Darkness. Ink looked up, to where the stars and moons normally would be. Instead, there was nothing, just an expanse of pure black. Where the night sky would normally be lit up with specks of white, illuminating Pyrrhia beneath, there was nothing.
Ink turned. Why was he able to turn? He wasn't normally able to turn in his dreams, or make any decisions at all. All that was left up to other Ink. He flapped his wings, feeling warm air beneath them. His claws felt a gravelly stone beneath them, but he couldn't see it. He stood still, worried that he'd slide down if he tried to move. That couldn't happen, right? This was just a dream.
"Hello?" Ink yelled out. "Anyone there?"
His voice echoed before fading into the distance. There was no response, no other noises at all. Ink sighed.
Well, this is interesting.
Ink jumped up, hearing the noise of gravel falling as he landed. "Who's there?"
After the gravel settled, Ink started to hear something. A faint buzzing sound, like a swarm of bees. If there were bees in here, wherever 'here' was, Ink didn't want to get close to them.
You can hear me?
"Yes, I can hear you!" Ink responded. The voice didn't seem to be coming from any direction in particular, instead, permeating the darkness. "Where are you?"
Relative to you? I'm not quite sure anymore. Where are you?
"How am I supposed to know!" Ink snorted. "I can't see anything."
Ink's dreams took place beneath you. You should probably leave.
"Umm, that's absolutely useless," Ink retorted. "I can't leave unless I can see anything. And I'm dreaming, right? Or did I die? Aurora said she wasn't going to kill me." The buzzing had gotten louder, sounding like the hushed voices of a thousand dragons were just beyond a wall.
As lonely as it gets down here, I'm not talking to you. Me. You're in danger the longer you stay.
In danger? I hear something else near you. A lot of somethings. Is that what you're talking about?
Yes. Don't try and listen. I'm trying my best to keep them from getting to you.
Is this where Ink dreamt? Why are you here? Are you telling me they're weren't visions?
"Hey!" Ink yelled out. "I'm still here. You can stop talking to yourself or whatever, it's a little weird. Also, can you be quiet for a moment? I think there's someone else trying to talk to me." The buzzing was getting louder, and Ink tried to focus on it.
Ḧ̴̡̻̖͇̪̊̓͘͢͞ė̶͉̮͕̜̠̣̞̉͐̄̑̎͊͐͟͞͠l̶͈̣̦͈͙̤̥̝͌̌͛́͋̇̀̅͢͝p̸̛̩̲̲͖̗͍͎͆̇͐̊̂̃͘̕.̴͖̞̺̪̗̥̖̪͖͗̅̏̅̈́̀͢͠
"Wait, did you want me not to try and listen?" Ink asked.
No, not you.
What is this place? Explain.
Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but you've really got to go. It's coming closer.
At least give me something. Moon should know about this. Does it have something to do with Aurora? I can't read her, she's protected somehow.
Š̷̢̲̗̩͇̩̃̾̋͊̆͢ä̧̞̹̝̰͉́̈́̀̒̉̕͝v̶̡̙̳̭̺̒́̈́͗̅̒̀͝͞ē̷͕̬̱͍̱̫̗̌̃͊̓̑̍͒̚͟͜͞ͅ ũ̶̳̫̲̮̬̙͛̂̆̿ś̸̛͍̺͇̯̦̮̮͕̾́͑̒̚̕̚.̷͉̱̪͖̭͇͈̜̼̈́̿̓̿̈
You're annoyingly persistent, you know that?
Like you're one to talk.
Please stop bothering me and just leave. You're taking away from my focus.
I'm not leaving without an answer.
Ỉ̷̬̪̝̺̞͍̼͙̫͑͋͌͐͂͠ d̸̢̛̩̫̜̬͇̪͂̾̾̿o̶̡̼̟̰̣̣͓͛͗̒̑̓̀̂̓̎̚n̷̡̛̗̰̯̤̠̱̰̺̎̀͒̑̈̉'̶̳̪̫̱̜̥͉́͆̒͂͌̉t̷̡̧̬̲̩̪̝͗̎̑͆͒͢ ẁ̨̧̪̮̩͍̉̉͋̄̾̓̕̕a̡̨̰̘̱͈̫͍̟͊̂̑̂͡͞ͅṅ̨̞͎̈́͒̀͘͢͟͠ͅť̶̨̨̛̛͎̹̝̹̱̜̌̒͆̓ t̴̨̻͕̲̙̬̻̦̘͕̊̈́̉̀͂̈̃o̷̹̝̬̪̘̐̈́̀̔̌̕͝ d̛̟̥̣͕̹̞͕͖̠̪̿̓̾̂͝͡i̢̻̳̺̪̞̍͑̇͐̽̅̏̔̕ͅē̸̡͈͙͙̠̟͕̥͑̈́͋̇̌̄̕͞.̶̢̦̫̦̳͚̤̂̾͑́͗́͝
Get your moons-cursed answer somewhere else. Right now I'm qudbbhasyslgjynn.
What?
Ajgsuqnsu ghastopysh afjgus*a71j][\\\\uafhleavea81ay11 ())))\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Are you okay?
"Does that sound like okay?" Ink snorted.
\\\\\\u\5\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\go\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\8\\\\\\\\\\\\/\\\\\\\\\\
That doesn't sound good.
