The spy was dragged through the palace halls in chains forged of steel and blessed ink. The guards flinched whenever he snarled the corrupted essence inside him pulsed like a heartbeat made of shadow. He fought blindly, viciously, but the general's grip on the chain did not loosen once. When they reached the interrogation chamber, the guards shoved him into the center of the room and bound him to the reinforced chair.
Dream wearing the mortal name Varos stepped inside behind the king, the High Priest, the general, and Raelan. Even in mortal guise he carried an aura that unsettled the spy. I felt the tremor run through the corrupted being's body the instant dream-energy brushed the room.
The king crossed his arms. "Speak. Why were you targeting the boy?"
The spy jerked violently, the chains rattling, glowing faintly as they resisted his corrupted strength. His eyes burned with nightmare-light. He spat on the floor.
Raelan stepped forward, blade at his hip. "You targeted a child," he said. "You could not even face a trained warrior?"
The spy smiled with teeth like broken glass. "The boy is worth more dead than any of you understand."
The High Priest stiffened. The general's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
And then the spy saw Varos clearly.
Really saw him.
His reaction was instant raw terror flooding his face. He screamed, not in threat, but in fear.
The others glanced at one another, confused.
Raelan frowned. "Why does he fear you?"
The king turned his gaze toward Varos. "Have you encountered his kind?"
Varos shook his head with feigned bewilderment, though I felt the shift in his pulse he was calculating how much he could reveal. The spy thrashed harder, screaming louder when Varos stepped an inch closer.
Dream had not yet revealed himself, but corrupted dream-born feel their origin as surely as mortals feel their heartbeat. To them, Dream is not a god. He is the source.
The king slammed his fist against the table. "ANSWER US!" he roared at the spy. "What do you and the demons want with my kingdom? What is your plan?"
The spy only screamed louder, pulling so hard the metal groaned.
The general snarled in frustration. "He will break free at this rate. Someone reinforce those chains!"
Varos' eyes glowed ever so faintly.
Invisible to all but me, threads of dream-energy slipped from his fingertips and wove themselves into the chains. The corrupted dream-born felt it instantly.
"NO NO NO NO DON'T TOUCH ME DON'T TOUCH ME"
The others stepped back, startled by the intensity of his terror.
Varos exhaled softly, then spoke with a calmness that carried the weight of inevitability.
"Let me handle him."
Everyone turned.
The High Priest blinked. "You?"
"I recognize something in him," Varos said with a tone that allowed no doubt. "I might be able to draw out what he hides. But you must all leave."
The spy convulsed. "NO! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE WITH HIM!"
The king hesitated. "Can you truly make him speak?"
Varos nodded once.
The general looked unconvinced, but the king raised a hand. "We have no other path." He motioned for everyone to exit. The High Priest stepped out with reluctance. Raelan followed last, giving Varos one final look.
When the door shut, silence filled the chamber.
Varos' mortal façade faded like dust in the wind.
Dream straightened, and a sliver of his infinite presence slipped into the room. Not enough to break the world. Just enough to remind the spy what he truly was.
The corrupted dream-born trembled, unable to look away.
Dream walked toward him. Every step made the air shiver.
"You know me," Dream said softly. "So you know there is no point in resisting."
The spy whimpered. "Creator…"
Dream's eyes shifted briefly taking on the starless-black depth of his true form.
"What did the traitor show you?" he asked. "What did he promise you to make you turn against your own realm?"
The spy clenched his teeth. "I I cannot"
Dream placed a hand on the corrupted dream-born's head.
The spy screamed as memory poured into Dream's mind.
And I saw it alongside him.
A room of dream-born bright, ethereal beings standing before the traitor. Their faces twisted in confusion, loyalty, and fear. The traitor raised a hand of corrupted dreamlight.
"Bow," he commanded. "Join me and see what Dream has hidden from you."
Half of them obeyed.
Half refused.
The traitor smiled.
And slaughtered the ones who refused.
Their unmade bodies scattered like broken starlight. The remaining dream-born fell to their knees, trembling.
The traitor lifted them with a gesture.
"You are free now," he said. "Free from Dream's restraint. Free to take what you desire."
Darkness poured from him into them. Their forms twisted, corrupted, strengthened.
One thousand remained.
Dream watched memory after memory.The traitor ordering demons into Vvralis. The traitor giving one command to the spy:
"Kill the boy. He will become a threat."
Then darkness.
Dream released his hand. The spy collapsed forward, gasping.
"You know nothing more," Dream said. "You were only a tool."
The spy looked up, tears burning down a face that no longer resembled the dream-born he once was.
"Creator… forgive me…"
Dream's face softened with sorrow older than mortal suns.
"I do," he said.
He lifted one hand.
And unmade the corrupted dream.
There was no scream. No struggle. Only silence as the spy dissolved into soft motes of silver dust returning to the realm he had betrayed.
Dream restored his mortal guise, letting exhaustion settle into the body he wore.
When the others returned, they found the chair empty.
Raelan's eyes went wide. "Where is the spy?"
Varos widened his eyes in false shock. "He vanished. I turned away for a moment and he was simply gone."
The general slammed his fist against the stone wall hard enough to crack it. "Damn it! That was our chance to learn what demons we face!"
The king's expression shifted from fury to resolve.
"Enough. We cannot sit idle while the enemy prepares. High Priest return to the Sanctuary. Begin the ritual at once."
The High Priest bowed deeply. "As the king commands."
Raelan nodded. The general exhaled slowly. Varos simply watched, silent, knowing more than any of them could grasp.
Later, as the High Priest's company prepared to leave the capital, Raelan approached Erias. The boy tightened the strap of his sword, unaware that Raelan stood behind him.
"Erias."
He turned.
Raelan's face was calm, but beneath it lay a storm half-buried.
"I want you to understand something," Raelan said. "Kaelar did not choose you because he lacked other options."
Erias blinked. "…He didn't?"
"No." Raelan stepped closer. "He chose you because you were the only one worthy of carrying the mantle after him. The only one who could walk the road he walked."
Erias swallowed, anxiety and determination stirring inside him.
Raelan placed a hand on his shoulder.
"When the ritual comes… whatever you face… do not lose yourself. Many stronger than you have been broken by it. Only those with an unshaken heart survive."
"I won't fail," Erias whispered.
Raelan studied him for a long moment, then nodded.
"Good. Then prove Kaelar right."
As they parted ways, I felt destiny coil tighter around the boy.
The ritual awaited.
The demons prepared.
The traitor moved his pieces closer.
And Dream still wearing the fragile skin of mortality had only just begun to uncover the shape of the war to come.