X

Reality's Collapse

When he awoke, he found that even with his eyes open he was unable to see. His head was throbbing and he was having trouble telling up from down. He tried moving to no avail; he was strapped down onto a hard surface and wasn't able to move an inch.

"Ah, I see you're awake. Don't bother trying to get loose, you won't win. And I took the liberty of leaving your mouth unhindered; though, it's more for me than for you. You see, screams and pleas are, for me, the most beautiful sounds on this planet. And believe me, you will be screaming."

"Who are you?"

"My dear Toren, don't pretend you haven't heard this voice before. I'm the one who haunts your nightmares."

"I don't understand."

"Hah, of course you don't. Leave it to the Priestess to choose muscle over brains. Think, Toren." He could feel breath on his ear as his unseen enemy leaned closer. "What nightmares visit you every..." Something sharp was pushing against his side. "...Single..." The pressure intensified and Toren sucked air in between his clenched teeth as his skin gave way. "...Night..." Blood ran down his side as a dagger was pulled out of him.

"C-cain."

"Yes. Cain. Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of killing you.... Yet." Maniacal laughter filled the room. "You hold far too much information. No, before I kill you, you will reveal to me everything about that darling little Priestess of yours."

He entertained himself for several minutes by stabbing Toren in several places, just enough to make him wince in agony.

"You'll n-never be able to get anything out of me. S-soon they'll realize I'm g-gone and..."

"No chance, boy," Cain interrupted. "You see, I have only your spirit here. Your body still lies with your companions. They don't know what's going on."

--------------------

"But Sembri, he can't just start bleeding, it makes no sense!"

"I know that, but id doesn't mean it isn't happening!"

Toren's physical body now sported several cuts, blood pooling onto his clothes. When a new one appeared, he shook, and Sembri and Hikari knew something was dreadfully wrong. They had quickly put the stone back into it's ornate casing and rushed to Toren's side when he had collapsed, but neither had been able to wake him.

"Wasian, can you do anything?"

He appeared beside them and closed his eyes. When they opened again, they were pitch black. He scanned Toren's body, looking for something.

"No, I can't do anything. Sorry. I can't enter his mind, there's a block there stronger than any I've seen. My power is blocked to him."

"The only thing I can think of is to tend his wounds. Just let him alone and see if he can fight whatever this is."

Hikari stared at her, a determined look on her face, then ran off to get wrappings, medicine, and fresh towels and water.

--------------------

A full day had passed, and Cain had relentlessly tortured Toren until every inch of him was covered in blood. He had left the blindfold on so that Toren wouldn't be able to prepare himself for anything that might be coming. Tears were streaming down his face, but he hadn't screamed yet. He refused to give Cain the satisfaction.

"Give up, boy. I will get the information I so desperately need." He took the blindfold off of Toren, staring at him. Toren gasped. He hadn't seen Cain since he had come down from Nae. His eyes were blood-red and his face as pale as a ghost. The once handsome young man now looked as menacing as his reputation. Cain chuckled.

"Yes, I do believe this look is rather appropriate. But what is this place? This 'Nae'?"

Toren's eyes grew large and he couldn't find any words to help him.

"Foolish boy. I am one of the most skillful telepaths there ever was. And that is in the real world. Here, I am able to do anything. Here, I am God."

"No.... You lie! You're only guessing..."

"Guessing that you come from Nae? Guessing that you are sworn to protect the Priestess? Guessing that you'd rather die than see her hurt? Guessing that you love her?" With this he spat on the ground. "Love is a careless thing, boy. Love is only what you believe you see in someone else. Love is the greatest lie ever told! Love is..." He was clutching his throat as if in pain, while his other hand reached for his dagger. His eyes were flashing between red and a vibrant blue.

Toren was watching with rapt attention. A voice less rough than the previous one issued from his mouth, his hand still in a death grip around his throat.

"Must...protect.... Can't...give...in.... Save...her.... Help...Sembri...." Then Cain went slack and crumpled to the floor.

"Pathetic." The coarse voice and red eyes were back and Cain was slowly forcing himself up to his feet. "Still holding on to his hopes. His dreams. His... love." He spat on the ground once more. "Foolish, foolish brother."

"What?!"

"Yes, I am possessing the body of my brother. The same brother who had me killed so many years ago by that...that girl. His anger took over. He plunged the knife deep into one of Toren's fingers, causing his screams to echo off the walls. "But it really won't matter to you. You won't live long enough to do anything about it!"

--------------------

Toren's physical body wasn't doing much better. Sembri and Hikari had tried everything they could think of to wake him. And to make matters worse, his wounds didn't seem to be healing. They had been out of clean bandages for a while, and were treating the wounds as best as they could. Sembri finally confided in Hikari her fears that he wouldn't make it.

"Let me try something," the nymph said softly, fearfully. "I've never tried this before, but it just might work. He's also a living thing, so I think I might be able to enter his mind as a nymph. It will be painful, for both of us, but I've got to try."

"That's a dangerous presumption, nymph," said Wasian. "If it fails, you'll be stuck in there."

She nodded. "Sembri, you and Toren have got to win this. Don't give up, no matter what. You have to beat him."

Both girls were crying, shocked. Hikari ran forward and clung to Sembri, crying into her shirt. Then she threw her arms around Wasian too, crying on his shoulder.

