Chapter 49 - What dream?

As the voice resonates in my head, I open my eyes to a room full of… nothing, there is nothing here. All I see around me is white, whether it is the ceiling, the ground or the walls, everything is painted in an immaculate white color. Failing to recognize this place, I assume that this must be a dream, but I do not understand why I would have this strange dream. To prove my hypothesis, I slap myself, unexpectedly, it hurts. I am perplexed at the feeling of pain.

'Ouch!... Is this not a dream then?'

I look around me, assessing my situation. There is no one else in this room but me. I seem to be wearing the clothes I wore before heading to bed and while I cannot see my face, this body appears to be my own. All the important parts are in the right place and look like they belong to me. A few scenarios cross my mind, one of them being that I may have been kidnapped during my slumber. I may also be in the process of reincarnating after dying in my sleep, similarly to those virtual novels Asher enjoys reading. Interrupting my train of thought, a voice echoes throughout the empty room,

"I needed to talk to you, so I used a bit of power to create this space."

The voice sounds eerily familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it. It does not help that it is coming from everywhere all at once. I cannot track the origin of the voice to a specific location. It is as if the room itself speaks to me. Being unable to associate a face to the sound makes it more difficult to focus on the words being said. Seeing that I have yet to answer, the voice resounds once more,

"Are you uncomfortable? Hmm… perhaps I should do this then."

A flash of light erupts and I am forced to close my eyes. When I open them, Sylvia appears before me. Her golden hair is as lustrous as ever and her figure is as enchanting as I remember it. She dons the blue dress she wore at our meeting in the Roasted Bean alongside a set of black sandals. She inspects her body and speaks to me, 

"From what I've seen you're quite fond of this human, right?"

I frown at the sight, unable to understand my current situation. This is so strange that I do not even panic, I am simply, and utterly confused. Evidently this person is not Sylvia, but the owner of the voice looks exactly like Sylvia, to a scary degree. From head to toe, each of her physical features has been replicated with incredible precision. The only aspect betraying the imitation is the mannerisms. Recognizing my confusion, the person speaks again.

"Do you not like this one after all? Hmm, what if I do this then?"

In the next instant. Sylvia morphs into a perfect replica of Aurora wearing her school uniform. Once again, the stance, the mannerisms, it's all wrong. The transformation process itself is instantaneous and accompanied by a flash of light.

"This one is your kin, isn't she? That should put you at ease!"

I swallow my saliva, ignoring the words and attempting to disregard the fact that my younger sister is standing like an old man.

"Seriously… Who are you?"

The being raises an eyebrow.

"We've met before, during the equinox, remember?"

My eyes widen at this statement. From those simple words and this strange situation, I immediately understand who the being that stands before me claims to be. This is someone which should have appeared in my life only once, and that has already happened, during the [fracture]. This is [it], the one who grants [enlightenment] to a select few when the time is right. The reason some benefit from extraordinary abilities while others must be content with the ordinary. How could they possibly appear before me today? We are far from the equinox, and there has never been a record of [it] existing at another point in time. Perplexed, I question the entity.

"... Are you telling me you're [it]"

With a beam, the individual proudly exclaims,

"Yes I am!"

I am exasperated by the confirmation. 

'Just one day where nothing weird happens… I was hoping to sleep well today!!'

The unfathomable entity's eyebrow twitches. They let out a dry cough and reply,

"This isn't exactly real so you'll be fine when you wake up!"

A nervous laugh escapes my mouth.

"I-I see, sorry…"

'Another one who can read my thoughts…'

Ivana was difficult enough to deal with, thus, I'm not too fond of having to handle another mind-reader, especially when said mind-reader is an existence that I can not even begin to understand. The entity clears its throat,

"Why don't we get to the reason I brought you here. First I wanted to-"

I interrupt,

"Wait! Before that, can you just please, not look and sound like my sister. I honestly cannot focus on anything you're saying, it's too weird!"

"Oh, uh, of course, what would you prefer?"

I do not take long to think about it.

"Someone I don't know!"

Thus, as per my request, The being now transforms into a man that I do not know. What I see now is a tall man in his mid-40s with a very strong build. He wears a hat which covers most of his head but I suspect that it hides a bald head. His voice, now shifted from that of a young girl to that of a grown adult man, booms and resonates throughout the room,

"How about this then!"

I grimace. 

"Sure, that will do, I guess…"

The person before me begins his explanation on the reason for having brought me here.

"Ahem, first-"

An uncanny grin creeps up his lips

"You have gotten yourself in quite the predicament haven't you? That person, Soulweaver, they essentially have full control over you now."

