For the first time in many weeks, Emil slept peacefully. He wasn't dragged off to face Erebus. There were no "Keepers" or "Messiahs". Just a dreamless, peaceful sleep.
When he awoke, it was 3:00 in the afternoon. His apartment was no different, but he had a few missed calls on his cellphone.
…probably the bookstore. Sorry, might never come in again.
It had been a day since his encounter with Vincent. He had spent all of yesterday in bed, crying and not knowing what to do with himself. Today, however, would be different.
He forced himself out of bed, shuffled to his kitchenette, and rummaged through the few groceries he had bought before his unfortunate night.
Breakfast came first, then he would try and comprehend everything that had been dumped onto him.
After what most would consider a pitiful breakfast, Emil felt no better. Everything tasted like sand, and he found no joy in the small parts of cooking.
He made his way to his favorite reading chair, no book in hand. Today, his book would be his memories.
Closing his eyes, he began to wade through every detail he may have missed in the moment.
If I take everything Vincent said at face value, someone of my caliber should never have been chosen as a Messiah.
He didn't know why it was me, so I guess there's no use dwelling on that.
From the way he was talking, he made it seem like this had happened countless times. Like many Keepers had come and gone before him.
…before me.
Emil shuddered, but continued on.
When I started to panic, when he punched me to the ground, he spoke like he knew me.
Emil came to a frightening thought.
Maybe… maybe he was seeing my life. Just like how I was seeing his. Maybe that's what fueled his rage towards me at that moment.
And, what he showed me…
The memories, as if they were his own, flooded his mind.
The screams of his friends as they were mercilessly killed.
The pure, unfiltered hopelessness that permeated his mind.
And, of course…
Oh, God.
Emil felt violently ill when he pictured Amelia's face. He had never experienced love like that in his life. He had parents, and he loved them, but that kind of love? It was… so different.
…I can still feel it. The heartache that consumed him at all times. The pain he felt when he lost her, almost as bad as dying himself. Fuck…
Emil snapped himself out of his spiral with his breakfast threatening to make its way back up his throat.
If anything was abundantly clear about his encounter with that man, it was this.
Vincent is a stronger man than I could ever hope to be.
After a break, and some water, Emil found himself back at it. He didn't know what he hoped to understand, what he hoped to find, but maybe he could at least prepare himself for what was to come.
All thinking about it did was bring him more pain. He wasn't any closer to understanding what Vincent was trying to show him.
Frustrated, angry, and sad, Emil stopped himself from dwelling on it.
Taking a look outside his window, the sun was hanging low in the sky. A late summer evening.
He needed some fresh air.
He took to the streets, wandering through the small city he lived in.
I must look terrible. Thank God barely anyone's out tonight.
Despite wandering, he did have a destination in mind. A hill, towards the outside of town, overlooked it all. That would be the perfect place to try and relax.
He took many detours getting there, and surely to an outsider it would look as if his wandering was aimless. As if whoever this body belonged to wasn't there right now.
But eventually, he made it. Sitting down in his favorite spot beneath a tree, he stared into the distance as the sun barely glimpsed over the horizon and the lights began to turn on down in the city below.
Emil, happy to have some peace and escape from his newfound fate that had been afflicting him, watched as the sun set fully and nighttime engulfed the landscape.
But, such nice moments were never going to last. Not with the direction his life was heading in.
He heard a small noise, almost like the soft jingling of wind chimes. Opening his eyes, he saw something that struck fear into his heart.
The blue butterfly, here in his waking world.
As it flew across his vision, he felt as if looking at it should calm him. Ease his nerves, as if it were a guardian watching over him.
But Emil saw no guardian.
He saw the pale horse, Death as its rider, marching his way forward towards him.
The butterfly flew closer and closer, until it touched him between his eyes.
Emil, struggling to stay awake, cursed everything for not even giving him the solace of his waking life…
He awoke bleary-eyed, in that same blue room that Vincent had been in. Calm in its atmosphere, and soothing in its sound.
