Chapter 115: The Dreamwalker

That night, the Palace was quiet. But the air was heavy.

In the royal nursery, five-year-old Aurora was tossing and turning in her bed. She was sweating.

“No… go away…” she whimpered in her sleep.

Around her room, objects began to react to her distress. Her teddy bears floated into the air. The heavy curtains rustled as if caught in a storm, though the windows were closed. The water in her glass began to boil.

In the Dream:

Aurora was standing in a field of grey ash. The sky was purple.

In the distance, a massive Black Tower stretched up into the clouds. It looked like a needle piercing the sky.

Standing at the top of the tower was a man. He didn't have a face. Just a smooth, white mask with a single vertical line drawn on it.

"Come here, little star," the man’s voice echoed inside her head. "Your light belongs to me."

Shadowy hands reached out from the ground, grabbing Aurora’s ankles.

"Daddy!" she screamed in the dream.

In the Real World:

CRACK!

The mirror on Aurora's wall shattered.

"Aurora!" Serenity burst into the room first, followed closely by Jackson.

Jackson saw the floating furniture and the swirling vortex of wind in the center of the room. He shielded Serenity with his body.

"Rory! Wake up!" Jackson tried to approach the bed, but an invisible force field pushed him back. It was like a wall of solid air.

"She’s panicking," Alex ran in, checking his readings. "Her brain waves are off the charts. Delta waves are spiking. She’s in deep REM sleep, but her adrenaline is lethal."

"Wake her up!" Serenity cried, trying to push through the force field. "She’s having a nightmare!"

"If you wake her violently, you might break her mind," a deep voice warned from the doorway.

Liam stepped inside.

He didn't fight the force field. He simply walked through it, the violet energy rippling around him like water.

He sat on the edge of the bed. He placed a hand on Aurora’s forehead.

"Begone," Liam whispered. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried the weight of a mountain.

A pulse of blue light shot from Liam’s hand into Aurora’s mind.

In the Dream:

The shadowy hands were dragging Aurora towards the Black Tower.

Suddenly, a giant Blue Wall crashed down, severing the shadows. The faceless man on the tower recoiled, hissing.

"This territory is claimed," Liam’s voice boomed from the sky.

The dream shattered.

In the Real World:

Aurora gasped, sitting up. The floating furniture crashed to the floor. The wind stopped.

She looked around, wild-eyed, until she saw Jackson.

"Daddy!"

Jackson rushed forward and scooped her up. "I've got you. I'm here. You're safe."

Aurora sobbed into his shoulder. "The Faceless Man... he wants my light. He wants to put me in the Black Tower."

Jackson rocked her, his face turning pale with rage. He looked at Liam.

"What the hell was that?" Jackson demanded. "Night terrors?"

"No," Liam stood up, looking grave. "That was an intrusion."

"An intrusion?"

"The Architects," Liam walked to the window, staring out at the dark night. "They realized they couldn't capture her physically. So they recruited a Dreamwalker."

"A psychic?" Alex asked skeptically.

"Someone who can project their consciousness into the minds of those connected to the Element," Liam explained. "They are trying to break her will. To lure her out. Or drive her mad."

Jackson clenched his fist. "How do I shoot a dream? How do I kill a nightmare?"

"You can't," Liam turned to face his son. "But I can block them."

"How?"

"I have to go inside," Liam tapped his temple. "I have to enter her dreams and build a fortress around her mind. Tonight, I will be the gatekeeper."

Serenity looked at her frightened daughter. "Will it hurt her?"

"No. I will teach her," Liam smiled gently at Aurora. "I will teach her how to turn her nightmares into playgrounds."

Jackson kissed Aurora's damp forehead.

"Do it," Jackson ordered. "Lock her mind down. And if you see that Faceless Man again... tell him I'm coming for him."

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