This is a two-party story. Click here to read part one first.
Just like every night, Nick's group was walking through the fields of the dream world. But unlike the other nights, the target location was quite unusual.
Claire, the leader of the group, was always an inspiration to its members. Many people who are called to this world come and go, either because they die in it, or because they suddenly aren't called anymore, for a reason that she ignored. But Claire was different, because she had been doing this for no less than 11 years, which was way higher than the average time spent there. Claire knew every mountain, every field, every ocean. Throughout her time spent in this world, she became the reason why so many people survived. She was so used to this, that she forgot her adventures were nothing ordinary.
When Claire announced she was going to sacrifice herself so that her daughter could be found and live, everyone tried to reason her. But she didn't want to hear it, and instead the group found themselves following her, trying to talk her into trying another solution. The closer Claire got to the place she wanted to go to, the louder the discussion was. But no one tried to physically stop her, and for a good reason.
As Nick saw on his first day when she made a gun out of thin air, Claire wasn't only brave and persistent, she was also gifted. The story says that, after about a year of hunting monsters, she began to learn how to use special powers while in the dream world. With enough concentration, she could materialize objects like weapons to hunt targets, bend laws of physics to her will, or generally change the environment. In a way, Claire was lucid dreaming, turning her into a master of the Dream World. But even with this talent, she couldn't find her way out, unlike all those others who mysteriously stopped being summoned here. To her more than anyone else, this was the biggest mystery she wanted an answer to.
The group was still walking, but stopped because of a loud noise. The noise came from everywhere at once.
"It's god…" said Claire, who stopped moving altogether.
"Who ?" asked Nick.
"The god of the dream world… he's watching us !"
The noise was followed by a small moment of silence, until a new noise was made with the same intensity. Except this time, the noise was a voice.
"Claire. You have come so far in this world, yet you wish to end your journey in such an improper way ?" said the imposing voice.
"This is the only way ! My daughter's life is worth much more than mine !"
"I can see that you are telling the truth about this… but don't you want to keep living with her instead ?"
"Of course I do… But I have no choice. I am going to sacrifice myself, and you will tell them the location of my daughter !"
"Claire, why do you resent me so much ?"
"I never resented you. Not until you took my daughter and summoned her in this world !"
"You are wrong. I never select the candidates myself."
"What do you mean ?"
"After all this time, you still don't understand the reason why you and the others were chosen… Truly, you are a very interesting person."
"There's no reason why I'm here. You're just enjoying this !"
"You are wrong, again. Watching you doesn't bring me joy. It brings me sadness. If only you could understand the reason why you are summoned here, you could have been out of this world long ago."
"You're lying !"
"You know I would never lie to you, Claire. You have simply been near-sighted all this time. Even right now, you and your companions can't even see what is really happening."
During the discussion between Claire and the huge voice, the rest of the group were listening as well, their heards turned to the sky. But not all of them… After hearing this last statement, Nick stopped staring above, and looked around him. Someone was missing. Karl. Karl ?
"Karl ?" Nick asked around.
He looked in every direction, and eventually saw him. Karl was still walking in the same direction as before, as if the group never stopped. But when Nick noticed, it was almost too late. Karl was only a few meters away from the place where Claire wanted to die. It was a large cliff, surrounding a beautiful waterfall that Claire always loved watching whenever a mission took place near there.
"KARL !!" Nick yelled, repeatedly, as he was running towards his friend.
Following the yell, the rest of the group, including Claire, turned back to see Nick running, and they all started to run as well. When Nick arrived, Karl was only one step away from the waterfall.
"Karl, don't do it !"
"Nick. I've figured it out. The way to stop being summoned."
"What ? You mean you have to die in the dream world ?"
"Not at all… but the reason I'm about to jump is because I know how to get out."
At this moment, the rest of the group caught up, and stood there with Nick, trying to convince Karl.
"Please, don't sacrifice yourself for me !" said Claire. "I'm not the one who deserves to die !"
Karl laughed. "Oh, Claire. I'm not doing this only for you. The voice was right… you are really near-sighted."
"What do you mean ?" replied Claire.
"Tell me, Claire. How old is your daughter, now ?"
"She's 10 years old."
"I knew it. And you started coming in this world after you knew you were pregnant, right ?"
"Yes… but how do you know it ?"
"Because I know exactly the reason why we are all here. And also, the reason why some people completely stop being summoned."
"What is it ? Tell me !"
Karl waited a moment, looked at the floor, and took a long breath.
