"Drat…"
Enza dropped her arms limply to her sides.
Meanwhile, Athalia was beaming with pride over her entirely luck-based victory.
"I'll be the Assurer. What should I expect inside your mind?"
Enza thought for a moment. "I'm scared of tons of things, too many to name. Can't give you any useful hints, sorry."
Athalia laughed in response as she neared the right side of the confessional.
She took a seat on the tiny chair, then shut the door, sealing herself in. Enza entered the left booth, wriggled into the hammock, and also shut her door. She got comfy under the blankets and closed her eyes.
Athalia sighed as she gazed at the spike above her head.
She leaned her head back and got comfortable as best she could, then shut her eyes tightly. She was asleep within seconds.
A series of rattles and clicks echoed from high up on the cathedral's rafters, where the top of the pulley system was secured.
The contraption grumbled into motion, lowering the spike towards the top of Athalia's head a millimeter at a time…
…To clear the top of the second stratum and enter the third, any group of Explorers must be an even number.
This is because the confessional can only be entered in pairs, and you can't reuse people.
When both parties are seated, some unknown system within the confessional will read the mind of the person in the left booth and select a fear of theirs at random.
That person—the Fearful—is pulled into a nightmare that revolves around the selected fear.
The Assurer is sent into their mind, but to a different location—the subconscious, outside of the nightmare. It's their job to use their knowledge of the other person to navigate their mind, determine what the fear is, reach the nightmare's location, and absolve the fear…
***
I'm sinking…
Further and further down…
I no longer feel cold.
It's warm…
I want to go to sleep…
NO!
Athalia's muscles spasmed. She flailed her arms wildly, trying to generate upward propulsion. She tried to gasp but only felt pain, followed by darkness closing in on the corners of her vision…
My lungs are filling with water! I need to… swim…!
With a final display of panicked strength, her head broke the surface. A branch stuck out in front of her face, and she immediately grabbed on for support.
She sputtered and coughed up water, then wiped her eyes.
She was floating at the edge of a small lake.
Birds were chirping, and insects hummed and danced. There were ferns and colorful flowers all around the lake, with islands of algae at the water's edge. Birch trees formed a dense ring beyond the shore, their branches waving rhythmically with the breeze.
But even with the breeze, the air was unbearably thick and sweet. It was like soil mixed with wet sugar and a thousand fermenting plants.
Athalia pulled herself to shore with the help of the nearby branch and wiped herself clean of the algae in disgust.
A glint caught her eye from across the lake. As she walked around the edge, the outline of a small cabin came into view. Its construction didn't look particularly well done.
She walked up the steps and reached out her hand to turn the knob…
GAHHH!!
A thousand bolts of lightning ran through her mind. Her vision went completely white. She toppled down the stairs and landed on her back.
As she caught her breath, she stared at the birch tree towering over her.
The black spots looked like eyes…
Hundreds were staring back at her.
She broke eye contact and looked back at the knob.
When I tried to grab it, it felt like I was going to die for a second…
In that cabin should be a clue related to Enza's fear. But how can I get in? I'm not trying the front door again…
The ferns and tall grasses grabbed at her calves as she got up and walked to the side of the building. It was getting muddier and muddier as she headed for the rear…
"Hold on."
Athalia would have jumped in surprise, but her feet were stuck in the thick mud. She whipped her head over her shoulder to see where the scratchy voice had come from…
…But nobody was there.
"No, not there; over here!"
The voice sounded disgruntled. Athalia squinted hard, and her eyes landed on a bluebird resting on a branch.
She raised her eyebrows. "A talking bird?"
The bird flapped its way to her and pecked her forehead. "All the things you've seen, and that's what surprises you?"
Athalia sighed. "Never mind that. Why'd you stop me from going behind the cabin?"
"The mud's too deep back there," said the bird quickly. "Anyways, I can tell you why you can't get into the cabin through the front door."
"I sure hope you can; you're a figment of Enza's mind. You should know everything about everything here."
The bird coughed awkwardly. "Haha… anyway, I can only help you if you help me."
Athalia raised an eyebrow. "Help you? With what?"
"My friend is hurt. I need you to rescue him. As I do not have hands, I am unable to use medical supplies effectively. However, I've retrieved some from inside the cabin, as I am not barred from entering like you are. I will take you to him, and I will help you once he is healed."
Athalia wanted to say she didn't have time. She thought of how Enza must be suffering in her nightmare, and she thought of the spike slowly moving towards her head in the real world.
Fifteen real minutes is all it takes for the spike to pass the point of no return.
My perception of time in a dream is meaningless in relation to the real world. I just have to remember that fact… I can't get scared… And also, I have no other leads or ideas. What choice do I have but to trust this bird?
"Fine. Show me to him."
The bird brought Athalia to a pile of bandages and other first aid equipment and then turned back to her.
