"I see. Well be careful on your adventures Phil, you'll never know that it might be your last."
Seth excused Phil after hearing his reason, he closed his eyes deep in thought as the sound of the door closing echoed inside his office.
'Sigh.'
The sound of visible sigh and finger tapping filled the room as Seth thought about how to proceed further. Staring on one particular paper on his desk, Seth stood up and brought it towards the black mirror. Seth reached towards his pockets and took out a small ornate dagger.
The dagger was gold in color and a carving of an open eye could be seen clearly in the middle of the hilt, the blade of the dagger had grooves with symbols on it, the same system that Samantha had decoded.
Seth ran the blade across his right hand, creating a deep wound. He did not wince in pain as if he had not felt anything, he then closed his palms forcefully, spreading the blood on his palms. Pressing his bloodied hand toward the black mirror, Seth started to chant while the atmosphere of the room started to change. Eyes bloom like flowers during spring as they manifested on the corners of the room hidden by the shadows, grinding monstrous mouths appeared out of thin air mimicking the chanting that Seth was doing, the room vibrated and shook violently and with a shout from Seth.
"HAA!"
The room went silent, nothing could be heard except for the humming that was coming from the black mirror. What reflected in the black mirror was not the figure of Seth but a mass of glowing orbs with tendrils and eyes.
"Something has changed."
Seth proclaimed towards the entity.
"Indeed, something did change. But I could not see."
Seth nodded.
"We did not know this. Well, it might have something to do with grandfather. did you ask him already?"
"No, not yet. It seems he had fallen asleep."
"We must prepare for the worse, I sense it was awoken due to this change."
"We must. Have you spoken with father yet?"
"Not directly. He has not accepted his stance fully just yet."
"How long will he be like that. Time is running out. If things do not fall in place, then this reality will be destroyed."
"Anything else I need to know?"
"Hmm, although you are a part of me you cannot easily see. Well be careful, our uncle has returned and he will bring chaos in his wake."
Seth nodded as the reflection beyond the mirror dissipate like fog.
Seth's office returned to normal, he returned to his desk and sat down, he then reach towards the drawer on his desk and took out a file.
'The disappearance of the minister of defense's family.'
'The mass murderer in New York.'
'The mysterious disappearance of a refuge camp in Egypt.'
Seth read the title of the files and sighed.
'It seems that uncle is busying himself.'
Phil went home after the consultation with Seth, he did not see Jess even though he tried to wait and see if she was still at school after what had happened between him and her. Mark was nowhere to be found as well. Phil wanted to ask him about Jess's situation even though he was a little scared of him. He tried to look for Sonja as well and saw that she was still doing her club activities, so Phil decided to walk home first.
Phil arrived at his house when the sun was about to set, he was tired and a little dejected about what had happened on this day. He tried to lighten his mood up by watching TV and having junk food for his dinner but it did not help, the sense of loneliness and longing for his parents to come home did not help either. Phil tried contacting his parents who were in New York a couple of times, but all they said was that they were busy and could not come home for a month. His mom even sent him, double the amount they had agreed upon for Phil's allowance as an apology, which made Phil happy a little bit.
Phil read the book of dreams as the TV was playing just to see if there are more secrets hidden inside of it, he flipped the pages and looked at every page to see how thick it was just to see if there was something hidden inside it, he tried using the light coming out from the TV to see the contents of every page. But sadly he discovered nothing.
Bored and wanting someone to talk to, Phil decided to sleep and try to see if he can talk with En inside his dreams. Phil nodded and agreed on his decision, he went upstairs to his room and took the notebook where he had written the question he wanted to ask En after he had woken up this morning. Phil studied the contents and had an idea on the spur of moment.
'What would happen if I bring the notebook inside the plains of sleep? Would it be the same as the marble and manifest as is? Will the contents be lost or will they stay there?'
Phil could not find an answer and decided to test it with his notebook anyway.
Phil, with a degree of familiarity, started to dive inside the plains of sleep with his notebook in hand. After a couple of minutes of concentration, after the sinking feeling subsided, Phil opened his eyes and saw that he had arrived at the grassy plains he had created. Seeing the notebook in his hand, Phil was delighted since it was a sign that he was getting better at bringing artifacts inside his dreams, he tried flipping the contents of the notebook but to his dismay, he could not open it. The notebook was stuck together like a solid object, Phil frowned since he knew that it was because his skills were still a little low.
"Dang it, this is not a notebook but a brick that looks like a notebook."
'You are right about that.'
"EN! Great I can speak with you inside hear."
Phil excitedly looked over the bottom of his vision and was a little surprised when he noticed his energy has increased to 25 points.
"Wait, why did my energy increase, En?"
'I think it is better to look what is behind you first.'
"Behind me?"
Phil turned around. His mouth was wide open while his eyes bulge out, what he saw was a beautiful house with white walls. A house that was familiar to him since he had seen it multiple times.
"Isn't this Annie's house?"
'A copy of her house to be exact.'
"Why is it here then?"
'To put it simply, a small part of Annie's soul has mixed with yours, thus making you stronger and making the house appear inside the grassy plains you had created since it had become a part of you.'
"Hey En, isn't that bad? Me taking a part of Annie's soul. Won't that affect her in any way?"
'No, it won't affect her at all. It would be easier for her to come here if she becomes a Lucid Diver like you since she has your address of some sort.'
"How did this happen?"
'Well, her soul and yours had mixed albeit only a little because of your prolong stay inside Annie's soul when you entered her nightmare.'
"Then how will she find me if she becomes a Lucid Diver."
'She just needs to think of you and she will appear inside the house after that.'
"Can I do that and visit her as well."
'Sadly no, since she has not made a space like this grassy field of yours, your soul did not mix with hers and just dissipated on the plains of sleep. It means that you do not know her address but she knows yours since she had a trace left behind in your soul in simple terms.'
"Okay then."
Phil nodded and was feeling happy since there was a chance that he could see Annie again. Phil always wanted a little sister but his parents did not have the time from their busy work schedule to give Phil one that is why he was willing to give it his all just to save Annie from her nightmare even though they had just met.
Phil tried to enter Annie's house and was surprised that he could easily enter, he slowly explored the house and noticed that the house was just like he remembered when he was playing with Vicky, he was even delighted to see that there were lots of food in the pantry.
"Hey En, why are there food here?"
'Because this was the state of the house you remembered. The house reflects the time you first saw it and made a large impact on you. It had imprinted in your soul just like the time when you met Vicky and explore the interior of the house when you two were playing. I think you had already noticed the similarities, do you? Inside the art room was the canvas that Vicky used when she painted with you. Food that you have eaten with her can be found in the pantry as well.'
"I see. Then can I meet Vicky again as well?"
'Frankly, you can. But you need to become a Master of Dreams to do that, and you are far from that, seeing how your notebook manifested here inside your dreams.'
Phil sighed as the memories he had spent with Vicky playing together inside the house came back to him. Although he knew that the Vicky he had met was the nightmare origin at the time, Phil honestly enjoyed the time they had playing around the house.