END OF THE SUFFERING

"I'm staying here."

"No, you are not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you are not."

"Yes, I am."

"This is my house."

"Our house."

"...."

Emilie nonchalantly opened a bag of chips from the groceries and began munching on them, as if silently declaring, "You can't do anything about it, Adrian. I'm in charge now."

"Why would I keep such a dangerous entity around me all the time? Plus, you can go back to wherever Henry found you." Adrian attempted to reason with Emilie. However, as she remained completely engrossed in her chip-eating endeavor, paying him no mind, he couldn't help but sigh in defeat.

"Alright, you can stay here, but you must inform me about our situation first. I need to be prepared for whatever challenges may come our way in the future. And don't even think about ignoring me this time," Emilie conceded, setting down her bag of chips. Adrian's serious tone had made her reconsider any notion of testing his patience, especially after witnessing firsthand just how scary he could be.

Emilie carefully considered how much she should reveal to Adrian. Did she trust him? The answer was no. Despite her youth, she had experienced enough of the world to be cautious about placing her trust in anyone blindly. But there was a compelling reason for her to be with Adrian—Adrian was an anomaly. If there was anyone capable of helping her, it was him.

Adrian sat on the other normal couch, which he never liked, and waited for Emilie to continue.

"How much do you know about my kind?" Emilie asked, but she didn't wait for his answer and continued, "You see, I'm a dream diver, and everything you've heard about our kind is true. But it's not our fault; it's the dream realm's fault." She paused, observing Adrian's reaction, but when his expression remained stoic, she went on. "The dream realm is a manifestation of dreams. Every dream anyone has becomes a reality in that realm. It doesn't matter who or where. But it doesn't end there. The entities that exist in the dream world are immensely powerful. They can ensnare you, and once you've lost yourself in there, it's the end for you."

"Yes, I've heard about all of this, Emilie," Adrian responded. "But tell me, what happened to you? How did you get captured? Aren't dream divers supposed to be incredibly adept at hiding? To capture a dream diver is as difficult as me using the blessing of the moon, which is virtually impossible." Adrian was genuinely curious about Emilie's situation and what led to her capture.

"I'm just hoping you won't kick me out after hearing the answer," Emilie admitted in a barely audible voice. Observing Adrian's nod of understanding and his encouragement to proceed, she took a deep breath. "The truth is, I can't control my powers."

"You what?" Adrian exclaimed, his expression a mix of astonishment and concern as he grappled with the implications of Emilie's revelation.

Emilie explained further, "Dream divers typically don't dream when they sleep. However, in my case, I don't dream either, but the dream realm manifests around me of its own volition. I'm like a gateway for the dream realm to access this world." Having shared this, she returned to her chips, a hint of apprehension in her actions as she awaited Adrian's response.

Adrian took a few moments to process the gravity of Emilie's revelation. The implications were far more significant than he had initially assumed. While he had imagined that someone might be after her, her words now suggested that most people would do their utmost to avoid being in her presence.

Adrian knew he needed to understand everything about Emilie's situation now. She was like a ticking time bomb, and he had to know all he could to defuse it. "How was Henry attempting to reach your family?" he inquired, his tone serious and determined.

Emilie responded, "I don't have any family, or at least I'm not aware of them. Henry told me that my kind is still alive but in hiding, which was news to me. As for how he was trying to bring them here, from what I've pieced together, it's likely related to how I can unconsciously open a door. I suspect he was lying about the part concerning luring my family." She spoke with a hint of uncertainty, as she herself was still trying to make sense of her unique connection to the dream realm.

Adrian nodded in understanding as he considered Emilie's explanation. "So, Henry was more of an experimenter, and he was hoping to conduct experiments on dream realm creatures, as they're notoriously difficult to battle, even the weakest ones in the dream realm." The gravity of the situation was becoming clearer to him.

Adrian agreed, "Let's put this conversation on hold for today. We'll contemplate our next steps tomorrow. For me, it's not a major issue. As you've already witnessed, I may not be physically powerful, but I possess something entirely otherworldly." He gestured toward one of the spare rooms and continued, "You can start using that room. We'll figure out how to address your situation in the days to come."

