Face and I stared around at the warriors that had surrounded us.
"You just had to make her mad, didn‟t you?" Face accused me.
"It came naturally since she is so annoying" I said with a laugh.
"So how are you going to fight all these warriors on your own? As you can see, they are all Dream Knights" the harpy said.
"WHAT?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! WHAT SOUL OF EVIL ARE YOU ANYWAY?!" I roared angrily.
"I am Enslavement, the soul once sealed by the stone of wind. Those Dream Knights all dared to face me for the stone of wind but they unlike you…failed to conquer their fears. Since I have failed to enslave you, I will eliminate you, especially you Zan. You are different than you were two thousand years ago" Enslavement said.
"Two thousand years ago? What are you talking about?" I asked worriedly.
I was beginning to feel confused considering the fact that Enslavement was acting like she knew something about me that I didn‟t.
"It‟s useless for you to know since you will soon be dead anyway!"
Enslavement roared as she motioned to her enslaved warriors to attack us.
"ZAN! WHAT DO WE DO NOW?! WE CAN‟T KILL THEM! THEY ARE
HUMANS!" Face yelled worriedly.
"The only way we can survive is to defeat them!" I said.
"Are you really planning to kill your own comrades?" Enslavement mocked us.
"Face! What is the purpose of a sigil?!" I asked him as I blocked the first wave of attacks.
"To slay nightmares of course! However, it is also capable of slaying humans!" Face said as he blocked and evaded his attackers.
"All that depends on the mind-set of its wielder. In actuality, a sigil slays whatever its wielder wishes for it to slay" I explained.
"In that case, if I can focus on slaying the nightmare within the person and not the person…" Face began to catch sight of my plan.
"Then the sigil will have the same effect mine had when I stabbed Victoria" I completed Face‟s sentence.
"Got it!" Face said as he focused his mind on slaying only nightmares.
The dull grey blade of his Double Tomahawk took on a golden brown colour.
"Let‟s do this Zan!" Face called.
We charged to attack the warriors much to the surprise and dismay of Enslavement. We slashed wildly with our sigils however, our sigils did not have a direct effect on their bodies. Instead, they penetrated the bodies of the warriors and slayed the nightmares within them. As I slashed through one of the warriors, the nightmare within him tried to escape.
"There is no way I‟ll let you escape!" I roared as I leapt into the air and slashed it in half! It had the form of a crowbat and was quite swift so it took me a while to land a clean hit.
"NO! MY PRECIOUS PUPPETS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU
MISERABLE MISCREANTS?!" Enslavement roared in a fit of rage.
"Just taking out the „mare‟ in Nightmare!" I declared as we proceeded to decimate her warriors.
In a matter of minutes, all her warriors lay unconscious on the floor. We stared around the dark dull temple, expecting a surprise attack but there was only silence.
"As I thought, you are a threat to my master‟s plans. I cannot let you live Zan!" Enslavement roared as she charged to attack me with her bared talons.
I waited till she was quite close and dived out of her path. Her attack missed me narrowly. Before she could recover her movement, I stood up and swung my sigil with all my might, aiming for a fatal blow but she blocked with her wings which by the way were as hard as steel.
"I don‟t plan to die yet!" I roared as I pushed Enslavement back with all my strength.
I had an advantage since the ground acted as a support so Enslavement was forced into the air. She flew quite a distance away from me.
"You are as strong as I suspected but…you are not the only one with the ability to use sigils. I AM ENSLAVEMENT! ONE OF THE SEVEN SOULS OF THE ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE! HEED MY CALL SIGILS OF DARK WIND!" Enslavement called out.
In the next moment, huge dark green fans appeared in her hand. Face and I stared at her in horror and amazement.
"Behold my power! WINDS OF ADVERSITY!" she roared and swung her fans towards Face and I with amazing strength.
A terrible blade of wind swept us off our feet, carried us a distance and threw us to the ground with terrible force.
"Ouch! That hurt" I grunted in pain and stood up.
Face struggled to his feet.
"She sure is a hard case" he joked.
Meanwhile, Ayumi and the Dream knights had returned to the Hall Of Knights.
"Do you have the map to the elemental stones?" the Chancellor asked them.
Ayumi looked away.
"What is wrong Ayumi Kirisawa?" the Chancellor asked her.
"Regrettably, the only map to the elemental stones is the Dreamweaver" Ayumi grumbled.
"Then we should focus on finding the Dreamweaver" the Chancellor said thoughtfully.
"There is no need for that. The boy Zan, who is under the protection of the Kirisawas is the Dreamweaver we‟ve been searching for all these years" Fenrir said.
