The night continues, and it eventually becomes clear to Cas that his counterpart is now sleeping. Images flash into his mind- odd, mostly unintelligible images that are overall quite random. A white horse standing on two hooves at the counter of the tech store in Ascentia, a tea party between game pieces, and vast expanses of food invade his mind. Alain, you may have gotten older and more mature, but you’re still a child on the inside. The images from her dreams are occasional, but only vivid for a brief moment or a few seconds at most before disappearing completely.

One bit of her dreams during the night does catch the sleepless Hayalci off guard. He sees and understands a shadowed, humanoid being as the target of his search that is soon to begin. He sees, in his mind’s eye, a black figure with long, blade-like hair. Claws are held at its sides and the being is turned away from him.

Cas begins to hear a high-pitched hum, as if a machine is buzzing somewhere in the vicinity. It continues as more of the creature’s appearance comes into view. It is certainly shrouded by something, giving off an almost translucent appearance like it isn’t truly or all the way in the physical world. Its stance is as if it is prepared to lunge at something, its legs bent in a crouching position. A sharp tail protrudes from its lower back, completely still in the air just above the ground. No discernable clothes are seen, though it doesn’t appear as if this being needs any in the first place due to the veil of darkness over it.

Before Caspian notices that this set of images is going on much longer than any of the other dreams of Alain’s, the hum drops in pitch, the tone becoming distorted. Slowly, the being in front of him turns, its head moving before any of the rest of its body. He first sees its eyes, like two soulless pits of black. They are almond-shaped and tilted slightly inwards; they are wide, as if searching for something in the dark. The mouth is extremely long and opened in a wide grin, displaying rows of teeth. Finally, as the torso begins turning, he confirms that this being, this thing, is or was a human at some point.

The distorted tone begins starting and stopping erratically, yet becomes louder by the second. “Alain...?” Cas speaks the word in his mind, hoping to jar his counterpart from this dark, surreal dream. Moments go by and the being continues turning towards him, now fully facing the bed. Its torso slides downwards smoothly, failing to show distinct features any normal humanoid would display on their bare body. Slightly shorter than him, very slim, yet sensed to be very dangerous, the woman in front of him gives off an extremely grim aura.

The blaring hum rips and tears at his ears, yet his body fails to move an inch. The tone, far from what it began as, now sounds like some kind of digital voice. Through strict concentration, Cas, is able to make out a phrase, one that haunts him for the rest of the night. As soon as it is clear to him the first time, it repeats itself over and over again. Along with the phrase, the being in front of him begins to approach, putting one wretched foot in front of the other in a mesmerizing stride. The spoken phrase becomes louder still, the creature steps closer, and all he can think of is what kind of horrible nightmare Alain must be having. It is not hers, however, but his- the Hayalci realizes this as the phrase reminds him of a line from the grim tome he took from the library in Bea. Before attempting to render his mind unconscious, the being speaks the phrase one last time: “Beware, Harbinger of Death, for I have awoken.”

The hum screeches to a halt as the man rips himself out of his dream, shooting a searching gaze around the bedroom. A cold sweat has taken control of his body, dampening his senses while he recalls the dream he just left. His breathing slows, his heartbeat following suit. The dark corners of the room are still, like they know nothing of what he had just experienced.

After it all, Cas thinks he’s free from the nightmare, but the humming returns. This time, it’s coming from his bedside table, the same table where he left the book from Bea at. A dim glow has emerged from its pages, as if prompting him to open the tome. The urge is overwhelming, moving his hands without his knowing until the cover and a stack of pages meet his fingers. With much hesitation, resulting in seconds of silence save for the humming, his hand pulls open the book where the glow emits from, and he is met with a dark mural within the book’s pages. Parts of the multicolored glow appear brighter, such as the dark red section encasing a shadow-like being he had just seen in his dream. This caused the horrible visions?

Before Caspian can investigate any further, his mind lights up with Alain’s voice. It rattles his bones, jarring him from the trance-like state he had just been in. “Hayalci, speak to me- Are you alright?”

Needing to calm himself once more, Cas places a hand against his chest above his heart, sighing deeply. Moments later, he responds, “Yes, Alain, I’m well. You’re up early.” It’s a little past midnight.

“I was enjoying such a lovely dream before it was interrupted by your fear. Did you get yourself into some trouble? Where are you?” Tense, too tense.

“Settle down, will you? It was just a nightmare is all; I’m home safe and sound.” Seconds go by without him receiving any response, so he adds, “I’ll try to focus on brighter thoughts so we may both dream peacefully. Agreeable?”

“Yes, that is agreeable. Please, no more scares before this week is over. Goodnight.”

“Night.” Cas’ eyes drop back to the book, seeing the glow has now dissipated. The illustration stays, though not for long as he closes the book and flips it over. Surely, keeping the pages turned away from the bed will deter dark spirits from invading his mind any longer tonight. This mission is making me tenser than I normally am, he thinks to himself, sleep creeping in from the darkness. Please let this be over with quicker than I’m thinking it’ll take. Before long, his consciousness begins to drift away. His thoughts on the nightmarish creature fade, leaving him a much more peaceful night of horses, game pieces, and worlds made of divine sustenance.