It was hard not to ask questions while eating, and Park Chung-Ho couldn't resist it. While seeing his parents in a photograph had been very emotional, he was now ignited with a will to learn more about them that seemed to cheer him.
"So my father was the kind of man to make jokes all the time, you said?"
Diane was smiling, seeing his hunger to know more about her childhood friend. Afterall, there was a bit of Marc Franz in this boy.
"He always liked a good word indeed, and he was eager to make a joke when it was possible. But he was also able to work a lot to prepare for an expedition or just to learn something. He liked to learn things."
"Sasha?" Park Chung-Ho asked. And the tall man turned to him with surprise on his face. "You're a very good cook, you know?"
For the first time since he met him, the man burst out in strong laughter.
"You're a funny boy. But I'm glad you liked the meal. You should get back to this story; it's already eleven, and the others will be back in an hour. We still have work to do tonight."
They followed his words and got back near the fireplace. Diane looked at him with a smile, but it disappeared.
"Now it's time that I tell you the hardest part of your story. And it starts with hunts."
She told him two hunts they made with his parents, and then she told him this one was the last one.
"We'd been hunting for days. That nightmare was really strong and had the advantage in a lot of locations. It trapped us, and in order to make sure your parents would escape, I lured it to chase me. I didn't let them choose, but to go out, by placing them in an elevator. I got locked in this nightmare, way too deep in the Realm for me to get out. I was rescued by a dream. And we wandered the realms together to get me out. It took a lot of time. Like way too much time. I spent so much time with him that we began to express feelings for each other. I knew it was a mistake, I knew this shouldn't be possible, but I was alone, cut from everything else, and this dream made me so comfortable, he was so supportive... Anyway. He is Aislinn's father. And this is how I escaped that realm."
"How did you escape that realm? What do you mean? I thought there was no way to get out but to make a sacrifice?"
"That's true. That's how I got out. But I didn't get out alone. That dream followed me because I made a sacrifice to it."
"What kind of sacrifice?"
"I gave it my love."
"You mean you sacrificed a feeling?"
"Exactly. You can easily understand why it's not a good idea to do so, right?"
"Aren't there people who would then try to sacrifice their sorrow or whatever?"
"Oh... You're thinking fast. Yes, there are. And that's absolutely a disaster."
"Why would it be even more disastrous?"
"Because only nightmares accept this kind of sacrifice."
"I see..."
"But as you know it, sacrifices in the Dream Realm aren't a good idea as you leave a part of you there and offer an entry ticket for a dream or a nightmare. And in my case, what was a dream became a nightmare."
"How is this possible?"
"When I came back from the Dream Realm, your parents were happy to see me, but they were very concerned about the fact that I had a dream with me. They were happy for me to be back, though, but they weren't trusting him. And they were right. It turns out that this dream had become jealous. Well... not really. I sacrificed my heart to this dream. My whole heart. My love, and its jealous component too. Within a few weeks, this dream became more and more jealous of my relationship with your parents; our friendship was too strong for him to bear. And the fact that I sacrificed my love meant that I couldn't love anymore. He felt totally left, and it was the case..."
Park Chung-Ho noticed that she changed the pronoun she used for this dream. He was pretty sure she was doing her best to try to detach herself from it.
"After Aislinn's birth, I noticed there was something that really had changed. It appeared that this dream had been corrupted by Albormare. Each night a bit more..."
"You're gonna say that this dream killed my parents, I guess."
Diane's face darkened. It was like the light had been turned off in her. She only nodded, watching away. Then her voice came out with a break.
"It was all... my fault."
"Why would it be your fault?"
"I allowed this dream enter the Physical Realm."
Park Chung-Ho saw Sasha frown. They both seemed to agree on the fact that this wasn't Diane's fault. The big man was about to speak when the younger said :
"Would you let me express what I understood from this story, please?"
Once more, Diane nodded.
"You saved my parents in a hunt. Got trapped. Managed to escape thanks to a dream. Had to sacrifice your heart in the process. You had a daughter, thanks to your sacrifices, and I also came to life. This is what you did, this is what you can be responsible for. The fact that a dream got jealous of my parents' friendship with you, that it got corrupted by Albormare, and killed my parents, isn't due to you. Those are none of your choices. Of course, I would like to have someone to blame for my parents' deaths. For the nightmares I've endured since I was born. But I think we can blame this all on Albormare. Do you think I'm wrong?"
She turned to him slowly and took him in her arms, sobbing.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."
Park Chung-Ho didn't move. He had no words for this kind of situation. Aislinn's mother seemed to have suffered enough from this story already. She lost her two best friends and her love in the process. She finally managed to raise he head again.
"After all this, your host family took care of you. I told them to call me if they ever had a problem related to dreams. They knew me, and what I do. They called me once when you were six. You had the same nightmare every night."
"I remember they called someone, but I don't think it was you who came that day."
"It wasn't me, indeed. It was our mentor, your father and I, when we were at the Dreamer's Society."
"She told me to describe my dream. I remember that she did some hypnosis on me. And that plunged me into this place again. I was so scared. But she told me to stay calm and to look around me and get every detail possible. Her voice was capable of helping me stay calm. She gave me techniques to remain as calm and concentrated as possible while in this room full of flames. I began to have fewer fears that day."
Sasha looked at Diane.
"They are almost back, I think."
Diane closed her eyes, breathed, then opened it again.
"There's one last thing you should know. You asked a question earlier about the nightmare when my daughter disappeared."
"Yes."
"You wanted to know why Albormare was after you. It is so because he couldn't get to you before. Your nightmare in that burning room is based on the night your parents died. But that day, I think that Albormare wanted to benefit from the death of your parents and get you" from inside your dreams. Apparently, you managed to create your own protective domain by staying attached to the Physical Realm. The problem is that you were in a burning place at that time. That's what created this nightmare you experienced every day since then."
"So, my worst memory is also my protection..."
"It is so indeed. The other night, you said you tried to jump in the corridor in your nightmare. It was the first time?"
"Yes. And I got a very bad feeling after doing so. I had to wake up immediately."
"You jumped out of your domain. And Albormare saw you. I don't know how he did, but he did. And then he hunted you."
"So since I was born, he's after me..."
They saw the light of a car that was arriving at the house.
"I hope you got the answer you wanted," Diane said.
"I have a lot of answers. But didn't you want to give me a message for Aislinn?"
"Yes. I have three things that she needs to know. First of all, she must tell you wether she can move or not, this is really important, you hear me ?"
He nodded.
"The second point that is crucial is that she needs to give you a detail. One single detail that could make us understand where she is. Specially if this is a place, a room, something that she saw elsewhere. And finally, tell her that I'm sorry she had to do this."