Another droplet of water fell from the damp ceiling, and Slinx made another marking on the wall. At this point, he was unsure if the exercise kept him sane. The droplets were the only indicator of time in the cell; each cycle represented 6 minutes (257 seconds, to be precise), another 6 minutes closer to returning to the comfort of his bed, Slinx thought.
The anchor to drag Slinx back to reality has been long overdue. He was already in the third week of his Dreamland stay, and there was still no sign that it would end soon. The worst part of being in Dreamland is that Slinx never felt sleepy; he would attempt to close his eyes and sleep, but it would never last longer than 20 minutes. Slinx was starting to doubt if anything he was ever told about Dreamland was ever real. First, it was Walder; now it was Max and the UDA. All those he had once trusted had turned out to be two-faced con artists. Perhaps this was the end for him; he was just stuck in this ethereal mind prison until his consciousness disintegrated.
Sliinx heard quaint footsteps coming from the hallway — A rhythmic march that echoed throughout the narrow passage, it was accompanied by a brisk, musky odour as it closed in.
'Slinx, you good?' Max spoke in a refreshingly composed manner.
Slinx did not respond. He sat on the ground, staring at the floor and scribbling circles with his finger.
'How long have you been here? 10 days? That's a painfully long amount of time to be lucid dreaming.' Max sat on the ground, staring straight at Slinx on the other side of the bars.
'I need you to cooperate, Slinx. What Walder is up to threatens the existence of Dreamland. You have info about him that we desperately need to stop him, we can't let you go until you tell us.'
'Well, good luck then. Cuz I'm leaving in like 30 minutes. I'll be awake and back in my bed.'
'No, you won't. They gave you a drifter shot when you came back, remember?'
A teardrop fell, then more came as emotions of aggrievement cluttered Slinx's mind. They had imprisoned him and threatened to keep him in this small cage forever, just because he took some stupid rings that weren't even gold. Galina said there would be a trial to determine his fate. They tied him down and made him eject a blue elixir that supposedly stopped him from waking up. Still, even with all that, Slinx held on to the slightest hope that all of this was just scare tactics, and as soon as the 14-day limit arrived, everything would be back to normal. He would be back at school, playing with his friends, having Hanna's delicious roast chicken, and just being an ordinary boy again.
'I didn't ask for this!' Slinx cried, 'I just wanted to feel special! I wanted to see Cavina! I wanted someone to like me!'
Slinx found it difficult to breathe as he wheezed and panted with his nose clogged with tears,
'Let me be normal again! I'm just a stupid boy! I'm sorry, ok?! I'm so fucking sorry!' He kicked his foot into the wall, a large thud followed by instant regret.
Max stared at Slinx. He told Slinx he would come back when Slinx was a bit calmer.
Slinx whimpered alone in his cell, and the footsteps in the hallway slowly faded away.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Max walked back to his office. He opted to remain silent despite crossing paths with a few people. Some of them offered small talk, but Max just waved and smiled. Others recognised the oddly solemn look on his face and judged that it was best to let him be. The facility was always shrouded by an atmosphere of professional solemnity, but it was even more gravely intense in contrast to that.
Max turned the doorknob of his room, and the familiar mess was there to greet him. Max lunged over the dirty laundry, pushed aside the 1:1 scale replica of his favourite singer, and allowed himself to collapse into the comfort of his fluorescent gaming chair. Max stared at his cluttered room and thought it was still not filled enough. He closed his eyes and thought about all the random stuff he had the urge to buy, then snapped his fingers. The toys and games and figurines in his mind came into existence and fell onto the accumulating piles of stuff until there was more stuff than space. Only then did Max stop; his mind was spiralling out of control, and he wanted his room to reflect that.
For what pain Slinx had gone through in the last ten days, Max had endured more. It was a disgrace that a council member would allow two rings to be stolen from the UDA. What he once thought was a simple retrieval mission had gone terribly wrong. Galina was fuming when she heard the news; it took the likes of Hera, Carlos, Arven and Nathan for him to keep his title. Even after that, he was ordered to stand guard in the headquarters while everyone else headed towards the six realms to hunt down Walder. All of this happened within the first hour on the first day, and ever since then, it has just been the same repetitive cycle of torturous confinement that is turning his brain into mush.
