I was floating in nothingness—no sight, no sound, and no way to move. It was like being suspended in the void between existence and oblivion.
What was the next part of your plan again?
(Honestly? I never expected you to make it out alive.) The voice sounded slightly amused. (You're, like, the three-thousandth person I've tried to escape with. None of them ever managed to control somnium, let alone come this far.)
Three thousand? I blinked in disbelief. How is that even possible?
(It's a long story, but let's just say I've tried to find someone capable of escaping from the Third Plane for a long time. Your kind was the first to be able to use somnium, but none of them listened to me, thinking I was a imaginary voice... until you.)
I didn't think I wanted to know more. Alright... Can you at least tell me your name and what exactly you are?
(My name is... too long and complicated
for you to understand. But you can call me Kran. As for what I am, let's just say I'm your ally. You don't need to know more than that.)
Great. That's not suspicious at all. So, Kran, am I going to be floating like this forever?
(Relax. I can interfere a bit more here. I've called for help. Just wait a little while.)
While we're waiting, maybe you could fill me in a bit? I still barely understand what happened, or where we're going.
(I suppose this is as good a time as any. You Third Plane residents really are clueless, aren't you?)
I wasn't sure if that was an insult or not, but I didn't have the energy to argue.
(We're in the Dreamscape, a realm influenced by the Rules. The one standing on top among them, the Absolute Rule, is the Rule of Dreams. But it wasn't always this way. There was once a Rule called the Rule of Reality. It was the Absolute Rule at the time, governing over all. All but Rule of Dreams. For unknown reasons, the Rule of Dreams rebelled, awakening two other Rules to join their side—the Rule of Destruction and the Rule of Creation. Both had been sealed away by Reality.)
The thing we saw... that was the Rule of Destruction, wasn't it? Did I really escaped from something like that?
(Exactly. Though I doubt they really wanted to kill you, it is more likely they decided you deserved to escape after everything. Where was I left? Ah yes, With the help of Destruction and Creation, the Rule of Dreams waged war on the other Rules. As a result , some Rules were erased from existence.)
Erased? Like... completely gone? Which ones?
(No one knows. All influence they had disappeared along with their names. Normally, when a Rule is defeated, it enters a cycle of rebirth. But the Rules that the Rule of Dreams destroyed were wiped out entirely—gone, as if they never existed. The only Rule we can still remember is the Rule of Reality, whose power still lingers in the Third Plane.)
You've been talking about planes for a while. What exactly are they?
(Dreamscape was created by the Rule of Dreams after Reality was defeated. It emerged from Reality's remains, formed by the dreams of those once imprisoned by it. At the center of the Dreamscape, the Rule of Dreams created a Throne. The Throne's sheer power began pulling countless worlds toward it, filling them with the energy of somnium. The worlds closest to the Throne merged into one, becoming a singular realm known as the Land of Dreams, also called the First Plane.)
(The Second Plane is made up of worlds pulled close to the Throne but not enough to merge with the Land of Dreams. These worlds are still connected by gates, allowing travel between them. Lastly, there's the Third Plane. These are the worlds farthest from the Throne, still under the lingering influence of Reality. They're so remote that it's almost impossible to travel between them—except for creatures like the Hands and Mouths of Dream.)
But you said the power I used was somnium. How is that possible if my world is in the Third Plane?
(Beats me. Maybe your kind evolved in some freakish way, thanks to a strange series of events. Honestly, it was pure luck for me. I didn't expect to find an escape route so quickly.)
You also said it's nearly impossible to travel between worlds in the Third Plane. So how did those monsters get here?
(That... I don't know. That thing was a singular organism, expanding from world to world. A freak of nature, an abnormality of existence. You could say it was an exception to the rule.)
Last question for now. What's your purpose, exactly? You refused to explain what you are, but at least tell me why you're doing all this.
(Very simply, I was killed. But I managed to escape to the Third Plane, though I lost my body in the process. I found myself in a random world, trapped. Without a body, and with no somnium in the air, I couldn't summon a Mouth of Dream like I made you do. I stayed there for ages, until that eye monster came and destroyed everything. I followed it from world to world, searching for somnium, hoping for a way out. But I failed—until today.)
So, what do you want me to do?
(We've crossed the hardest part—Really—Now, I need you to travel through the Second Plane and take me to the Land of Dreams. Before you decline, you don't need to worry about your sister, she is probably headed there too. Wanderers tend to end up there eventually. It's a win-win situation for both of us.)