P̸̟̟͎͖̯̰͙̻̬̠̓̔͌͐͗̾̔͛͞l̡͓̻͓̱̰̲͈̓͌͆̊̀̋̒͌̆͢͡ȩ̡̛͙̱̝̉́̓͛̇̈́̓͟a̷̢̬̖̜͇̖̠͚̻̎̏͐̄̂͆̋̊͞s͓͈͎̺̘̟͒͋̓̕͠ę̵̧̭̙͖͖̭̺̫̒̔̌̀͐̀͘̚͟,̴̧͈̩͎͍̅̐̾̔͢͢͠͠ͅ t̵͓̫̹̮͚͒͒͛̋́͒̆͢͠͠å̶̧͎̩͔̻̩̟̳͆͌̏́k̷̨̦̦̖̜̬̠̯̖̈́̋̓͗͗̍e̷̥̥͚̣̞̿͊̋̊̓͐̇͜ m̵̫̹͍͉͆̈̀̾̈́̾̀͢è̵̢͙͔͎̠̣̜̝̼̔̋̐̈́̇̏͘͘͜ í̶̧͚͍̗̬̳̤̹̝͇̊̏̂͛ņ̵̠͙̤̫̥̟͌͒̐͌̑̀͌̌͋͊s̵̡̛̹̞̟̬̟̋͑͛̏͢ͅẗ̸̢̡̬͖̱͉͛͋̂́̓̓̓̈͢é̴̢͓̲̜̬̭͖͈̥̄̍̒̕͡ͅa̛͙͖̱̣͆̒͌̇̽͢͢d̵͓͕̻͚͈͑̔̓̿̇̕͟͞͝.̧͈͕̺͓̤̹̼̬̐͑̇͗̊̐́
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Alright Ink, you're on your own. Sorry dude.
"Wait, what? Don't leave me."
Ink received no response. The buzzing was starting to get louder, the voices drowning out everything else.
H̷̳̤̤̤̠̗̰͔̻̽́̎͘͝͞ė̡̩͇͈̋͆̑͒̒̏́͟͜͝l̪̱̯̙̼͓̦͋̃͒͘͘͜͠p̡̛͓̲̬̙̹̦͗͗́̐͢ m̸̢̹͉̤̻̑̇̃̔̋̈ȩ͕͇͔̭̺̯̃̐̀̂͞͝ͅ.̴̧̡̡̡̱̹̼̦̇̊̈͛̊͞
"What? Please calm down and speak one at a time. Don't all try and talk at once!"
S̰̜͖̗̼͚͂͗̀̊͆̎a̵͔̝̹̞̐̿̄̋͌̇̉͑̾ͅv̶̧̬͕͎͖̌̈͆̔̐́̈̀͝ͅe͈͓̰͙̭̖͖͋̍̂̀̉̄͛̈́͘͠ ų̨̺͍͚̲̝͎͔͓͑̐́̚̕̕s̡̨̻̬͕̞̅̾̓̑͆͒̌̽̅͢͢.̷͇̦͚̺̦̪͑͑̌̈́̚͝ͅ
̷̡̠̦̫̹͖̮̔̒̽̌͟͢͡D̶̯̞̫͇̐́̃̇͐̌͊̐̿͟o̵̩͚̝̦͍̙̯̫̤̎̄͒̋̈̏͒̔͞n̸̢̢̤̱͔̣̗̅͗͂͆͆̀̔̊͞'͉̤͚͎̜͎͗̓͂̒̒͞ṱ̨̰͉̘̪͇̔̀͛̄͛͆̕ͅ l̶͉͚͔͇͍̠͉͑̽̏̚̚͟ė̜͙̫̝̯̰̬͓͓̖̿̈́̄̊͘͡͞ţ̨̰̠͚͓̩̉̌̋̎̓́̒͜͝ m̗͍̲̗̥̤̜̫̒͐̋̈́̈͊̂̌͠ͅé̴̡̯͉̖̻̱͇̟̯́̐̽͘̚͟͠ d̵̨̨̘̳͉͙̳̾̊͑̌̕͝i̧̼̩̞̹̋̅̓̐̈̽̓̑͟è̢̢̨̘̻̪͚̤̉̄̀̄̂̔͞ͅ.̢̨͍̹̰̮̟̀̐̑̾̅̀͒͂̚͟ͅ
̵̗̬͔͔͖͊͑͊͂̾Ŵ̶̛̬̭̳̝̖͗͋͞͝ḩ̸̭̹̰̣̪̩̈́̾̃̍̽̅̒̚͢͢è͖̱͚̲̟̙̈́̐̿̚͢r̡̺͚͙͚͕̦̩̒̃̓̓́̒͜͝͡ͅe͓̟̫͉͍̹̰͌̊̌́̃͋̈́̎̍̚ a̧̳̺͚̘̪̬͎͚̓̔̂̌͆̋̈̚ͅm̛̰͚͕̻͕̹͂́̔̇͜͢ͅ I̸̛̜̦̯͎̭̒͊̈́̍̕?̸̻̼̯̩̘͔͛̍̽͐̈́̌͞
