Will of chaos

Pov Xerxes:

I looked at the two of them; the events of their dreams were playing out in my eyes. It was clear that everything was happening as I expected.

“Zenos has always been very empathetic; it would be impossible for him to live with someone and not create some kind of bond.” (me)

“Don’t you think so?” (me)

“Yes, he assumed his role as Father very quickly, and he also easily forgave our manipulation of him.” (Cortana)

“Zenos is already letting go of these emotions; I can feel the bonds inside him loosening.” (me)

“How is everything inside Tarzor?” (me)

“Lena and Freya are finalizing everything; there’s not much more I can do. My power isn’t adequate.” (Cortana)

Cortana, who had been lurking nearby, approached as if it were normal and sat beside me. She was looking at Zenos and Hana.

“Why are you here?” (me)

“Are they going to attack?” (Cortana)

“So you realized.” (me)

“Lena found out?” (me)

“No, I thought about talking to her, but I changed my mind after realizing what you want to achieve.” (Cortana)

“I know this doesn’t sound good, but it would have happened anyway.” (me)

“He won’t care about that, you must have seen how he treated the Merchant.” (Cortana)

“I know, that’s why I told him everything beforehand, I don’t hide anything from him, and I don’t even know if it’s possible to hide anything from him even if I want to with all these restrictions on me.” (me)

“…” (Cortana)

“If you’re wondering how, he put a seal on your memory. He didn’t want to interfere with the plan and he also didn’t want to get distracted by losing this opportunity.” (me)

I look at Cortana, who seems not to believe what I said, but I’m not lying. Zenos is reckless at this level; sealing a memory on a plan where you’re being used as bait like that would be impossible.

“They’ll be alright…” (me)

“How did you know about Dream?” (Cortana)

“I created her, do you think I wouldn’t notice?” (me)

“The moment I first slept in this body and had my first dream, I knew.” (me)

“Dream was captured, wasn’t he?” (me)

“We suspect he switched sides, but few know this, even for me who carries the memories of death, that memory was buried deep.” (Cortana)

“The Merchant shouldn’t have known about this, and even if he did, he shouldn’t have used such an item as compensation.” (Cortana)

“He didn’t know, I hadn’t even thought about it until I saw the item he used, it was just a coincidence and I decided to take advantage of it.” (Me)

I couldn’t let a chance like this pass, each one of them was hard to find. Now, if Dream is involved, then there’s no way she won’t feel this item being used. She also won’t ignore the power of Chaos when she senses it; she just needs to know what she’ll do, and depending on what it is, we’ll know how to deal with it.

“(Dream, I put you here to be an intermediary and appease the situation, not to take a side… especially if it’s the wrong side.)” (Me)

“Looks like we’re in the final stretch.” (Cortana)

“Yes, since you’re here, take care of the girl, let me take care of Zenos.” (me)

If there’s any chance for Dream to make a move, it would be at the end of his tests, when the item makes the final preparations for canonization as an Avatar by connecting with the Entity.

“(Dream… show me who you’ve become…)” (me)

———————

Pov Zenos:

The war was simple, actually it was even fun. Accumulating wealth was boring at first, with the only fun being enjoying the comforts of a technological world like movies, series, cartoons, games, and such a varied amount of food.

In the war I felt more like myself, with each day life on the line, having to be attentive to everything and everyone. It was almost like returning to normal life, with the only difference being the enemies so clearly defined.

After sleeping on a bed harder than the floor, when I woke up again I was in a mansion, sleeping sitting in an armchair with a half-finished suitcase still open in front of me.

Hana was slumped over the table, also waking up. A pistol was beside her and one was in my hand when we woke up.

Just like the three previous times, a basic understanding of the events simply dawned on us, and it seemed like this time it was a chase.

We were in a country where we were accused of treason and marked for death. All the civilian and military agencies were looking for us with murderous intentions; they had our genetic code, fingerprints, height, weight, and all our physical characteristics.

