DamienI woke up the next day with a strange emptiness beside me—she was gone. The spot where her warmth should have been was cold, untouched, as if she had never been there at all. I found myself back in my quarters within the faction, lying on the stiff mattress beneath the darkened canopy that filtered out any light. My head throbbed slightly as I sat up, trying to piece together how I had returned to this place.Had the grim reapers dragged me back again? It wouldn't be the first time. They warned me no, they made it very clear that I needed to be restrained, that I had crossed too many lines, failed too many times. They said my shortcomings were dangerous, not just to others, but to the fragile balance between realms.Still dazed, I rose to my feet and stepped out into the dim corridor. My mind was a storm of confusion, the edges of reality blurred like smeared ink. I glanced down at my hands, only to find the ring—the same ring we exchanged on our wedding day—still on my fing
Luxiana SommerisWe filled out the paperwork, our hands brushing as we signed our names on the dotted lines. For a moment, I watched our signatures side by side—black ink sealing something far deeper than just a legal bond. It wasn’t about the ceremony. It wasn’t about traditions or flowers or rings. It was about the choice. Quiet, powerful, and full of meaning.The room where they led us was small—just a narrow chamber with two wooden chairs, a worn rug, and a little podium where the officiant stood, holding a folder and smiling as we approached. No candles, no petals on the floor, no soft music playing in the background. Just sunlight pouring in through a tall window, painting the floor in warm gold.We stood before her, hands joined tightly, facing each other like the rest of the world had fallen away.“Do you, Damien,” the officiant began, “take this woman, to be your partner, your constant, your heart’s home, for as long as life allows?”Damien didn’t blink. His eyes stayed on
Luxiana SommerisFor a moment, Damien just stood there, completely still, like his body hadn’t caught up with what his ears had just heard. His brows lifted in surprise, lips parting slightly as if he was about to speak but couldn’t find the words. The silence stretched, filled only by the soft rustle of the curtains swaying from the morning breeze slipping through the half-open window.“You’re not joking,” he finally said, voice barely above a whisper, like saying it louder might shatter the moment.I stepped closer to him, my fingers brushing lightly against his. “Do I look like I’m joking?” I said with a soft smile. “We’ve already wasted too much time.” “And I’m tired of waiting for the perfect moment when all we’ve ever had were moments we had to fight for,” I added.Damien’s eyes searched mine, and I could see it there—hesitation tangled with wonder, concern laced with hope. He was always so careful and measured, like he carried the weight of our fate in every decision. But r
Luxiana SommerisI don’t know if I was hallucinating, but I could feel or hear his heartbeat or voice. A low, aching echo that stirred something deep in my chest.I ran toward it. The shadows clawed at my arms, wrapping around my legs like vines trying to hold me back, whispering lies in voices that mimicked my thoughts.“He gave up on you.”“You’re too late.”“He’s forgotten who you are.”I shut my eyes and pushed forward, biting my lip so hard I almost tasted blood. Every step was heavy, like I was walking through water made of grief and guilt. But still, I followed that pulse—his presence—pulling me like a thread I refused to let go of.Then, through the fog, I saw it. A clearing.Dead trees surrounded it in a perfect circle, their branches twisted upward like skeletal hands clawing at the sky. At the center stood a stone altar, cracked and weathered, etched with strange symbols that pulsed with dim red light. Chains, ethereal and almost translucent, snaked across the ground, lead
Luxiana SommerisDays passed—maybe even a week—and still, Damien hadn’t returned. The worry that settled in my chest grew heavier each moment he was gone, and when I finally tried to teleport to find him, a strange, foreign energy pushed back against me, blocking my path and leaving me more anxious than before.I hadn’t gone to see Margaret either, to check on her or ask if she’d heard anything, though deep down, I could sense she was alright. The energies that lingered around me whispered comfort, gently assuring me that she was safe.Damien was right all along—I truly had unlocked my full potential as a Oneiromancer. I could feel it pulsing within me like a tide that had finally reached the shore. There was so much more for me to uncover, to understand, to master, and even though I had come a long way, I was certain this was only the beginning of a much larger journey.Right now, I was trying to see if there was any way for me to reach Damien or anyone from the faction, to create a
Luxiana Sommeris“Do you think he’ll be alright?” I asked softly, my voice barely louder than the wind as we stood there, watching what had just unfolded between him and Mira.It broke my heart to see them like that — two people once so close, now carrying wounds that words could barely heal. Still, a part of me felt relieved, even grateful, that they had found the strength to finally talk. Maybe not everything was resolved, but enough was said to ease the heaviest part of their burden.Damien’s arms were loosely wrapped around me, his weight leaning on mine. I held onto him carefully, helping him stay balanced, mindful of the injuries he had suffered earlier when he hurt his feet during the chaos.“He will be fine, he has survived a lot of things that no normal human would,” Damien stated as a fact.Even now, standing here with him, I still find it hard to believe that we have defeated Morpheus. After everything he put us through, after all the nights filled with fear and fighting,
AntonAt first, she couldn’t bring herself to meet my eyes. She stared down, her fingers trembling slightly against mine. But after a long, weighted pause, she finally smiled — a soft, bittersweet curve of her lips — and tightened her grip on my hands.“I have feelings for you,” she whispered, her voice barely above the breeze, “but it wasn’t allowed in the faction...so I forced myself to forget.”She gave a short, breathy laugh that sounded like she was trying to make light of something that hurt far too much.“I slept with others in their dreams,” she admitted, her eyes clouding with memories, “but no matter what I did, I couldn’t forget you. I couldn’t forget the way we opened up to each other so easily... the way we were so gentle, yet so passionate together.”I swallowed hard, feeling the familiar ache rise in my chest, and found myself confessing before I could stop myself.“I felt the same,” I said, my voice thick. “I tried...I slept with others, too, but it never worked. I eve
Luxiana Sommeris“My walkers… they can’t fully possess the people in either the waking world or the dream realm—what did you do?” Morpheus screamed, his voice sharp and accusing, echoing like a crack of thunder through the heavy air, forcing me to leave Damien’s side and step forward until I stood directly in front of him, unflinching.“What I did,” I began, my breath shaky but my voice steady, “was use everything I am as an Oneiromancer to stop whatever it is you’re trying to tip out of balance.” I exhaled sharply, the pressure of it all catching up to me. “You really think I came all this way just to fight you without a reason, don’t you?”“We know what you've been doing,” I continued, my fists clenched so tight my nails dug into my palms, “I swear I won’t let you get away with it.”“Maybe you escaped the consequences before—I don’t know how or why—but this time, I’m here to make sure it ends.” “I might be the last of my kind,” I said with a quiet strength that came from something
Anton“Y-You saw it? B-But how?” I asked, my voice almost breaking.“It doesn’t matter how. I want to see it and take it from you, so let’s go back, okay?” Mira said as she held my hands.“O-Okay,” I replied, the word trembling from my lips, but it was enough to make them both smile, and for a moment, that warmth was all I could feel.“There’s still time,” Mira said again with the authority of someone who had walked through too many endings to be afraid of one more. “But we have to act now. Morpheus still has his grip on you, and if we wait, he’ll pull you too deep—we might never reach you again.”I looked at them—at Luxiana’s steady eyes and Mira’s unshakable calm—and for the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself believe that maybe I wasn’t lost after all. That the darkness hadn’t consumed everything, that the flicker of light I thought was long gone had survived because they had come before the dream collapsed.“I don’t know if I’m strong enough,” I whispered, the trut