Wow... It's been a while. How've you been? I've been... something, but that's in the past now. I know this chapter is short, and probably not as good as it could be, and it basically disregards all potential for smooth plot progression, but it's the best I can do at this point. If I don't move forward, it's just going to become bad... really bad. So here it is.

"Mister Flynt I have some… interesting news regarding your dreams."

It was all fake.

"A champion, in fact…"

Every single dream he'd had since that day...

"We thought he could be trusted, but apparently we were wrong."

They were all fabricated, or at the very least forced. Someone… something was making him re-live painful memories and experience things that he had no knowledge of.

"You probably haven't met him yet. He calls himself Nocturne."

There was a conversation he needed to have, and some explaining that needed to be done.

It was almost like he was stepping into a refrigerator. The room Flynt was instructed to meet Nocturne in was cold enough to send shivers down his spine even without the accompanying darkness. It wasn't until Flynt realized how much he wanted, no, needed the door to stay open that he realized what exactly he was dealing with. Even without getting a glimpse of the champion, Flynt knew that it was the physical-ish embodiment of his worst fear. This was true for him more so than others who'd had the misfortune to be in the presence of the living nightmare, as it's very element was the darkness itself.

"Come closer." A voice growled softly from deep within the large room. The ending syllable was elongated unnecessarily to give the command an extra sense of dread.

Regardless, Flynt took a few steps away from the door, working on the assumption that it would remain open. He regretted his decision as soon as the door slammed shut, closing as soon as he reached it. His eyes widened, mostly due to fear.

"I know what you fear..." the same voice growled. "Interestingly enough it's my very existence that plagues you." A laugh echoed through the room. "Poor Flynt… the big hero whom we all need is afraid of something as childish as the dark. I could insult you further, but it's so much fun watching you squirm."

Had Flynt had his eyes open, he would have seen a pair of red slits floating around in the room, following the origin of the sound.

"Enough!" A thunderous voice commanded, silencing the first one. "You've had your fun. He still needs to be sane remember?"

The darkness let up, replaced by a dim light. Its origin was a short and rather old looking man floating in the air. He had a gold clockwork-like mechanism attached to his back. He looked tired and weary, as if he'd lived several lifetimes, and not all of them pretty.

The old man coughed. "Now then. I suppose you have questions." His voice wasn't nearly as loud or impactful as before, but he retained the power behind his words. "But first, allow me to offer some answers. There is much to discuss, and we must start soon, because if we don't start talking in exactly fifty seconds then this might end up being one of the possible future realities where you die a brutal death before you even wake up in the next morning."

Flynt was skeptical, but exactly forty seconds later, Zilean began to explain.

And Flynt understood.

"It's been a day. It's been a week. Maybe it's been a month. A year? It's possible. Not even keeping track anymore. What does it matter?

Is this the "more to life" I was wishing for?

I wouldn't have thought twice as a fox. Me or him. Kill or die. But…

I'm not a fox anymore. I don't know what I am. I know that I'm not a fox anymore. I don't fit in with the rest of the humans either.

The pain in my chest has returned. I still don't know what it is. I feel terrible and weak.

I know what I have to do. I just can't do it. It's wrong. It's necessary. I have to.

I need help."

That night, Ahri returned to the village she'd fled from last week. Rumors of an evil spirit had taken root by then, and many of the villagers were on their guard. Her victim's resolve to keep his guard up was no match for her, and though she would guilt herself again the next morning, she needed to stay alive.

THUNK

Ahri sat up abruptly in her bed, her ears perked for any other sounds coming from outside of her room. The only things her ears processed were the natural sounds of the night surrounding her cabin. She summoned her orb to use as a light source to guide her out of bed, and to the front door. Opening the door slightly revealed nothing, so she didn't see the dagger impaled to her front door until she opened it fully. Between the weapon and her front door was a note. She left the dagger in the door and walked back inside, reading the note over.

I thought you'd like to know… I'll be gone for a while. I don't know how long, but I've learned some things. I need time to sort everything out, and I can't return until then. I thought you should be the first to know.

-Flynt

She read it at least five times as if the words on the paper would change, as if the fifth time she would discover that there was more to the letter. "Haha! just kidding!" or something like that. No such text existed, and upon finishing the text again, she bolted out the front door and scanned the landscape for any sign of the Shade. There was nothing she could pick up on in this state. She sighed and closed her eyes, concentrating for a few seconds before releasing waves of blue flame similar to the spirit fire she used in combat. The flame increased in magnitude until it blocked her view, and then dissipated to reveal a magnificent white fox with glowing golden eyes.

Ask her, and she wouldn't be able to tell you why, partially because she didn't know and partially because she was a fox, but she knew that she couldn't let him leave again.

At least not without her.

Kerbal - Possible spoilers indeed, sorry for making you wait so long.. and a little longer.

Disdun - Here is the moment.

a fan - many thanks, I'll try.