̴̠͕̬̰͍̂͑̽͑̿Ì̸͍͕̖̞̺̙͔̙̈͒̆͋̃͡͞t̡̙̳̫̹̖͙̞̔̒̒͊̓̔͑ w̴̧̟̯̭̪̬͚̹̽̊̽̂͛͘͟͡į̸̣͔̥͇͉͔̰̀́́͂̊̆͑̕̚͜ͅl͕̩̯̥̮̖͆̏̅̈̑̒̌̀l̴͕̙͚̰͆̑͒̂̓̓̅̾͟͠ͅ a̢̛̻̼̩̟̋́̋̄̐l̴̡̳̟̟͉̖͔̮͖̱̇̿̾̌͛̌̂͗͒͞l̷̮̰̯̥̥̲̇̒̋̍̋͘ b̴̨̗͙̫̝̘̬́̔̒̎̿̇͟͝͠é̵̡̖̥̳̠̻̯̗̤̈́̆̾͂́͂͗̕ͅ ą̧̦̞̪͍͙̣͍̅̏̐̽͒̓͛͘͜͠l̛̲̮͇̃͂͐͑͋̚͢͡ͅr̛̜̦̹͍̪͖̝͋̽̎̚ǐ͚͎̭̫̝̑̏̌̾g͔̫͉̭̿̄̈́̆͗͊́̾͒͟͡h̘̰͚̯̭̝͒̿̉̾̾̕͡͠ͅt̙̟̳̊̋̾̈͗̆̿̾͢ͅͅ,̘͔̟͙̤͚͖̜̄̍̂́̽ d̡̯͕͇̠̄̋͛͑̚̕͘ȏ̞̠̺̥̯͛͗̉͑͆̈͗͢n̛̜̥̞̯̱͓͍̪͒̀́͠͞ͅ'̸̼̳̮̱̲̠̮̩̗̾̈̀̏̄̕͞t̤͈͇̜̬̾̉̓̔̔͘͜ b̷͖̙͉̰̞̭̳̖̤̈̓̀̋̀̾̿̓͂̀͟e̡̥̰͙̣̝̞͗̀̍̄̇́͜ͅ ä̴̡̡͍̫͈͎͌͛̈̔̃̾́͠f̢̰͕̣̭̖̿̉̎̋̽͛̉̉͢͞ȑ̞̜͈͖̯̑̈̾̏͒̀̄͠͝a̴̡͇̼̳͚͓̓̅̅̏̃̕͢͡i̸̧͍̺̱̱̭̙̣͛̓̈̔͂̉͘͟ḑ͈̼̲͎͔͉̎͂̔̂̉͞.̱͔̻̙͍́̓̎̋͋̐̓̑͐
̵̣̞͉̬̪̰͗̃̆̏͑̆̆̚͢͞Ď̛͖̠̙͖̼̖͓̳͈͚̎̓͑̎̄̾͊͠o̴̗̬̯̞̭͈̦̣̔̒̆̒̆͟͢ņ̸̧̥̬̞̻͚̥̖́͒̅͗̽͟͠'̸͈͇͕͓̬͙̍́̓́̓t̡͖̰̻̏̌̎̈́̀̓̄͟͝ ḑ̶̱͙͙͉͕̞̜̪̓̊̌͂̽̾̋̕͢͠ǫ̴͚͔̳̯͙͖̜͍̪̈́́́̿̚͝ t̨̳͇̣̟͖̟̣͈̱͐̌̀̊̏͐͠h̸͕̖̞͙̘̙̾͑̀́͑̋͆̕͟͞i̗̭͈̦̭͈͐͌̄̓̔̔̎͢s̶̼͉̻̭͔̻̓̌̑͗̑̅̐͢͡,̼̙̜̰̠͚͚̝̩͌̿̉̂͗̀̊ͅ p̨̛̲̮̱̣̃͊̽̂̾͋l͔̩̘̠̔̄̽̂͢͡͡ẽ̷̡̤̹͎͖̀̊̀͆̏̍̂̒̆a̡̗͇̙̯̱̣͎̐̋̆́̓̍̿̽͞ͅs̷̛̱̫̝̳͖̗̺̟̣̹͂̎͌͐̀̾̑̾ĕ̷͉̩̦͍͕̯̩͎̖̀̉͛̓͞͞.̴̢̹͍̝̩̼͌̈͗̏̊̈́͝
̵̢̱̬̣̺̔́͋̑̒́̀͢W̸̖̘̮͇̼̖̣̘̿̾̊̊̓̆̾͛͜h̴̡̡͍̟̝̱̺̼͈̩̄̾͋̏͡͞ỹ͍͎̜̞͉̌̉̓̇̎ͅ i͉̲̠̜̟͂̿̏̆̀ŝ̶̜͙̥̖̞̫̲̼̄͐́͌̓͆͜͜ i̧̧̜̘̞͖̲͂̊̈͊̿t̵̡̰͚̼̟̲͔͆̿́̃̌͒̒̀̕͡ͅ s̷̭̗̜̙͍̫̟̟͌͑̃̈́͛́o̸̡̢̭͍̻̭͔̩̥͍͛̀͐̄̂̀̽́̈́ d͚͕̫̺̲͕̤̘̮̄́̈͛͢͡a̶̛̻̣͓̟̯͖̙̼͖̭̾͆̄̈́́̈́͝r̸̛͙̬̞͎̗͖͍͇̋̀̍̀͌̈̕͢k̷̦͍̗̘̟̭̉̃̈́̊̌͢͠͡͝͠ͅͅͅ?̢̛̤̮̞̜͈̽̾͂͊̾̍͠
̨̙̘͍͙̮̲͓̭̦̑̽̾̅̄̒͞A̵̻̲͎̣̦͈̳̜͐̓͂͌̎͑̀̔̕ú̯̤̻̯̯͛́̇̉͒̍̽b̸̛̘̱͍̆͋̓̽̊͟͜͞u̶̢̗̣̟̥̲̳̭̅͌̽̅͘͠ŕ̶̢̛̳̳̘̲̞̿͂̓̄̅͛͛n̪̳̹̬̬̱͍̟͊͒̊̒͐̆͑͡?̵̢̯̥̬̲͖͎̤̔͂̎͌̚͜͞ Ǻ̸̤͈̠͍͙͙̲͙͇̋̋̌̊͟͡u̷̧͙̺̪͎͚̞̮̠̐̽̀͘͡͠b̮͈̦̺̙̳̃̈̉̋̈̓̕u̸̧̺̱̬̦͚͉͒̐̄̉̈̌͆̓̕̕ͅr̨͔͖̪͈̮̝̪͔͒̂̋̌̀̎̑͢n̜͖̺̰̥̔̎̄̓̆́̀̒̈́͐ͅ?