"There is no concrete proof! All we have is Bamané‟s word!" Ayumi yelled at Fenrir.
"I think it would be wise to leave the boy under the care of the Kirisawas while we investigate him. Even if he is the Dreamweaver, he is proving to be useful to us. However, when the time comes when we‟ve gathered all the elemental stones, I will leave it to you all to dispose of him" the Chancellor said.
"Dispose of him?! But Chancellor…!" Ayumi tried to argue.
"Are you disregarding my direct orders?!" the Chancellor glared at Ayumi.
"No, my lord" Ayumi bowed respectfully.
"That is good" the Chancellor said as he walked away.
Ayumi walked to the Atlas Knight and asked for the coordinates to the location we were last seen before we completely disappeared.
"What are you planning to do Ayumi?" the Atlas Knight asked her.
"I‟m not going to sit around doing nothing while Zan, Kenyah and Arthur are trapped in the realm of an evil soul" Ayumi said as she took a map from the Atlas Knight and headed out to find us.
It wasn‟t long before she found our trail leading into the forest which by the way was called "The Forest Of Perdition". Ayumi ventured through the forest battling Wolfbanes and other monstrosities till she eventually arrived at the clearing where the Tower was supposed to be. Apparently, that was where our trail ended.
Meanwhile, Face and I were undergoing lesson two in "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". We had to deal with the menacing power of Enslavement‟s fans. I panted tiredly.
"Zan, we‟re not getting any closer to defeating her" Face said tiredly.
"Hey, don‟t give up Face. Your element is the element of hope after all" I encouraged him.
"You‟re right Zan. Besides, we‟ve got to make sure that the Knights we freed, as well as Victoria, remain safe" Face panted.
"Are you giving up already Zan? Are you ready to become my eternal slave?" Enslavement mocked me.
"Puh-lease! I‟d rather marry the Kyuubi than become your slave even for a single second!" I mocked her.
Enslavement laughed happily as though she had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Are you sure you won‟t change your mind?" she asked me.
"Of course I won‟t!" I declared.
"Is that your final word on the matter? Because someone you love very dearly has strayed into my territory. Behold your precious Ayumi!" Enslavement laughed as she showed me an image of Ayumi in the clearing where the Tower was supposed to be.
"With a snap of my finger, I could bring Ayumi into this realm…and kill her!" Enslavement said mockingly.
"Don‟t you dare!" I roared as I charged to attack Enslavement.
"WINDS OF PARALYSIS!" she called as she fanned the air lightly.
I could see sparkles of dust in the air. It had a pleasant scent but no sooner had I inhaled the air than I discovered that I couldn‟t move my body. Face was frozen like a live statue as well.
"Now let‟s call dear little Ayumi to the main event" Enslavement said as she snapped her fingers.
There was a terrifying gust of wind and when it passed, Ayumi stood in front of me. She had a surprised expression on her face.
"A-Ayumi! Get out of here!" I ordered.
"Zan, Kenyah, it‟s good to see that you‟re still alive. Victoria looks fine too" Ayumi said seriously as she studied her surroundings.
"I didn‟t call you here to check on them. You have only been summoned to be the sacrificial piece that will bring Zan to his senses" Enslavement said nonchalantly.
"So you are the cause of this mayhem! I‟ll send you back to the slime pit you crawled out of you rotten hag!" Ayumi insulted.
"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A HAG?! I‟LL HAVE NO REGRETS DESTROYING YOU!" Enslavement roared as she charged to attack Ayumi.
In a flash of bright flames, Ayumi was armed with her Pyrogeysers! She parried Enslavement‟s first attack and managed to slice off part of Enslavement‟s wings.
"Those were my most precious feathers! I‟ll make you pay!" Enslavement shrieked in anger and the battle raged on.
It was a parry and evade sort of battle since Enslavement had aerial advantage. Ayumi was having a hard time reaching Enslavement and all she could do was to parry and evade. Enslavement on the other hand was having a really fun time of pursuing Ayumi as though she were her prey. After a while of this repeated cycle, it was obvious that Enslavement had the upper hand since Ayumi was quickly running out of stamina.
"Now watch me Zan as I put an end to the Flame Knight Ayumi Kirisawa!" Enslavement declared as she combined her fans to form a fearful jagged edged metallic shield.
"DESTROY AYUMI KIRISAWA YOU OMINOUS WINDS OF
VENGEANCE!" she roared as she hurled the shield towards Ayumi with all her might.
