A Staring Contest with the Abyss

At about seven o'clock that night, Kai lay down after an early dinner and tried to shut his mind down. He knew that Ayako was in the living room browsing the internet and waiting.

Kai was not the type of person to go to sleep this early, but he needed extra time for Ayako so that she wouldn't have to stay up all night.

Tonight, he was going to go looking for Kerrigan directly. The abyss had looked into him, but it was time to see if it blinked. He'd never heard of a god by the name of Kerrigan (and god she must be, if she was in his dreams in the way she was), even with what his mother had taught him about ancient monsters and mythologies. If he was going to learn anything about her, he would have to learn from her. But if she turned out to be an enemy….

That was what Ayako would take care of. Water, falling, a smack to the face; if she felt any stress from Kai while he dreamed, she had to wake him up. And if she couldn't, Kai felt like slapping a god in the face was a good way to go. Either he was going to survive, or nothing was going to be a problem anymore.

Kai slowed his breathing and calmed his mind for sleep. REM sleep takes ninety minutes to reach after sleep begins, and he didn't want to keep Ayako up for too long.

*****

He knew the dream by the feeling over the setting. Instead of the ruined city, there was nothing. He was just floating in a dark, empty space. Still, there was an oppressive heaviness in the air, assuming there was any. Looking around, he couldn't even find any stars.

Just an empty void.

So, it was to begin right from the start. It was right to expect that Kerrigan would act quickly now that she knew about him.

"Show yourself," he called into the void.

A woman's chuckle echoed from all around him. However, he still couldn't see anything.

"Arrogant, aren't we? You call to me from across the Void and think that you can demand things of me? You have no idea who you are dealing with."

"No. I don't. But I want to know who you are and why you are appearing in my dreams! I come seeking knowledge!"

"Your dreams? You are the one who has been reaching into my dreams! You were the one that caused my dreaming to go back to those times! I can't fathom why, and I don't particularly care. Are you a spawn of Amon?"

"Are Egyptian gods real where you're from? Anyways, look at me! I'm just a kid!"

Kerrigan's laugh echoed around him again.

"You wouldn't be the first shapeshifter that has tried to fool me. Though, this is an odd play you are going for. Pretending to be a child, while reaching into my mind from a place I cannot reach? This is all a bit unbelievable, even for me."

Kai sighed. What was it going to take for her to believe he was telling the truth? Was there even a way? At least despite her suspicions, the odd circumstances were keeping him alive for the moment.

"So what does any of that have to do with you not showing yourself?"

"You really are a reckless one, aren't you?"

"Mom taught me to punch a god in the face if I had the opportunity. The ones that frequent the area in front of your face tend to be the kind you can kill."

Another round of laughter rang in the void. This time, rather than mocking or cold, this laugh sounded genuine.

"Whether you really are a kid or not, you are funny. However, you appear to have misunderstood something in facing me. You seem to think that while you are here, whether this is my mind or yours, there is nothing I can do to you. Or you think that you haven't already given me a reason to kill you."

Suddenly, a warm golden light filled the void, shining from behind Kai. He turned around to see what looked like an angel. While it had to be Kerrigan, he couldn't believe it for a second. Instead of the purple carapace-covered woman before, she was a glowing human form with fiery wings streaming out behind her.

However, her burning orange eyes drew Kai in, because despite their color, they were anything but warm. The pressure in the air around him intensified as their light burned into him. Fear chilled his bones, and he stoked that feeling, hoping that Ayako would be able to pull him out.

"A sister? Either your thoughts are well screened, or you really are a naive fool," Kerrigan said. She reached out toward him.

Kai froze. She could read his mind from within it? Like Inception? Or more like breaking the fourth wall? Wait! Maybe….

Kai rushed his thoughts as fast as he could, thinking about everything about his world. Quirks, his mom, Ayako, summoning the Swarm. Star Wars. Lord of the Rings. His breakfast. Everything. Every detail. No matter how small, no matter how insignificant.

The only way he could possibly prove his identity was to show it. This was the last play that he had for this dream.

Or forever, if he couldn't escape. Kerrigan's hand was almost at him and radiating energy. He closed his eyes and braced himself, ready for pain or punching or escape, whichever was going to be available first.

But nothing happened. And despite the fear, he didn't feel himself being put back into his bed. Either Ayako didn't feel enough of what Kai was going through, or he just wasn't scared enough for her to. Possible. After all, he didn't feel as terrified as he had the right to be. In fact, it felt like...

Like it was taking too long for things to happen.

As if waiting for him to have that thought (and with a telepath, perhaps it was), a breeze blew across Kai's face. He opened his eyes and found that the warm light that had come from Kerrigan had been smoothly replaced by a distant sun on the horizon. Instead of an empty void, he was on the side of a mountain overlooking a wide ocean. Strange plants framed his view on either side.

It was a quiet, peaceful place.

"Isn't it?" came a voice from behind him. Kerrigan, but her voice wasn't the same. It didn't have the echo or layers that it did before. It was like a normal human's voice. He turned and found himself facing a tall woman with long red hair and green eyes. She was wearing a silver form-fitting suit with a breastplate and a couple other plates of armor.

"Jim and I found this place to relax, when we had the mood. Of course, we often found ourselves restless and finding some mess to get into, but we just had too much war in us to leave it all the way. I figured this would be a more comfortable place to talk for the both of us.

"Anyways, I feel like even if you turn out to be a threat, you're doing a poor job of keeping yourself as one. You did nothing with the opportunity to save yourself from me destroying your mind. For now, I'll let you go. At the very least, you seem entertaining. It's… been a while since I had someone to talk to.

"Now, something has been trying to pull you away. I think it's time to let it. See you 'round, kid."

Kerrigan waved her hand and disappeared. Kai opened his eyes to meet a pair of brown and blue ones.

"I didn't keep you up too long, did I?" he asked nonchalantly.

A swift fist to his chest answered him and relieved Ayako's worry.