Once again, I found myself inside Olethros’s rotunda of lavender twilight. The main entrance was sealed off with a dark miasma that sluggishly undulated up and down in striated patterns. His giant scythe was ensnared in a humming barrier of shadow, hovering above the golden magic circle ingrained in the dark marble floor. Multiple wooden bookshelves had been ripped from the walls and thrown violently to the ground, where they laid with cracked sides. I was about to step around one such splintered ruin to get a better glimpse of him at his desk, but I heard him talking to someone else. Maybe I should have made an appointment? I really wasn’t trying to come here again, though. Honestly, I was avoiding him because I didn’t want to conflate him with the real antagonist.

Olethros's voice, laced with disdain, echoed through the space. “You’re telling me you have absolutely nothing new to report?”

A distorted, anxious voice responded, “Your Majesty, if you could just provide more specific guidance on your concerns, I could–”

“Concerns? You think… I am merely… concerned? No wonder you’re not taking your orders seriously!” Olethros flared.

“I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty… but I am unsure of what more I should be doing…”

I felt a little sorry for the minion at that point. He sounded so pathetic and out of his element… Wait. That would mean he’s another figment of my imagination, too, wouldn’t it? What part of my personality would he represent? Imposter syndrome?! I’m doing my best, you know!

“I’ll give you just one minute to rethink your last statement to me.” Olethros tapped the seconds out on his desk in appreciable irritation.

I reminded myself once again that this was just another weird dream and that anything that happens here is my brain trying to cope with recent events. To solidify that fact, I glanced down and ensured I was transparent. All I had to do was wait this out and apologize for our last rough encounter, right? I’d concede he was right, and I should have listened to what he was saying, maybe flatter his intelligence a little, then hit him with recent circumstances and ask for his sage advice. Ah, but don’t say ‘sage’ to him. He might take that as an insult!

“Perhaps I should…” the voice hesitated after his time was up.

“Just tell me what that damnable priest has been up to!”

Definitely skip the word sage.

“Which–”

“Relias!” I heard his fist slam into the desk. “Who the hell else would I be asking about?!”

“H-he spends most of his days locked in the tower, Dread Lord!” The voice sounded somewhat tinny, as if he was broadcasting across a distance.

I carefully peeked around the bookshelf and saw his dark majesty slowly scraping his claw-like fingernails along deeply carved ruts on his desk while sneering into a magic orb. His silvery lavender locks were in complete disarray, which I found particularly bothersome. I know you’re a busy Demon King, but take some time out for self-care once in a while!

“Most? Not all? When does he leave? What does he do? Who is he meeting with? I have all these questions, yet your report does nothing to address them!”

“I’m… not sure of the answers... The holy barriers obscure–” The voice he was talking to seemed to be coming in fits from that magic orb. Although Olethros must have been able to see something I couldn’t because it was just filled with green fog.

“Must I instruct you on every task, Amos? Obtain their calibration schedule from Councilman Vetus and slip inside the inner city during staggered maintenance!”

Amos? Vetus? I couldn’t remember either name from the book.

“But… Vetus died two months ago…”

Wow! Fastest NPC death ever?

“And you’ve neglected to report it?!”

“He was just a regular human… he wasn’t even skilled in using amity!”

“Tell me his cause of death. Was it suspicious? Did they… find him out?” He peered nervously into the orb with glittery green eyes, but its center remained foggy.

“Sir, he was 94 years old. No one investigated his death. It was a foregone conclusion!”

Olethros exhaled exaggeratedly. “Inutilis wouldn’t have access to that information. Procul is currently away inspecting Fort Turri… What about Councilman Pravum? Have you tried bribing him yet?”

How am I supposed to interpret this dream if you’re using names I don’t know, brain?

“The amount of gold he’s asking for is–”

“Irrelevant! Just give it to him! Promise him anything he wants and get that schedule!”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the voice responded sullenly.

“I expect tomorrow’s report will contain useful information.”

“T…tomorrow? Your Majesty, the risk I’m taking each time I contact you–”

“Is nothing compared to what will happen if you fail!”

“Please, Your Majesty! I’m doing my best to change things!”

“And yet you’ve done nothing to improve your incompetence! It’s as if–” Olethros shuddered, and both of his eyes suddenly flicked open. The whites had given way to darkness, with tiny wisps of black smoke leaking from the outer corners. “You’re working with her, aren’t you?”

“No, I swear, I’ve not been in contact with Mistress Aziza–”

“Not her. Her!” he shouted angrily, slamming the desk again as he stood up.

The distorted voice stayed silent for a moment before proceeding with clear apprehension. “Your Majesty, there’s no tangible evidence that she has returned. Every reported sighting turned out to be unfounded. You need to forget about–”

“Enough!” He grabbed his head with both hands, his features blurring behind a dark veil of shadow. “Our conversation is over! Do not contact me again until you have something productive to report!” He ended the call by forcefully swiping the magic orb off its pedestal. The resounding shattering of glass crystal echoed throughout the room, momentarily stunning me.

“I know you’re here, Rachel,” he murmured in a low, malevolent tone that caused me to tremble in fear. He definitely wasn’t in a place to talk meaningfully with me, and I wasn’t ready to deal with whatever this dream was actually about. “You can’t hide from me for long!” Oh, thank the heavens… he didn’t know I was ‘here’ here!

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he continued, his voice rising with every syllable. “None of this was supposed to happen! You weren’t supposed to come back!” He suddenly disappeared with an angry buzz, only to reappear directly in front of the magic circle. Now, the darkness surrounding him seemed to emanate from his entire body.

“Plus animus! Ego vi!” The magic circle hummed louder, and his scythe pulsated in response to his unhinged shouts. “I refuse to be the next victim in all of this!”

He shrieked mindlessly as the room filled with the dark vapor spewing from his physical form, clouding my vision.

I awoke covered in a cold sweat, strangely thankful for physics and any other related sciences that made it impossible for me to jump out of my own skin.

“What the… why was he acting like a two-bit antagonist this time?” I mumbled to myself to play off the stupid dream as I rolled over, only to find Nora inches from my face.

“Who are you talking about?” she asked quietly.

“I-I have no idea!” It wasn’t him. It couldn’t have been.

“You’re having weird dreams again, aren’t you?” It was so comforting to hear that she had once thought they had gone away.

“You know me,” I laughed nervously.

“You’re still not going to tell me about them, are you?”

“Nora… They’re just dumb dreams. They rarely make sense, and…” I don’t want you to think less of me.

“The last time you had them bad, your Mother sent you away for the summer,” Nora reminded me. “So even if you can’t talk to me about them, you should consider–”

“I’ve been lying to you,” I interrupted quickly, not wanting to hear her latest advice for my chronic sleep problems. “It wasn’t Mother’s decision to go away for therapy. It was mine. I just… didn’t want you to blame me for ruining our summer vacation plans.” Sorry, Mother. It was so easy to blame you for my issues. Then, I didn’t have to deal with them myself.

“You… lied to me? And I believed you?”

“I’m so sorry!” I was probably making her lousy day even worse now.

“I can’t believe it… You lied to my face with your face! I didn’t know you had it in you!”

“You’re not… mad?”

“Everyone lies. I just thought you were really, really bad at it.”

I stared at her for a few moments. “Uh, thanks, I guess?”

Nora took a deep breath. “If you need help to deal with them…”

“I’ll ask for help when I need it. I promise,” I lied again.