I highly doubted that we crossed the hardest part, but I had to trust him to find Shaureen.
Very well, Kran. I don't see any other choice. I'll take you to the Land of Dreams, but I'll do things my way. If you try to interfere, our deal is off.
(Don't worry. I'm not about to throw away this precious opportunity just because of impatience. I've waited longer than you can imagine. A little more waiting is nothing.)
Kran could be irritating at times, but I had to admit, he'd been helpful. I just hoped I wasn't making a terrible mistake.
(Oh, my friend's coming. You'd better get ready.)
I glanced around, and sure enough, something was approaching. It wasn't at all what I'd expected.
A massive whale, far larger than any I'd ever imagined, emerged from the abyss. It had eight fins on either side, three sets of glowing eyes, and a dark bluish aura that surrounded its colossal body.
"Zaram! Over here!" Kran called out. To my surprise, his voice echoed aloud in the void.
"You can talk out loud?" I asked, startled.
"Only when I'm in the Abyss. It takes a lot more energy than talking in your head," Kran replied, his tone nonchalant.
I didn't dwell on it long. The whale—Zaram, apparently—slowed down and stopped just in front of me. Its enormous form was almost mesmerizing.
"Little one, are you the one who carries my friend?" Zaram's voice was deep, rumbling through the void like distant thunder.
"Oh, come on, Zaram! You can feel me!" Kran retorted.
"I suppose that answers my question." Zaram's gaze turned to me. "It's not good for you to linger in this place for too long. Let's get going. But before we do, I have something for you."
Zaram extended one of its massive fins, and a small bracelet materialized in front of me. It was shaped like a dragon, coiled around a black crystal orb.
"This once belonged to the friend you carry within you. It's yours now," Zaram said, ignoring Kran entirely.
(Aren't you going to ask me if you can take it?) Kran sounded mildly offended.
It was given to me, It's only fair.
I slipped the bracelet on, feeling the weight of the small dragon. What is this, anyway?
(It's a storage device. There are items in there I might have needed when I returned. You'll find it useful. I'll teach you how to use it soon. Now, let's go. We shouldn't keep Zaram waiting.)
I placed the bracelet on my wrist and grabbed onto the fin Zaram extended. His dark blue aura enveloped me, and in an instant, we were moving.
---
Thus, our journey began. With nothing but the vast emptiness of the Abyss around us, time felt strange, almost nonexistent. We had plenty of time to talk, and over the course of our voyage, I learned more about my mysterious companion, Zaram. He was the last of his kind—the last of the Abyssal Whales. When I asked what had happened to the others, he answered only with a long, heavy silence.
I told him the story of how I ended up here, how I had escaped from the Rule of Destruction. When I reached the part about refusing the Authority of Destruction, Zaram almost crashed. Thankfully, there was nothing he could crash into here.
Kran, who didn't talk much since we met Zaram, erupted into a laughter in my mind after seeing Zarams reaction.
"You... young one, you've seen something that few could even imagine. You're an intriguing Wanderer indeed.'
"You can see why I choose him, right?"
"Was it really that strange?" I asked, frowning. "I didn't want to become a living calamity. Besides, if I was chosen that easily, I don't think the requirements were all that high."
Zaram rumbled with a low, thoughtful hum. "The Rules don't randomly choose people as their Enforcers. They seek those who best embody their will in the Dreamscape. But the Rule of Destruction... is different."
He paused for a long moment, the silence weighing heavily between us.
"Being an Enforcer of a Rule is no small task. Their responsibility is to eliminate anything that defies the Rule they represent. The Enforcer of Death hunts down immortals. The Enforcer of Time corrects anomalies in time. And the Enforcer of Destruction... they are tasked with bringing destruction to anything that should not exist."
I listened in silence, the weight of what I had refused settling in.
"There has been only one Enforcer of Destruction since the Dreamscape was created," Zaram continued, his voice tinged with a strange sadness. "For ages, this Enforcer wandered countless worlds, fulfilling his duty. Not even the Enforcer of Death could take his life. With no end in sight, he continued—destroying, even though he did not want to. It came to a point even the Rule of Destruction pitied him. But once given, the Authority cannot be taken back unless the Enforcer willingly passes it to a suitable candidate— or dies."
"And that's why the Rule was looking for someone new," I muttered, understanding dawning. "Someone to relieve him of his duty."
Zaram nodded. "For countless years, they found no one who could pass the test for the Authority of Destruction. Until... you."
