to put it plainly, I did the initial work but so far the little one has been taking care of you two while i've been studying."

Reyes turned his gaze toward Melony with newfound regard.

"That true Melony?"

"You betcha, i've been cleaning you guys up! I even had to wipe you a couple times when you went doo doo too."

Laughing, Saphira shushed Melony.

"I think that's a little too much info child, anyway how are you feeling Reyes?"

"My body still hurts, but i'm not dead so I can't complain. How long have we been out?"

"Just a little over a day, I was surprised by how quickly you two heal. Even with my treatments, from my experience, most people with your level of injuries would be out for a month or two."

Shrugging, Reyes noticed there was a cup of water on the nightstand next to him. Reaching over, he greedily gulped down its contents.

The water tasted cold, even though it didn't have a single cube of ice in it. It also sent a warm sensation through his whole body as he drank, instantly getting rid of his headache.

"Is this some kind of magic water or something?"

He asked, staring at the empty cup.

"That water comes from the lake by this treehouse. The lake itself has unique restorative properties, hence the size of this Forest. This very tree my home rests on is said to be in the same location as the tree of life, albeit in another dimension."

Reyes just have her a blank look and nodded. After what had happened in his nightmare, he really didn't want to think about other dimensions or realms at the moment.

"You two are the sons of Alistair and Illana right? I tried to tell your brother earlier that your mother saved my mother and I long ago, when I was a baby. I feel indebted to you both, so if there is anything i can help you two with, please let me know."

A serious look crept onto Reyes's face as he gazed at Saphira.

"Have you told anyone about who we are related to?"

"No, the only people here in this forest to my knowledge are us. I know of the danger, trust me…I value my life as much as i I value yours. I wouldn't even think of telling anyone else."

She said to Reyes, looking deeply into his eyes until he couldn't hold his gaze any longer.

He knew something different laid dormant within him and he felt that if he got angry, he might lose himself again. Instead of saying anything further, he just nodded silently and laid back down.

"Melony was telling me that you two were trying to return her to her sister, Rachel. Highrock is in the mountains just Northwest of here. It wouldn't take long for you two to get there once fully healed. Please, take as much time as you need to rest and once you are ready, I will prepare some supplies for you two. It could also serve as a teaching lesson for Melony, giving me a chance to show her different herbs and things."

Remembering something she had wanted to ask Reyes, she paused for a second before continuing.

"I also found this on you too, would you mind if I studied it?"

Upon asking, Saphira took out the small vial Reyes carried with him and gave it to him. Reyes looked it over and handed it back to her.

"Knock yourself out, just don't screw it up. Our mother gave it to me the day before she died. It has saved our lives.....and other's, more times then I can count."

As he spoke, his gaze fell softly on Melony whom didn't happen to notice. She was too busy looking out the window, staring at the wolf resting below.

"Come Melony, let's go say hello to your new friend down below."

Saphira declared, when she noticed what she was doing.

"Yaay! I get to play with Mister Wolfie."

Hearing that, Reyes couldn't help but smile a bit to himself. Everything happening to him at the moment was chaotic, so a bit of peace he could definitely appreciate.

Even so, he still couldn't shake the feeling the nightmare had etched into his mind…