̨̧̬̪̥̈̅͋̑̌́̄͞͠ Ṕ̡͖̜̥̗̩͈͉͎̰̓̇̊̀l̡̲̲̼͕͉̟͛̿̍̍͌̆́̏̂̕͜e̴͓̞̰̖̞͆̆͑͗͑̓͜ä͚̖͙͚͉̗̑͊̈͛͝ṣ̷̺̘̤͌̓̇̀̍͑̽̚͟ẽ̹̯̰̻̗͇̐̍̾́̆͒̊͡,̲̮̜̳̿̍̉͟͞͠ ḥ̡̛͖̹̠͓̱̱͐̓͆̄̓̿̋̇̍͟a̶̻̹͔͎̥̰̦̮̓̅̋̍̿͒̇͒͘͢͝ş̷̡̹̖̘͖̏͛̌͒̌̈́̋̈͠ a̵͓̦̗̞̳̪̙̫͗̑̀́̒̔̂̓̏ń͙̻̲͑͐͋̋̔́͟ͅy̢̬̖̼̓̒͌͊͋͂͋͐̓͟ọ̴̧͚̣͉̭̜̰͛̀̀̀̌̇̊ͅn͎̜̦̬̞̔̀̋́̇e̸͍̙̩̫͚̾̇͛͘͞ s̱̭̩̹̹̰̙͎̿̈́͌̈́͛̍̕͝e̶͎͔͓̫̿̆̌̒͢͞e̡̞͍̠͓̼̫̤͆͒̃̇̿̓̂̉͂n̸̨̢̞͉͓͚̻̜̭͊́͑̏̽̓̑̐͘ m̸̢̢͓̟̙̘̱̈̓̑̾͊y̞̮͇͉̩͖͈͓̅̒͑̄͗̅ d̛̹̥͙̹͚̩̱̮͈͊̌͐̏̈̿̌́͝r̜̱͖̹̮͍̻̋̐̄͌̐̃̚͘ą̸̡̨̛͕̼̆̀͗̅̉́̾̈́̚ģ̸̧̩͕͚̪̀̃̅͆͊͠͡͠o̵͎̖̠͔̥̿̊̿̂͒̋̈́̐̕ņ̛̩̞̬̤̰̱̪͚̓̃͂̓͊e̵̠̮̤̹̥̙̾̔̃̉̓̏̊́̈́͡t̷̠̞̻̦͇̑͒̎͌̿͝?̖͇̘̻̂̄̂͋̕͢͝
̨̬̦̥̹̬̩̭̜̩͋͆͌̽̈͊̿́͞Ī͍̞̲͚̒͑̉̐̍̚̕͢t͍̩͇̳̭͂̊̊̚̕'̰͓͚̲͔̘̜͒́͑̆̿s͍̰̟͙̦̭̮̩͂̓̿̽͂̾́̎͟ s͉̪̼̣̗̜͚̠̭̔̓̒̈͊͗͠͞ơ̼͍̙͓̞͒͐̅̕ c̢̞̪͈̻̩̏̉̒́̌̅͘͟ͅȏ̧͇̯͔͕̀̃̓̈̾͟͝͠l̴̨̥̞̰̲̣͇̥͆̓̈́͑͡d̷̨̥̥̮͙̖̥̫͊̍̀͌͛̃̉̋ͅ.͈̮͕̖̙̆͒͛̉̊̅̔͗̌̕ͅ
̢̲͇̦̙̤͐͛̈̒͛̑͒͒͘̕S̩͚͎̱̀͗͊͑͂̚͡͡͠ͅṰ̨̡̟̤͕̘̱̜́̆͊̋͑̕͠͡͝͞ͅO̴̢͈͔̜̪̐̆͒̈̋̕̚͝P̴̨̦̹̜̻̥̄̃̊̿́ Ṡ̡̨̛͇͉̠̤̗͖͔̈͆̑̏͊͐T̢̨̞͙̮̪̬͚̑̽̏̈́̽̈͟͟O̴͍̣̭̣̖̭̹͊͛̂̕͡P̝̖̱̖͔̣̟͓͆̾̔̀͡ͅ N̻̤̠̲̻͉̭̐͗̆̋̾̍͟͡O̷̧̮̞̤̠͙̟̿͗̑͜͜͞͞ Ş̶̮̺͕͙̀̇̃̆̇̚͢͟T̴̢̠̻͖̤̰̺̗̾͒͆́̍͆̇͟͝Ő̷̟̪̺̜̾͒̊͘͢P̴͎̮̰̳͆̋̓͛͑͗͋͐̕͜͝.̷̢̞̰̮̦̗̮̑̀͗̂̅̈̋̿͘͝
̰̜͕̳̜̺̙̻̲̈̂̓͋̈̒̓͒̕͘ͅF̛̭̳͍̖͖͔͓̗͗̈͛͑͟͡͠ơ̡͓̥̹̞͊́̈̐̂̉̌̔ứ̭̪̤͍̻͍͚̃́̈́͊͢r̷̥̝̼̯̲̘̃̾͋͗͋̌̀͘͘͡,͙̱̭͓̘̝͖̦̝̓̔̉͒̏͛͗̋̐͟ f̛͈̖͉͙͙̰͓̔̀̑͗̔̅́͡ỉ̞͕̳̟̉̎̈́̈́͘͜͝v̵̢̗̝̗̼͓̺̰͗̄̋̊̔̿e̸͕̪̥͖͎̲̝̔̑̃̀̌͠͝,̷̧̮̺̥̤̘̜̝̱̲͆̐͗͗̐ s̴̢̧͍͈̙̖̅̉͂̑̒̋̚į̶̻̘͈͎͒̂̋̀͞x̢̯̞̦̫̗̻̫̝̦̀́͗̍̑̾͆͠͞,̡̧̞̺͈̖͖̪̠̐̎̉̀͠͝͞͝ s̸̜͈͕͖͇͕̲͉͎̄͆͂̑̋̾͛̍̚͟ë̴͓̮̩̥̞́͒͘͘̚͞͠͡͞ṽ̸͕̪̩̬̠̼͎̞̟̽̀̅̈͑͝ẻ̠͖̙̣̝͖́̋͗͌̋͑͆͡n̡̳̜͍̫̠͔̽̐́̐͆̆̒.̛͔͓̻̭̖̥̙̊̑͋̉͛͌̔͝
̷̢̡͖̣̲̪͇̺̤̠̒̅͋͛̿P̱̙̳͇̪̯̬̥̩̐́̂̑̂̈́͜l̸̢̯̤̎͛̅́̒͜͜͝ę͙̥̤̪̭̼̼́͊͊̓͂͆͜͢͡ą̸̬̬͓̣̙̺̈̐̉̊̚͝s̘͔̠̥̹̦̭̲̄̍͂̿̇͟͜ẽ̴̲̝̻̠͍̹͑̌̔͊͆́͑͘ s̴̢̛̙̮͖̤̖̖͗̀̉̀̊̊̚̕͢͢͟͞a̧̨̧̛͓̘̺̻̠̅̈́̑̓̓̿͝͝ṽ̪̗͖̰̞̪̦̥̃́̎̿̈͌̆̃e̛͍͈͔̞̱̲͙̺̝͑̈͌̍̊̄͒́ m̷̛̖̱͈͖̼̝̓̈̌̒͒̎̽͢͡ͅḛ̷̢̧̲͉̬̰͒͐̄̂̌͟.̷̢̭̺͇̭̱̰͓̊̔͗͌̑̚͢
