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The plan… everything she and her friends worked so hard for...
…it was all falling apart.
The silver spearheads pointed at Lumine and Paimon were nowhere near as sharp as the glares from the Corps members surrounding them. Alhaitham stood in front of her, shaking in tempered rage. She couldn’t move. Paimon was panicking. The Scribe’s strained breaths were all she could hear. The Akasha in his ear glitched. His aura shifted, swathing him in an angry red.
“Azar…” he growled.
He took a pained step toward the Grand Sage, then another. The corrupted Knowledge Capsule fell from his hand, clinking against the floor. He groaned, struggling to handle the unsanctioned knowledge. As he grappled with forbidden insights, Azar watched with a stony gaze.
“Well, what do we have here…” The Sage stepped forward. “So you stole that Divine Knowledge Capsule.”
Alhaitham crumpled to his knees, the red aura pulsing around him like a rapid heart beat. “Traitor…” He reached out to Azar. "You traitor!"
The Grand Sage let out a low chuckle. “Even the most rational scholar will yearn for the power of a god in a moment of desperation. Aren’t you doing the exact same thing as me, Alhaitham?” He reached for an object on the desk behind him. “Unfortunately for you, no god will lend you their power.” He pointed said object at the Traveler and Paimon, a scimitar made of white branches with a polished green blade. “Not even her.”
Lumine held her hands up in defense as the Corps advanced a step closer. Wait a second…
Alhaitham let out another shaky breath. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Azar chuckled. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out by now.”
“You’ve gone mad.”
“No. I believe I am seeing clearer now than ever before. Your little friend will prove quite useful for the fate of this nation and this world.”
He didn’t say this before…
“Azar!” Alhaitham yelled, and ran at the Grand Sage. He shouldered his way through the guards blocking his path before lunging at him.
“Wait, no!” Lumine cried, reaching a hand out to him. This was not how things were supposed to go…
But it was futile. Alhaitham leapt at him. Azar dodged the mindless attack, sending the scribe crashing into the desk. A stack of papers was knocked over, and a lamp toppled onto hardwood, shattering on impact. He righted himself from the offensive motion, and turned back around for another, only for two Corps members to grab his arms. He fought to free himself, but they held on with a vice-like grip.
Alhaitham grunted as the Corps members kicked the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel. The Grand Sage closed the distance, pointing the sword at his chest, right under the gem on his chest. Lumine could do nothing but watch. This wasn’t how things went.
Azar walked up to him, wielding the scimitar. “He has gone completely insane. He is no longer fit to be the Scribe.”
“But sir, shouldn’t we take him to the matra, and exile him to Aaru Village?”
“Not if I have any say in it. The knowledge he possesses is vast, but it will be of no use to our new god.”
“No!” Lumine cried out, as the blade sunk into him. "Alhaitham!"
He hollered in pain. Azar yanked it from his chest with a sickening squelch. White was stained red. Lumine’s stomach churned. The wound of betrayal was fresh, but she had to go to him. She took a step, but the Corps blocked her path with their spears.
“And you…” The Grand Sage turned and approached her. The guards surrounding her let him in. She winced as a warbled cough echoed throughout the office. “I have big plans for you. Take these two to the confinement room. I’ll deal with them later.”
Two Corps members snatched Lumine by the arms and dragged her away. This had to be a dream…
A scholar approached Azar. “Grand Sage, we have finished all required preparations for Jnagarbha Day. We may begin to enter the capsules now.”
If this was a dream, then…
“Excellent. You may be—”
The entire room shook.
“What was that?” The Corps member holding one of Lumine’s arms asked.
“Is this part of the plan?” The other one added.
“NO!” Lumine screamed, her throat raw from the sheer volume. It echoed throughout the office, the sound waves scattering off each corner and wall.
The floor beneath them cracked. The Corps members let go of her, and she ran for the limp body on the floor, her boots staining red from its surrounding puddle.
“Alhaitham!”
She reached out to him.
That was when the floor shattered.
“No!” She grabbed at air as she tumbled through a cavern of inky black.
Swathed in darkness, all she could hear at first was air rushing into her ear. Then, faint voices from all around her.
“…World… Forget me…”
“Traveler.”
“Hopefully, nothing will go wrong!”
“Casualties are inevitable when push comes to shove.”
This is all a dream. It had to be.
Lumine kept falling.
“Trust your own senses and experiences.”
“Your safety is the most important thing.”
“Traveler…”
“You know nothing about the truth.”
The voices were closer now, and much louder.
