Two days after suffering grievous injuries and severe nether poisoning, Arthur was finally cleared from the hospital. "Why would you do something so unbelievably stupid?" asks Azrael, serving Arthur's favourite steamed dumplings.
Arthur smiles and says, "Wouldn't you do the same?"
Azrael doesn't respond, admitting defeat to Arthur's words. He does; however, offer Arthur a smile from the heart, one he, the Primordial God of Death, rarely shows to others—especially humans. "Have you had nightmares since?" asks Arthur.
Azrael's face grows grim. He stares at the dumplings and says, "Yes, I still have them."
"So, it didn't work," he says, dejected. Maybe I should ask Alora's help.
After an awkward silence, Azrael says, "It didn't work, yes. But it was not a worthless attempt at helping." He stares into Arthur's eyes, and in a sincere tone, says, "Thank you, Arthur. Because of you, I know I am not alone in this."
Arthur smiles and the distance he feels between them grows ever so closer. Arthur says as they enjoy the steamed dumplings, "How are you feeling after consuming so much nether energy?"
"I exhausted most of my catalysts, so I'll have to restock soon. Other than that, I feel great." He thinks momentarily, then continues, "This has never happened before. For it to get this out of hand is concerning."
"I've... asked for help..." murmurs Arthur.
"What did you say?"
"I've... asked for help... from Alora."
"Alora... from class 1A?" Arthur nods his head. "I see," he says. "And?"
"And?"
"What did she say? Her speciality is dream magic, so asking for help from an expert in this field was a logical decision. That's if you didn't reveal who it is you're helping."
"Of course, I didn't. I told her I wanted to keep it a secret and she gave me alternative ways to help you overcome your nightmares. One of which was to assure you that someone was by your side."
"What was the other method?"
"Using a dream catcher."
"A dream catcher? I've never used one before."
"Same here. Should I ask Alora where I can find one?"
"Yes. And if you can, ask her for instructions on its use."
As Azrael said, Arthur made his way to Alora the next day. But to his surprise, she was not in attendance. "That's weird," he says, confused. I've never seen her absent before. Should I find her tomorrow?
Arthur, deep in thought, doesn't notice Chari walk behind him. She taps him on the back and in her near-inaudible tone, whispers, "Uhm... Arthur?"
"Ah, Chari!" I didn't notice her before she touched me.
"I... uhm... have a hollow presence. People tend to forget I even exist... at times."
Did I say something to upset her? She looks different today.
Chari, who had been staring at the ground, looks up and yells, "I-I'm fine!"
"O-ok."
"I'm... just..." She takes a deep breath and says, "Alora has never been... absent before."
"Yeah, I thought it was weird. Do you know anything about it?"
She shakes her head. "She wanted to speak to you but you were absent for two days. A-are you... okay?"
Arthur smiles, "Yeah, I just got injured." Getting ravaged with nether energy and being inflicted with nether poisoning took more time to recover from than I anticipated.
"P-poison!? A-are you okay?"
"Hmm? How did you—"
Azrael enters the classroom, in a foul mood, and the chatter pauses. "Okay, everyone. Take your seats."
"Professor Azrael...? Are you okay?" asks Liam. He looks at him with exhausted eyes; Liam shrieks, as if he's seen a ghost. "I-I'm sorry!!"
"Sorry?" he asks, massaging his eyes. "Why are you apologising?"
"It's... You looked frightening with your pale face, bloodshot eyes... and those bags under your eyes... I thought you were a ghost for a second."
"A ghost? No, I'm very much alive, thank you," he says, annoyed. "It's just... for some reason, I feel exhausted. Moreso than before." Is this due to my nightmares?
"Now that you mention it," yawns Scarlett, "I have been feeling peckish today."
"Same here."
"Me too."
This is... weird, right? There's no way so many people are exhausted simultaneously. Is it because we're nearing the mid-year exams? Azrael looks around the class, who stares back at him, nervous. No, for the top students Yukio and Scarlett to also be plagued by this exhaustion... this is definitely weird.
"P-professor Azrael... are you—" A siren cuts Karren off mid-sentence. "What's that?" she asks.
"That's the academy's emergency siren," says Azrael.
"Emergency siren? What does that mean?"
Sweat rolls down Azrael's cheek, "There's an intruder in the academy's premises."
"An intruder!?"
Azrael shoots Arthur a glance. Arthur nods and Azrael takes his leave, saying, "Everyone, make sure you stay inside this room."
