It was still the dawn of Sunday and Ciella and I sat in one of the gardens in my family's residence. She occasionally glanced at me but when I turned to look at her, she'd turn away the moment our eyes met.
"Is something bugging you Ciella?" I asked.
"Well…" Ciella said but left her sentence hanging.
"You have some questions for me don't you?" I asked.
Ciella nodded.
"It was by accident but I saw your cape when you lost consciousness in the field of Lunar Flowers so I already know that you're the bloody caped guy" Ciella admitted with a nervous laugh.
I sighed.
"I guess it can't be helped if you accidentally saw my cape" I said.
"So you're really…" Ciella wondered.
"Yup" I nodded.
"You kicked the armoured tank into the sea. Do you have like super strength or something?" Ciella asked.
"Well, my physical ability was mostly honed thanks to training I endured under my Gramps so you could think of it as something I gained after extreme training" I explained.
"And the world that was displayed over the horizon when the mobsters went on a rampage…it's real?" Ciella asked.
"Depends on your definition of real. If you're talking of reality in terms of what we're used to then that world is more of a dream than real. It's the Dream World. You and many other humans have experienced it in many ways. While you're asleep, while daydreaming, whenever you have a goal or ambition. The only difference is you lack the level of awareness for it that we have" I said.
"Awareness?" Ciella asked.
"If you think about it logically Ciella, humans spend approximately the same number of hours awake that we spend asleep. The Dream World is just as real as this world. It's just, the disappointment of losing the things we have there when we wake up sort of brands itself upon us. To cope with that loss, we've sort of subconsciously denied the reality of the Dream World" I explained.
"What did you mean earlier on when you said 'you lack the level of awareness for it that 'we' have?'" Ciella asked.
"Well amongst humans, there are a group of people that have a heightened awareness of the Dream World. Due to this heightened awareness, they are able to travel to the Dream World even while still conscious. They don't need to sleep to do this. These humans are tasked with defending the Dreams Of Humanity. They are called Dream Knights" I explained.
"Dream Knights? Defend the Dreams Of Humanity? From what?" Ciella asked.
I remained silent for a while.
"From the rampaging monster that attacked roughly twenty three years ago" I said.
"You mean…the mysterious heroes that confronted the monster twenty three years ago are…Dream Knights?" Ciella realized.
I nodded.
"So…are you like an alien or something?" Ciella asked.
"Nope, I'm human. At least…a third of me is" I said.
"And the other two thirds?" Ciella asked.
"I'm also part Dream and part Nightmare" I explained.
"Part Nightmare?" Ciella seemed surprised.
"Seems like you're scared of Nightmares but not all Nightmares are evil. The vast majority of Nightmares exist to help humans find their courage by confronting them with their fears. However, there is a small group of Nightmares, and when I say small, I mean relative to the vast number of good Nightmares. This group of Nightmares have made it their goal to steal and corrupt the dreams of humans" I explained.
"And why would they do this? What's their goal?" Ciella asked.
"Most of the dangers you experience in this reality are caused by disillusioned humans that have lost their dreams and hopes and given in to despair. By corrupting the dreams of humans, it is possible for the evil Nightmares to cause chaos in this reality" I explained.
Ciella's eyes widened in horror.
"So the monsters that attacked the city were…Nightmares?" Ciella realized.
I nodded.
"Yes but these were not evil Nightmares. They were simply rampaging under the influence of the Solar Eclipse. Rare celestial events tend to thin the veil between realities. At times like that it becomes possible for even ordinary humans to witness extraordinary things" I explained.
"So you're a Dream Knight?" Ciella asked.
I shook my head.
"Not officially. Growing up, I've always lacked the capacity to summon a sigil so I was never really allowed to participate in Dream Knight duties until recently" I explained.
"Sigil?" Ciella asked.
"It's the weapon Dream Knights use to fight Nightmares. It's also a key into the Dream World and at the same time, it's a manifestation of the Dream Knight's identity" I explained.
"Sounds complicated" Ciella said.
"But if you can't summon this sigil, how were you able to fight the Nightmares in the Dream World?" Ciella asked.
"Even if I'm not a Dream Knight, I'm still a Dreamweaver" I said.
"Dreamweaver?" Ciella wondered.
"You can think of them as Weavers, except they don't weave silk, they weave Dreams. Dreamweavers possess the ability to create anything out of Dreams, to battle any kind of Nightmare and to merge Dreams with Reality" I explained.