“His Highness has long since forsaken you.”
“You are Sumeru’s most concerning external variable.”
“Just what has this world done for you to protect it with such zest and conviction?”
The darkness faded away, and she was now falling through the Joururi Workshop. She got the attention of the Shouki no Kami. The nascent god took a step and swiped at her, but missed.
“Reality is pain!”
The pointed foot of the Shouki no Kami aimed at her, intending to crush her like an ant under a boot. But as it stepped down, it pierced through a glass pane protecting her from above, which spiderwebbed from the immense force.
And she continued to fall. In the distance, a familiar voice called to her.
“Wake up, Traveler.”
Lumine’s eyes shot open, and she gasped. She sat up in bed, her body taut like a bowstring. Her cold, clammy hands gripped the blankets she was under. Her heart raced in her chest.
She was in her Teapot, in a familiar place. She—
A rustle of fabric came from the right side of her bed, and a tall, shadowy figure moved in her direction. Panic rushed through her as she leapt out of bed from the left and materialized her sword.
She would’ve lunged at the shadowy figure, but a familiar shout forced her to halt.
“Traveler, stop! Don’t attack him!” Paimon popped out from behind the figure as he reached for the bedside lamp.
“Paimon! Move out of my-”
Soft yellow light flooded their corner of the room. Her eyes met those of a piercing turquoise, searching for her lucidity. Their intensity held her in place, and her sword vanished.
“A… Alhaitham?”
She gave him a once over. Aside from the dark circles around his bright eyes, he was alive and well. No red aura or green blade in his chest to be found. Her eyes widened. Archons, he wasn’t wearing a shirt—
His arms crossed over his very bare chest. “Good, you’re lucid. I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to start waving your sword at me when I woke you up.”
She looked at her feet. “Sorry about that. I…”
“Had a nightmare?”
Lumine sucked in a breath and lifted her gaze. “How did you know?”
“Paimon came and woke me up.”
The fae popped out from behind him, waving her little hands around. “Paimon was worried about you. You were saying his name in your sleep!”
“I was? Oh…” A warm wave of embarrassment crossed her face. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. Talking while sleeping is a common occurrence.”
Lumine shook her head. “No no, I mean, sorry for waking you up because of my nightmare.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. Paimon's to blame for that.”
The pixie crossed her arms. “Hey! Stop being mean. Paimon was only trying to help!”
Alhaitham scoffed. “It would’ve been more productive if you didn’t yell in my ear. I wear my earpieces during the day for a reason, but it looks like I might have to start wearing them when I sleep.”
“It’s not Paimon’s fault you’re a light sleeper!” The little fae yawned and stretched out her limbs. “Speaking of which, Paimon is still tired.”
“We all are,” Lumine said. Alhaitham pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Paimon thinks Paimon is gonna go back to bed now. Paimon is just glad the Traveler is okay. Good night!”
She floated out of the room and out of view. Alhaitham sighed in exhaustion.
“I should retreat to my room too.” He walked toward the doorway. “It’s good to see that you’re—”
“Alhaitham, wait.”
He stopped, and looked at her over his shoulder. “Yes?”
“I…Can I talk to you?” She didn’t want to let him out of her sight. Not yet.
“Fine. But not for too long.”
He re-entered the bedroom and sat in the cushy armchair next to the nightstand. The lamp cast a golden glow on his handsome features.
Lumine sat on the edge of her bed, her hands clasped in her lap. “So… how are you doing?”
“You know I don’t do small talk, Traveler.”
“I know. How are you doing after everything we did to save Nahida?”
He crossed his arms. “The Akademiya is stubborn. They keep insisting I take over as Grand Sage, even though I’ve already turned down the offer.”
“They really won’t leave you alone, will they?”
He shook his head.
“I'm sorry to hear that.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, I assume you wanted me to stay for another reason, and it has something to do with your nightmare.”
She nodded.
“I see. Then I’d reason that you’d want to talk through it with me.”
“If you’re fine with that.”
“Hm. Seeing as though I was in your dream, I suppose my presence is comforting to you?”
“Yes.”
“And since I was in your dream, my presence brings you ease. When Paimon woke me up, you were yelling my name in your sleep, so I take it something must have happened to me in your dream?”
“Something very bad.”
A silver brow arched. “Oh? How much do you remember, exactly?”
Lumine thought for a moment. She remembered a few distinct things. “I remember you and I were in the Grand Sage’s office… and Azar was there…”
“So you were dreaming about our part of the plan?”
