82 The Sleeper's Memories

Ah. I know this feeling. It's that time again, isn't it?

What will you reveal to me this time, my friend?

Two figures faced each other in a void, lost somewhere between reality and the afterlife. Or was it someplace else? Possibly. …Who really knew?

He never responded, nor did he ever talk. The only thing he would do is show what he knew to Reed. Nothing more.

In a way though, Reed had already learned much about him even though he had chosen to remain silent. After all, his memories told Reed much more about him than he could ever describe.

The hooded man had appeared once again and with his coming followed another set of his memories — his experiences and knowledge. Morsels of his wisdom and skill, they were unwanted gifts that Reed could not reject.

Whether he liked it or not, he was along for the ride. The was no other choice once a memory fragment started up…

Colors, lights, shapes, and shadows blurred in an unexplainable mish-mash as the void took shape and form of the memory fragment. All creation followed the rule of the hooded man's will as a false world sprung up from nothingness.

And before Reed could even recognize the changes that had happened, it had begun. He had been dragged along with the hooded man into his memory...…

"So what did the princess do, Mom? There's no way she picked the bad guy, right?" said the boy.

The Mother smiled and said, "No…. The bad guy chose for her against her own will. He kidnapped the noble princess… and her sister."

The Father hurriedly blurted out, "He was saving them, s-a-v-i-n-g them! That bad prince was going to hurt the princesses, so he saved them by taking them somewhere far away! He's a good person, you see?!"

"But Daddy, you said that doing a bad thing is still bad even if it's for a good cause," said the girl.

The Father slumped over resignation when he heard his daughter's reply and said, "That's right, pumpkin, you're… absolutely... right." He held back his bitter tears as he tried to act like the responsible father he was supposed to be.

The Mother rubbed her husband's back and said, "That's right, he was a bad guy who did bad things for a good cause. So he kidnapped the princess, her sister, and stole something very, very important from the kingdom, too… because he was a bad guy who couldn't help himself."

The boy, ignoring his father's tears, said, "What did the criminal steal, Mom? How important was the thing he stole from the kingdom?"

"Oh, it was super-duper important to the kingdom. He stole a very special thing that supposed to have been given to the evil prince. It was a sort of… special crown that the evil prince was going to get when he married the princess," said the Mother.

"This is a terrible story! The evil prince had everything stolen from him by another bad guy! Where are the good guys in this story?!"

The Mother flicked her wrist and a brilliant map filled with stars appeared in front of the family.

"After that, the thief and the princess traveled across the starry sky with their friends to all sorts of incredible places as they ran from the kingdom's knights who wanted to capture them. They had many adventures and encountered a lot of dangerous situations along the way."

The children's eyes lit up when they saw the star chart. They, who longed to venture out into the stars on an adventure, hurriedly said, "Where?! Which worlds did they visit?! What sort of aliens did they meet?!"

The Father noticed the opportunity and said, "They met the Star-Eating Snake, you know? The same one that eats entire stars in one gulp for lunch. And they also went to the infamous Crypt of Worlds where the dead come back to life and eat people!"

"No way!"

"You're lying!"

The Father stroked his chin in pride and said, "It's true. If you don't believe me, ask your mother."

The Mother nodded her head when the children looked to her and said, "They went to all kinds of dangerous, exciting places on their journey in order to do something important..."

The boy, completely enchanted, looked to his mother and said, "What were they doing?"

"Saving the world, of course," said the Father with a large grin on his face. "…Isn't that what a hero is supposed to do?"

The boy's eyes twinkled with fascination as he stared at his father and then...…

It ended. The memory had finished playing.

The world went black and silence fell upon the void. Darkness encroached the spaces between Reed's subconscious. It signaled the end of the dream and his departure back to….

He opened eyes and an unfamiliar ceiling greeted him. It was not home, nor was it heaven.

"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Reed turned his head and saw her beside him, looking right as rain. She looked at him and was about to say something but Reed spoke first and said, "How long?"

"About four hours, I'd say. The old man forcibly put you under with a spell before it got worse. I was about to do the same thing myself, but would have… blown my cover had I done it. Luckily…" said Lu'um.

"Don't feel very lucky. All I feel is emptiness now that the pain has faded."

"Ka'an, please… I know that—"

"Yeah, I bet you do know. But it doesn't matter. Even if the pieces fit, it won't make a difference. I feel nothing. It changes nothing."

Even if you showed me that, it won't change anything. They're YOUR memories. Not MINE. And yes, there is a difference, you bastard...

Reed forced himself up from his bed and said, "Let's leave at that for today. We still have a job to do even if we got sidetracked because of me. Where's the Pope?"

Lu'um shook her head and said, "After he put you out, he disappeared somewhere else and said that he'd meet you once you woke up. He didn't stick around…"

"Then we'll have to go and find him," said Reed. He walked straight over to the room's only door and stepped outside.

A chubby-looking, young fellow stood outside and yelped in fright when Reed slammed the door open. When he saw Reed, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in fright and said, "H-H-Holy One! Y-You're awake! Thank the Goddess that you'—"

"Can it, tubby. Hurry up and tell the old man that I'm awake."

The Anima that rolled off of Reed was chaotic and terrifying to behold up close at the moment and only served to frighten the chubby contender even more. It was like staring into a bottomless pit of churning Anima.

Needless to say, Reed had stopped caring at the moment. His emotions, on full display, had frightened the living wits out of the poor fellow.

"Y-Yes, yes!! R-Right away, Sir!" said the unfortunate fellow and he bolted out of sight like a lightning bolt into another room on the far end of the hall.

Reed snorted in derision and said, "We talk to the geezer and then we go home. I'll be damned if I have to stay here a second longer than I have to…"

Lu'um shrugged her shoulders and said, "Just don't do anything rash, alright?"

Space-time suddenly groaned in protest and a tear formed out of unwilling reality.

"How are you feeling, child? Do you still feel unwell?" The warm, velvet tone of an old voice echoed out from the void as the Pope walked into the room.

Reed shook his head and said, "No, Your Holiness, I am fine now. Thank you for your timely help… Were it not for you, I would have—"

The Pope waved his hands in protest and said, "No, no… think nothing of it, my child. You owe nothing. If anything, it is we who are indebted to you, instead. To both of you, really…"

"Tell me, are you two hungry? You must be, I imagine. Why don't we eat together? Nothing brings people together like a good meal and a couple of laughs." The Pope tore open another spatial tear and said, "Come, come. You must be starving, the younglings that you are."

Reed turned around and looked at Lu'um who had suddenly gone cold, her expression rigid as ice.

If looks could kill, the Pope would have died a hundred times over by now.

…Yeah, don't do anything rash, right? Wonder how this'll turn out now…

He walked into the void and said, "I hope you've got something better than porridge and old, stale bread, Your Holiness. I've had church food before and I'm not too keen on reliving childhood memories again…"