"Wow, that's really…something" Ciella seemed amazed.
"However you can't tell anyone what I've just told you. As a Dreamweaver, I have a lot of enemies and most of them are not necessarily human. You can't afford to do anything that will draw supernatural attention to yourself and that's why there are some things I'm not going to tell you regardless of how many times you ask" I said.
"I'm at least glad you told me this much" Ciella appeared to be grateful.
I smiled.
"I have one more question though. The mysterious hero who defeated the monster all those years ago…do you know who he was?" Ciella asked.
"He's my Dad. And the heroine he often met at the outskirts of town in the field of Lunar Flowers is my Mom. My Gramps and Granny are Nightmares and Dream Beings respectively though my Gramps is also half human" I explained.
"Wow, this is all really overwhelming…in an exciting kind of way" Ciella said.
"Now you know all this, your awareness has in a sense been heightened too. The moment you saw the Dream World reflected over the horizon was the moment your awareness was heightened and this heightened awareness somewhat altered your sense of perception granting you the ability to recognize Nightmares instead of just perceiving pseudo forms. From this moment on, you'll be able to recognize Nightmares and Dream Beings if they ever cross your path. This also means that you have the potential to become a Dream Knight" I explained.
"So I too can summon this sigil?" Ciella asked excitedly.
"Eventually, you might be able to summon a sigil but like I said, a sigil is also the manifestation of its wielders identity. To be able to summon a sigil, you'll need a thorough understanding of your own identity" I explained.
"But something puzzles me. My friend, you know her, she's the reporter from the school's News Committee. She also saw the image of the Dream World reflected over the horizon but couldn't capture it on tape. Do you know why that is?" Ciella asked.
"It's simple really. Cameras do not have souls. They are not living things so they cannot grow. It also means that they can't alter their perception but can only capture images of the literal. The Dream World can only be perceived by one with a soul, or a living being since perceiving it requires extra-sensory perception. Trying to capture the Dream World on tape is like trying to ask a machine to explain an abstract concept. Cameras can capture images of Dreams and Nightmares though…just not in their true forms. You noticed that the image recorded by our school's News Committee portrayed the Nightmares as mobsters though the ones recording the scene could see actual Nightmares. That's the way it is" I explained.
"It's…kinda weird. Until Thursday, I'd only heard of the mysterious heroes and the monster that attacked all those years ago. Part of me believed it to be rumour but the story was always kinda sad. Until Thursday, the only reality I knew was this one. It's weird to learn that there are actually other worlds out there and the dreams I've always written off as illusions are just as real as the reality I'm used to living in" Ciella said with a deep look in her eyes.
"Does it frighten you?" I asked her.
"In a sense it does. The world just got a whole lot bigger. There are so many things I do not understand and may never understand…but that's the reason it's also so exciting" Ciella said with a smile.
"You're a really strange person Ciella. Most people would be frightened by what they do not understand" I said.
Ciella laughed.
"I guess the reason I'm so calm is because you are the one telling me all this. In the short time I've come to know you, you've protected me many times even without my knowledge. Because of this I'm certain that regardless of how wide this world has become, not everything I can't comprehend…is evil" Ciella said.
I smiled.
"It's exciting to think of all the wonderful things I could discover starting from this moment" Ciella said.
"There's something else I need to tell you Ciella" I said.
"What is it?" Ciella asked.
"After my recovery just now, my body underwent some level of change. At present, I can't even control my strength. The only reason I can be here now is because my Gramps placed an inhibiting seal on me to suppress my physical ability. I'll be leaving for a while to train with my Gramps in the World Of Dreams" I informed Ciella.
"But you'll be back right?" Ciella asked.
"Of course…but until then, Keiran, Saito, Ariel and my parents…you can count on them for help" I said.
Ciella nodded but there were tears in her eyes. She struggled to wipe them.
"Why are you so sad? It's not like I'm saying goodbye. This is more of a 'see you later'" I reassured Ciella with a smile while wiping her tears with my thumbs.
After a while, we headed inside. I wished Ciella goodnight and returned to my room to sleep. I opened the Tome. Flipping through it, I clearly saw that in the past three days, I had fulfilled three more Rules without my knowledge. I thought of Ciella. The distress she'd endured the past few days because of me. The sorrow in her eyes whenever I had to leave. I shut the Tome and smiled though my heart felt slightly heavy.
"It might be worth it after all…to risk getting hit by the family 'curse'" I thought to myself and turned off the lights in my room.