I frown,

"...Yes?"

His smile grows wider, it transforms and contorts into something else, something grotesque. I'm unsure if it is his expression having this effect, but it's as if the invisible lights illuminating the room of pure white dim a little, creating an eerie atmosphere.

"Well, I happen to be able to help you! I am quite powerful, you know?"

A glass of strange reddish liquid appears before him. Through the translucent container, I can see the drink vigorously swirling without any outside help. As the entity holds it before him, he speaks to me,

"You see, this is that person you call Soulweaver's very existence in the palm of my hand! If I were to pour it out, they would simply cease to exist. That would be even more thorough than death, their names would be erased from the world, forever!"

I impassively observe the glass of swirling red liquid. He cannot contain his excitement as he awaits my answer. Impatiently, he attempts to hasten my response.

"So? What do you say? Shall I end Soulweaver now and forever and break your chains?"

I say nothing, my gaze now fixed on the being who has adopted the image of a man. I had that impression before, but I now fully believe that there is something off about him, that he is not who he pretends to be. Shifting his gaze from the cup to me, he continues.

"Looks like you're having a-"

I do not wait for the end of that sentence.

"... Who are you?"

He raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"I told you, I'm the one you met when the entrance widened"

I notice that his phrasing is peculiar, but I do not let it bother me.

"…Cut the bullsh*t, who are you really?"

He observes me, perplexed for a moment. His eyes scan me from head to toe as if my words were nonsensical. However, I know that I am not crazy, this person is not who he claims to be and I will not pretend he is for much longer. As his gaze scrutinizes me, I stand there, motionless, awaiting an answer, a different one. Our standoff lasts for a minute or so, until he bursts into hysterical laughter.

"PFFT, HAHAHAA!! WELL AREN'T YOU A SMART ONE, WHAT GAVE IT AWAY?!"

I shrug with a look of disgust.

"You just suck at imitating people…"

His eyes widen and another wave of laughter overcomes him.

"HAHAHAHA, SERIOUSLY?"

Frankly, It's all wrong. Though my encounter with [it] may have been short, it was nothing like my encounter with this person. The ladder's poor imitation comes nowhere close to the real thing. That offer and that… disgusting smile, were completely out of character. [it]'s words on my true nature, to this day, echo in my mind, reminding me of their character and righteousness. There is no way that [it] could have such a drastic change in personality in that short amount of time. Also, most importantly, [it] does not like to be referred to in such a way. I remember this clearly from the headache I was subjected to when hearing [it]'s true name for the first time.

The one in front of me is someone else, or something else, which is admittedly much scarier. My nerves tense as I conjure theories on his identity. Eventually, his uncontrollable laughter slowly stops and I ask him a simple, but very important question.

"Why did you really bring me here"

He wipes the tears from his eyes, takes a few deep breaths and says,

"No particular reason. They said a new one had been born so I just came down myself to see what the whole fuss was about." 

'A new one? What is he talking about? Who are 'they'?'

"You don't need to worry about that, I'm done here! That was fun."

Sensing that this moment is on the verge of ending, I try to ask a few more questions.

"Wait, wha-"

"Don't bother, you won't remember this."

He snaps his fingers.

*****A dream, long forgotten*****

My eyes are closed as I try to recall a dream I had a few nights ago. What brings me back to reality is hearing my name being called by a powerful voice.

"Alden! Did you not have enough sleep or are you too good to listen to me now?"

It is Maestro Lauren. It seems she has been talking about something rather important this entire time. Everyone else is looking at me with pity as she stands a few inches from my face, rage burning in her eyes. In an attempt to save myself, I reply.

"I had a terrible night's sleep Maestro Lauren! Sorry!"

She grins.

"Oh? Well I can give you quite nice dreams, Alden. What do you think? Should I help you sleep from now on?" 

'That would be quite enticing if it came from literally any other woman.'

Cold sweat drips from my every pore.

"Let me correct myself! I slept great! I was simply being a fool Maestro Lauren!"

Her eyes looking straight into mine, I am at the mercy of her ability, but I do not budge or attempt to run as that would only make things worse. Over the course of the past few months, many have tried to oppose, escape or simply annoy Maestro Lauren. All of their fates were worse than death. As such, every single one of us obeys with no complaints now, no matter what. She grabs my head, causing me to tense up even more and whispers,

"Come see me after this."

'sh*t'

She then returns to her original position and summarizes her previous speech.

"As I was saying, you babies are on the verge of finishing your first quarter! The next few weeks will consist in making you ready to transition to the second quarter where you will finally be granted access to DaiKar and have the chance to take classes and learn from a multitude of elite professors!"