"Wait, prof—"
Azrael shuts the door and says, "Great serpent of The End, cast a shield of thine attribute to mask this object from oppositional glares. Protect these lambs from the wolves' deathly claws with a ruthless torrent. Nether Arts: Protection - Leviathan's Veiled Long Shield." Water gurgles below the door and then projects a stream of water, layering over the door like a waterfall. The water and door disappear from the inside and outside, masking the door as an extension of the wall. Azrael stares at the wall and whispers, "If this does not fool the enemy, Arthur, you have my permission to let loose."
Arthur looks surprised, as though Azrael's words reached his ears. Calliope looks at Arthur and says, "Uhm, Arthur..."
"I know," he says, smiling nervously. If he's permitted me to use my full power, then this must be Azazel's army at play. He clenches his fists, I won't lose this time. Chari keeps her eyes on Arthur as the class panics.
"What happened to the door?" asks Karren. She extends her hand but is blocked by a ripple-induced wall. "A barrier? Is this Professor Azrael's?"
Scarlett shoves her out of the way and punches the barrier rapidly, with all her might. She shakes her hands as they throb and says, "It's definitely Professor Azrael's—this barrier is tough."
"Of course, it is," says Karren, annoyed. "And would it kill you to say, 'Excuse me'?"
"Sorry, snowflake."
"Snowflake!"
"Enough!" commands Arthur. "We can't be fighting amongst ourselves. I know everyone is confused but let's place our trust in Professor Azrael and the other scholars." Karren and Scarlett turn to face opposite ends of the classroom, disgusted at each other's presence. Will this be alright? he thinks as he looks at the veiled door, nervous. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"
—Headmaster Ubel's office
Azrael marches into Ubel's office, infuriated. After entering, he sees Professors Elizabeth, Naia, Cielo, and Ivy. They turn to Azrael, surprised. Azrael glares at Ubel, "What's going on?"
"Professor Azrael?" he says, sighing. "As I've told these professors, I do not have the answers."
"This is your academy, correct? How do you not know who is infiltrating it?" Ubel says nothing and Azrael sighs. "Sorry, I'm just on edge," he says, rubbing his drowsy eyes. That's weird... my eyes suddenly feel... heavy...
"Professor Azrael? Are you okay? You don't look so—" Naia falls to the ground, unconscious.
"Professor Naia!" yells Cielo. He, Professor Elizabeth and Ubel scan the room, nervous.
"What... happened?" asks Elizabeth, drowsy.
"I... don't... kn—" Cielo soon falls to the ground as well. So does Elizabeth.
"Are we... under attack?" asks Ubel, struggling to stand on his wobbly legs. "What kind of... attack is it?" He looks at Azrael, and smiles, saying "Professor... Azrael..." before falling to the ground like the other professors.
What's... going on?
"Oh, my? I can't believe you've fought the spell for this long," says a female voice behind Azrael, shocked.
Azrael jerks his head and his eyes widen in surprise. "Amanda," he says, disgusted. He starts panting as he fights the drowsiness.
"As the person who's been under this spell for the last three days, I assumed you would have been the first out. But colour me surprised. You truly are a Primordial God, Professor Azrael."
"Don't... mock me!" Azrael uses the last of his strength to throw a punch but his body finally gives into Amanda's 'spell' and he falls to the ground, slowly losing consciousness. "Don't... mock... me..." he whispers, before falling into a deep slumber.
"Oh, don't be concerned, Professor Azrael," she says, placing her hand in her robe. She removes a dagger coated in a purple liquid from the robe and smirks, "I'll make your death painless!" She raises the dagger and plunges it into Azrael's back. As blood coats the dagger and the ground, Amanda breaks into laughter. "Finally! Now, Lord Azazel, your biggest threat is dead. Primordial God Azrael is no—" She spews blood. "What's this?" she asks, rubbing blood from her mouth. She looks down at Azrael. The dagger is still lodged inside his body but there's no blood.
"Now!" yells a female voice.
Tyson tackles Amanda from the side and pins her down. "I've got her!"
"Argh!" Amanda struggles as Tyson holds her down.
She's... tough...
"Sweet chamomile, let this young lamb rest. Induce a peaceful slumber unto my enemy. Flower Art: Bed of Chamomile," says Rose. Yellow-white flowers grow from the cracks in the cement below Tyson and Amanda. The flowers rustle, shedding pollen dust clouds. Tyson holds his breath on Rose's command and continues holding Amanda down.
This isn't good... thinks Amanda. I'm feeling... drowsy... To think I was bested... by these amateurs...
"Amateurs?" asks Arthur, walking, alongside Chari, towards Amanda.
"Arthur..."
He cracks a laugh and says, "I guess we're not so different, Amanda. I thought they were amateurs not too long ago. But you see, class 1A will always surpass expectations."
