Nightmares - Adventures of The Three Wings (#1)

Janar

It was strange, watching my own body fight while I observed in the back seat of my mind. Like I was playing some kind of video-game and someone else took control over the character. The advantage was that I could now notice what was going on. I could see how the dragon-me and the man-me dealt no damage to the real me, and how I in turn didn't do anything to them. Everything just kinda passed through like it wasn't there.

Which, of course, led to one conclusion in my mind. It had to be some sort of illusion, a trick being played on my eyes or in my mind. I tried to sense around for what I did have control over. First, I attempted to wiggle my ears, move an eye or even so much as cause a muscle to tense up. But that led to a whole load of nothing, save for one thing. I did manage to get a hold of my power, and channel a tiny smidgen of Aether into a spark. Somehow, I still had control over my powers – perhaps it was separate in some way from my physical body? Or maybe my lord had left me control over it. I would have to figure out a way to speak to Cain about the problem later.

Either way, I was free to use it, so I began wondering what on earth I could do to dispel whatever illusion I was under. It would be difficult without knowing how the illusion worked, and getting that information would use up my valuable and limited energy.

"Or maybe, just maybe, I don't need to know how the illusion works?"

I considered my options. The cleanest route was identifying what power was being used against me, and developing a specific counter-measure for it. That would take the least energy, but wouldn't be useful in the future.

I preferred the idea of just neutralising all illusions, so I would never have to deal with something like this again. The problem was that I wouldn't know how much energy that would require until I did it, and would probably result in me collapsing from exhaustion anyway.

A solution presented itself in the form of a mini-Cain in my mind. I could just permanently dispel this specific illusion, no need to identify what it was. He was always saying that powers required creativity, since they could behave in very vague ways.

With that in mind, I pulled at my power, the energy of the Aether that ran through me, and began to shape it with my intention. The process of doing so was always a strange one, especially for something I'd never done before. I just needed to have my intention clear in my mind, and like a baby discovering its fingers for the first time, the way forward would present itself. At least with powers I used frequently, I could manipulate them with precision. This would be about as precise as a 1 year-old using a spoon. It was also guaranteed to be tiring.

My magic flowed out, through and around me. One moment, my body was fighting a dragon and weird man-thing, the next, I was alone amongst a thick cloud of purple. Back in the driver's seat, I froze, taking in my surroundings. Then I sneezed, and purple gas flowed from my nostrils. The realisation struck me, and I wondered why I hadn't caught on sooner. This was the same gas that had engulfed me when I faced down that strange character earlier.

<Janar! Janar! Are you there?> Jacob yelled through the earpiece. I winced, my ear involuntarily twitching at the sharp sound.

"Yeah, barely, are you okay?" I responded, "Listen, there's this weird purple gas afoot, avoid it at all-"

<We know,> Cain interrupted, <We wanted to make sure you're safe.>

"I'm fine, I think. Might not sleep well tonight."

Jacob laughed, <Neither will we. Should we head to your location?>

"Don't bother. I think there's someone who is creating this gas, the guy I spotted when I called you. He shouldn't be too far, we gotta catch him and see what his deal is," My legs felt weak, but despite that I started walking to get clear of the gas. I tried to open my wings, but I had to be very careful since I didn't know what was around me. I felt blind, and I was too weak to lift myself into the sky like normal.

<If you say so, let us know when you've got eyes in the sky,> Jacob said, <We'll be here recovering our strength and following where this gas seems to be coming from.>

It took me a few minutes of walking to get clear of the gas, and I found myself in an empty playground surrounded by apartment buildings. The play structures were metal and rusted, dust and debris having built up around over time. Thick plants had grown over the entire playground, but it was still easy to see the shape of the little house and slide, and the monkey bars. There was still purple gas here, but it wasn't as thick, so I could see clearly.

Most importantly, I could stretch my wings and see the sky. I coughed, clearing my lungs as much as possible before finally spreading my wings and taking off, flapping hard. The gas swirled and was blown away by the gusts of wind created by my wings, until I'd finally gotten back into the air, into my element.

I glided around above the empty buildings for a while, looking for any hints of the guy, before finally giving in to the reality of the situation. There was only one thing that could help me identify the man, and though I was low on energy, I figured I'd have enough strength left to pull this off.

My eyesight shifted, and the world below turned into a dark grey, and monotone. The only details that stood out were vague edges of different structures, like black lines. Well, that and something else, something which I was looking for. Three yellow glowing points stood out amongst the grey, visible even if they were supposed to be covered by buildings. Large sources of Aether. Two of the sources were right next to each other, which I assumed to be Cain and Jacob. So instead, I focussed on the third one.

"Alright guys, I've got him in my sights."