Another visit from the dream guardian.
In the past, when she has called him into the Astral Plane in his dreams, it has felt like a peaceful interlude, a moment of respite from the chaos of the waking world.
Something has changed, though. The pocket dimension is no longer placid. There is an impressive, almost inaudible thumping hum at the bottom of his hearing range. His skin tingles. There is an uncomfortable feeling of anticipation, like a nail waiting for the hammer-blow.
The guardian is standing nearby, watching as he wakes. She is not in her usual armor, but instead a short, pale lavender dress. She looks inexpressibly tired; her eyes sunken into her head, jutting jaw twisting her lips into a harsh frown.
"The voice of the Absolute is stronger here," she says quietly without preamble. "I don't know how much longer I can resist it."
A pause; then she lifts her head and musters a weary smile. "But it's good to see you're making progress."
With visible effort, she takes a few steps to turn and sit beside him on the ground, looking out at the endless sea of stars surrounding them.
"You took an unexpected route here," she goes on, a bit more conversationally. "You did a brave thing, saving those people in the grove."
Hector lifts one shoulder and lowers it again. "It wasn't even a choice," he mutters. "They needed my help."
Again she smiles slightly. "Not everyone would have helped."
She flinches, inhales sharply with sudden pain, then hisses the breath out like an unspoken curse.
"It just doesn't stop," she groans. "We are being bombarded by waves of telepathic energy. Wave after wave with hardly a breath between them. I almost dare not rest..." The pain seems to ease slightly, and she goes on with less effort, "Each wave...a new set of orders to the infected." A pause, and then she adds grimly, "The order for *your* transformation has been given many times already."
Hector feels a chill shiver down his spine. So it is not only a threat, but a certainty, held only at bay by this woman, whoever she truly is. "My transformation?" he asks hollowly.
She nods. "Yes. But the orders are oddly...erratic, as if the Absolute cannot make up its mind. I don't fully understand."
Well, if you don't, I certainly don't, Hector thinks sardonically.
"In any case," she goes on. "the Absolute knows you carry me with you now. It wants to retrieve me."
"Why does the Absolute want you?" Hector asks. At this point, he doesn't expect a clear answer - but he still hopes against hope that she will give him something concrete to explain the field of safety she is still able to weave around him and his companions.
She hesitates, then shakes her head and pushes herself to her feet with a grunt of effort.
"I am the only one who can resist the Absolute's influence. Hence its fear of me, its desperation. Unfortunately, that also means it is dedicating more and more resources to my retrieval."
She looks down at him with sudden intensity. "The task ahead is monumental. But we're all that stands between victory for the Absolute and freedom for all. This is not just about you and I anymore. It has become far bigger than us."
Hector swallows. It is difficult enough to think about his own little problems, the threat of abduction, transformation, death...but to know that their actions affect the safety of so many others as well...
Selune help me...what if I can't do it? What if I fail?
"You must infiltrate Moonrise Towers," the guardian says. She recites it like a litany, their only creed, as if either of them could have forgotten the destination that lies ahead. "Discover the secrets of the Absolute and put an end to it, so we can finally be free."
Her shoulders sag, and her eyes drift half-shut. Hector feels reality going grey at the edges as the dream begins to fade back into the emptiness of sleep. "Now I must rest," she says, her voice following him back into the dark. "And you must carry on. Do not let my efforts be in vain."
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