̥̟̹͓͚̰͔̗͂̄̽̎̉̄͘͜͜͞͠I̴̞̩̜̥̥̗̺͓̓̎̉̄̏̆̚̕͟Ṭ̡̱̺̬̬̈̈̀̾͒̎͟ H̴̯͈̙̞͚͒̒́̀̿̿Ư̶̡̻̺̩̪̐͂͆͑̔͛̊̓͞Ȓ͙̻͖̤͖͓̪͋͛̽͆̈́ͅT̷͙͎̣̟̼͌́̎̍͆̐̍͜S̤͙̥̥̐̽̈̓͑̓̾̚͜͝͡ I̷̦̪̪̪̺̣̳͈̞͂̓̎͛͆̑̓͘T̺̤̘͓̠̜̩̒̍́̔̄̎̍̚ H̢̙̗̬̱̺̒̿̃̃͠͞͝Ů̳̱̲̖̣̱̞͈̓̍̍̽̾̈R̶̗̺͙̜͚̗͒͗̽̀̋͢͞͞͝Ṭ̢̖̣͙͕͇̤̈̋͌͆̄̐͆͘̚͠S̭͈̭̩͔͎͆̅̄͊͑̐̚̕͘͜͠
̴̨͉̩͈̥̈̅̽̀͋͡Ī̸͖̻̘̼̺̖͍̎̃̌͆̚͘ d̴̫̬̦̰̩͋͑̋̾͊̉͊̊͛̎͟ò̪͔̝̠̞̺͗̽̿͗͛n̸̞̜̭̝̱̪̘̝̞̙̅̆̅͋̆̀̓͋̊'̛͚͎͉̙̯̘̤̖̼̲̃͋̾̄͘͠ṫ̗̜̰̲̹̜͇̱̺̲̑͑̆̀̿͘͞ w̸̹̪͔̩͓͔͎̲̅̀̈́̓̐̈́̒́̕a̮̠͚̼̤̓̄̿͑̍̓͛n̷͍̟̥͍̯̝͛̇̊̒͢͞t̛̥̼͙̺͍̹̜̞̰̂͌͐̀̾̄͘͠͞ͅ t̷̡̛̩͎̖̤̘͆̓́̏̋͂̚̚ò̡̨͍̻̺̦̾͛͋͗̐̏̚ͅ d̷̛̞̪͉̳̯͈̖̱̅̆̔̎͒̒̉̓͌i̯̦̬̣͇̱̗͒͊̍̓͊̽͐͆̾͟͟ͅe̶̺̱͈̟͚̖̹͓͆̀̓̆͒̋͆̕.̴̧̛̯͇̘̣̙͓̏̎͐͗̾̌͘͠ͅ
̵̨͉͎͉̫̾̋̒͋̾̾͘͜͝͞G̵̺̙͕̣͉̱̗̦͎͛͛́̉̆͟͠o̷̢̞̟̖̯̣̹͊̐̾̅̈́͒̾͂̎̕͟ a̶̺͍̟͇̪̪͐̇̆̉̊̑́̃̐w̵̫̭̠͔̻̱̋͆̓͛͌͂́͆͟͞͞ä̢͎͈̹̯͍̩́̊͘̚͡y̵̛͉̼͕̺̱͚̪͉̏̀͊̊͊͒́͡,̷̱̲̪̟͆͋̈̅̑͆̓̕͟͞ g̳̭̙̺͋̿́͛̎̈́͟ͅͅọ̸̡̜̲̜̤͉̰̦̘̈́̔̌͊͠ ă̧̧̖̯̩̲͇̖͙̄̃̾͒̏w̵̨̙̩̼͓̦̰͍͕̓́̓͛̂ã̵̢̟͓̘͚̝͒͂̅͋̈͋͝y̹̤̙̼͇͂̎̇͒͒̇͘.̛̛̤͙̩̻̬͎̻̠̇̈̍̔͐̀̓͠
̵̛̱̤͙̗̰͚̲̑̀̀̔̒̕͠W̵̳̪̣̭͊͑̏̓̈̊͘͜͞ͅh̡̧̳̹͔̗̱̣̃͆̑̎͗͠͞o̷̢̡͍̮̫̙̯̅͒̌̅̍̒͡ ḯ̡̝͓̜̩̩͓͕̮̃̍̈̊̀̚͠͠s̝̗͎͎̫̦̹͙̙͋̀͒̂́̑͛̄͛͢͞ ṯ̬͈͈̳͐́̎̀̽̾̓͘̚h̴͕̺͓̖͚́͊̿͋̚ą̷͕̻̘̹̖̲̬͐̽̔̑̀̚̕̚͟ͅṫ̨͎̲̮͔͚͆͑̓̈̓̍͒͠?̴̨͈̺͔̣̤͙͚̰̩́̏̎͌͗̽͊̚̕͝ C̰̪̲̹̲̖͙̫̻̉̐̉̓́̓́͝͡a̝͔̳͍̼̜̬̬̐͑̀̕͜͢͡ň̴̛͔͖̺̤͉͕̝̘̈̋̇͛̃͂͘͠ ÿ̸̲̪͈̱̞͒̓́͗͌͘̚̕̕ơ̶̡̞̩̥̼̠̞̟̪̠̇̓̽͋̑̀̐̎͘ŭ̡̼̻̹̖͈̦̠̥̔̆̾͒̃͢ ḧ̢̭̻̝̙̝̞͉͓̪́̌͘͝͡e̸̡̬̦͕̟̦̝̾̿̾̋̉͐̐͌͝͠á̸̡̜͔̗̹̤̋̓̊̓ͅṛ̡̯͇̫̩̙̀̈́͛̉̏̒͠ m͕̩̻̤̞̤͕͙̄͋̅͂̇̂̾̚͘͟͡ḙ̰̣̭͕̙̬̺̩̰̓͒̋̉͋͝?̤̦̰̣̩͕̮͎̜̒͂̃͋̀̎̃̐͝
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\INKWAKEUPNOW\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\...
Light suddenly flooded Ink's eye, making him yell out in surprise. His breathing was rapid, and his scales felt warm, even as the dream started to fade from his memories, quicker than his visions had. What was that? he wondered, trying to recall his dream. Darkness, voices talking . . . had someone mentioned Aurora?
Oh, that was right. Aurora. Memories of the real world started to return as the final fragments of his dream left him. He'd tried to attack her using the NightWing's form, but he'd lost. Brutally crushed. Whatever magic Aurora had been using, Ink never had a chance against her — he'd been at her mercy the entire time. He felt stiff bandages around where his blank eye had been. Why had he been so stupid? He'd known how scared the Ink in his visions had been of her. He should've listened, and his eye was the price he'd paid for it.
The consequences of what Aurora had done finally started to set in as Ink looked around the infirmary. Without his blank eye, Ink could no longer see the other Ink. Everyone in his vision's world was gone, forever. He'd never be able to see Loresearcher again: in reality, he'd died seven years ago, his neck snapped by Ink's father here. As awful a brother Loresearcher had been, the thought of him being gone forever, dead for real . . . Even if Ink had never had a real life in his visions, only getting glimpses of what might have been had given him another family, another life.
