It was early in the morning, I kept thinking about what had happened at the bar last night. My head was hurting a bit, and so were my eyes, they stung. It was the kind of stinging like I was looking directly into the sun. Come to think of it, my room is rather bright for so early in the morning. When I turned over to check the clock by the bed it said it was around one, but it was also blinking. Something must have happened to the power last night and it reset...damn. I wonder how twilight and Derek are doing. I woke up from the bed and stretched out my arms as I let out a powerful yawn. I brought my hands up to my eyes and started rubbing them trying to get them to focus again. Once my eyes had adjusted the pain in them and my forehead slowly vanished and I looked around the room.

It was the same old room as it always was, but it felt a bit strange. I couldn't help shake the fact that something's changed. I did notice that the room was rather bright. It was like there was some kind of brilliant and invisible light source lighting up the whole room. I got up and walked over to the dresser to get some clothes. Once I opened up the dresser I was surprised to see that it was empty... Why? I don't remember using all of these clothes; we haven't even been here long enough for me to even look through them all. I was a bit confused but I became even more confused when I looked behind me again to see that the bed I had literally just been sleeping in was gone. I froze for a moment... And I started to think. Something is definitely wrong. I looked back again to see that the bed was there, it was like I had turned around and looked behind me to look at the same place in the room. Then I quickly started looking around the room and everything was as it should be.

I stopped for a moment and just stood still. It must be my mind playing tricks on me, though... This is one hell of a trick. I looked over to see if anything else would suddenly vanish, and to my surprise it was the windows that had now disappeared. I turned around once again thinking that it might fix itself, but that didn't work, in fact, now the door to the room has vanished as well... I'm stuck in here. I tried to say something, but there was no sound, I thought maybe my voice was just weak because it's early. I tried speaking louder, but that didn't work. Then I tried shouting as loud as I could, but there was no sound. I could feel myself shouting, I could feel the vibrations from my voice in my throat, but there wasn't any sound. Maybe I've gone deaf. I tried testing that by clapping my hands together and they made a sound that echoed through the room. I could hear that, but I can't hear my own voice.

Suddenly from behind me there was a sudden knock. I quickly looked back to see that there was a door on a bare wall. There was nothing else around. At this point I was the only thing in this room, other than the door. It knocked again and the banging echoed through the empty white room. I walked over to the door slowly and cautiously and when I got up close to it I slowly reached for the door knob. I grabbed it and slowly turned it. I waited for a moment and then quickly jerked the door open. And to my surprise there was another door directly behind it. I stared in confusion for a second. It was at this point that I decided to let go of all rationality and just go along with it. I must be dreaming right now, this must be one of those lucid dream things or whatever. Knowing that this must just be a dream I thought about changing the room back to normal, but nothing happened, which is a little discerning.

I let out a sigh, or... At least in tried too, but I couldn't hear it. I reached for the next door and opened that up, and like some kind of cruel joke, there was yet another door behind that one. I opened that one and there was yet another door. I kept opening doors which stood behind doors for what must have been like five minutes. I managed to create a thirty yard tunnel of opened door frames, all of which were the same exact door. I opened one more door and to my surprise the door behind it was different. It was a rather fancy looking black door with golden trimmings. I looked at it with hopeful eyes. I reached down and grabbed the fancy trimmed doorknob and twisted it. There was a faint click of the door and then I pulled it open. There was a sudden flash of white light and an unfathomable sound that ripped apart the air around me. It was loud, and unstable, like static, except the sound shook my whole body. I could feel it deep in me, it rung on every octave and I felt like my head was going to explode.

Soon the terrible sound faded away to a white noise that rung at a high pitch. The same ringing you hear when your ears pop, so that must be me going deaf then. That's what I thought, until the noise faded and suddenly I was able to focus again. When I opened my eyes and uncovered my ears I noticed that I was in some sort of study, like a home was dimly lit by a sing fireplace and it had a bearskin pelt, and hunting trophies along the walls as well as a desk with a globe and a book stand which had an open dictionary on it. There were two reclining chairs by the fire with a small table between them. There was a glass of red wine on the table and suddenly I saw a hand reach over and grabbed the wine by the base near the stem of the glass and bring it over to the chair.