'Everything discussed here stays within the UDA. We cannot let anyone else know about the existence of the eighth ring, especially the three aggressive realms.' said Galina during the meeting on that day.
'Indeed. We have only been able to maintain peace because of the perfect balance of ring possession between the six realms,' said Carlos, 'One extra push to one side and the scale tips over. We would be seeing a war happen anytime soon.'
'How did Walder find this eighth ring anyway? Are we sure that it is the real deal?' said Hera.
'It's real. My grandpa saw him use it,' said Arven, 'I saw him use it too. If anything, I would say Walder's ring might be even stronger than any of the faction rings, considering that there seemed to be no restriction on what the ring could enhance.'
'We cannot let this escalate any further; the fate of Dreamland hangs in the balance, ' Galina said. She stood up and reached for the cabinet at the edge of the room, which was unlocked at the touch of her finger.
'Hera, you'll be going to Regarosa. Arven, you're in charge of Fantasmia.' Hera and Arven both nodded in response.
'Carlos, start your search in Dykland. Paul, I trust you to navigate Sparrowood safely.' Carlos gave a thumbs-up while Paul kept silent.
Max felt bad about bringing everyone into the mess he had made. There was an urge to make prompt amends and take up responsibility for what he had caused.
'I'll go to Thirstle Peak! I know…'
'Mr Rimley! It would be beneficial to all of us if you could just stand guard here. At least then, the worst you can do is nothing at all. I will get someone more competent to search in Thirstle Peak while I hunt down Walder in Zarethar. That is all, everyone. I expect you all to leave before seventeen-thirty dream time.'
Everyone nodded in unison. One by one, the members of the council left the meeting room. The first to leave was Galina with her head up high, without the slightest recognition of Max's presence. Paul followed shortly, also blanking Max. Hera and Carlos gave a sympathetic look and nod to Max, then quickly left.
The last to leave was Arven. He stared at Max and swallowed, his lips just ever so slightly parted, quickly followed by biting his tongue and clenching his fists.
'The boy is in agony, ' Max thought.
'It's ok, Arven, this isn't your fault.' Max smiled and broke the silence. The boy's expressions seemingly lightened, and Arven nodded and left with the rest.
Now, it was only Max left in the room.
—-----------------------------------------------
That was the last time Max had heard from his fellow council members. Perhaps that was better; it was unlikely that anyone of their experience and calibre would face trouble against the Umbral spawns (although there have been recent sightings of new, powerful Umbrals). It was even more unlikely that any of them would get into a fight with the high sorcerers of the six kingdoms, which would be a declaration of war from said kingdom.
Max stared at the picture frame that sat permanently on his desk. There were rarely two things that stayed permanently on his desk, but the picture was always there. His eyes focused on the two boys in the picture: they looked extremely alike, with one of them slightly older than the other. They were both wearing formal suits, yet their actions were less serious; the older one was pulling the younger one's hair, and the younger one was desperate to defend himself.
'I guess I know what I'll be doing if they end up firing me at least.' Max thought.
The Siren shrieked.
Max jumped up. It was the docks.
'Someone's doxed us!' Max yelled,
Max arrived too late; the chamber was now engulfed in flames, and casualties were everywhere. Those who survived the first impact groaned in agony, and the less fortunate ones were slowly fading to dust.
'Evacuate the building now!' Max let out a furious growl,
'No one hurts my friends, good reason or not.'
Max dashed towards those paralysed on the floor. He held their hand as they slowly rejuvenated to their normal selves. At the end of the massive dock room, Max found the site of impact, an enormous hole caused by an equally colossal collision. Within the smoke and ash was a faint silhouette, and Max immediately recognised the culprit.
'Hello again,' the man gave off an arrogant chuckle as he sauntered out of the smoke.
'Ready for round two? It's rare these days for me to find a worthy foe that gives me that kick of battle.'
Walder was practically wearing the same rustic robe as last time. Max could tell he had altered it; the hole he punched was no longer there.
'For a narcissistic man, your ego seems quite fragile,' Max mocked,
'I must have hurt your pride quite badly last time, it looks like you even altered your face a bit, just to look less like a prick.'
'Silence, Insect! You merely grazed me last time. Your moves might be flashy, but any dreamer worth their salt wouldn't even need to move an inch to put you in your place!'
