Dreamscape

I Meet some Actually-Real Dream People

3 | I Meet some Actually-Real Dream People

"What... What do you mean? We just...?" I pause, not being able to find the right words. Seraphina nodded her head grimly.

"We uh... we're not in the parent universe. At least, our physical forms aren't."

"Uh, say what now?"

"Yeah... so, y'know how we can actually feel stuff in this dream?" She asks me. I nod a quick yes.

"Basically," she tried putting simply, "we're not in a dream. This is the real deal. We're actually in the archverse."

My heart starts pounding in my chest. "You're kidding..." She shakes her head. "How- How did we even get here?!"

"I... don't know," Seraphina admits, "but I do know that we're gonna have to try and get back to the parent universe somehow. Come with me," she says as she drags me along, "we're getting out of this island and we're finding some dream-people."

"Alright, sure, but could you let go of me?! I have legs..."

Around twenty minutes of walking later, we reached a different island. I suggested that we just will ourselves over but someone insisted that the less we use our powers, the better.

Look, I'm not exactly the type of person that just listens to whatever someone I met half an hour ago says, but as they say, beggars can't be choosers when they're not even in their main universe.

Okay, the last bit wasn't part of the saying, but still.

Oh look there's a dream-person. Person in a dream? Dream-villager... dream-inhabitant? Arian, stop thinking of synonyms and just focus on getting out of here, you have school tomorrow and you need to sleep for at least an hour.

I snapped out of it, right as Seraphina shot the most glaring glare at me. If looks could kill, I probably wouldn't be narrating this out right now. "Just answer me already!"

I blinked twice. "Uh- What's the question?" I managed out.

Seraphina sighed. "It wasn't even a question, idiot. I was saying that we should go around asking people for anything that could help us."

"And... why'd you need me to answer that?"

"'Cause I knew you weren't listening. Duh."

I blinked. How'd she know?! Am I that predictable to basically-strangers?! Note to self: Don't do that.

Seraphina dragged me along until we arrived at a... house. If you could call it that.

It was basically just a glorified run-down shack with a singular bed and some water. Seraphina dug around the room until she managed to find an old tome of some sorts.

"How'd you know this was here?" I questioned.

"I've... been here longer than you. I've seen stuff like this before."

I nod in understanding as she wiped the dust off the cover to reveal a faded cover with text that couldn't be read.

"This is written in a dead language," she explains, "I took the reading course for it in my class, so I can make out parts of it."

She passes the book to me and I take it, feeling the old texture in my hands. I look down at the title.

"The Hunter's Guide," she translates, "I don't know the last part."

"That's... not a concerning title at all," I comment as I flip through the pages.

Inside were depictions of many creatures that looked so bizarre I couldn't even describe them. They looked like all the animals and none of them at the same time.

"Slaying... Fire... Beast..." Seraphina translates all the words she can make out to the best of her ability, but I have my doubts that a "Wall eyes really stupid fire beast on top of open slaying" is a thing.

"And how did that help us?" I ask.

"It probably didn't," she admits, "but at least we know to be wary of Wall eyes now."

I shrug it off, "I guess that's valid. Let's just go ask some dream-people."

I turn my head around and see Seraphina already outside the shack-thing and skipping towards the village. "Hey! Wait up!"

She does not wait up.

"Hey! I'm Seraphina, he's idiot, and we're here to-"

"I am not an idiot!"

"I never said you were an idiot! I said your name was idiot, idiot."

I sigh. Curse Sera and her actually decent reasoning skills. Yes, I've decided to call her Sera now.

The dream-person looks at his wife. His wife looks back at him. The two both look at me, as if I was some kind of specimen they were examining.

"He bears the mark of a hunter, Carol."

The wife - Carol, nods.

I - Arian, scratch at my head awkwardly. "I don't even have a license for that, sir."

He blinks. "What's a... lie-sense? Wait... can you sense lies?! Is that why you're such a powerful hunter?!"

"Uh... I'm starting to think you don't mean the kind that kills animals when you say hunter."

Carol's eyes widen as she stares at her husband: "There's no way the boy doesn't know, Frederick."

"I... don't."

The dream-person, Frederick, explains: "A hunter is someone who specializes in slaying beasts. Each hunter possesses a tome bound to them by flesh and spirit. 'Tis a double-edged sword, as not only does a tome grant special abilities, but also a curse. Ever since the disappearance of the last hunter, our village has never seen another."

"Oh, uh... I'm not... This tome isn't bound to me," I explain, "my friend over here-"

"Helped him find it because he wants to become a hunter!" Seraphina interrupted, "He was just joking earlier."

Frederick nods. "Ah, of course. The tome must've chosen you then. What a brave soul you are, aiming to become a hunter. In that case, I wish you luck on your journey."

"Oh, and one more thing," Seraphina adds, "do you guys perhaps... know of a way to... exit the dome?"

Carol and Frederick's faces darkened. "Leave my house at once," Carol demanded.

As Seraphina and I walked out the door, I pestered her with a million questions. Why did you say that? Why do you know so much? What kind of monsters do you think are here? Just to name a few.

"Think about it," she responds, "this village hasn't had a hunter for years and they clearly need one to help them fend off beasts. If you become a hunter here and do enough favours for them, they could tell us how to get out of here! They clearly knew something, look at how their faces were like when I asked them about an exit!"

I give a subtle nod. It did make sense. Sera was definitely taking some huge gambles in her logic, but honestly, what other choice did we have? "Okay, one last question," I say, "what's the dome and how do you know about it?"

"Just a term people here use to refer to this realm," Sera explains, "been here longer than you, remember?"

"Loud and clear, ma'am. So, how do I bind to this tome thing?"