Her hands balled into fists. “Yes, but in my dream, everything went horribly wrong. You went crazy, and attacked Azar, but he… he stabbed you with your own sword and killed you.”
“No wonder you were saying my name in your sleep. You must’ve been relieved to see that I was alive.”
“Yes.”
He looked down at his lap for a moment, processing the new information he learned about her. Lumine took a long breath. “There was something else I remembered. It’s about my brother, and how… how he…” Her vision blurred and she swiped at the moisture in her eyes. “He left me behind.”
Alhaitham opened his mouth, before promptly closing it. She sniffled and steeled her voice. “I’ve lost him already, I… I didn’t want to lose you too…”
His gaze softened. “Traveler…”
“Sorry, I just… I miss him very much.”
“It’s normal to feel that way, given you haven’t seen him in a while.”
This was his way of telling her everything would be okay. His reassurances were one of the things she liked about him; he’d say more practical things instead of offering sympathies or well wishes like everyone else seemed to do. She didn’t mind those, but it got tiring over time. This was... refreshing.
“Yeah, I know.”
He thought for a moment. “Anything else that you remember?”
She shook her head. “No. Just those two things.”
He nodded. “Dreams can be a manifestation of multiple things. Our subconscious, our personal beliefs, our deepest fears. They can also mean absolutely nothing. It depends on what you choose to believe." He paused for a moment. "What I think is that you dreaming about your brother and I could be connected to something unresolved within you. Perhaps it relates to your journey you have yet to complete."
Lumine nodded. Her gut feeling told her that was only part of it. She'd have to figure out the full reasoning why later.
"If you don't need anything else, I'll be returning to my bedroom now." He stood up from the chair and went to the doorway.
“Wait… could you stay a bit longer, please?”
“I said I would only stay to discuss your dream. Nothing more.”
“I only remember asking if I could talk to you.”
“If I stay, then I’m going to read.”
“You could read to me. That counts as talking to me… right?”
“You want me to… read to you?”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “If I read to you, Traveler, the conversation would not be two-way.”
“Lumine. Please, call me Lumine.”
“Very well.” He nodded, considering the new bit of knowledge in his possession. "Lumine, if I read to you, the conversation would be one-sided."
“You’re right, I wouldn’t be talking, but I would be listening. I promise. I must admit, your voice is very calming.”
His lip curled in amusement. “You think so?”
She yawned. “It’s already making me sleepy.”
“So if you listen to me as I read to you, do you think you’ll be able to fall asleep again?”
“I hope so.”
“The only way we can know for sure is to try it.” Alhaitham pulled out a book and opened it. Lumine got comfy in bed and allowed her eyes to close. “The natural position, which is the positional propensity of an entity in natural motion, in contrast with an object in forced motion…”
Her eyes shot open. “Are you seriously rereading the book you read back before we went into the Eleazar hospital?”
He lightly chuckled. “No.”
“So you know that by heart?”
“Of course. But that’s not what I’m about to read to you.”
“Okay…”
He adjusted the position of his book to his other hand. “It’s a poetry book from hundreds of years ago. It contains a series of quatrains, namely hymns that sound… pleasant to the ear.”
Lumine raised a brow. “How so?”
“Poetry can have a lyrical pattern to it that is sometimes better listened to than read. Especially these ones. Shall I begin?”
“You may.”
He flipped to the first page. As Alhaitham read aloud, his rhythmic cadence wove through the room, a lullaby of spoken verse. The poetry was rich with emotion, vivid in its imagery. She felt her eyelids grow heavy as the soothing tones enveloped her in a warm drowsiness. The melodic rise and fall of his voice seamlessly blended with the words, creating an atmosphere of serene tranquility. She took a breath and allowed herself to drift, all noisy thoughts vanishing as she was lulled into a peaceful slumber.
Her soft snore made him look up from his book. She’d tucked a hand under the pillow upon which she slept, and the blankets went up to her chin. At the sight, his lip curved up. He hadn’t even read twenty verses of the poetry, and she was already asleep.
He chuckled to himself. He closed his book, and set it on the nightstand next to the lamp. He watched her sleep for a moment, observing the serenity of her expression. Then he reached for the strand of hair that had fallen over her face. With a gentle touch, he brushed it aside, and tucked it behind her ear. He observed the metal of her ear cuff as his fingers ran through silken blonde hair.
“Good night, Lumine,” he said in a soft voice.
He reached for the lamp to turn it off before leaving the bedroom and closing the door behind him.