Ayumi raised the Pyrogeysers defensively in front of herself and prepared to parry the attack of the shield, however, the spinning of the shield pulled the air around the room towards itself till the air currents around the shield became a torrent of sharp winds that took the form of a tornado. Before Ayumi could realize the true potential of Enslavement‟s attack, she was caught within the winds. She felt her mind exploding with pain and she could hardly breathe. The terrible winds raged around her, cutting and scratching her flesh. Ayumi screamed in pain.
"Stop this Enslavement! You win! I‟ll do anything you want so please stop hurting Ayumi!" I pleaded desperately.
"You still don‟t understand do you boy? You are of no use to my master as you are now. For you to reach the state you achieved many centuries ago, I must kill the one you treasure most" Enslavement said as she increased the intensity of the wind.
Ayumi‟s screams became louder. I could not handle seeing her in pain. I felt as though there was an unseen force within me struggling to break free.
"Stop this, stop this, stop this! STOP THIS! I SAID ENOUGH!!!" I suddenly roared as a huge outburst of energy from my body knocked Ayumi out of the clutches of the terrifying winds.
I was breathing hoarsely and when I opened my eyes, they were flaring.
"I WON‟T FORGIVE YOU FOR HURTING AYUMI!" I roared as I charged to attack Enslavement.
"You managed to break free of my paralysis technique yet you still have no idea of what you truly are" Enslavement said with a frown.
"I don‟t care about what I was in the past! I know who I am now!" I declared as I took a wild swing at Enslavement however, she swiftly evaded my attack.
"Perhaps you need a little more encouragement!" she said as she charged towards the unconscious Ayumi.
I raced as fast as I could and managed to shield Ayumi from her attack but now I had a sharp talon, the size of a sword, protruding from my back.
"Obviously, being among humans for so long has made you weak hearted. You are even willing to give up your life to protect someone else. I‟d hate to be reunited with you in your present state! You look pathetic and you reek of human emotions!" Enslavement insulted me.
"It‟s nothing you would understand. Ayumi has suffered a lot already. I promised to protect her from any more pain" I said weakly.
I was bleeding profusely from the wound on my back and I felt a salty taste on my tongue. A warm fluid was flowing down the side of my mouth and I realized then that it was blood.
Enslavement pointed at me.
"But who is going to protect you when the Dream Knights eventually turn on you. I assure you that when that time comes, you won‟t find Ayumi standing by your side. If you are a fraction of what you once were…you‟d realize that you are only being used and will eventually be cast aside!" Enslavement said.
I examined Ayumi‟s wounds. They were not deep so I was grateful.
"I didn‟t spare her intentionally and I promise you that my next attack won‟t fail. There are three people I can hurt and in your present condition, you can only save one of them. So who will it be? Face, Victoria…or Ayumi!" Enslavement roared as she sent her talons flying towards Face and Victoria.
When I raced towards Face to help him, she sent another talon towards Ayumi. I stared helplessly at them. How on earth could I choose one friend over another? I felt sad. My sorrow turned to worry, my worry turned to anger and my anger became rage!
"Filthy wretch! Just because I‟ve let you live this long, you‟ve decided to grow horns! I‟ll end your existence here!" I roared as an invisible force from my body sliced the talons into insignificant pieces.
"Master, finally you‟ve…" Enslavement was saying but when I opened my eyes to look at her, there was a look of terror on her face. My eyes were flaring once more, my pupils had become vertical slits and my canines had transformed into fangs. There was only one word that could describe the look on my face, "demonically bloodthirsty". Okay so that‟s two words but my mind wasn‟t working straight anymore. All I could see now was an amazingly attractive flying lady with the tags "KILL ME!" written all over her and me being the perfect gentleman that I thought I was had one thought on my mind, "how could I refuse a beautiful lady?"
"I WILL NOT SPARE YOU ENSLAVEMENT! THIS IS YOUR END! TAKE THIS! RAGING ULTRAVIOLET ATTACK!!!" I roared as I swung my sigil with all my strength.
An invisible storm of light raced towards Enslavement and ripped her wings off. She screamed in pain and fell on the ground. I walked towards her till I stood beside her. She had a look of absolute terror on her face.
"Tell me now! Who was I two millennia ago?!" I demanded.
Enslavement smiled.
"Are you sure you want to know? Well then as a parting gift to you…I‟ll give you despair. You are becoming that which you‟ve struggled to fight against. Haven‟t you heard that „he that hates and battles demons with all his heart will in the end become one?‟" Enslavement mocked me.
"Answer me!" I demanded.
"Fine, if it will make you feel any better, I will tell you since you‟ve managed to defeat me. Two thousand years ago, you were none other than the Ultimate Nightmare, the True King and Origin of all Nightmares. Your name Zan is only half of your true name and your real name isn‟t Ayzan. The Nightmare Of All Nightmares, your true name is…ZANFAR!" Enslavement whispered.