"Six months ago." Karl said, while raising his face up. "I took my car after a party, I wanted to bring my friends back to their place. I was completely drunk, but I thought this was a good idea anyway. And that night, three of my friends died. I was the only survivor. And when the police asked who was driving the car, I instinctively put all the blame on one of my dead friends to avoid going to jail."
There was a long silence. Nobody really wanted to comment on this awful story.
"But, what does it have to do with being summoned here ? I did not kill anyone." said Claire.
"That's not really the problem here. The problem is that… I hate myself. More than anyone. I think I am one of the most disgusting, awful people in the world. And ever since that incident, I have been summoned here every night."
Karl started to point at members of the group.
"Joanna, you hate yourself because you digged yourself into a hole by gaining weight, even though you already lacked self esteem. Kevin, you hate yourself because you cheated on your girlfriend multiple times, but can't bring yourself to tell her. And Nick… you hate yourself because you regret not listening to everyone who told you to get a higher education, and you're stuck with your shitty job. Am I wrong here ?"
Nick looked at the others. Everyone else did the same. None of them expected Karl to tell all those stories. Nick wasn't aware about all of them, but he knew those were simply mentioned, at random moments, during their adventures. And judging by everyone's reactions, all of them were true.
"You can all change yourselves, just like those who left did.", Karl continued. "But me… I can't do anything to bring my dead friends back."
And eventually, Karl turned to Claire, who was looking at him, with very expecting eyes.
"Claire… you hate yourself, because you always wanted to be a better mother. You blame yourself on every single problem that happened to your child. And I'm sure the reason why your daughter is here, is because she is starting to think that SHE is the problem, the reason why you are always so sad."
Claire started to cry. Thanks to Karl, she realized. She understood everything. Her tears were fueled by all the memories that flowed back in her head. All the times she blamed herself for her daughter's problems, all the time she made mistakes, intentionally or not, and went into depression because of it.
"Goodbye, everyone. I hope you will find the strength to leave this world." Karl said, just before facing the side of the cliff, ready to jump.
Suddenly, the ground on the cliff moved, and formed a wall just in front of Karl, who was forced to stop. He didn't even need to look behind him to know it was Claire, trying to stop him in any way she could. Karl raised his hand, and gently placed it on the artificial wall, who immediately crumbled.
"Just because you were always the one to do it, doesn't mean you are the only one who can do it." Karl said. Then, one last time, he looked back to the group, chuckled with a weak smile, and jumped.
Nick, just like everyone else, was frozen in shock. He could hear sobbing sounds coming from Claire, but he didn't have the courage to face her. For a moment there, everyone forgot their mission. They just stood there, thinking either about Karl, or about the story he told everyone. But suddenly, a voice unfroze time.
"Mommy ?"
Everyone looked around. A little girl was there, looking at Claire. Instantly, Claire jumped and embraced the girl on her knees, still crying.
"Mommy, where are we ? I want to go home." said the little girl.
"Don't worry, baby… we'll go home now… it's not your fault Mommy's been bad with you."
"It's not my fault you don't like me ?"
"Don't say that… I love you more than anything, baby… I'm sorry… for everything…"
Nick was watching the touching scene, unable to do or say anything. He felt like if he did the slightest movement, he would ruin everything that Claire fought 11 years for. Eventually, a light started to envelop the mother and daughter, and then, both disappeared, still hugging each other.
Even though they didn't reach their initial objective, the remaining members of the group felt themselves about to wake up in the real world. Nick thought that this was a gift from the god of the dream world, but he never knew the real reason. Before parting for the night, after all those events, Nick felt like he needed to say something.
"Everyone ! Remember what Karl said ! We need to stop hating ourselves ! You all, make your life so amazing that we'll never have to see each other again !"
The others didn't have time to respond, but Nick saw a couple of them nod in agreement. Satisfied with the fact that he got his message through, he then let himself wake up comfortably, in the real world.
When Nick woke up, he was laying in his bed. The night was quite long this time, but he didn't know exactly how much. He looked at his phone. He was more than two hours late to work, and had three missed calls from his boss. He hesitated to press the notification in order to call back… but instead, he swiped to remove it.
Nick sat on the edge of his bed, and began thinking seriously. Even though he had the motivation, he knew that he wasn't about to stop going to the dream world anytime soon.
What he thought was a wall preventing him from attaining happiness, began to shape into something else. A long, uphill road. And Nick was ready to climb it.
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