Thank-yous: to Sweet Cynthia and Inmate XIV (owner of the challenge) for reviewing and following.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

Enjoy the read.

X. Dream
498 / 500

The air was cold, but the overall weather was lovely and the landscape looked gorgeous. That was what Ven loved from autumns.

He was watching over Roxas and Sora, who were playing together on the field of gold. They rolled about, sometimes sending dead leaves into the air, their dulcet laughter filling the air. It looked like they were having tons of fun.

When he checked his watch, it was already ten to six. Their mother wanted them back by six, so they really had to go. "Rox! Sora! Let's go home," Ven called out.

However, they didn't answer. He made two other attempts, but they kept ignoring them. Sighing, Ven stood up and walked over toward them, but suddenly it occurred to him that something was off: he couldn't cover any distance between himself and his brothers.

Suddenly and abruptly, the view underwent a major change. Trees and buildings mysteriously disappeared, the skyline was replaced with the vast expanse of the sea, and Ven found himself standing in the middle of a paved walkway cutting through a field of flowers.

At the end of the walkway stood two stone sculptures. One of them was shaped like a heart sitting on top of T-shaped rhomboid spikes, while the other, a crown with circular notches. When Ven recognised them as his and Sora's symbols designed by their father, something inside him stirred uncomfortably.

He could see Sora playing by himself by the crown sculpture. Roxas was no longer there; he had no idea where he had gone to. Once again, he tried his luck and called out to Sora.

Finally noticing Ven, Sora stood up and turned to face him. His expression was unreadable, but there certainly was sadness behind his smile. "Ven, we can't go together," he said.

"Wait, Sora! Where are you going?" Ven demanded, but he got no answer. To his horror, gentle light started to envelop his body, causing him to fade away from existence. "What's… going on?"

"You have to go ahead."

As he said those words, the light grew intense and engulfed him… and the next second, he could only see white.

"SORA!"

Ven woke up with a start. Panting, he sat up and tried hard to calm himself down, although his heart was still pounding heavily. He observed the room; it was still dark, and the clock face read three.

"It's just a dream…" he said to himself. "Yeah… no big deal."

Just to make sure, he checked Roxas and Sora in their rooms, and was relieved to see they were sound asleep. After pouring himself a glass of water in the kitchen, he went back to his room and entertained his curiosity.

Some people said dreams were reflective of what one had been keeping in mind, his innermost desires, or what would—or rather, could—happen in the future. The problem was that most dreams made no sense for interpretation, and Ven's had been no different.

So what, then, could this dream mean?