“Welcome to Dreamworld,” Shana said, standing atop the rocky spire that was always her starting point.
For the first time ever, she hadn’t started here alone.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Rae said breathlessly.
“You can say that again,” Kathryn said.
“What’s that light?” Annabelle asked, pointing to a floating orb of golden light amidst the magenta clouds.
“That’s what I used to follow, in the early days,” Shana said. “But I… haven’t seen it for a long time.” Despite that, she smiled. “Come on, let’s follow it.”
She made sure she was holding Annabelle and Rae’s hands, and that Rae was holding Kathryn’s before stepping off the spire. She flew, and her friends gasped as they flew with her. The laugh of delight that arose from Annabelle made Shana’s heart soar.
I’m not alone.
Those three words were at the forefront of Shana’s mind. Especially now, especially here, especially with what she knew she must do.
Because last time, she’d failed — not in her ultimate goal, but in her own resolve and courage — all because she’d believed she was alone when she wasn’t.
I’m not alone. And I won’t forget that. I won’t reject that.
The golden light flew ahead of them, always staying just barely in sight. As it led slightly downward, Shana knew where it was going.
I wonder why it always leads me there first?
“Something’s coming up!” Kathryn said, grinning from ear-to-ear.
When they could all properly see it, gasps went up around Shana, and she smiled.
I forgot. I forgot that sense of wonder, forgot just how beautiful and amazing this place is.
But it really is amazing.
They came to land on the walls of the castle Shana knew so well… and yet for a moment, she paused.
“What’s up?” Kathryn asked.
“It’s just…” Shana started. “I just realized. I’ve never actually seen much of this castle.” She pointed over to the entrance to the hall of paintings she always went through. “I go through there all the time, but it’s not long after that I’m back outside and fly again. The only other place I’ve seen is where we enter the Nightmare Road.”
“Isn’t that where we need to go?” Kathryn asked.
“No,” Shana said, shaking her head. “That’s how we get to the Nightmare Citadel, but we don’t need to go there. We need… to enter Nightmares. It’s bonded to Dreamworld, in its own way. We need to find Heart.”
Still, the riddle of the castle teased at Shana’s mind. What was she missing here? Then again, there was so much in Dreamworld that she still hadn’t seen, so many places she’d seen but didn’t fully understand…
I have so much to learn.
Through the hall of paintings they went, and out the other side. Once again they were flying, and Shana worked to get as high as she could, to break through the clouds and…
There!
Shana and her friends flew up and out of the magenta clouds, breaking through into a beautiful open space of golden light. Gasps went up from the others, and again Shana smiled, her heart resonating with the wonder her friends felt.
“What are we looking for?” Rae asked as Shana started turning in a slow circle, looking out across the clouds.
“A meeting place,” Shana said. “Nightmares merge with Dreamworld, and there’s a meeting place at the point of convergence. We’re going to take on a Nightmare trial, so we need both Heart and Nocta. And Heart definitely knows, so the two of them will be waiting for us… there!” She started forward, holding Annabelle and Rae’s hands tightly. There was a break in the clouds, and through it she could see the great forest down below. It started green, verdant, and full of life, but eventually turned black and dead, and beyond that the forest died out completely, replaced with barren mountains, valleys, and dark, rocky plains. In the great distance, far beyond the devastation, the Nightmare Citadel could faintly be seen.
But Shana was taking them to the place where life and death, where green and black, where dreams and nightmares met. A break in the trees, from which arose a stone tower, its top wider than its base, forming a circular stage. Into the stage’s floor was carved a massive, intricate glyph that Shana couldn’t decipher.
And in the center of that stage was Heart, gleaming with light. And next to her was Nocta, huge and dark. Shana brought her and her friends in for a landing in front of the pair.
“You brought others with you,” Heart said, smiling. “I’m glad. I —” But she cut off suddenly in surprise, as Shana raced forward and hugged her.
“I’m so sorry,” Shana said. “I shouldn’t have abandoned you. I shouldn’t have given up.”
“Oh, Shana,” Heart said, stroking Shana’s hair. “If anyone should be sorry, it is me. I failed to recognize the depth of your suffering, and didn’t do enough to help you. You felt so alone, and I stood by and watched.”
Shana shook her head. “None of what’s happened is your fault,” she said.
“Oh, can you guys stop fighting for apologies?” Kathryn asked. “Just be happy to be back together again, huh? It’s not like either of you is holding a grudge.”
“Too true,” Heart said. “All is forgiven and forgotten, Shana. I’m simply glad you’ve come back, and that you haven’t truly given up.”
“Thank you,” Shana said, pulling away and blinking against tears. She was sick of crying, had thought she’d cried herself out.
But every time I think I’ve run out of tears, I can always find more. It’s times like these I really wish there was a limit.
“Now you must explain what it is you seek,” Nocta said, her deep voice resonant and beautiful.
“I want to take on the Nightmare Trial,” Shana said. “I know now that’s what Nightmares are for, and it’s something I couldn’t do while Nocta was consumed with Collapse. Now that you’re free, I can take on the Trial, right?”
“But do you truly understand what it is you ask?” Nocta asked.
