Procrastination is Sometimes the Answer

"Alright, wives of the God-King..." Jordan spoke with firmness in his voice that had been absent only moments ago, as he was surrounded by Leslie, Emily, and Eris.

Leslie to his right, with Emily and Eris to his left.

"There are two ways to go about this, and I leave this to you three to decide."

"Aren't you a prophet? Don't you already know what choice We will make?" Emily asked as she tilted her head to look at the wretched curved back of Jordan.

Jordan slowly shook his head.

"I know the paths that can be taken, but not which you will take. As a wife of the God-King, I'll explain. Think of it as I'm a living map. I know the paths that tread in every direction, but I can't choose them for you. I know what you will see if you are on that path, so if you're going down a certain path... I can tell you what to expect when you get so far along that path." Jordan continued.

"So, if I'm on a path with a lava flow at the end, but I can't see the lava flow... You can tell me, 'Hey, there is a lava flow coming up.' Is that it?" Eris asked after a moment of thought.

"Exactly." Jordan nodded.

"But-but... But how do you make prophecies?" Emily shuddered out.

"That... We prophets listen... I listen to the Light, and it tells me what the most likely event is to occur. Nothing is set in stone, as there are many many many wills working in the flow. Paths intersect with others, some dived and leave others, while some stop completely. Some prophecies that were going to happen, may never happen... Some evil prophets may even say the prophecy wrong to change the outcome... Because if you know something is coming... Wouldn't you step around it if it was 'supposed' to be bad?"

"The... Butterfly effect?" Leslie mumbled out.

"Oh?" Jordan looked up to Leslie, as the other two also wondered what a butterfly was.

"You know?"

"I... I remember something once that said if you step on a butterfly, it could change the future, or if you went into the past, the distant past, and stepped on a butterfly, it could radically change the future... But I don't have an idea what a butterfly is..." Leslie looked up in thought, as she spoke.

"While I don't know what a butterfly is as well... The extent that I do know is that it's some type of beautiful insect. Some of my readings of recent tell me this idea came from the Overworld and passed on to Us during the 'Fall.'

"The Fall?" Eris this time spoke up.

"What tomes have you been reading?" Leslie narrowed her eyes as she silently passed judgment over Jordan, her cousin turned-convert.

Jordan had a line of mist on his forehead, as he perspired, "My lady... All that I do is for the God-King... Have mercy."

"What two choices?" Leslie dropped the matter.

Jordan cleared the phlegm in his throat, "We can force the God-King to forget... Forget he saw any of the things he saw beyond, and then he may continue without issue."

"...How much will he forget...?" Leslie's displeasure could be heard in her voice, while Emily and Eris looked to her and back to Jack.

"...He will most likely forget... Everything... Be as he was... When he first woke up again." Jordan spoke to this point, as Leslie's eyes grew wide, and then narrowed again.

Jordan closed his eyes, as he spoke, "Have mercy, my lady... Mercy."

Leslie retracted her ghostly taloned hand that separated from her arm. Unknown to Emily, Eris happened to see that Leslie seemed to have two left arms. As she saw over Emily's shoulder, and around her webby hair. She had her corporal arm... But then she saw a clawed arm of an apparition-like nature. It slowly merged back into her physical arm.

"...Fine... What is the second option?"

"Haaaa~" The Prophet sighed in the same vein as his God-King did in relief.

"The second option would be to put him into a deep sleep. The living would call it a coma. We will separate his mind from his 'Madness,' and cast it out. There is one problem to this though..."

"What... Problem... Prophet, my patience is limited this eve, and the more you speak."

"I know, my Dark Lady, I know... Please forgive his prophet... But I must say certain things..."

Emily mouthed the words, "Dark Lady."

"...Continue... Speak quickly."

"There is a place... We can cast this part of the God-King into... He can always go get it later."

"What... Place?"

"...A land of dreams, where all things slumber does, they dance and ravel. In the enchanted forest to the throne of Hypnos. It is his domain, Hypnos. It would be much easier to wound the God-King's soul and force him to forget, than to cast his 'Madness' into the forgotten and ruined city of lost Candlelight, Xardaela... But be warned Wives of the God-King..." Jordan stepped back to view all three at once.

"In this foreign land, even gods are mortals and even mortals are gods, once they're in the forgotten and ruined city of Lost Candlelight, Xardaela, you may not return from which you came, and one day, he must go retrieve the pieces of himself..."

"Isn't this just procrastination... Solving this problem later?" Emily asked, after heading the description of what Jack must do to get himself back together."

"As the God-King is now he can not, by his own hand, save himself. Once completed, he can help himself. With everything said... Are you sure you wish to take the second choice...?" Jordan asked with a solemn tone, unlike the begging tone earlier. He knew they never considered the first choice, so he skipped it to ask about the second choice.

Leslie looked to Emily and Eris, Emily to Leslie and Eris, and Eris to Leslie and Emily. The three nodded in unison, as they replied together.

"""We're sure."""

They smiled to each, as this was the first time, they all agreed on the same thing, none of them wishing for Jack to forget them, in their selfishness, even if there was more risk.

Jordan nodded a few times, "Very well."

Eris, this time, spoke to Jordan, "How is this method more dangerous than hurting his soul???"

Jordan stopped nodded, as he thought for a moment, "The... Ruler of the lands of the sleepers... Is... Eccentric... His Sister-Lover that rules in his absence due to slumber is... Well... She's nefarious in her ways and Malevolent in action. She enjoys the torture of most anything that she lays her eyes on. If the Ruler, Hypnos is seen as the Beautiful dream... Then know his Sister-Lover is the Nightmare. Once the God-King needs his 'Madness...' Then he will be lucky if he encounters Hypnos... If he meets her, then... Well... Even I don't know what may happen."

"Does he have to go alone to get that piece back?" Leslie finally asked, after hearing the mumbo jumbo being explained, she could determine this was a place Jack needed to journey, but must he do it alone?

Jordan tilted his head and then brought his hand to his chin. After several rubs, he continued, "The God-King may enter, as a piece of him will already be there, but anyone else that wishes to follow his footsteps... Would have to pass the judgment of the twin gatekeepers. How they judge, and what is worthy... Again, I can't say."

Leslie nodded, "Okay. I think we all agree. How do we put him into a Coma and cast out his 'Madness?'" She turned to look over Jack, who's flaming eyes burned with a green-bluish hue. They flickered and danced as if he was all there. She reached out with her bony hands and rubbed along his Femur with a loving caress stopping just before his Patella. She shook her head, as his mental mumblings to her were hard to understand at best. If not for Leslie's ability to speak to multiple Silent Scream agents at once... She might have broken down.

The most merciful thing was her inability to understand the contents of Jack's ramblings, otherwise, she too would need to be 'cured.'