'So am I a worthy foe or not? See how fragile your ego is? Point proven.' Max conjured his signature weaponry and a dozen Mustangs behind him,
'Everyone, get in the car! Pull in your anchors when you get the chance to!'
'Good. Get those scrubs out of the way, the only one worth fighting is you.'
Once he was sure everyone was gone, Max turned to face Walder. Max glared fiercely at the old, grinning man, clenching his fists and stomping towards him.
'Oh? You're approaching me? How bold' Walder said.
'You have no right to be here,' Max summoned his sabre, the steel was burning red with scorching flames emerging, 'How did you find this place? And what do you plan to do here?'
'Is it not obvious who showed me the way? Check your pockets the next time before you cast escape art.'
Max halted, followed by an immediate rush of blood to his cheeks. He yanked the tiny knob out of his rear pocket and proceeded to stomp it into pieces.
'You idiot, Max.' He thought.
The hooded man erupted into a menacing laugh, 'I know very well what you UDA folks have been up to. You lot have been amassing power and resources ever since you destroyed my people, you took our ring and proclaimed yourselves to be the peacekeepers of the six kingdoms.´
´With four of the seven known rings, you were able to come up top. But that wasn´t enough for you lot, and you decided to make a fifth ring.´ Walder took out the ring that Slinx had taken from the UDA. It lacked the signature glow that the other rings had.
´What we´re doing is none of your business; shame on you for making a kid do your dirty errands.´Max lunged towards Walder and thrust his sabre. Walder dodged.
´That´s big talk coming from you. Making a new ring without telling anyone about it. You guys are after the Abyssal Gate yourselves, aren´t you?'
Walder forged his own falchion, the heavy broadsword sliced the air in half. A rippling shockwave lashed out. Unfazed, Max grabbed the attack, dismantling it.
But Walder was not done; without delay another swing reached for Max. Max deflected the second, but was caught off guard by the third. He retreated and conjured a box, which sucked in the shockwave and spat out the attack right back at Walder. Walder parried it.
'Now, if you think you have any chance of winning, you'd better think twice. I've spread the message around and made some allies, the people that you've repressed are here to bite you back.'
There was an undamaged port behind Walder. It started to operate as a portal appeared. Three men walked out of the portal, followed by another three, and another ten…
Max had heard about the story of the seven realms before from word of mouth. There was this story about a horrible war that was fought to stop the berserk clan from trampling the remaining factions. This was how the UDA was allegedly established, an organisation stained with the blood of an entire tribe. Of course, that version of history is nowhere to be found in the UDA's own records. But when Max used to roam free across the different kingdoms and their taverns, there would always be one or two savvy lucid dreamers telling the tale – the tale of a race with dark green eyes basked in wicked intent, a people with long, slanky figures and a crackle that made your bones shiver. Those descriptions were somewhat exaggerated, but there was no doubt in Max's mind.
Standing in front of him were members of the lost tribe of Tavats.
Max felt his legs shaking rapidly and his body tensing up. Conjuring supernatural objects like ghosts and aliens is a cheap tactic that wouldn't make Max flinch. But the way these people moved and the surreal amount of Ariki he was sensing from them were undeniably real. It was not an illusion; Walder had brought back the dead.
'They should not be on this side of the gate… how did you bring them here!?'
The crowd of Tavats, while alive, gazed aimlessly into the abyss, seemingly in an undead state.
'Wouldn't you want to know? How ironic it is for the UDA to forge a fake ring, only for an eighth ring to actually exist?!' Walder pulled out another ring.
'Slinx… He's part of the Tavats?' Max asked hastily.
'No, I am part of the Tavats.' Walder said.
'Now, I think it's time to end this. I have some rings to find myself.' With a single gesture, the Tavats conjured their weapons and aimed at Max.
Max scavenged parts of his sabre into a functional engine. He blasted himself out as arrows pursued. The harrowing battle cry of the ghoulish army echoed in the hallways. Max had little time.
—------------
In the cellars below, Slinx curled up and sat in a corner as he prayed that the ruckus upstairs would stop. He remembered the last words Max said before letting him run away with the rings:
'Don't screw this up.'
He screwed it up, and now something worse than Max beating him up was about to happen.
