𝓢𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓶𝓪𝓷'𝓼 𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶

𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑶𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓

Nineteen

Morpheus brought us all back to The Dreaming.

He made sure to hide me and Matthew in a secured place as he haunts John Dee's dream by bringing him in that place we all condemn godforsaken: Roderick Burgess's mansion.

In blind wonder, John entered it, not having a complete idea that it was the house his father used to own.

Inside was dark, just as it was back in the diner. Only numerous lit lamps were hanging on the wall, providing light on the wandering man.

At the end of the hallway, a figure of a person appeared, having John's interest piqued. It was a woman who's clad in a black hooded cloak and Morpheus's helm.

The woman yet to be known lured John upstairs, making her footsteps louder by the second and stopping little by little to let him catch up.

John seemed to forget about her for a second when he stumbled upon this cabinet where a framed photograph of young Ethel Cripps and Roderick Burgess, and a hidden Alex, was displayed.

A woman's laughter snatched his attention from it, leading him to the bedroom at last.

John approached the woman sitting on the bed and stared at her as she removed the helm from her head.

"Welcome home, Johnny." Young Ethel Cripps greeted.

To represent John's shock, a glass was shattered nearby as he gasped.

Ethel seemed unfazed by it. "Don't be such a baby, Johnny." She laughed maniacally.

To recover from being evidently stunned, he looked around and willed the dream to change.

The corners of the mansion changed into the wretched-looking house where Ethel and the toddler self of John used to live.

In that vision, Ethel was seen complaining about her son's dislike of sleeping.

"Go to sleep, Johnny. Please." Ethel was using a bit of strong force to rock the baby who was lying on his makeshift bassinet.

"Mother?" The adult John called out.

But Ethel did not pay her any mind, focusing on the baby instead. "Johnny, you have to go to sleep."

Just as John was about to approach them, he was grappled by a hand on the neck, strangling him from behind. When the scenery changed, it was shown that it was the elder Ethel who was choking John with the ruby that was still hanging from his neck.

"Your father was right. I should have never had you." Ethel whispered.

John struggled as he choked, grasping the ruby and trying to pull it. "It's a dream!" He gasped. "It's a dream."

The ruby glowed and finally, the vision of his mother disappeared and stopped hurting him.

The dream ended.

Panting as he caught his breath, he turned and found himself joining us in the halls of Morpheus's throne room in The Dreaming.

It was still ruined. Rubble of stones and glasses filled the floor and cracks were still present.

Matthew and I remained on the corner, hiding in the shadows as we were told to, watching John rise to his feet as he let his eyes feast on the new surroundings.

At last, he turned and faced the staircase leading up to Morpheus's throne seat.

"Is this your palace... Dream Lord?" John asked. "Is this your throne... King of Lies? Well, it's mine now!" He lifted the ruby and used it to set the walls ablaze, ruining everything even more.