Emilie nodded and rose from her seat, not forgetting to take nearly all the snacks with her. As he watched her retreating figure, Adrian was lost in thought. "Interesting," he mused to himself. "It appears that my life won't be boring anymore, and that's all I've ever wanted." 

Adrian rose from his seat and picked up the needle, which had returned to its cane form. "I suppose I'll have to go out tonight to check on him," he muttered to himself.

...

On the outskirts of the city, nestled amidst the desolation, stood a ruined garage, a bleak and forsaken relic of time. Its once robust structure had crumbled with decay, bearing the scars of neglect. The roof had sagged under the weight of age, and shattered windows gaped like empty eyes, their glass shards strewn across the cracked concrete floor.

Inside, the remnants of broken containers and forgotten tools had lain scattered haphazardly, their usefulness long abandoned. The air had been heavy with the musty scent of decay and abandonment, a testament to the garage's decline.

Amidst this desolation, a heartbreaking sight emerged. Chained to a grimy, rusted pillar, Henry, a broken man, had endured the pain of shattered limbs. His eyes, once filled with life, had held a vacant, haunted gaze. The clinking of his chains had reverberated through the cavernous space, a cruel reminder of his captivity in this forsaken place. The ruined garage had become a grim backdrop to the tragic story of Henry's suffering. 

Soon, the sound of footsteps echoed through the desolate garage. Henry was too devoid of life to look up and notice who it was.

"Now this look suits you so much better," Adrian remarked with a cruel smirk, stepping callously on Henry's broken leg. "Don't hold it against me. You were just unlucky that you decided to shift to this city. What made you move here? I'm curious."

Henry winced in pain but managed to muster a feeble response: "I... I was running away, trying to find a new start. This place seemed like a fresh beginning, but... I never expected this."

Adrian's sinister laughter filled the air as he continued to taunt, "Ah, the irony. A fresh start turned into a nightmare. Life can be quite the comedian, can't it? Running away from what exactly?" asked Adrian, his voice laced with sadistic curiosity as he ground his boot onto Henry's already broken leg.

Henry winced in pain but managed to suppress his screams. Henry's voice wavered as he spoke, the pain evident in his words. "There are people in human society," he began, "hiding just like you. Some of them are working for powerful agencies openly without concealing their identities. Somehow, they got wind of what I was doing, and they began hunting me down." His voice quivered, revealing the distress he was feeling.

Henry had barely finished his sentence when Adrian struck him in the face with the cane. "You're a man with three cores," Adrian sneered, "and you're skulking around in hiding. How pathetic you've become."

"THEY ARE STONG, ADRIAN. YOU HAVE NO-." henry shouted in desperation.

Adrian slapped Henry across the face once more. "Keep it down. I hear perfectly well," he warned with a stern expression. Being humiliated in this manner was far from what Henry had envisioned when he moved to this city. However, he was starting to realize that karma had a way of catching up with people.

"I have no interest in so-called agencies. If they cross my path, I'll handle them in my own way," Adrian declared firmly. "Now, tell me more about that dream diver, Emilie. Why did you capture her, and I want the unvarnished truth this time?" Adrian sat down on his knees, displaying a patient demeanor.

"She... she's a gateway to the dream realm. She can't control her powers, and when the gateway opens, the dream realm merges with this world. I just wanted to steal things in a safe manner. I swear there was nothing else," Henry confessed, his words trembling with fear.

"So the idea of luring her family here was a fabrication? Why would you deceive that poor girl like this?" Adrian inquired, a wry smile playing on his lips as he observed Henry's predicament.

"I did it so she would never attempt to control her powers," Henry explained, his voice laced with madness. "She'll always feel like she can be with her family. By doing so, she'll embrace the change willingly."

Adrian listened to Henry patiently, akin to an executioner hearing the final ramblings of a madman on death row.

"Alright, I'm done with you. You have nothing more to offer. Oh and what about those two remaining lackeys of you?"

"They are probably dead by now because their source of power were my cores and you-"

And then silence enveloped Henry as his face lay caved in, nearly unrecognizable. Just as Adrian turned to depart, he noticed a wisp of black fog rising from Henry's lifeless body, darting directly into Adrian's hand.

"That was not part of the plan."