As Xander walked down the dark corridor, his sister's words rang inside his ears. "You can walk away from your past as many times as you want, but you can never outrun it. No one can."
It was as if fate was pulling the strings from above, and Xander was following like an obedient puppet. He had promised he would never set foot inside the Guild House again, yet here he was, sneaking through its ancient halls like a shadow.
The dark corridor led to a reception area with a wooden staircase behind it. Xander paused for a moment to take a look at the reception counter to see if Master Arwin or the others had left any clues indicating their whereabouts. But all he found were torn envelopes and scratched-out grocery lists.
"Looks like they left in a hurry," Xander concluded, starting at the papers on the desk. "I wouldn't be surprised if they are outside Merantis by now."
"Master Arwin would never abandon his city," Leena protested.
"You're really too naïve, Leena," Xander huffed. "The guild never cared about the city or its people. If it did, then it wouldn't keep thinking about its selfish interests all the time."
The guild which had once been like a family to Xander, now had no place in his heart. Everything had fallen apart a couple of years ago when Master Arwin and the other Elders refused to help Xander track down Nelly's killers.
Forgetting all his pride, Xander had pleaded and begged in front of the Guild Master, but Master Arwin had remained adamant in his refusal. Not only did he refuse to help Xander with his investigations, but forbade everyone else to talk about the matter again.
"Your sister was involved with the Dark Deity. There's nothing we can do about it. If you want to live, you should walk away from this, Xander. Shamura isn't some angry Ethereal. She is the Devourer of Realms, an unimaginable darkness that consumes everything it touches. I am sorry for your loss, but if you know what's good for you, then you should move on."
Those were the last words of Master Arwin. Xander hadn't waited to hear the rest of his lofty counsel but stormed out of the Guild House, tossing his books away.
Though over two years had passed since that day, Xander hadn't forgiven them.
Rage and frustration swept through Xander's heart as he clenched his fist and made his way up the stairs. The wooden steps creaked under their feet as the Dreamwalkers climbed to the upper floor.
Another sweeping corridor flanked by nearly identical wooden doors led to the main library, stacked with rows of dusty wooden bookshelves and two glass cupboards.
Everyone in the guild had access to the library since Master Arwin believed that knowledge should never be withheld from the worthy. However, there were a few ancient scrolls and manuscripts that even the Elders were forbidden from touching without his permission.
The map that Leena had mentioned also belonged to this category of forbidden articles. However, now that the Guild Master was gone, there was no one to stop the Dreamwalkers from taking what they needed.
A musty smell pervaded the air. The windows on this floor had been shut for so long that it made the air heavy with moisture.
Xander marched up to the library, trampling the speckled white carpet with his dirty boots, and threw open the window on his right, allowing the dimming rays of the evening sun to illuminate the room.
In the faint light, Xander noticed there were gaps in the left shelf, suggesting that someone had taken out a few books. Fortunately, the locked glass cupboard hadn't been tampered with.
"Do you think it was Riktor?" Leena asked, staring at the shelf with the missing books.
"I can't imagine Riktor and books in the same room. Hell, I don't even think he could read properly," Xander replied.
"It's not nice to talk like that about...the deceased," Lena said with a note of disapproval in her voice. Even though she wasn't close to the dead Dreamwalker, her kind heart still lamented his loss. After all, he was one of them.
"He died because he was stubborn and stupid. That's a terrible combination," Xander sniped without even turning to look at her.
It was hard to tell whether Xander genuinely didn't feel any pangs of conscience stirring in his heart or if he was just putting on an act of indifference to deal with his inner guilt.
Any other person would have taken Xander to be an unfeeling rogue, but after having known him for over five years, Leena knew that he was just afraid to express his real emotions. His sister's death had changed him completely, and that was the reason for his cold behavior and total lack of empathy.
Before Leena could stop him, Xander shot the lock on the cupboard and threw open its glass panels.
"I don't see any maps here," he said, rifling through the books.
Leena couldn't bear to see the books being mistreated like that and immediately stepped to their rescue. "Wait! You don't need to mess up the whole library. We're not burglars."