"No, it can‟t be…Zanfar, that‟s the Dagaare word for…, NIGHTMARE?!" I exclaimed in shock.
I stood there in shock for a moment and lost consciousness.
I was surrounded by darkness for a while and though I was unconscious, I could feel the full impact of Enslavement‟s words.
"Your true name is…Zanfar, King and Origin of all Nightmares."
Those words kept ringing in my head. In the darkness, I could hear Ayumi calling to me.
"Zan! Zan! Open your eyes! Please open your eyes!" Ayumi called.
I could feel her soft, warm hand on my forehead. I opened my eyes and stared at her.
"Thank goodness you‟re alright" she sighed gratefully.
I sat up and that was when I noticed that my shirt was in shreds. It was now a bandage around my chest and back.
"What happened?" I asked deliriously.
"I‟m sorry Zan. You got hurt trying to protect me" Ayumi apologized sadly.
"Don‟t apologize, I‟m the one who is sorry for putting you in danger" I said sadly.
"Are you alright Zan?" Victoria asked in concern.
"I think so. Are you alright Victoria?" I asked.
"Yeah, thanks to you and Face. I really hate admitting that you two saved me but Enslavement made me understand. She is only able to enslave those who cannot admit and face their weaknesses. My weakness was selfish pride and I was a slave to it. I wasn‟t able to defeat my weakness like you and Face did. Maybe, I‟m the one holding the team back" Victoria admitted with great difficulty.
"Well, I‟d say that now that you finally see the light, you won‟t be a burden to the team anymore. It‟s good to be who you are but thinking that you are better than others…it‟s the worst form of enslavement" Face said.
"Are those words really coming from you? You sound so wise all of a sudden" Victoria teased Face.
"It‟s actually the last thing Enslavement said before she disappeared. Zan was unconscious by then. She had a piece of advice for you Zan. „There is no living being in this world whose purpose is to bring destruction. You have the power to forge your own path. I saw a strong light in your eyes, your faith in your friends, and their faith in you as well. You have love in your heart now and I hope you fight to protect that love because the day you give up on yourself…will be the day everything good in this world will come to an end.‟ That was all she said" Face said.
Hearing those words made me feel even more hopeless than I did before.
"Why would she say something like that to you Zan?" Ayumi asked.
I remained silent. I looked around and saw that we were outside the tower. The tower slowly disappeared and soon it was completely gone. We saw Ai approaching us.
"Are you guys alright?" she asked worriedly.
"We are all fine. How are things back at the real Tower Of Trials?" Ayumi asked.
"The aspiring Dream Knights have completed the set trials. Almost all of them were successful. The Chancellor is awaiting you three in order to begin the initiation ceremony.
"What? But we…" Victoria was puzzled.
"He said you two probably went through a more trying experience and so if you survived, then it meant you deserve to be knighted" Ai said.
"Wait! What of the knights we freed?!" I asked worriedly.
"Enslavement used the last of her energy to transport them home to the human realm" Face informed me.
"That‟s good" I said gratefully.
By the next two hours, we were back at the Tower Of Trials.
"Ayumi, before I forget, here is the gem of wind. Enslavement wanted to give it to Zan but he was unconscious" Face said as he handed the gem over to Ayumi.
Ayumi collected it and thanked him. Soon, the initiation ceremony began and we were collectively knighted. When we finally returned home to the human realm, I was so tired that I went straight to bed. Ayumi was worried about me so she entered my room while I was asleep and watched over me for a while.
"You‟ve been through a lot today Zan. Thank you for protecting me, I didn‟t have the courage to thank you while you were awake. I…I can‟t believe that I‟ll one day have to draw my sword against you. I can‟t believe that you are the Dreamweaver. When I finally found a friend, someone I could trust. Someone who was not scared of me or the world I live in, it had to turn out like this" Ayumi said sadly.
She reached out for my hand, unsure and feeling guilty. She held my hand and smiled sadly.
"I hope that I can one day be as brave as you are Zan. You said you promised to protect me but…I can‟t remember when you made that promise. I‟m sorry Zan, forgive me" Ayumi said as tears began to stream down her face.
I unconsciously squeezed her hand.
"You may say that when the Dream Knights turn against me, Ayumi will be on their side but I believe in her…and I love her" I muttered deliriously.
I was of course sleep-talking. Ayumi opened her eyes in surprise and smiled.
"Thank you for believing in me Zan" she said as she left the room.
Although I had defeated Enslavement, I felt no joy or satisfaction. If anything, all I felt was an emptiness.