I didn't go back to sleep.
I lay there staring at the ceiling while the room remained silent. Even with all of them around me, the feeling of being alone wouldn't go away. The dream was still alive in my head, as if it had happened just seconds ago.
Elara noticed that my eyes were still open.
"You're still thinking about it, aren't you?"
"I am."
Vespera propped herself up on her elbow.
"Was it that real?"
"More real than anything I've ever experienced while awake."
Liriel was sitting on the edge of the bed, focused.
"It wasn't an ordinary dream. I felt magical interference in the air when you started thrashing."
Rai'kanna crossed her arms.
"So someone really entered his mind."
Lyannis stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"Or he wanted you to see that."
That made too much sense.
It wasn't an attack.
It was a warning.
And that was what bothered me the most.
I got out of bed before sunrise. I washed my face with cold water and spent a few minutes staring at my reflection. I looked normal. No different. But inside, something had changed.
I couldn't get the way he spoke out of my head. The calmness. The certainty.
Like someone who already knew he was going to win.
We all went down to the mansion's hall early. Breakfast was quiet. No one seemed to know exactly what to say.
Elara broke the silence.
"Do you think he can do that again?"
"I don't know."
Vespera rested her chin on her hand.
"If he can invade your mind like that, he can do worse things."
Liriel took a deep breath.
"That requires an absurd level of magic. Not even the generals we fought had anything like that."
Rai'kanna stared at me.
"He chose you for a reason."
Lyannis added,
"Because you're the main target now."
I had already understood that.
But hearing it out loud made it more real.
I decided to go outside to get some air. I walked through the mansion garden alone. The sun was beginning to rise, lighting everything with a calmness that almost felt unfair.
The world was too normal.
Birds singing.
A light breeze through the trees.
Nothing indicated that something terrible was approaching.
And that bothered me.
I heard footsteps behind me. It was Elara.
"You don't have to carry this alone."
"I know."
"Then stop trying to."
She stood beside me, looking at the horizon.
"You always try to solve everything on your own first."
"Because it always falls on me."
She didn't respond.
Because she knew I was right.
After a few minutes, we went back inside. We decided to go to the Vaillor guild. I needed a distraction. I needed to feel like I was still in control of something.
When we entered the guild, several people looked in our direction. Whispers began. I was already used to that, but today it felt different.
Heavier.
The receptionist greeted us respectfully.
"Good morning. I didn't expect to see you so early."
"Neither did we," I replied.
I picked up a few mission requests to look at. Nothing very relevant. Small monsters, escorts, simple tasks.
Vespera commented,
"This feels like a joke after what we've already faced."
"Maybe that's good," Lyannis said.
Rai'kanna agreed.
"Simple missions let your mind breathe."
Liriel studied the board.
"Or maybe that's exactly what the fifth general wants. For you to relax."
That made me pause.
She had a point.
Nothing felt simple anymore.
We left the guild without taking any mission. On the way back, I felt like I was being watched the entire time. I kept looking over my shoulder, even without reason.
Elara noticed.
"You're paranoid."
"Maybe I should be."
We reached the mansion in the middle of the afternoon. The mental exhaustion was greater than any physical exhaustion I had ever felt.
I sat on the couch in silence.
Rai'kanna sat beside me.
"You're afraid."
It wasn't a question.
"I am."
She nodded.
"That's good."
I looked at her, confused.
"Fear keeps us alive."
Lyannis added,
"And alert."
Vespera smiled slightly.
"You've never been afraid before. Maybe that's what was missing."
Liriel crossed her arms.
"He wanted this. He wanted to plant that feeling inside you."
Elara placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Then don't let him win like that."
I thought about that for a while.
Maybe the problem wasn't the dream.
Maybe it was the effect he wanted to cause afterward.
That night, we had dinner together. We talked about simple things. We tried to act normal. But I could see in their eyes that they were all thinking about the same thing.
The fifth general.
When I went to lie down, I hesitated for a few seconds.
I didn't want to sleep.
I didn't want to go back to that place.
Elara noticed.
"He won't manage it again so easily."
"How do you know?"
"Because now you're expecting it."
I lay down anyway.
I closed my eyes.
It took me a while to fall asleep.
But this time, I didn't dream.
I woke up in the middle of the night, sweating, but not because of any dream.
It was just my mind.
I knew this was only the beginning.
And that, unlike the others, this enemy didn't just want to kill me.
He wanted to break me first.