"H-hey..." I said recognizing that somebody was there. I could hear my voice now, and the crackling of the fire. I quickly walked over and stood in front of the couch to see that there was a person sitting there... And it was me! I was looking at myself, but the me in that chair was wearing a dapper looking bath robe with red velvet slacks. It looked like a very intelligent me. He sipped the wine and had a book open in his hand, a rather thick looking book. He put the glass of wine down and then went back to his book. I stayed quiet for a minute before he flipped the page, put a mark in the book, and placed the book down on the table next to the glass.

"Hello there..." He said. "Welcome to my private study... Please, seat yourself... Allow me to settle your qualms."

"Uh... Wha-what... Who are you?" I asked.

"Why... I'm you." He said. "Or more specifically I'm the interpretation of a fragment of your personality... I represent your intelligence." He said.

"Well... Where am I?" I asked.

"Well... That's hard to say... Picture it, as a whole world... On the inside of your head."

"How am I inside of my own head?" I asked.

"You're just the subconscious version of yourself... This isn't a dream; it's your own reality." He said. I tried thinking this over for a second and I sat down on the other chair.

"Okay... So, my physical body must still be asleep then...so... What am I doing here?"

"That's one question that I can't answer by myself... I was able to tell you were coming here... But your reason for being here perplexes me." He said. "Perhaps you've come here for some kind of... Spiritual journey perhaps..."

"So... Are there others... Like you?" I asked.

"Of course... I'm just one of your attributes... Intelligence, but you may come across different emotions as well... Or you may stumble upon demons locked away, deep in the resources of your own mind..."

"Demons?"

"Parts of you that may be filled with regret...or hatred... Maybe sadness...problems that you have yet to face that have manifested into a form in this world." He said.

"So... Where do I go next? How do I get out of here?" I asked.

"You'll be able to leave once you find what you're looking for." He said. "As for leaving this place... There's a door over there." He said gesturing to a doorway to the left.

"Where does it lead?" I asked.

"I cannot tell... It leads to a different place, every time..." He said. "Hopefully it will lead to someplace favorable."

"Favorable?" I asked.

"You should know better than I. That there are some places of your own mind that you'd rather leave alone." He said peering at me.

"I'll keep that in mind..." I said walking over to the door. I looked back and he had already started reading the book again. I let out a sigh and grabbed the knob of the door. I twisted it open and opened the door. I peered through the doorway, but it was empty, there was only darkness. I walked forward into the darkness and stepped past through the doorway. I looked back and suddenly the door closed behind me. I could see the door, it was like there was light in this place, but the walls and floors were black. I could hear a high pitched hum from behind me, like a ringing of a high key. I turned around to see another version of myself.

The other version of myself was wearing a hood and a cape, facing me. He was sitting in a meditating position and was floating above the ground. His eyes were closed and there was markings running all along his body. The markings on his body were seeping with energy and he glowed a bright blue. He was being levitated by a blue aura under him, like a blue mist. He had a bright pair of white, angel like wings behind him and a blue halo above his head. It was like she was literally leaking pure magic energy. He took in a deep breath in and when he let out his deep breath it shook and rumbled the whole room. Then he opened his eyes and they glowed blue, and burned like fire. They were the eyes of change, looking into them made me feel a flurry of emotions. This must be the stare that I give people; I finally understand how it feels like.

"Why have you entered my domain?" He asked, his voice echoed through the room which seemed to expand infinitely in all directions. His voice shook the ground and made my whole body shake.

"Uh... I... I don't know." I said. "I was... Just with, the... The guy in the study... I don't know how to refer to him as." I said.