Seeing the displeased look on Leena's face, Xander stepped back.
Leena put all the books back onto the shelves before opening the bottom drawer with her hairpin. Inside it lay a cylindrical black parchment case. She gently pulled it out without disturbing the rest of the items inside.
As Leena took off the case's lid and inverted it, a rolled-up piece of brown parchment fell into her hand. It was frayed along the edges with numerous spots and blemishes on its underside.
Placing the old parchment on the table, Leena rolled it open to reveal an obsolete map of Somnium with numerous unrecognizable markings in an unknown language.
"Looks like the map's even older than Master Arwin," Xander scoffed, glancing at its discolored surface. He was starting to feel they had just wasted their time by coming here.
Leena however, didn't look the slightest bit disappointed. She flattened the paper on the table and looked at it carefully under the glow of her flashlight.
"It is protected by a sealing incantation. We need to perform an unsealing ritual to reveal what's under the surface," she explained, rolling the map and putting it back inside the case.
"You seem to know a lot about these things," Xander said, staring at her curiously.
Leena stood up and replied, "Perks of deciphering dreams I guess. This isn't the first sealed object I've come across."
"That's good to know. Let's start unsealing it then."
At this, Leena shook her head. "This is Master Arwin's seal. It's not gonna be easy to break it. I'm gonna need some items first. We should return to your house now."
"You should visit your old room first," Xander replied.
Leena looked at him in confusion. "I don't think I have anything there. I took all my belongings when I completed my training."
"You're gonna need your cards," Xander said, pulling out one of his own cards from his set. "The border between the worlds has been blurred. We can use our cards and weapons in the real world now."
"I...am not a fighter like you. I only interpret dreams and soothe troubled souls. I've never fought an Ethereal before," Leena spoke in a trembling voice. The mere thought of encountering one of those malevolent Ethereals made her blood run cold.
"There's always a first time," Xander replied, looking right into her eyes. "That portal in Windbell Park was just the beginning. I can't fight them alone. I'm gonna need your help."
Unlike Xander, Leena had always avoided both Death Dreams and Death Nightmares. However, now that the walls were crumbling, she realized she couldn't avoid the inevitable any longer.
After pondering for a while, Leena eventually accompanied Xander to her old room. As she opened the door, she was surprised to see the statue of Amara on the left side of her bed and a gilded chest on its right.
Leena slowly walked up to the statue and uttered the incantation to access her deck. Ten Dream Cards floated up in front of her, and the room lit up with a faint white glow. She looked at Xander, a bit reluctantly.
"Go for it," Xander nodded in approval.
Leena carefully pulled out all cards from her deck and they were immediately added to her inventory, filling all the empty slots in her set.
Next, she moved around the bed and opened the gilded chest to access her armory. Unlike Xander, she had no need for any weapons since she never fought Ethereals. However, there were a few items she carried for self-defense.
Leena pulled out two white clay tablets from the chest and put them carefully inside her denim's side pocket.
Her system immediately displayed that two new items had been added to her inventory. She slowly turned around and looked at Xander.
"I still can't believe this. The veiled world has merged with ours. This wasn't supposed to happen," she whispered. Swallowing an airy lump in her throat, she added, "Nothing's gonna remain the same anymore. I can feel a connection to the Infinite Void."
"You're not alone. I can feel it as well," Xander replied.
Leena glanced at her wristwatch and said, "It's gonna be dark soon. We should head back."
Although Xander wanted to search the Guild House for more information, he decided not to push his luck. As the grand tower clock struck five and the evening bell resounded across the streets of Faros, Xander, and Leena stepped out of the building and headed for the nearest taxi stand.
The sun was still visible on the horizon, but the daylight was fading fast. Xander expected to reach home before dark. However, things took an unnatural turn the very next minute.
Suddenly, dark black clouds covered the sky over Faros, and a cold gale swept through the streets. All the street lamps started flickering unsteadily, and the air filled with the stench of rotting chrysanthemums.