Fallacious

Chapter Five

These warriors were

Wise, Merry, Benevolent, and Valiant

However, how were we to know

They wouldn't protect us forever

Besides my other self were three others. I recognized them all, but they seemed bitter and serious: myself, Sigmund, Sylvester, and Arch. Arch stared at me for a moment, or at least I thought she did. Her eyes were a deep red up close. Then I realized she was right in front of the statue I had climbed on. "Yup, this is the one," She said, looking away from me and back toward the others. She glanced once more my way, but that time, I was sure she looked straight at me. My soul felt as if it had just been dropped and my arms grew weak, and my head heavy. How come the others didn't notice me?

Perhaps it had to do with what Sigmund had told me. How I could dream of events that actually happened. Just like with Giselle. If that was true, then there's a possibility I could go back and save Giselle. Perhaps I could also stop whatever it was Stolas did to regain his power and damage my memories. I gripped the statue as I thought deeply and was only brought back to my surroundings when I listened in on the group's conversation.

"This better be it because there's no way we walked to the middle of NoHeir for nothing," Sylvester barked, obviously annoyed with their circumstances. He seemed to be the only of the four to be covered in sweat, mud, sand, and, oddly enough, feathers. He must have had a hard time getting here. Yet, I couldn't help but let out a laugh. Arch smiled when I did so. It was a sweet smile. One that I missed. "What? It was for nothing, wasn't it!"

The group continued to poke fun of Sylvester and constantly reassure him that this statue was the one. However, what was it about the statue that made it "the one". I jumped off the platform and walked around the giant sandstone carving. It seemed to be modeled after a man in robes. Amin. Or as the elven people, myself included, call him, Death. The name suited him for a multitude of reasons. Not only did he bring people to their demise and take them away into the afterlife, but he also has one of the most painful auras you could ever encounter.

When I averted my attention, I hadn't realized that I was back under the low-hanging tree in front of The Chime. I stared at my hands blankly. I could feel them once again. Sighing, I leaned back on the trunk of the tree, looking up toward the weeping branches and morning sky. I must've slept through the afternoon and the night.

"Don't fall back asleep just yet, Bubo," Akin stated. He looked down at me with the same expressionless face. In his hand was my journal, and beside him was Sylvester. "In fact, I doubt you'll be allowed to sleep anytime soon." He handed the journal to Vester, who looked much more drained than the Sylvester I had seen in my dream. Something happened to him between way back then and now, and whatever it was, it haunted him greatly. Oddly enough, this made me realize that I needed to be more willful. Had I not made whatever mistake I made in the past, perhaps things would have gone better.

Vester examined me as if I was an extraterrestrial being. As if I was out of the ordinary. For crying out loud, even I had been questioning myself for the longest time. But I've told myself to give up on complaining already, so, as reckless as it was, I accepted that I had this unfortunate gift. Vester, however, didn't seem to accept it. He shifted his gaze toward the building behind him after hearing the oddly high-pitched laughs from Key and King. The two came tumbling out of The Chime like wrestling wyverns. Their hair a mess, and at hand, short-end pipes that shot out nothing but helium. They looked to us, taming their laughter before Akin crossed his arms and sighed. "Really? Is this what you've all come to?" He sounded a little more than disappointed and was fixing to walk off before Sylvester stopped him.