"So you were just with intelligence..." He said. "I am the manifestation of your magical power." He said. "I am Arcana..." As he said that two bright glowing balls of magical blue fire appeared in his hands and he held them there as he levitated.

"Do you know why I'm here?" I asked him.

"Most likely because you're supposed to learn something from me." He said, his voice still echoing through the air. "Though... I know not what it is you need to learn from me."

"I can't seem to think of what I'd learn here anyway..." I said. "Intelligence might have probably been the only one that could tell me anything useful."

"If you are here... Then there must be a reason." He said. "Perhaps you doubt your own power... Or maybe you're afraid of it... Or perhaps you want more?" He said in a very tempting voice.

"I think... For the most part, I'm confused... I don't... Really know what I should do with my power." I said holding up my hands.

"You don't know how to use your power..." He said. "With your power... Our power... You could do what you wish..." He said he lifted one of his hands up and over in the darkness a bright light shone, and then it burst into a fierce explosion and collapsed into a dark and pirating hole that spewed fire. Then a rift opened up in the ground and what looked like the souls of the damned, began crawling out of the crevice. Then the rift closed cutting off the limbs of those souls which the. Turned to black ash and everything settled. "Ultimate power... Control over all the elements, even light and darkness... And with both combined, you have the very power to control life."

"Life and death..." I said.

"Though... That power comes with greatly varying consequences..."

"Like what?" I asked.

"The consequences of your actions... Combining light and darkness is no easy task as well... It takes incredible mental constitution, as well as great magical capability and incredible discipline... It cannot be done easily... I suspect you won't be able to harness this kind of power for many centuries..."

"That's... Terrifying, to be honest..." I said.

"You shouldn't afraid of the power you have... So long as your soul stays pure, and you sharpen your mind, it can be used to great good." He said. "Not all power beckons corruption... Heed that, and keep those words in your mind." He said. Just as he said that a doorway suddenly appeared from behind him. "It seems that you've found what you're looking for..." He said not even looking back to find the doorway.

"Uh... Thank you..." I said walking past him and to the door.

"Remember to head the words of your conscious's... Nobody can tell you more about you, than yourself." He said as I twisted the doorknob and opened up the door. I walked through the and door immediately closed behind me and vanished. I looked back to see that the doorway had been made from a tree, which was just a normal tree now. I looked around to see I was in some kind of hilly plane. I was I top of a large hill which dropped off into a large cliff; the fall is more than enough to kill a person. The sky was a flurry of colors, mostly red and orange and purple, as over on the horizon the sun was beginning to set. There were few clouds in the sky and the air was warm, with a slight breeze. I looked over to see that there was another 'me' sitting on the edge of the cliff with his legs hanging over. I walked over and I got a good look of his face.

He was smiling and staring off into the sunset. He looked like a younger version of myself though, like I was looking ten years into the past. He was wearing normal clothes. Shoes, shirt, and jeans. The feel around him was very carefree and relaxed. Even being here made me feel happy, like I could just sit here forever and not have to worry about anything. The air was crisp and fresh and the subtle breeze rustled the leaves in the trees and pushed the long grass under our feet. Over the rest of the plain you could see the grass swaying like waves in the ocean as the soft breeze pushed it along. I walked over and sat down right next to the other me and let my legs hang off the edge much like him. As I sat down I took in a deep breath and let out a sigh as I stared off at the sunset which doesn't seem to be moving, like the sun is there forever.

"It's nice... Isn't it?" He suddenly asked.

"Huh...? Oh... Yeah, it's very nice... Very relaxing." I said.

"I've been sitting at this spot for as long as I can remember, and I just can't find anything else to do but look at the sunset... It's almost like the sun will never set... But sometimes it does and everything gets dark and cold..." He said. "But when the sun is right here and the sky is a mix of purple and red... I feel like I could just sit here and stare at it forever." He said.

"So... What part of me are you?" I asked.