And what of Aurora, and the drought? The only reason Ink had made it this far was because of his visions. Without them, he might never had met Polar. He wouldn't be at Jade Mountain. Even if it was far from perfect, he'd always been to guess at what the future could hold. How could he do that now? His heart began to race. He couldn't know what would happen anymore, it was all dark to him. He'd thought he'd be able to stop Aurora and the drought, but without his visions, he had no idea what to do. Polar, Inferno . . . without his visions, Ink would have no way to protect them from his half-sister. Fear pulsed through his blood. Not only them, but Ink could no longer to protect himself. If Aurora changed her mind, he was defenseless.
He clenched, and started to get up from the medical cave bed. Other than the bandage on his head, whoever had tended to him had also bandaged a number of the minor wounds and cuts he'd gotten in his fight. He spread out his wings and shook his spines. It hurt a little, but nothing too serious.
Ink started to walk down to the rest of the academy. How long had it been? He'd promised to help Inferno figure out the situation with Seahorse and the Darkstalker's scroll. But without his visions, he didn't know how he could help. He could at least give her more detail about his visions, like he'd said he would. Polar too, he deserved to know, as caught up in this as he was. Not that it mattered much now.
As Ink headed down the tunnels towards the guest room, he spotted the snout of an strangely familiar dragon in the hallways, passing in the opposite direction. A skinny MudWing around Ink's age with horns the color of ivory. Ink frowned and stopped, glancing back towards the MudWing as they passed each other. The MudWing did the same, curiously looking at Ink after stopping. Staring wasn't too unusual. Ink was a hybrid, and a NightWing one at that. But something in this dragon's expression seemed unusual.
"Hey, do I know you from somewhere?" Ink asked.
Slate stiffened up. Why did this dragon look so much like Midnight? Hadn't Torrent mentioned a dead brother? It seemed unlikely, but how many NightWing-SeaWing hybrids were there in Pyrrhia? He couldn't be one of the animuses, could he? Slate needed to go back and tell Torrent at once. "Er, nope," Slate replied, "sorry, gotta . . . go to class."
As Slate suspiciously ran off towards the school's exit, Ink flicked his tongue. Where had he seen that dragon before? He suddenly realized it: the MudWing had come in with Torrent in Ink's vision. Did that mean that Torrent could be here too? But he was dead — no, he wasn't. Aurora had told Ink that Torrent and Midnight were still alive. If Ink believed her, that meant that Torrent was probably coming to Jade Mountain.
Ink tried to remember his vision. Even if he couldn't get any more of them, maybe he'd be able to stop the disaster he'd seen. Torrent had attacked Polar for being an animus, but Loresearcher had rescued Polar by killing Torrent. Loresearcher had then traded Polar's Darkstone for some mirror thing Aurora had. And Ink had been holding the Darkstalker's scroll to keep Torrent from disenchanting it and awakening the Darkstalker. But now, Loresearcher was gone. If Torrent was coming, Polar was in danger. And if Aurora was coming, everyone was in danger. Ink didn't remember seeing the MudWing in his visions, and he probably wasn't a student. He'd run off at the sight of Ink — probably to get Torrent.
"Camel dung," Ink winced, starting to run towards the guest room, even as his wounds hurt. His heart started to race. If Torrent was coming, he didn't have much time to stop the vision.
When he got to the guest room, only Inferno was there. She looked up in surprise as she saw Ink enter. "Ink!" she greeted him exuberantly. "You're alright! I'm so glad, we were so worried about you."
"Worried?" Ink asked. Most of his wounds seemed minor, not much to worry about. "How long was I out?"
"Two days," Inferno responded. "I checked in on you as often as I could. You were spasming in your sleep. Tsunami was worried your brain had accidentally been damaged or something. What happened? No one would give me a straight answer. Polar said you were attacked? Seahorse figured out that you stole one of his forms, but he's not angry about it. We worked things out with him and Peril. And there was another hybrid who said the form got destroyed and that you got what you deserved. I was really worried!"
Ink winced. He shouldn't have gone after Aurora. He'd put himself in danger without even thinking of his friends, and for what? To avenge his family? He'd seen most of them in his visions, and a small part of him wasn't quite sure they were worth avenging. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I was stupid. The hybrid you saw — was she a SeaWing-IceWing?"
Inferno nodded. "I think so, although it's kinda hard to tell sometimes. Polar thought you were a SeaWing when he first met you!"
Ink sighed. "That was probably Aurora, my half-sister. I was trying to get revenge on her, and stop something I saw in my visions."
"Your visions," Inferno frowned. "You never got to tell me about that."
Ink shook his head, remembering the MudWing in the halls. "Honestly, I'm not too sure myself honestly, but I was able to see a sort of alternate future where my brother lived. Things sometimes came true, and sometimes didn't. I can try and give more details later; sorry to delay again," he replied, a sense of urgency in his voice. He pointed to the bandages over his left eye socket. "It's not too important anymore anyways. Aurora took it from me. But I think we're getting closer to the vision I saw, and I think I can still stop it. Do you know where Seahorse or Polar are?"
"Seahorse might be out talking to Peril, or trying to apologize to Kinkajou or something else. By the way, he's Peril's father. I have no clue about Polar."
