Iridescence

Klein awoke in a room he undoubtedly knew. Sitting up on the bed, the first thing he saw was the wooden desk on the opposite side with books piled on it. Near it was a gas lamp with grayish-white pipes connected to it. A dressing mirror on the wall reflected his current appearance with the scant light provided by the moon.

This was his room in the Morettis' original residence.

Except, not only was there no way he could be there, his last memory was succeeding against the Celestial Worthy and falling into true sleep to complete the fusion of their wills.

Paying little attention to all the familiar objects, Klein immediately focused on the dark side of the room.

"It's been a while, Evernight Goddess."

The shadows melded and twisted until they formed a humanoid shape. Pinpricks of light started to shine from it, creating a familiar starry-robed figure who walked forward into the crimson illumination of the moonlight.

"So it has. Hello, Mysteries," the Evernight Goddess greeted him.

Of course, "She" was one of the only people who could interfere with Sefirah Castle and reach out to him in this manner. Though it hadn't been long since he won his battle, he couldn't rest as he needed, not when the apocalypse was growing closer.

And so, the two of them had a lot to discuss.

The Evernight Goddess filled him in on everything that had happened since he slept, the changes in the global situation and the increasing influence of the Outer Deities on their world. Klein in turn briefed "Her" on the struggle between him and the Celestial Worthy, and all he had learnt from it.

Once they were done, Klein fell silent, taking in the room again. While this was where he had first opened his eyes to this new world, as well as the place that his memories as Klein considered home, it was jarring after the dream he had lived through.

That dream... He had gotten help from those he had given the coins to, but the Goddess wasn't part of that, though "She" was one of the very few who could truly understand that time and what it meant for them.

At that casual thought, his heightened intuition gave him a nudge, and so he went ahead with it.

"If this is my dream we're in, I should be able to change it to something else, right?"

"Go ahead." Amanises couldn't deny "She" was curious about what sort of dream Klein wanted to replace this with.

He closed his eyes, and Amanises felt an indescribable wave of energy radiate from him. The room distorted in a ripple-like manner that magnified until it looked as though they were trapped in a house of mirrors, then it shattered. From the cracks, light shone, turning blacks and browns and reds all a pale grey, then white.

When the light took shape again, Amanises felt like someone had reached straight into "Her" chest and squeezed "Her" heart in a vice-grip.

The two of them were standing in the same position facing each other, but it was no longer the small room.

They were out in the open, surrounded by high-rise buildings and massive crowds of pedestrians.

The air was filled with a mishmash of scents, the strongest being fuel. The loud sounds having neither start nor end came close to noise pollution. The people were dressed in a variety of styles that would astonish even the relatively free-living Intisians.

For most alive in the Fifth Epoch, this scene would bring nothing but shock and some disdain.

But to Amanises, this was...

"She" looked at Klein, who smiled. "The dream the Celestial Worthy drew me into was much like this. I've accepted that I can never go back to those days and that I can't let myself get lost in those memories, but still... I don't want to forget it. Zhou Mingrui is somebody who existed as much as Klein Moretti.

... It's a different country and city from your own, but I thought maybe you'd appreciate it."

"She" did. Even if "She" didn't understand the language or know the surroundings, the world of that time had certain aspects to it that nothing from any other epoch could match.

"You're not planning on staying here like that, right?" Klein asked in an almost teasing tone, gesturing to "Her" out-of-place appearance.

Amanises gave him a long stare. As if to prove his point, his form shimmered, discarding the tentacles and replacing the hooded cloak with a checked shirt and shorts.

Well, if he was changing... With a thought, "Her" veil vanished and "Her" layered dress changed to a casual pastel one, revealing "Her" human appearance. It felt off and right at the same time.

When was the last time "She" had worn anything else? Angels and gods didn't need a change in clothes. Especially not when there was a night-like figure "She" needed to encompass.

But now, there was no one to play that role for. Just "Her" and Klein, and the population of a dream.

Klein showed little of his surprise at the change, but Amanises still noted it. Even if he was Above the Sequence now, "She" had uncountable multiples of experience over him.

"Let's go," he said. "There's this really good restaurant here—it's got foreign cuisine too, so you might find something you used to like."

It had been millennia, entire eras. The memories were dear to "Her", but they had faded. It was only distantly "She" could remember the places and people "She" loved. Of course, as the one in charge of the domain of dreams, "She" could craft one based on "Her" subconscious with perfect clarity and wander there to heart's content...

...but it would have been painful. An insistent reminder that "She" was alone in "Her" experiences of a civilisation that had been lost to time, a restraining chain when "She" needed to keep moving forward.

Here though, there was Klein beside "Her", and that resistance blurred, leaving only the longing. For those striving to save humanity, it wouldn't hurt to recall their own roots.

For once, the Goddess of the Night would allow a dream to be beyond "Her" control. Here, "She" was only Amanises—no, she was—

...

It was a name she'd almost forgotten.

"Lead the way," she said.

And two ordinary people walked into the crowd, no different from all the rest.