That's... bull—
Amanda succumbs to her groggy mind. "Arthur, the professors are all asleep," says Amira, standing above Azrael's body.
"It's the same spell you all were under," says Alora, walking towards the group. "If I hadn't appeared when I did, you all would have fallen into a deep slumber like the rest of the school."
When Azrael left the class alone, his students started succumbing to the slumber spell Amanda spread throughout the school. Alora, who'd been late due to oversleeping, arrived at the school with an eerie feeling welling inside her. She cast a mana barrier around her, which protected her from the slumber spell. After she arrived at class 1A's classroom, she stood idle, shocked at the many unconscious students.
"Honestly," she sighs, "If I hadn't brought my experimental potions to school today, who knows what would have happened."
"Don't be smug," sighs Arthur. "But you're right. If you were even one second late..." He looks at Azrael's unconscious body. "Anyway, we need to wake Professor Azrael."
"I'd like to do that but..."
"But?"
"The potions I used to wake you six were the only potions I had."
"Then how do we...?"
"We can still wake him up though."
"How?"
"There are two ways. We can find the spell caster and knock them out..." Alora looks at Amanda and says, "Seeing as the professors haven't woken up after knocking Amanda unconscious, we can assume she's not the spell caster."
"That means we're dealing with an unknown assailant," says Arthur, nervous. We don't know who's under Azazel's command. "We'd need to tread carefully if we choose that option. What's the other choice?"
She looks at Azrael, who's started squirming. "We resolve his nightmare."
"You...!" Azrael turns to Chari, surprised. "Did you tell her?"
Chari nods her head. "Alora said... she could only help if... she knew who your 'friend' was... I'm sorry, Arthur..."
He shakes his head and smiles, "No, it's all good." I was surprised at first. Chari's magic is called Thought Magic. With it, she can do so many things—one of which, is to read minds. He smiles, It's a neat ability, Chari. Her face becomes flushed.
"Are you done flirting?" asks Alora, sweating. "I don't think we should leave that alone," she says, pointing at the nether energy leaking from Azrael's body.
"That's a terrifying energy," says Tyson, shaking.
"Has this happened before?" asks Alora.
"Only once. When it did, it was more vicious though."
"If this is milder, I don't want to see what you mean by 'vicious'," she responds.
"How are we going to resolve his nightmare though?"
"We are going to enter his dreams. Using my dream magic, I will send us into Professor Azrael's unconscious mind. Doing this will leave us defenceless," she looks at Tyson, Amira, Rose and Calliope, and continues, "So, we're entrusting ourselves to you four. Make sure you protect us."
"Will do!" says Tyson, enthusiastic
"Good. Then, let's not waste any time. That assailant could be anywhere on the academy grounds."
***********************
Dreams and nightmares are two halves of the same coin—two concepts inseparable from our unconscious minds. They are worlds we either want to remain in forever to escape from the dreads of life or escape from because life's dreads are more comforting. Dreams are our joys and pastimes. Nightmares are our fears, rejected desires, or sometimes our unwanted pasts. For a god who has only experienced nightmares, Azrael is overcome with immense fear at one that haunts him every night—The same nightmare, over and over again.
This repetitive nightmare never introduces itself differently—until today. There Azrael finds himself, the voyeur of a lonely mansion. The night's darkness welcomes him into its grasp. A storm showers overhead. A howling wind rips trees from the ground, sending them whirling tornado-like over the mansion. These trees smack the circling crows from the sky, dead. His voyeuristic view drops to the ground instantly. He finds himself bowing before the inviting manor. His muddy knees bleed excessively. His bruised body aches all over. He can feel the raindrops crawl down his expressionless face.
Behind him, chains rattle and a man's rough voice yells, "Come, you bastard. Your future awaits." Azrael can hear the joy in the man's voice. The words leave his mouth in perfect tune, as though he's singing his heart out. The man's large boot presses down into the ground, next to Azrael's face. Azrael, unable to move, only glances to the side—where his eyes meet the side of the muddy boot. The boot's partner soon lands next to it, splashing mud into Azrael's eyes.
Azrael withdraws his muddied gaze from the ground and stalks the mansion involuntarily. The bear-like man drags Azrael through the mud, further scarring his injured legs. Azrael screams but the rain drowns his voice. His naked body shivers from the cold. He can no longer feel his toes and fingers—they are long dead. It is at this point in the nightmare when Azrael usually wakes up, sweating profusely. But this time, he does not wake up. For this time, he is not haunted by a nightmare but is suffering through a terrifying reality. This is the unfortunate truth behind the boy who shares the name Azrael.