Ink glanced to Seahorse's cloth bag. His scrollcase was next to it. So the Darkstalker's scroll was here. "Alright, I hate to steal more stuff from him, but I need the Darkstalker's scroll. We need to make sure it isn't destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Inferno asked, confused. "I thought you wanted to destroy it."
Ink shook his head. "Not anymore. In my vision, apparently the Darkstalker gets free if it's destroyed. But I think it's in danger. I want to make sure it stays safe."
"Alright," Inferno replied. "I trust you."
Ink smiled, still worried, and grabbed the scroll. "Polar might also be in danger, so I'm going to go search for him."
"I'm coming with you," Inferno decided. "Not that I don't trust you of course, since that would contradict what I just said, but to make sure you don't do anything stupid again and stay safe." She didn't want to think about what would happen if she had to use her firescales to protect him. She wasn't quite sure she'd be able to hurt a dragon intentionally, even if she tried.
"Okay," Ink replied, putting the scroll around him. "But if you see Aurora again . . . be cautious. Firescales or not, there's nothing you can do to stop her."
Inferno shivered. There had been very few times Inferno had been afraid of being in physical danger, but Ink didn't sound like he was exaggerating. And when Inferno had seen Aurora, the hybrid hadn't looked at all scared of her, or any of the other dragons around Inferno at the time.
"C'mon, let's try the library," Ink suggested.
The two ran towards the library, back through the schools. As they neared the entrance, two dragons came from around the corner — Peril and Turtle were quietly chatting when they noticed Ink and Inferno.
Peril smiled as she saw them, but it quickly transformed to a frown. "Hey, is that what I think it is?" she asked Turtle, pointing to the scrollcase Ink carried.
"Yeah," Turtle gulped. "Why do you have Chameleon's scroll?"
"Not Chameleon's scroll," Peril replied in a hushed voice. "Remember who Moon said made it?"
"We're, er, protecting it," Ink replied.
"Protecting it from what?" Peril snorted. "I hate to be rude, but it's pretty dangerous, and Moon wanted us to destroy it."
"We know what it is," Inferno answered. "The Darkstalker's scroll, whoever that is."
"Which is why we need to destroy it," Turtle explained. "We talked to Foeslayer, Darkstalker's mom. She told us what he did. We want to make sure he doesn't get released."
Ink shook his head. "That's why we need to protect it. If it's destroyed, it releases him." He wasn't quite sure how to explain how he knew this. He didn't think 'my dead brother and evil half-sister told me' would be very convincing.
Peril huffed angrily, and looked a little like she wanted to go and snatch the scroll from Ink's paws. "That's ridiculous. His magic is in the scroll. If it's destroyed, his magic gets destroyed with it."
"Unless he made it so that it goes back to him." Turtle frowned. "It always seemed pretty suspicious to me that Darkstalker didn't try harder to convince Moon not to destroy it. He's literally in her head, he could like keep her from ever falling asleep or something awful if she wanted to."
"So you're saying he wants us to destroy it?" Peril asked. "I mean, he did tell Moon to destroy it if it ever got into the wrong claws. Wow, I'm really liking him less and less. Which is already a pretty low standard, given evil nightmare dragon."
"Wait, wait, hold up," Ink interrupted. "You're telling me you're talking to the Darkstalker?"
"Well, not us," Peril explained. "He can read Moon's mind a little so they have this two-way communication set up. But he's trapped underground and is basically powerless. Why?"
"Er, not sure." Something about Ink's faded dream was bugging him. There was something important here, but it felt just out of reach, like he couldn't touch it. "But you're not destroying the scroll?"
"No," Peril snorted. "But you better give a good explanation for why you've got it. I'm pretty sure my dad doesn't lend it out like a library scroll."
"As I said, it's in danger," Ink explained. "I'm trying to protect it. I'm worried my father is coming to Jade Mountain."
"Wait, I thought you said you were an orphan?" Inferno asked, confused.
"I thought I was," Ink admitted, "but according to Aurora, my dad and sister are still alive."
"And you trust her?" Inferno questioned.
Ink shrugged his wings. "I don't know. Although she didn't seem like she was lying, and the MudWing's arrival matched up with what I saw in my visions."
"Visions?" Peril asked, surprised. "MudWing? Wait, you have prophecy too?"
Ink winced. "Not anymore," he sighed. "But I think my father is coming here. He's an animus hunter, and he's got a big dagger with him. It's enchanted to cancel out nearby animus enchantments, so I think Darkstalker will get his magic back, at least temporarily, if Torrent gets too close to the scroll."
"Wait, Torrent?" Turtle said. "I had a older brother named Torrent. I mean, I never knew him, but Gill made us memorize all the names of our siblings. I thought he was dead." He glanced at Ink's wings. "He doesn't happen to be a prince, does he?"
Ink nodded. "Yeah. Which I guess makes you my uncle. Small world?"
"Knew it," Turtle grinned triumphantly, looking to Peril. "Wait, he's an animus hunter?"
"Mhmmm."
Turtle gulped. "Er, there's someone I need to warn. I'll be right back."
Turtle started to walk past Ink and Inferno, but quickly took a step back.
"What is it?" Peril asked, following his line of sight.
Ink and Inferno turned. Blocking the tunnel were an equally surprised Torrent and Slate.
AN: Formatting on this chapter broke. Horror-text should be slowly increasing in size.