Xaloc watched the threads before him.
Some threads were light, almost invisible in that starry expanse. Others were thicker, two in particular were as thick as a bull's rope.
Xaloc knew the people at the end of the thick thread.
It was like an instinct. He instinctively knew who each thread belonged to and for how he had formed these threads, the book had explained it was through physical contact.
The longer there is physical contact, the stronger the thread would grow and the easier it is to access the person's dreamworld.
With this knowledge, it was only a matter of fact that the people with the thickest threads are his parents, he has been with them the longest after all.
A part of Xaloc was curious, he wanted to pull the thread and step in. Were his parents missing him? Or maybe they were relieved, now the twins were healed, they would want to put the past behind them and move on.
Moving on is good, it is healthy. Xaloc said to himself with a smile. With that, he avoided those threads, his consciousness catching sight of another thread. This one was like fine hair and it made Xaloc chuckle at the thought of the wolf.
Did he reach Duat safely?
He revised everything he had read about Divinity in his head. His was still very small, akin to a drop of golden blood.
It was in mist form and it moved throughout his body, whenever he concentrated, he could feel the power beneath this golden blood and it filled him with incredible joy.
For the past two weeks, he had been breathing Aer any chance he got.
Aer purified the blood. It shed off mortality, turning one's blood divine.
Apart from Aer, there were other ways to purify oneself. It was just a pity that no matter how much he prodded, he could not hear an inkling from anyone.
It seems to be a closely guarded secret that just a few groups of people had the privilege of knowing.
Xaloc stopped thinking of what was far away, focusing his attention on his divinity.
He surrounded his mind with it and pulled.
Nothing happened, it was as if the thread was a weightless bird, ephemeral and difficult to grasp.
Xaloc took another deep breath, trying his best to stay calm while he recalled the actions described in the book.
Calling upon his divinity one more time, he pulled.
Suddenly his mind became heavy and a scene appeared before him.
It was an empty piece of land with three doors locked with chains and a crest over each chain.
The moment he tried to open a door, he could feel his mind being attacked. There was a great force pushing him out from the entire illusionary world.
He left the door and moved back. It was marvelous.
The warmth of the Wood was still on his palm. Heat still existed here. Heat? What about other elements?
He glanced at the door.
"Three doors. What do they mean? Is it part of his subconsciousness?" Xaloc stared at the open land.
No! Ozias is not dreaming.
"Xaloc! What the mobycobuies are you doing here? Which kind of shitty dream is this?" An alarmed voice screamed out from behind Xaloc.
Xaloc turned back to look at Ozias. He had changed a lot in the two weeks that they have not met.
Ozias was still thin, but the pile of bones that he had been when they both met.
His wavy hair had more blond streaks than brown and his pale skin had gotten tan, almost as if he had been sunbathing every day.
He looked better and his golden eyes had more life to them.
"You are not dreaming?" Xaloc said, wishing that this dream world had a seat where he could rest. He was feeling tired.
"Did you have your brain for dinner? I know when I am awake and when I am f***ing dreaming." His eyes then narrowed, "Did you pull me here? A Morpheus descendant?" Ozias sneered when he said the name of the god.
Xaloc's eyes widened. Pulled him and something clicked.
He looked at the three doors and laughed. He laughed so much that his body shook.
He is so stupid. Three doors! He could suddenly remember three distinct memories, he would rather forget. Three memories that he tries his best not to recall. That he locked up in his mind.
Xaloc never felt. He was the one dreaming and he pulled Ozias into his dream.
"Yeah! We are both dreaming. This is my dream." He volunteered, watching the boy both warily and curiously.
Ozias looked around, his sneer never leaving his face. "Isn't your dream a little boring?"
Xaloc's eyes gleamed with interest. "What do you dream about then?"
Ozias looked away. He wanted to say death and blood and then see how the other would react. "One f***ing time. We talked just once. We are not friends. Send me back." He spat.
Xaloc thought about Jude and Chike and nodded. It had taken him more than three years to warm up to them after all. "Right! Sorry, I don't know how to. Let's just wait for either of us to wake up."
After that, he stayed silent and watched the land and the starless sky before his eyes. Does this symbolize anything? It does not mean that my heart is empty or something.
While he was comfortable in the silence, the other was not. In fact, he was not comfortable at all.
"What is behind this door? Just how many chains did you use? What are you hiding here?" Ozias asked, genuinely curious. Each door was very large with chains upon chains and different locks all barricading the entrance.
"We have a conversation just once. We are not friends, I don't think it is right to tell a stranger such an intimate part of my life." He threw back the same words Ozias had said earlier.
Ozias growled.
It was similar to a wolf growl, savage and animalistic.
Xaloc did not spare him a glance, "I told you before not to threaten me like that again."
Ozias wanted to push his luck but then decided against it. Patience is a wolf's virtue after all.
He sat down on the ground, "I don't like confined spaces. Can you make the land bigger, remove the fences?"
Xaloc's penetrative eyes tried to see through what the boy was thinking and recognized the peace offering for what it was. After manipulating his dream, he returned the peace offering.
"I don't like injections and the smell of medicine." He said in a soft voice.
"I don't like medicine either. What are injections? Are they dangerous?" Ozias asked.
With that, the two of them dived into a series of conversations. When Xaloc woke up, he smiled.
Dreaming was not bad, after all.