"Look after each other." She had disappeared in a cloud of silver sparkles. Sembri ran back to Toren's side, but couldn't tell whether he was in any more pain that he already was. She silently prayed through her tears that both of them would return safely.

--------------------

Hikari had made it into Toren's mind, but was having trouble fighting through her pain in order to stay there. She found that she could see through Toren's eyes, and feel through Toren's body. It was then that she realized the reason for the pain. She could feel every cut on Toren's body, but the pain in his mind was worse than every wound he had. She could feel him fighting desperately to black out, to die, willing anything to happen to stop the pain. When he opened his eyes, she wanted to scream. Cain was towering over them with a smile, making more wounds where he could find an open area.

"So, what is that girl hiding from me? Why can't I find her, and how did she steal the stone from me?"

"...Never...." Toren barely had the energy left to glare at Cain, but he did.

"You WILL reveal her secrets to me! I will not be defeated! I will keep you here, locked inside your own nightmares, until you tell me everything. You are in MY world now!"

He began to slash Toren with his dagger over and over, leaving lines of red covering him from head to toe.

Hikari couldn't take the pain any longer. As soon as she released her hold of Toren's mind, she was flung back into her own body. She was shaking and crying, begging for the pain to stop.

"Hikari! What's wrong? What's happening? You've been gone for a full day now!"

"Sembri, we've gotta do something! Cain has him! He's trapped inside his own mind!"

"No! Hikari, what are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure. Toren's fighting with all he's got. Cain's trying to get information out of him. Sembri, he knows we've got the stone. Toren's not giving up, though I don't know how much longer he can hold on."

"But if he's trapped in his mind, how is he getting hurt?"

"The same reason we can't wake him. He's being held by powerful magic. If we could break the magic holding to him, we could release him. But I don't even know what's holding him, let alone how to break the link!"

--------------------

"You're eyes are back to normal, good."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hah, no wonder it was so easy for me to capture you. You don't even realize when someone is in your mind. Your eyes were green for a while, not purple. Yes, your friend has been here, trying to figure out what's wrong. But she isn't skilled at all. She should have been untraceable, but she obviously has no tact whatsoever."

Toren's mind was reeling. He'd had green eyes? But that would mean...Hikari! She knew where he was, and what was going on!

"Yes, she knows what's going on, but she also has no idea of how to release you. I gave her so much information that she won't be able to think straight, even though the answer is staring her in the face, literally."

"What do you mean?"

"That wonderful stone they stole from me has powers you would never believe. Why do you thin you fell into this state? The stone's powers are great, and can only be used at a great price. The legend of that stone is famous. The stone's name is Shoosetsu. It is said that the legend was made at the time of it's creation.

"She must have touched the stone. I knew one of them would. One of you would have ended up here. I had, of course, hoped I would get the Priestess. If either you or the nymph would have touched it, my job would already be finished. But the Priestess got to it first. And only she has the power now to bring you back."

Toren started to cry. He knew that he couldn't hold on much longer. He was putting Sembri's life in danger. He wanted to die. He had tried many times to will himself to die, but Cain's grip on his mind kept him from succeeding. He would do anything to save her, but it seemed as if the only way out of this situation was to give over the information Cain wanted, and then to die.

--------------------

"Hikari, what could have kept him like this? What could be powerful enough to do it? If Cain doesn't know where I am, that means he couldn't have gotten to Toren either. What could have done this to him?"

Hikari was pacing the floor as Sembri took a fresh towel to some of Toren's newest wounds. She was so deep in thought it was a miracle that she didn't run into anything. The, her eyes went wide as she stopped dead in her tracks. She ran to the bed in the corner, throwing things left and right, until she ran back to Sembri, thrusting the small golden locket into her hand.

"This. You touched it right before he fell. How could I have been so stupid! Now the question is, how to fix this. Open the locket, but do not touch the stone this time. Last time was my fault; I don't want anything to happen this time."

"Hikari, don't blame your...."

"Too late, now hold the locket out." Hikari's face was again set with determination. As Sembri held the locket open, the nymph's hands shimmered a deep red. She moved them over the stone in intricate patterns, and the stone was shooting similar beams of different colored light back at her. Finally, she looked back up. She had lost her determined look, only to have it replaced by a pale, sickly color.

"Every time I tried something, the same words came into my mind:

"Sembri, something's really wrong here. The stone's taken Toren, but I still don't know how to get him back!"

Hikari watched as Sembri stared at the stone in her hands. Her eyes were blank, then started to glow yellow. A whirlwind erupted from the stone, encircling her in the tempest. She placed the locket on Toren's forehead, whispering words that Hikari had never heard before. Wasian cautiously made his way towards the strange sight, looking to Hikari for any explanation she might have. There was none.

Sembri repeated the same phrase over and over, and she could see Toren's body shaking. All at once, Sembri collapsed on top of Toren's chest, and Toren's eyes opened. He was gasping, crying that it was finally over. When he realized that Sembri was unconscious, he took her into his arms.

"She'll be okay. I heard her voice in my head, and she helped me escape Cain." He looked around him and found the locket with Shoosetsu in it on the floor beside him. "Put this in my pack, but wrap it in something first. I don't want to accidentally activate it again. Thank you for finding me. I know it hurt you. Let's all rest for the next few days, I think we all need it."

Hikari nodded through her tears. Her friends were back, and they were safe.