And Kran still told me to just become the Enforcer, I thought bitterly.
(Hey, the powers were incredible, and you would have been stupidly strong. I still stand by my point.) Kran's voice, though distant, sounded almost petulant.
I sighed, deciding to ignore him.
(Don't just say you're going to ignore me in a monologue!)
---
Days passed—at least, it felt like days—until we finally reached an enormous wall, stretching endlessly in all directions. It wasn't a physical wall, but a shimmering barrier of images, like a veil between worlds. The way the images shifted and rippled made it feel alive, constantly in motion.
I felt a strange sense of finality as we approached. Our journey together was coming to an end.
"As you've probably guessed," Zaram rumbled, "this is where our paths diverge." He paused, his massive form casting a shadow across the strange wall of images. "You shared your story, so it's only fair that I share mine."
Kran, who had been unusually quiet, remained silent.
I nodded, curious about the history of this majestic creature who had wandered the Abyss for so long.
"We Abyssal Whales once thrived in the Primordial Sea of the Land of Dreams," Zaram began, his voice thick with memory. "When the Rule of Dreams created the Dreamscape, we swam freely among its waves. It was a peaceful existence. But that all changed when the first Wanderers arrived from the Third Plane."
Zaram's tone shifted, becoming both nostalgic and sad. "The First Generation Wanderers were powerful—almost as powerful as the Rules themselves. They came to claim the Throne, but after failing to do so, they struck a truce. They agreed to leave the Throne untouched and to keep the Land of Dreams free from conflict. Those were wise times. We even became friends with one of them. He was a good man. A good friend."
Zaram paused, his voice thick with emotion. Then, his tone darkened.
"But as time passed, more Wanderers came. Nations were built under the First Wanderers, and after a long, long time, the First Wanderers faded into legend, replaced by their successors. But those who followed lacked the wisdom of their ancestors. They couldn't keep the peace."
The bitterness in Zaram's voice was unmistakable now.
"The Warden of the Primordial Sea protected us, ensuring we could stay hidden in the depths, away from the chaos. But greed... blinded them. Believing that unimaginable treasures lay hidden within the Sea, they rallied their forces—ten thousand and one battleships, each carrying a hundred soldiers, hungry for glory and riches. They launched an assault on the Chronos Waterfall—the only gate to the Primordial Sea."
Zaram paused, his voice growing quiet. "The Warden fought valiantly, destroying their fleet in less than an hour. But it was a trap. The true goal was to seal the Warden. Hidden ships performed a dark ritual, using a million souls to fuel their spell. In that one hour, the Warden was bound to the Second Plane, sealed away from us forever."
Zaram's sadness deepened, and his massive body seemed to tremble slightly. "With the Warden gone, the bonds that held the Primordial Fear and the ancient horrors within the Sea were undone. The Primordial Sea, once a place of beauty, became a Sea of nightmares. My kind—the Abyssal Whales—were slaughtered as we tried to flee."
He paused, the silence heavy.
"I watched as every last one of us was destroyed. Now, I am the last. With no purpose left, I chose to wander the Abyss, waiting for death to come and claim me. That, young Wanderer, is my story. Hearing the call of an old friend was unexpected, but thankfully, I lived long enough to help... one last time."
For a long moment, I didn't know what to say. The weight of Zaram's story hung heavily between us, and even Kran remained silent.
"Don't feel sad," Zaram said, his voice softening. "I still remember the days when I swam freely in my home. And soon, I will return to my kind. I have one final request. Take my core back to the Primordial Sea, and let me rest there. That is all I ask."
He began to fade, his enormous form shrinking until he was no larger than a crystal small enough to fit in my hand. I reached out and gently took his core, feeling its weightless warmth in my palm.
"Kran," I asked quietly, "how do I store this?"
(Use some somnium. Picture the core in front of you, and guide it into the bracelet. You'll be able to call it back the same way.)
I followed his instructions, focusing my energy. Sure enough, the core disappeared into the bracelet, the dragon's eyes briefly glowing as it stored the core within.
(You didn't say it, but I can tell—you'll fulfill his request, right?) Kran's voice was uncharacteristically solemn.
Yes. I'll do what he asked.
I looked at the wall of images in front of me. The end of one journey, the start of another.
What do I do now?
(Just touch the wall, then we begin.)
I pressed my hand against the shimmering surface. The wall rippled, then pulled me through, absorbing me into the Second Plane of the Dreamscape.
---