The administrator returned almost thirty minutes later. Zack wondered if the man was sick, he seemed paler than before, he also seemed to be more on edge than before. Zack shrugged, the man was grown, if he was sick he's perfectly capable of taking care of himself.
The admin cast several nervous glances at Zack from the corner of his eye as he entered the room, then in a firm voice, he said. "The tests for today are now completed, please return tomorrow at noon to know if you passed." and with that, he lead all the applicants out of the tower. it was sunset when Zack left the tower. Zack found it hard to sleep that night, the anticipation of the next day keeping him awake.
Aria kept staring at Zack throughout the night, Zack could tell the girl had questions, but he was in no mood to answer. Finally, Zack left the room where he and Aria were staying, he walked out to the road and leaned on a wall outside the inn. The fresh air seemed to calm his nerves enough for Aria to follow him outside. The girl said nothing only following and watching, Zack patted the girl's head which brought a small smile to her face.
Taking one more large deep breath of the crisp night air Zack went back inside follow close behind by Aria, who clung to Zack's arm as if she were protecting it.
Zack laid back down in his bed. Whatever rest I'm going to get, he thought, I should try to get now. Closing his eyes the man focused on what the sounds outside were rather than tomorrow's events. crickets, owls, the rustle of the wind, he thought of the many things outside and soon he was asleep.
At first, Zack's dream was that of never-ending darkness, an unfilled void, but soon a sound emerged. It was too distant to be heard clearly, but as it got closer the world filled with color, smells, and more sounds. Zack realized this was a scene of a battle long ago fought and past. Zack walked through the scene listening to the voices of the fallen as he passed homes that had been destroyed, and buildings that had fallen into ruin. He wandered for what seemed like hours taking in the view of the dead world he had somehow dreamt up.
"Over here kid" a voice shouted out at him. The one who shouted was a white-haired boy around his age, the boy had horns so Zack concluded he was a demon of some kind, yet even though he knew the boy was a demon he wasn't afraid.
"Yo what's up man" he called back. The boy sat in front of a fire next to one of the ruined homes scattered around the dream. "So where are we." the boy simply stoked the fire with a stick then went on staring at the stars.
"I don't know this is your dream," he said after a while. Zack knew this was true but hed never been to this place.
"Ok how about you tell me your name," Zack said. The boy ignored Zack's question and asked one of his own.
"How long?" he asked with an emotionless voice. Zack was confused as to what he meant.
"What do you mean?" Zack asked
"How long do you plan on continuing this farce, this act, as if your one of them," he asked.
"One of who?" Zack asked more confused by his question now than he was before.
The boy sighed as if Zack greatly disappointed his. "Never mind, you're still asleep." the boy hadn't taken his eyes off the stars for even a moment, but now Zack had his full attention. "Tell me do you know how devils choose their kings?"
Zack thought for a moment then said. "By terms of power right?"
The boy shook his head. "No, but that is a factor"
"Ok, so how are devil kings elected"
"Quite simple really," the boy said a smile appearing on his face. "Their hair."
Now he was truly confused, how did hair make a king. "Right that makes perfect sense, hair is really important for the leader of the most dangerous race of beings on earth," Zack said sarcasm thick in his voice.
The boy looked at Zack with eyes that seemed devoid of any life. "Well sure, at least to the devils," he said, Zack could tell the boy couldn't care less about the devil's hierarchy. "Of course there is a reason for this and its quite simple, most devils are born with white hair right?"
"Yeah so?" Zack asked still confused.
"Well, when a devil baby is born with black hair the devils take it as a sign that the child is blessed by the gods, and is destined to destroy the world as humans know it and free the devils."
"What do you mean by free the devils, and how do you know all this, and for the love of the gods what is your name."
For the first time since Zack had found him, the strange boy had smiled. "No the true question is what is your name? Is it really Zack Dark or is it something else?" the boy began to laugh and the dream began to fade. "Well, I guess you're waking up now, ill be seeing you, Zack," the boy said still laughing. "Remember your name then come back here ok"
Zack sat straight up in his bed and shouted. "WAIT!" he inspected his surroundings and saw only the inns walls. Aria quickly sat up, she looked around as if they were surrounded, seeing no one but Zack she calmed down. "Sorry," Zack said. "Just a bad dream" Zack looked out the window. the sun wasn't rising and the moon had only risen a little since he had gone to sleep. Zack had estimated he had only slept for two or three hours at most.
lying back down Zack closed his eyes, he would have a long day ahead of him. Zack's eyes opened for a brief moment when he noticed his covers moving, Aria had climbed into his bed. He placed his hand on her head, finding comfort in her worry. Zack was fast asleep again in less than five minutes. He had no more dreams that night only a warm feeling.