PORTAL BEAST SLAYER

Eliza turned, and her smile grew wider when she saw Alrik. She waved.

"Come and join us. The weather's perfect."

Alrik turned to Zee beside him.

"Is it okay to interact with people in their dreams?" He asked, and she nodded.

"No harm done, unless you want to harm them. Since it's your wife though, I doubt you have any negative feelings towards her that could be manifested as a nightmare, so all should be good."

"Who are you talking to, Alrik? Are you sure you're okay?" Dream Eliza asked as she came closer to where he stood.

"Before you ask, she can't see me because I willed it so."

"Any particular reason why you're hiding?" He asked her.

"Dreams are different from reality. The way a person reacts in reality is different from dreams because in dreams, there is no full sense of reasoniing, or control. That's what makes dreams so unpredictable. You can never tell how a person would react, and what they would react to. Better safe than sorry since this is your first dream interaction. Be careful."

Alrik didn't respond since Eliza was close enough to him now. If he spoke to Zee when she couldn't see who he was speaking to, it would look weird.

"I'm perfectly fine." He said to Eliza and leaned down to lift his son in the air.

"What's his name?" He asked and Eliza laughed.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten your own son just after beng away for a few days. It's Rick, silly. We had two options, Rick, or Eric. I preferred Rick. Don't tell me you're still being petty because I didn't name him Eric?" She asked and he laughed.

He whirled his son in the air, and then set him down.

"No. Don't mind me. But what I want is a daughter that looks just like her Momma. So beautiful."

He leaned down to kiss Eliza's lips, and then a little girl's giggle filled the space. Alrik smiled as he looked down to see the little girl that his desire had brought forth again. He looked up, expecting Eliza to also smile, but was surprised when he saw her backing away with their son behind her.

"She just came out of nowhere. Who is that? What's going on?"

Eliza looked confused, and Zee sighed.

"I told you to be careful, Alrik. Did you forget my warning in just two seconds?"

"I didn't really think much of it. It wasn't my intention to just whip up a daughter out of midair, and before you say you told me so, yes, I remember that dreams respond to strong desire and will."

Dream Eliza looked around, her eyes wide with fear. "Who are you talking to? You're not Alrik, are you? You didn't even know our son's name. I thought that was just a mistake, but you were just trying to fool me. What did you do with Alrik? Where's my real husband? Why are you here?"

She was still backing away as she spoke, and Alrik had no idea what to say or do, since this was all a dream anyway.

"Wait, just hear me out." He took a step forward, but she screamed.

But it wasn't a normal scream, it echoed so loudly that Alrik groaned and grabbed his ears, feeling like his eardrums had popped.

"What the fuck?"

"Dream realm, remember? Anything can happen. It's best if we leave now before she gets more agitated and nightmares begin. Leaving nightmares is more difficult than leaving dreams. Just imagine the castle having no roof, so you have to reach for the sky with your energy."

Following Zee's instruction, he lifted his hand up, and extended his energy just as Dream Eliza opened her mouth to scream again. He made the mistake of looking, and saw her jaw spread wider than was normal till her mouth was so wide open, a football could fit in.

His eyes opened at that moment, and he gasped as he sat up in bed, only, he wasn't in bed, he was floating above it. Once he was aware of it though, he dropped back down to the bed, and groaned as his arm smacked against the headboard. He turned to see that his hand was tied to Eliza's and he freed himself quickly.

"Is she still having that dream? Do you think I should wake her?" Alrik asked.

"We can't see what happens in the dream realm from here, so who knows what's happening. You decide if you should wake her or not."

Alrik turned to face Eliza, and put his hand on her forehead. She didn't seem to be having a fever, and her breathing was calm and even. She didn't turn or look distressed, so he assumed she must have stopped dreaming. He still watched her for a while more just to be sure nothing was wrong with her. Then he turned to check the time.

It was just past four am, and he knew he wouldn't fall asleep again, not because of the time, but because he felt so energised. Recharging in the dream realm worked wonders. He felt like he could run a marathon for days on end, and there was no ache or discomfort in his body. He streched just for the fun of it, and smiled when his muscles moved freely. He didn't even feel hungry, even though he normally would have after skipping a meal.

"Close nightmare aside, I could get used to this. I feel refreshed. Let's go meditate."

He grabbed the sword, and moved to the door, then paused. He didn't want to be far from Eliza just in case something happened in her dreams. So he moved to their balcony instead. He sat crosslegged with the door behind him open, and lay Zerdon across his lap like before. With his eyes closed, he began his seven breath counts.

An hour passed with no progress, but he still sat where he was. A little while later, he began to hear the sound of moving feet coming from behind him. Eliza was up. Since she didn't sound scared, or annoyed, he assumed she really didn't have a nightmare. He wanted to go to her, and check to make sure she was really okay, but she began humming softly. It was the same song that she had sung to him that woke him from the Jinn's mind hold.

He swayed slowly to the song, allowing her melody to lull his mind into a blissful state. Less than ten minutes later, he successfully slipped into a meditative state. He was only vaguely aware of her presence in this state, as he cleared everything from his mind to leave an empty slate. But her song echoed within him, her voice stuck on a loop even after she stopped humming. He remained that way for an hour, just breathing.

Alrik reached for his connection with Zee when he felt Mana begin to flow around him. Their essence was close enough, but he could see that they still weren't bonded like they should be. He remained calm and called for Zee.

"Join with me Zee."

"It's too soon, Alrik. You might have access to abilities above your level, and I admit that your energy level is higher than it should be, but a bond might be too much for now."

"I trust in our bond, Zee. And I trust in my bond with Eliza. That's what has been missing and I just realised it. Her essence was needed for the bond to be complete, and she just gave that to me with her voice. The real question is, do you trust me?" Alrik asked.

"Yes, Alrik. I trust you. I chose you."

At that moment, she reached to him with her essence and so did he. Alrik felt their connection flicker, but he held strong. He could also feel the drain on his energy, but he didn't let that make his focus wane. He remained calm, with Eliza's voice echoing within him.

Eliza was writing in her journal while seated on the bed. After waking, she had a feeling that she had a weird dream but she couldn't remember what it was. But she could remember the second dream she had. In that one, she had two children with her. A boy and a girl, Rick, and Elena. She saw Alrik through the open balcony doors and knew he was doing meditation training, so she didn't go close to avoid disturbing him. She just watched him from the bed every time she lifted her head.

As she closed her journal, she saw light coming in through the balcony doors and assumed it was the sunlight till she took a good look. Yes, the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, but its light wasn't strong enough to come through the window yet. This glow was coming from Alrik. She stood, and moved as close as she dared. Not just Alrik, but the sword as well.