Reed’s eyes shot open as he lurched forward in his chair, blankly staring ahead as he tried to process what had just happened. The red stone that the denizen held must have allowed it to influence him with its own powers. He remembered the three hands at the top of the mountain peak, only two of which had held a similar stone. He supposed he’d found the missing one.

His thoughts drifted to that of his death. He’d been feeling rather confident in his abilities, and yet had been taken down so quickly. Reed could have severed part of his body before the denizen’s influence had reached further, or continued with his plan of extending his limbs to search for the exit. Anything other than rushing straight towards the crimson-robed inhabitant. Then again, perhaps such a strategy would have succeeded if his opponent had not been so much more powerful from the start.

He needed to grow stronger, again. However, the idea of mindlessly training in a meditative state for god knows how long wouldn’t do. The gains Reed had made in his previous period of training had begun dwindling towards the end, and it stood to reason that his magical powers followed the law of diminishing returns. He had entertained the idea of joining the free-for-all in the courtyard outside the cathedral before to test his new capabilities, but it would also be the perfect place for honing his combat proficiency.

From his point of view, it had been years since he’d repeatedly brawled with the denizen in the research building. It had done a fine job of at least giving Reed the base fighting prowess needed to make use of his powers, but it was far from perfection. He needed more experience, and the opportunity to fight against such powerful beings without any permanent risks was something he had to take advantage of.

“That isn’t quite the case I’m afraid.”

Reed flew out of his chair to face the intruder. A man dressed in a black suit and adorned in expensive-looking jewelry stood beside the bed, hands clasped behind his back. Piercing yellow eyes gazed at Reed.

“Why are you here?” He said in a soft voice, glancing at the bedroom door.

“No need to worry. They won’t be able to hear a thing.”

Reed’s eyes widened. It felt as if he’d had the breath knocked out of him as he pictured his parents lying dead in the room outside.

“You misunderstand, your parents are fine.” The man held his hands out in a placating gesture, “I had to take steps to obscure my coming here. At this moment, we may as well not exist.”

Reed took several deep breaths as he stared at the mysterious man, “You said I had until Monday.”

“I did so to avoid the very thing we are doing now. We shall continue this conversation elsewhere.” The man stretched out a hand towards Reed.

“I don’t think so. Not till you give me some fuckin’ answers.” He said, stepping back and out of his reach.

“It looks like someone gained a spine in the past few hours.” The man smiled, “Then again, time is relative.”

The next thing he knew, Reed felt a hand grasp him by the shoulder and he was yanked off the ground. The scattering of stars within the night sky suddenly came into being above him as he landed atop a grassy surface. He scrambled to his feet, eyes frantically darting around the sudden change in surroundings. There were buildings all around the small patch of grass he had been transported to. He was back in Charleston.

“Quite the location you’ve chosen to inhabit. It’s practically as far as one can be from the Bridges, and the watchful gaze of the Sahvorem.” The yellow-eyed man laid leisurely on the grass beside him, staring up at the sky. “Sit down.”

Reed glanced down at the entity’s relaxed posture and the idea of making a break for it briefly entered his mind. The hammer of reality immediately quashed such thoughts, however. There would be no escaping from this man, he knew that. Reed sat down.

“What did you do to me? Why me?” Reed stared unwaveringly at the man who continued gazing into the sky, seemingly without a care in the world.

“First I need to address the ignorance which led to this meeting.” He still didn’t bother meeting Reed’s eyes. “What exactly do you believe your powers to be?”

“I have no idea!” The frustrations at his search for answers never yielding results began to come forth as his voice rose to a shout. “I don’t want anything to do with this-”

The air around Reed seemed to abruptly shift. His mouth continued moving but no words reached his ears.

“Calm down,” The man said, no change in the sound of his voice. “It makes no difference what you want.”

There was a pause.

“You now possess what the Sahvorem refer to as a Divine Soul.” Reed opened his mouth in an attempt to speak again, but still, no sound drifted from his lips. “It is something intangible, gained upon enlightenment to the greater truths of the universe. A soul is what allows us to connect with The One Beyond, and it is through him that we are given the ability to enforce our will upon the cosmos itself. Or so it is said.

“As you have already gleaned, the more one uses their soul the greater their connection with The One Beyond becomes. I say this because you have progressed far quicker than originally thought, and yet you have put no effort into learning your limits. The Enlightenment of Warping Flesh which you received upon witnessing the Great Scourge is not as omnipotent as you seem to think.

“Tell me, how is your reaction speed coming along?”

Reed hesitated for a moment before attempting to speak again, “It isn’t.”

“Precisely. While you might be capable of enhancing your physical strength beyond the boundaries of reality or recovering from any wound no matter how seemingly fatal, your path of enlightenment does not deal so well in matters of the mind. What do you think would happen if your skull was obliterated in battle?”

“If that’s the case then I’d probably die.” Reed paused for a moment, his brows furrowing in thought, “Although the things I saw… over there, the ones with the same powers as me, regenerate just fine.”

“Indeed, such a thing would not kill them, or you anymore. The Enlightenment of Warping Flesh can heal even a mind. Unfortunately, your memories are not included within the bargain.”

“I’ve had my head smashed to pieces in there before, my mind still seems to be working fine.”

“That is because you truly did perish. Your powers had not grown to the extent they are now at, and death set you free from the dream.”

“So it is a dream. It’s not a real place.”

“What is true reality? The Sahvorem believe the universe itself to be nothing more than the dreaming of The One Beyond. What I can tell you is that the dream of the Forsaken City is not yours. It is that of the Great Scourge. The dormant Ancient that lies underneath the mountain, and the original owner of the soul fragment that is now intertwined with your very own.”

“Wha-” The sound of Reed’s voice was cut off again.

“Which leads me to the crux of the problem. Entertain the thought of what would have occurred should you have chosen to enter into battle with the Encari. Eventually, your head would have been destroyed, likely immediately as you are still far outmatched, and yet you would have failed to die. Your body would have reformed before entering back into the fray, as a mindless beast guided by nothing more than instinct, only to be bested again. Incapable of dying and unable to realize the need to do so, you would have been trapped, joining the Encari in an eternal and futile struggle, unable to escape the dream.”

The man abandoned his relaxed position of lying down and stood up. His yellow eyes pierced endlessly into the distance, gazing in the direction Reed recognized as leading to Detroit.

“But now you know better. And rest assured, your deficiencies of ignorance will soon be corrected. Right now, however, our conversation must be suspended.”

“Not a chance!” Reed blurted out. “I still don’t know a fuckin’ thing.”

“I am aware. However, in visiting you at that pathetic excuse for an academy I was forced to create a distraction, shift their gaze elsewhere. It appears in doing so I underestimated your race’s ineptitude in the Enlightenment of Worldly Law. The consequences are a tad more far-reaching than I had planned, and you must return before it becomes the site of intense scrutiny. Not to mention I’m sure you would wish to accompany your family.”

The man disappeared, and the next thing he knew Reed once again felt a hand grasping his shoulder.

“I feel the need to remind you, your powers should not be used in the slightest. The tragic fate of the Encari is only a fraction of the suffering you would encounter should they learn of your Enlightenment. Your every move will be watched.”

Reed felt himself thrown forward again. His forearms impacted the carpeted flooring of his parents’ guest room. He hopped to his feet and scanned the room around him, finding no signs that the man had ever been there.

Remembering his parting words, Reed hastily burst out of the room. His parents, still watching a movie on the couch, gave him a pair of odd looks. It was at that moment an intense pounding resounded from the apartment door.