I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.

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The Illusion of Reality

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I push myself to a sitting position... Ugh, that made my head spin... How long have I been out?

I lift my arms over my head and stretch. I guess the chains are off. I open and close my mouth experimentally. The gag is gone, too. I summon the strength to open my eyes.

The walls, the ceiling, the floor, all of it is made of gray stone. There's a small window on the far end of the room. I stand up and-

Wait... nope, I'm chained to the wall. How did I not feel those? Gah, my head... maybe I'm not entirely awake yet...

I look at myself. I'm wearing a threadbare beige tunic that reaches halfway between my hips and knees. A pair of chains attached to my wrists restrict how far I can take them from the back wall, and another pair attached to my ankles do likewise. No pants, though. Is it really that hard to make a pair of pants for a prisoner?

...Prisoner... I'm a prisoner of the M'arrillians...

I haven't had enough time to really think ever since Phelphor looked inside my head. Mostly I've been reacting to things around me. Finally I have some time to really digest what's happened. Of course, all there are to think about are horrible things... What will happen if I never get out of here?

Hera... I never said goodbye. The last thing she'll remember about me is how loud I shouted when I saw that letter. Her last memory of me will be about the time I made her cry...

Isis, did I even say goodbye to her? No, not really, I just sent her to speak with Theb-sarr. When will she learn that the Doors opened? She probably already knows. If Khybon is fighting against the M'arrillians at what was probably the Lava Pond, then the attack has already started. She knows, and she knows that I couldn't stop Phelphor.

And her child, I had only barely learned she was pregnant. Juel or Jupiter? I might never know. The child would ask, "Where is Father?" and Isis would reply, "The M'arrillians have him." Unless they think I'm dead...

{How interesting, the fantasies you'll create to keep up the illusion that you actually love your so-called family.}

My skin feels like ice. That was Aa'une's "voice."

{Are you Cothica? But you can't be, you're just a Human. Your kind isn't even native to Perim.}

"I'm not a god!" I croak. Ow... Speaking is painful.

{So what does that leave us? A dreamer? That's worse than you pretending to be God. What am I, then? Am I a chemical system within your sleeping brain? Is my entire life a lie? Am I a construct of your imagination? Are we all projections within your dreamscape, playthings in your eyes? Did the M'arrillians spend hundreds upon hundreds of solans in this stinking pit because you needed a foe, an antagonist, for your imaginary trek through Perim?}

"I-I didn't..." I try to protest, but the things he's saying...

{Who are you, Human? A lonely man? One so bored and weak that he has to create a power fantasy at night?}

"It's... not a power fantasy..." I breathe.

{You are correct, it's not.}

Huh?

Aa'une's voice gets harsher. {You're not dreaming. It makes no sense. You're a Human somehow sent to Perim, that's all.}

I try to wet my throat with my saliva. "Fourteenth life here-"

{Those other thirteen lives? Obviously not real. Delusions of yours that made you feel special, that's what they were.}

"The threads you saw in my head," I mutter.

{A latent psychic power, it has to be that.} Aa'une growls. {You cannot be a dreamer! I won't accept it! I'm not some fantasy in another creature's mind!}

...What kind of world is this? What will happen to Perim with Aa'une in such a state? I can't let this continue. I'm sorry, everyone. I have to die, I have to start this all over.

I take a deep breath. "Then why are you so scared of me?!" I shout painfully. "If I'm not the keystone of reality, then why aren't you speaking with me face to face?!"

I see a light appear in the center of the cell. It expands slowing, taking Aa'une's shape. Then the light fades, revealing Aa'une floating in front of me. His eyes open and glare at me, and he says aloud, "Very well, then. I'll speak in the flesh."

I feel my courage evaporate. What am I doing?! Am I really trying to provoke-? Yes, I am. "You know what's going to happen," I say, "at least if you paid any attention to my memories of the show my dream is based on."

I see Aa'une clench needle-like teeth together. "I just said it's not a dream," he growls ferociously.

"I'm fairly certain it is." I force myself to chuckle. "Perim is simply too fantastic for it be real."

Aa'une folds his arms. "Is this really why you wanted to speak in person?"

I glare at Aa'une as hard as I can. "No. I wanted to tell you what's going to happen. You're going to lose the war, and you're most likely going to die very painfully."

"Because that's what your show says," Aa'une grins, "but this obviously is not the show. So many things have changed, haven't they? Phelphor acquired the assistance of the Danians, not the Underworlders. The locks on the Doors opened one by one, not simultaneously. Those and so many other things are either different or were not present at all."

My chest tightens as I begin to speak. "Then why are you too much of a coward to kill me?"

I see it! Right there in his eyes! I touched a nerve!

Aa'une glowers at me. "Be... Because you need to be punished for your arrogance."

...He's not going to kill me. He knows that I'm dreaming, but he's trying to lie to himself.

Aa'une's eyes glow brighter. "You will continue to live until I find proof of your deceit! Show me your mind!"

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Age 13:

"Jeffrey!" I scream. "Run!"

I burst into the living room. There's my younger brother, sitting by the fireplace. He looks up at me, a confused expression on his face.

"He's coming!" I shout, rushing over to him and pulling him to his feet. "You need to get out of here!"

I hear the door slam open, and I spin around. There's the man, dressed completely in black. There's a gun in his hand.

I step in front of my brother and spread my arms. "You're not getting him!"

I hear an explosion from the man's hand, and a gust of wind passes by my ear. I act quickly, turning along with the wind, pushing Jeffrey aside, towards the back door. Please run!

Jeffrey bolts for the door and leaves the house, while I slump to the ground. The bullet missed me, I know that, but if I play dead, the man will try to follow Jeffrey. Then I can get him while his back is turned.

I feel something press against the back of my head, and it feels like my heart stopped beating. I hear a click-

Everything turns into pain and fire as the bullet blasts through the back of my skull, and then everything starts to turn fuzzy and gray...

I open my eyes. My bedsheets are wet with sweat. I throw my blanket off and sit up. I can feel blood running down the back of my head and my neck. I try to wipe some off with my hand, but I feel nothing.

I lie back down and take slow breaths. Jeffrey's not in any danger, it was just a dream...

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Age 8:

"Mor," I ask while stirring the last bit of my cereal, "why do people say that you should pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming?"

"Because you can't feel pain in your dreams," my mother says.

"Oh," I mutter. I scoop up the rest of my cereal and eat it, then put my spoon in my bowl. "Tak for mad." Thank you for the food in Danish.

"Velbekomme," Mom says back, meaning you're welcome.

"Må jeg blive undskyldt fra bordet?" May I be excused from the table?

"Ja du kan." Yes you may.

I pick up the bowl and put it in the sink. "I pinched myself in my dream last night, and it hurt."

Mom raises her eyebrows at me. "Oh?"

"Many things hurt in my dreams..."

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Age 20:

Lucid dreaming, lucid dreaming, where can I find instructions on how to have and maintain a lucid dream? I had one a few years ago! I knew I was dreaming, and I made myself float off the ground before I woke up!

Let's see... avoid closing your eyes and deliberately opening them in the dream, try spinning in place- tried that one already. Look for inconsistencies. Heh, how did I not know I was dreaming when I realized that there was a pillar of water down the center of the school?

Dreamcrafting? That sounds neat. Maybe I'll try it out-

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Time 14:

My head hurts so much...

I open my eyes. There's Aa'une, floating in front of me. He looks like he just witnessed a nuclear bomb drop on the city of M'arr.

"No," he breathes, and he vanishes in a flash of light.

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Up next: The Realization

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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