"I represent happiness and peace of mind... You can call me calm." He said. "Whenever you're at ease or feel happy, we can see things like this... This beautiful setting sun..." He said. "But when you're sad or lonely the sun sets and everything is dark and cold."

"So I'm must be happy then..." I said.

"Not entirely... Look behind us." Said calm. I did as he said and to my surprise there was a Great Wall of darkness right behind us. It's like the world ended in a straight line and faded to darkness. I felt like the dark was a physical thing, like at any moment, if it got any closer, I felt like it would eat me and swallow me whole. I quickly turned away and looked at the sunset.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"You may be content in minor situations, and are seemingly happy... But there is a great trouble in the back of your mind, creeping up behind you." He said. "The darkness used to be far back, but as you've started going along, it's crept closer and closer... I fear that whatever is troubling you are going to catch up to you and everything is going to go dark again."

"You may be right... I am worried about a lot of things." I said. "But I'm hoping that someday I won't have to worry about anything."

"It's been a long time since I've been able to see behind me." He said. "There's always been a wall of darkness right behind me, it's always in a. Different spot, whether it's far away or closer, like this one... But it's always been there. I've always wondered what's back that way..."

"Maybe one day you'll find out...and when that time comes, I think I'd like to see too." I said. The other me looked over at me and smiled. Suddenly a doorway appeared at the edge of the cliff right next to us.

"Looks like it's time to go..." He said.

"I suppose so..." I said. I got up and walked up to the doorway and opened up the door.

"Remember... No matter how bleak it seems, there is always a lighter, and a darker side." He said.

"I'll remember that..." I said as I stepped through the door way and closed it behind me. I closed the door behind me and looked around to where I was now. Everything seemed dark and gloomy. I looked around and it looked like I was in some kind of huge cave. In front of me was this box with a old looking lock on it. I figured that there must be a key to it, but I don't know where. Before I could even start looking the box burst open and a vile black mist began to ooze out of the box and start bubbling up. There was a deep growling and then suddenly from out of the black mist a large hand loomed over me and crashed to the ground. Then another one, each one on either side of me. They were huge black claws with red veins running along them. Then a black looming face arose from the darkness.

The face had red veins running along it along with ragged and messy black hair with large twisted horns jetting out from the sides and poking forward. It had long pointed ears and a ring through its nose. It had red, haunting eyes, evil eyes that burned red like fire. Red energy seeped out from the corners of its eyes and he wore an evil grin over his face. He had jagged sharp teeth and his breath was hot like fire. Every breath let out a fume of smoke and smoldering cinders. In a way, it reminded me of myself, and just looking at it made me feel uneasy. I felt like I was forgetting something, a sort of feeling of... Regret. This must be what that is... This must be my regrets... This must be one of those demons that intelligence spoke of.

"Welcome... To my lair..." He said spewing burning cinders from his mouth. His voice was deep and coarse. "I...am...remorse..." He said. "I am the manifestation of everything you regret deep in the back of your mind, trying to keep me locked away in a box... But I always manage to find away to break out."

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"Your guess... Is as good as mine." He said still giving me that evil smile. "Perhaps there's a strong regret deep in your mind that you can't let go of... Or maybe you wish to face your regrets..." He said. He lifted his hands off the ground and clasped them together and opened them up and a mirror of shadows appeared between his hands. He placed it on the ground next to me and he smiled. "What is it you regret the most?" He asked. The mirror flashed and instead of seeing my reflection in it I saw an image of my wife, my human wife... He long brown hair, green eyes and fair skin, it began to haunt my memories.

"Stop that!" I demanded.

"Perhaps this?" He asked as the mirror flashed again and in it was a reflection of rainbow dash. She looked at me with a sad and tormented face.

"Stop!" I said louder this time.

"Perhaps... This then." He said as the mirror flashed once more and in it was a image of twilight. I stared at that image and then a familiar body crept up behind her from inside of the reflection. It was scary, it was the time when I was scar, and I did some very terrible things.