"Ready?"
Athalia reached into her sleeve for the Measuring Anchor, only to find it wasn't there.
Tsk… How unlucky, it didn't come with me into the dream. I'll have to make do on foot…
"Yeah, I'm ready."
The bluebird shot off into the forest.
Hey, this isn't a race! I'm supposed to be helping you…
Athalia's mouth twitched as she grabbed the medical supplies and sprinted after the bird.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a fallen tree. Pinned under one of its branches was a small duckling. Its eyes were half open with a disenchanted expression. Its bright golden fur had been stained with dirt and weathered by the elements.
The bluebird hopped to a nearby branch and looked away.
The moment Athalia saw it, her eyes were filled with sympathy for the poor thing. She immediately understood her task.
I've never done anything like this before… I have to be careful…
With a flick of her finger, she snapped the branch that was pinning the duckling down. It didn't immediately try to get up.
I need to get a closer look at its wounds…
Athalia kneeled and leaned in and found that the bird's wing was twisted at a bad angle. She watched its chest closely, ensuring it was breathing—albeit shallowly.
The fact that the blood is dried means it's been some time since it got pinned under the branch, but it's hard to tell exactly how long. It's one strong soul if it managed to survive a night in this condition.
It's best not to move it around much. I can't risk damaging its spine… However, I should be able to set the wing back into place.
"Sorry, this might hurt a bit…"
She swiftly popped the wing back into place. Then, she tore off a piece of her sleeve to give the duckling a blanket.
"Phew…"
She snapped out of her focus and looked at the bluebird, still perched a few yards away.
Athalia found its attitude towards the duckling to be a little strange. If the two birds were friends, she would have expected the bluebird to be examining the duckling with concern.
She suddenly had a double take when her eyes fully focused on the bluebird's face. She couldn't believe what a detailed and realistic expression it was making.
It was exactly like a human's expression…
The bluebird's face was contorted in rage and disgust.
Athalia felt a strong, uncanny feeling that made her turn away slowly.
If that duckling isn't your friend, why use its rescue as a bargaining chip? The animal kingdom sure works in weird ways…
Athalia used another piece of her sleeve to fashion a miniature lean-to shelter for the bird.
That should be good enough to provide protection from the elements…
She rested her hand on the duckling and allowed it to siphon her body heat. Minutes later, it awoke. To Athalia's surprise, it immediately got up and started running in circles around her feet.
She glanced up at the bluebird. "Is this good enough for you?"
"It's satisfactory," it said through a gritted beak.
Athalia crossed her arms. "Now, tell me what forced me to stop from entering the cabin."
"Well, Enza's inside—ah, not exactly… All of this is because something's wrong with her. When the confessional attempted to trap her in the nightmare, her personality split in half. I'm not completely sure why, but I think it may have been due to a fierce rejection of the nightmare.
"So, one half of her is inside that cabin back there. And the other half is trapped in the nightmare. You need to make it to the nightmare and do your job as the Assurer, but if you try to go back to the real world with only half her consciousness intact, she'll probably end up permanently insane. That means the two halves of Enza have to reunite. But unfortunately for you, you'll have to rely on her being able to do that part herself."
Athalia shook her head. "This is so hard to understand… Why is there nothing else I can do? Why does the personality split mean I can't talk to the half of Enza that's just a mile over yonder? You still didn't answer my first question of why I was blocked from the cabin's door…"
The bird shrugged. "Perhaps this side of her doesn't like you very much."
Athalia went silent for a moment.
"Fine, then. I'll leave it to her to reach the nightmare realm and reunite with her other half. Now, do you have any advice for how I should get there myself? I still have to do the assuring part; that won't just go away. I don't think I owe you another favor for the information, either. I did quite a good job with your little friend there, if I do say so myself. This kind of thing isn't even what I'm good at."
She smiled at the duckling, who was curled up peacefully.
The bluebird sighed. "Pop quiz. When taking the role of the Assurer, what are the two ways to reach the nightmare?"
Athalia responded instantly. "Once the fear has been determined through clues in the subconscious, the Assurer can put themselves in a situation where they will also be scared of that thing, even if theirs is to a lesser degree. When this occurs, a sort of synchronization happens, and the Assurer phases through the dream—right into the nightmare. The only problem is, this depends on being able to figure out what the fear is in the first place. How am I supposed to figure it out from this pretty scenery? None of this is even remotely scary…"
The bluebird nodded. "And the second method?"
"To force your way through the fabric of the dream. However, it can cause damage to the mind of the dreamer."
The bird gave her a creepy smile. "I don't know what the fear is this time. But I know my way around this trap called a mind. And I know that nightmares always lie right at the center. So… let's go downwards."
The word "wait" appeared on Athalia's tongue but never had the chance to become sound.
A beak grabbed her wrist, and she dissolved into dust.