Slinx trembled and allowed himself to wail like a baby. He was going to die a pathetic death, a death so insignificant that no one would probably remember him. He wished Debra were there to soothe him; he wished that Cavina were next to him to make him giggle. He let them down; he tried to be a hero but ended up as a zero. Slinx punched the wall so hard it bruised him, and he yelled even louder, but still not loud enough to hear himself over the shaking and rumbling. His departure would be silent, and the fact would stand that Slinx Wilt was, in fact, not special after all.
'Slinx!!! Slinx Wilt! Oh, for God's sake, get a grip on yourself!' Max had unlocked the cell and entered without Slinx noticing. 'We've got to go. NOW.' Max yanked Slinx's shirt and dragged him hastily out of the cell. The shock of the pull brought Slinx back into the moment, as he struggled to get on his feet.
'Max? What is going on right now?' said Slinx.
'Walder is here,' Max conjured a motorcycle, which came with rear boosters attached to the sides. The vehicle was crafted with complex machinery and a sophisticated engine that Slinx had never seen in the other vehicles Max had created. 'Get in, idiot!' Max honked the horns and fired up the engine as it let out an ambitious roar.
Racing through the collapsing building and dodging the fallen debris and pillars, the dreaded voice continued to haunt them. Walder's laugh echoed in every hallway they passed, for every kilometre they seemed to have gained, the taunts only closed in further. Slinx could sense Max's impatience and frustration building up; he could hear Max aggressively twisting the throttle as if squeezing the water out of a towel. The hallways took them right back to where they started, neither an exit nor an entrance.
'Are you going to try to run or fight me?' Walder's voice reached them from behind, or perhaps it was from the front, or left, or right, or up, maybe down.
Max slammed the brakes; the cycle halted and wedged Slinx into Max. Unfazed, Max yelled into the hallway: 'Your puny tricks won't be enough to take on the council! You will not get away with this!' Max drew his sabre; the ignited blade had dimmed to a modest flare.
A sudden jab pierced through the walls. Max slammed Slinx onto the floor and dodged the ambush with ease. The cloaked man chuckled, and green flames quickly engulfed the hallway. The fire forms the silhouette of a man as it strikes at Max. Max's blade answers the blow, yet another figure emerges to threaten a lethal strike.
'Two can play that game!'
A cyborg arm joins the melee, as another three hold up rifles aimed at Walder. Several rounds of gunfire hit Walder's torso, and Walder's grin was wiped off his face.
'How much ariki do you have left, you scumbag? I reckon no more than 100 with you holding up this smokescreen!' Max taunted as he slashed the Walder clones in half.
'That's 99 more than what I need to kill you.' Another clone spawns in Max's immediate left and slashes his arm, barely grazes the skin, yet just enough for bloodshed. Max leaps backwards.
'Your bullets do not faze me son, you've clearly never held a gun before.' The clone echoes, 'I thought council members were veterans of war, nepotism served you well I guess.'
An extra layer of guilt piled onto Max's horrified expression, his trembling composure had worsened into visible rumbling. Slinx could not believe that this timid man was the man who once stood loud and proud around everyone else. He felt more relatable now, another nobody, another clog in the machine.
For a moment, Max stood frozen and defeated. But then he reached into his pocket and took out a necklace, the necklace held a little locket with a picture inside. Max stared intensely at the picture, and in a soft and gentle tone he muttered something. Slinx made out the words 'you believed in me'.
And the next moment he remembered was Max violently forcing him into the same pod they had used to escape from Walder the first time around.
Max said something to him, and then chanted something else as Walder and his clones closed in on him.
Slinx woke up in his bed. It was Monday, 7am.
Slinx supported his body off his bed with one hand and held his hazy head with the other, his room was messy and unattended, there was a note that slipped through the door. The note was from Debra, it read that she was concerned about his irregular sleeping patterns and would like to have a serious discussion about it when she came home.
Slinx checked the calendar on the wall, he had slept through the whole weekend. He converted that to dream time and came to the scary conclusion that he had spent 82.5 days in Dreamland in one go. It was no surprise why everything in his life seemed so distant at this point, Slinx felt an intense need to wash his face.
It wasn't until he started to undress from his pajamas did he realise the crumpled piece of paper in his right pocket, he took it out and undressed.
It was a note from Max.
'Get Arven. We will meet in Dreamapolis.'