"I SAID STOP!" I shouted as much as I could. I wound back my fist and tried to punch the mirror and shatter it, but as I hit the mirror it just burst into a puff of black smoke. The demon started to laugh at me.

"You can't hide from the past... You can't hide from the evil inside of you." He said smiling. "Your desires, lust... Hatred, envy... Maybe fear and sadness." He said looming closer to me.

"NO!" I shouted as I turned around and started to run as fast as I could. The demon kept right behind me laughing as terrible memories started to flash through my head. I kept running an running and my head felt like it was going to explode. I kept running and at the end of the cave there was a bright light, I could feel it tugging at me. I ran as fast as I could and leapt into the light. I started falling and falling and suddenly I stopped. I had my eyes closed and when I opened them I was able to see where I was. I looked around and to my surprise I was in the sky, I was sitting right on top of a cloud. Big blue skies and white fluffy clouds enveloped the whole world and everything seemed to stand completely still. It was deathly silent, too silent.

I looked over to see that there was another version of me standing there on the cloud. This version of me had bright, white angel wings folded by his side and a golden halo floating above his head. He was wearing a white road with sky blue trimmings and a white hood covering his head. He turned around and looked at me and he had a warming smile on his face. His hands were cupped in front of him like he was praying and his eyes were a deep and bright blue color. He had a golden rosary around his neck and he seemed to glow and radiate with a pure aura. I stared at him and I was confused, I've been nothing but confused this whole time... I just want to leave now; I can handle any more of this.

"Welcome..." He said. His voice was soothing and made me feel calm.

"W-what are you?" I asked.

"I am your humanity... I'm the purity inside of you... You may call me light."

"L-light...?" I said.

"I've ruled over your emotions for as long as you've been alive... Even the hatred and evil inside of you..." He said. "You may be confused... But just know that even if you feel regret or sorrow... Know that you aren't a bad person... You are a very noble and brave hero." He said. "There are many qualities about you that outweigh the bad..." He said. "Just know... That there will always be light inside of you... You just have to awaken it."

"How do I do that?" I asked.

"When you need it most... You'll find the light inside of you." He said. "Now... It's time to go back now... You have much that needs to be done... You need to find the next gateway..."

"Wait... How am I supposed to do that? Where is the next gateway?" I asked as some kind of force started to pull me backwards into the darkness.

"You already know the answer to that question." He said as his voice started to fade away. "All you have to do is go back home... Go back home Alex..." The voice said until it faded away and I was consumed in darkness. Then out of the darkness, I suddenly sprung to life. I shot up from where I was sleeping, fully alert and aware. I was in the bedroom. I was sweating heavily, I felt confused. I was breathing heavily and I felt hot. I looked around the room and everything was normal. I looked down at my hands and they were all red and stiff. It must have just been a bad dream... No... That was no dream. I'm not entirely sure what just happened, unlike a dream I can consciously remember everything that just happened. If felt more troubled now than ever, I don't think I can take much more of this damned journey, it's beginning to tear me apart. I'm sure that if I don't resolve this all as soon as possible, I'll most likely snap. But I can't keep going unless I find the last gate... What was it that the other me said?

"Go back home Alex... Go back home..."

-Authors Note: OMG, its finally here... the next chapter! it took me a while to write this because for the longest time i had been stuck on this part for a bit... im still having trouble with this, but im trying, so the chapter production for this story might be a bit slow. while im working on this I'll also be sure to work on my second most popular story...Unforgiven, which is becoming wildly popular now, if you haven't checked it out yet then you should go and see it. im going to be working on that for a while once i finally get reborn out of the way. unforgiven could very well be the next dream machine... but im still not sure, people seem to enjoy it, so i'll be sure to keep posting chapters whenever i can. i hope you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to follow me and the story, and be sure to leave a review, they always help. until next time my friends...

-Stay Shady~