It was the two of us against millions of soldiers, assassins, and mercenaries, our faces plastered across news broadcasts for the public to see.

Even this mansion was invaded by us for a little rest. This scenario may not be the previous battlefield, but I feel more excited because it looks like a spy movie I used to watch.

“This kind of setup is interesting, it’s not about killing, it’s about disappearing like a ghost.” (me)

“This actually seems quite easy, I have memories of my predecessor doing business with people in similar situations, she even made countermeasure plans for things like this.” (Hana)

“We have 6 months to take advantage of all this, it’s going to be interesting.” (me)

I couldn’t help but imagine myself walking down the street injured in the rain with a dog by my side, a blood-stained tactical suit adorning my body, and I was looking forward to the next 6 months.

———————–

6 months later.

I was more than satisfied with losing track of months, I could even make a movie franchise out of everything we went through.

Who would have thought that the hardest part wasn’t losing track of the various government agencies, but ordinary people, just one look from anyone and everything spreads quickly like wildfire, now I understand the fear of a world with high-speed information.

After faking our deaths for the third time during a missile attack against us, this last time we are now hiding in an oasis in the middle of a frozen tundra thanks to the nearby volcano, an area that no country has dared to approach until now since it represents territory of high radiation.

“I think that rabbit mutated…” (Hana)

“What…? Did a third leg grow?” (me)

“No, its front teeth got much bigger, abnormally bigger.” (Hana)

“It must still be tasty, right?” (me)

“I don’t know, but would it make a difference?” (Hana)

“Probably not.” (me)

Hana approaches and lies down on the nearby chair. I was shaking my head, but due to the heat of the volcano, the ice was melting into a light, refreshing rain.

This place is deadly. Just visiting this place without sufficient protection would cause lifelong side effects, but spending an entire month here without any protection, by our calculations, would kill us in less than a year, and serious effects would start to appear in the third month, which means nothing to us.

That same night we went to sleep knowing it was the last night. As soon as we opened our eyes, I wasn’t back in my body as I expected, but rather in what looked like an Asian temple or something similar, with Hana beside me.

One glance was enough to understand what was happening; this wasn’t a simple temple. This place emanated the power of a Concept, and it was clear that this was a mental realm since there was no power of reality anywhere.

I exchanged a look with Hana; she moved closer to me as we entered the temple further. It was as if she knew the whole place and was heading straight to the main hall.

I could feel that I was still powerless and nothing special, but that was never a real impediment, not for me. I could have regained my powers from day one. I allowed myself to be affected in this way to experience the feeling of a more mundane life, which was fun.

As soon as we reached the hall, I found a person. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. Besides having their back turned, I also noticed they were wearing a hood. This wasn’t a person, but an Entity. I knew it; I could feel it the moment I saw them.

“Nice to meet you, I am Dream… the one who embraces all who fall asleep.” (Dream)

“I am Zenos, Bearer of Chaos… this is my daughter, Hana…” (me)

Hana remains silent, knowing that what is before us is part of what she doesn’t understand in our world. I’m grateful she doesn’t worsen such a strange situation.

“I know who you are, Successor of Paradox.” (Dream)

She turns to me, and I can glimpse her face beneath the hood; it’s the face of the woman who abandoned me.

“I just don’t know why you’re here during one of my trials.” (Dream)

“I needed time with my daughter, and the Merchant owed me something, so he compensated me with your item, which would fulfill something I needed.” (me)

“You know, I wanted to believe your words, but I can’t, since two individuals are staring at me so fiercely. Do they expect me to believe that?” (Dream)

Looking at her again, her face seems to sink into the darkness of her hood before revealing itself again; this time it was Callidora’s face. It was clear she could change her face as she pleased.

I unleash my power, and with it, the memories of the conversation I had with Xerxes before all this, as well as her plan that I accepted.

“Hello again, Dream.” (Xerxes)

“Looks like it’s begun.” (Cortana)