“I know it’ll be hard,” Shana said. “Like the Dream Forge. Probably worse. But I know that it’s only through braving my worst nightmares that I can fully understand and awaken to my powers as the Dreamer. That’s… where I faltered in the Dream Forge. I faced one of my worst nightmares, and…” she looked back at Annabelle, “I ran away. I abandoned my friend for my own safety.”
“You brought them along for emotional support,” Heart said, “and more besides. That’s good. But you realize what having them here also does for your Trial?”
Shana nodded. She turned back to her friends. “Because you’re here with me, it won’t just be my own nightmares we face. All of your nightmares will come to the surface. Nightmares are… not always the same as fears. What you think is your worst fear probably isn’t, not really. Your worst, most terrifying fears are deep, so deep you don’t even realize they’re there. But that’s where your nightmares come from. Which means… aside from the Three, none of us can really know what we’re going to face.”
“The Three?” Rae asked.
“My… three worst nightmares,” Shana said. “I’ve had them enough times that I know them, so they’re not stuck in my subconscious.”
“Part of your conscious awareness of them stems from being the Dreamer,” Nocta said.
“I faced one of them in the Dream Forge,” Shana continued. “And…”
“It’s all right,” Annabelle said. “You won’t let any of us down. Not this time.”
Still, Shana struggled with the memories.
I’m not alone.
She had to keep reminding herself of that truth. Because back then in the Dream Forge…
Annabelle was right there with me. I was holding her hand!
And yet…
I believed I was alone.
And in the end, I lost her. I can’t let that happen again. Never again.
Shana nodded resolutely. “Right. So… that’s what we’re up against. But…” she turned back to Nocta and Heart, “that’s all I know. We’ll face nightmares, and I know I’m going to need to face and overcome the Three — not just one of them, but all of them. But what else is there to the Nightmare Trial?”
“In the Dream Forge there were paths we needed to follow, and gates to find,” Annabelle said. “Is it like that?”
Heart and Nocta both stepped slightly apart from each other, and in between them a small pedestal rose up from the center of the stage. Atop it in a shallow depression was a flickering magenta flame.
“This fire is your charge,” Heart said. “It must be used to light the Dream Beacon, the final destination of the Nightmare Trial. There are smaller beacons along the way to help guide you. You will always be able to see the next beacon you must reach. But it will not be the distance it seems to be — perhaps nearer, perhaps farther, but never as it seems. And Nightmares will always be working to obscure your view of it, to force you into the least direct path, to make you lose hope you will ever reach it.”
“So, okay, hold up,” Kathryn said, hands on her hips as she looked up at Nocta. “Aren’t you grateful that Shana saved you? Why are you going to make her live through her worst fears? I don’t get this at all.”
“I do,” Rae said, raising her hand. She looked up at Nocta, and the great owl nodded. “Fears… nightmares… they don’t exist just to torment us. When we face our fears, when we reject them, when we refuse to let them defeat us… we grow. We become stronger, and better, and understand ourselves and the world more. Fears and nightmares are things we have to overcome, because in overcoming them, we become who we’re meant to be.”
“Steel gains its strength, shape, and purpose when forged in fire,” Nocta said. “So, too, does the Dreamer awaken to her strength, shape, and purpose when forged in the trials ahead.”
“Oh,” Kathryn said, looking a bit embarrassed. “I never thought of it like that.”
“You don’t fear very much,” Shana said, laughing.
“I am more grateful than I can ever express to Shana, and Fae, and all of you who helped them save me,” Nocta said. “But though this looks like cruelty to some, it is not being forced upon Shana. She takes on the Nightmare Trial by her own choosing.”
“I can… probably still do a lot as I am,” Shana said. “I’m still the Dreamer, after all. But things have gotten so bad, and they’re only going to get worse unless all of us step up. Shias steps up every day, he’s always ready.” Shana smiled. “He’s the best. Caleb’s out there, Fae is, Delilah is… they’re all stepping up.” She looked back at Kathryn, Rae, and Annabelle. “You guys are always stepping up. Now… it’s my turn. I know how to become who I’m meant to be. I’m not going to walk away from it, no matter how scary it is.”
And it won’t be like the Dream Forge. All I have to do is light the Dream Beacon, even if it’s by myself, to pass the Trial, but…
My own trial, the trial I place on myself… is for all of us to get through this. Together. I won’t watch them be consumed by dangers while I run in fear. Never again.
“The Nightmare Trial begins through the gate,” Heart said, pointing to the far side of the tower, where a stone archway stood. In the archway, light shone, glistening and rippling like water. “Be sure you are ready before you enter.”
“But what about the fire?” Shana asked.
That very moment, the magenta flames leapt from the pedestal and shot straight into Shana’s chest. She gasped, but not in pain. Warmth flooded through her, and she felt light, her head so clear.
“Oh, that’s… wonderful,” she said, laughing. “I carry the flame there within me.”
“You do,” Heart said, smiling.
“Okay,” Shana said, turning to her friends. “Everyone ready?”
“You know it,” Kathryn said, grinning.
“Yes,” Rae said, eyes fixed in a resolute stare.
“Let’s go,” Annabelle said, nodding.
“Right,” Shana said, turning towards the gate. Kathryn, Rae, and Annabelle came to her, and she took Annabelle and Rae’s hands in hers, Rae holding Kathryn’s hand. “Here we go.”
She led the way forward, and the four girls stepped through the gate.