As his vision cleared, he found himself in what seemed to be a basement library. Bookshelves lined the walls, and basement windows near the roof illuminated the room. The air was thick and dusty, as if the room had been lost to time.
Only one other… person? Thing? Was in the room with him.
"Soon, that long-nosed bastard explained it all to me."
Vincent's words rang through his head as he stared down this man.
"...it seems I have a guest."
He opened his eyes, bulging and bloodshot, and focused them right on Emil.
"Hmm… Most unusual. It would seem your fate is the same, but the path you will take will be nothing short of intriguing."
The stranger spoke in a soothing, dulcet tone.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man. My name is Igor, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mi-"
"Mind and matter, right? I'm back in the Collective Unconscious then?" Emil spoke up, taking Igor by surprise.
"Well, it seems you know more than you let on. How much do you know?" Igor's eyes looked quizzical, despite the permanent smile etched across his face.
"More than I'd like to, if I'm honest. I met a previous… guest. He told me all about this place, and where it resides. He… also explained my fate to me." Emil looked down in resignation.
"Ah, yes. Your fate is a most important one, despite what you may believe."
Emil didn't meet his gaze. "Why am I here?"
"Why? To learn more. This place, as well as the Collective Unconscious as a whole, hangs by a thread as we speak. The Seal, created by one of our most remarkable guests, needs someone new to safeguard it. You have the Potential, despite not having awakened to your powers, and-"
"I KNOW all of this!" Emil screamed, "PLEASE, tell me something I don't yet. Give me something to work with!"
Igor, not missing a beat, continued.
"My master summoned you here. Your case is most unique, and he wishes to have you understand what your Ascension shall look like."
Emil stayed silent, finally getting his wish.
"You have already completed your first step. The Lonesome Keeper has already visited you and shown you his trials and tribulations. More shall come to you in your dreams."
Emil's heart began to sink as he continued.
"You will understand your purpose through the prior Keepers. They are here to guide you in your Ascension. Listen to them, understand them, and you shall understand your purpose."
"So, I need to go through all of this again? Is that what you're telling me?" Emil spoke quietly, anger building inside him.
"That is correct, young man."
Emil wanted to scream, just the thought of having to live through events like Vincent's again was too much to bear.
He was face to face with a key part in the sick game. As the anger turned to rage, Emil jumped from his seat to take a swing at the long-nosed man in front of him.
Igor barely moved, simply moving his hand and stopping the fist. Emil felt as if he'd punched a solid boulder.
"Now, now. A guest should know better than to attack their host." Igor's tone didn't change. There was no malice, no anger at the insolence, just the same tone.
"It seems you need more time to think. To understand fully what you must endure. Time marches on in your world, and our time here is running short."
Emil pulled away, and as he unfurled his fist he found a key in that palm.
"Use that to come back. If you must know something, I am at your service."
And with those words, the smooth piano and calming atmosphere melted away.
Waking up under that same tree, Emil looked at his phone to see that he'd only been asleep for an hour.
Gathering himself, he began his trek home, feeling even more empty and hopeless than when he'd arrived.
Emil knew that his sleep tonight would be restless. He knew that two dreamless nights in a row was a pipe-dream.
But, he wasn't brought in front of Erebus.
He found himself in that trance-like state once again, viewing another Keeper's memories.
A dormitory in a coastal city. The warmth of a family found in those halls.
A tower, reaching to the heavens against a green moon.
And a glimpse of… something. Someone? It was too hazy to make out.
He could feel the trance lifting, signaling that his time there was soon up.
He received one final vision. A room in that dorm, a blue-haired man sitting on a bed, speaking into his laptop.
Emil couldn't hear him very well, but tried his best anyway.
"...finished everything I had left to do. I know I'm not long for this…"
Emil's mind began to fade, unable to fully hear whatever the man was trying to say before he was sent back to his slumber.