The Arrow of Time

Light in the Dark

Darkness.

An endless sea of black abyss, dotted with multicoloured lights, stretched out in front of Taranza. He felt dazed, as though he wasn't quite awake. A few seconds later, Magolor appeared. "Hey. I know you're not doing well right now, and I can't fix this by myself, but I thought I could at least give you some words of encouragement. ...Well, I guess you already know everything I'm going to say, but I still think it should be said."

Taranza broke out of his stunned silence. "This... can't be real..."

"Ha ha. You catch on quick. Of course, I'm not actually there with you. You dozed off after Elfilin left and this is a dream. I mean, look around. We're in a boundless void. I basically just manifested with no fanfare or anything. In your heart, you already know what I'll say. I am basically just an extension of you, after all."

"What do you want to say?"

Magolor calmly folded his hands in front of him. "I've seen you do some pretty incredible things throughout how long I've known you. When we met, you were so devoted to others that you put them above yourself. Not that you aren't still like that, but you would put so much on the line just to stand alongside someone you care about. Since then, just by existing, I inadvertently gave you so much to do on your own. You had to make so many decisions, and I'm sorry for putting you through that, but you need to get it into your head that I'm not your only purpose. I know you love me, and I love you too, but you still exist as an individual without me. You need to cut out this wishy-washy indecisiveness and act. What is it that you want to do? As Taranza, former co-sovereign of an entire nation, what must be done for your own good, for mine, and for everyone else's? No matter what you choose, from wherever I am, to wherever you are, I'll be cheering you on... mon amour."

Taranza moved forward, taking hold of Magolor's hands. "Thank you. For everything." They stared into each other's eyes. "Before I wake up, can I kiss you? Even if you're not real, I missed you so much."

"It really doesn't inspire confidence when you ask a figment of your imagination if it agrees with you."

"You always have something smart to say." Taranza leaned forward and pulled him in for a kiss.

About fifteen seconds later, he leaned back out. Magolor, shivering from something that couldn't be properly identified, looked up into his eyes. "That's it. You got it."

Before he had time to say goodbye to the dream, it was fading.

- .-. . .- - / - .... . / ...- --- .. -.-. . ... / .. -. / -.-- --- ..- .-. / .... . .- -.. / .-- .. - .... / - .... . / ... .- -- . / .-. . ... .--. . -.-. - / -.-- --- ..- / .-- --- ..- .-.. -.. / --. .. ...- . / - --- / .- / .-. . .- .-.. / .--. . .-. ... --- -.

The hospital looked the same as ever. Taranza pulled back the covers and got out of bed. There was no sign of Elfilin. He left the room and made his way to the elevator. The rest of the group was likely finished checking out floor B, but he wanted to have a look around. There, and Floor I. He went down first. No sign of anyone in the art room, or the chem lab. He was surprised when he saw the layout of floor B, but it was empty. C? It was worth looking into. There wasn't a soul in sight. Where did everyone go? He went into the kitchen to see if someone was making breakfast.

The safe was open. He checked the inside, and apparently it led into a hole in the wall. The inside was completely empty, but very large, probably enough to fit all twenty of the people who were here originally and more. Strangely, the walls, ceiling, and floor were padded, and there was a single harness attached to the back wall. He couldn't begin to imagine who it was for, but he didn't have a way of doing anything with the information of what was in it.