The training lasted for weeks, and Park Chung-Ho had fought a hundred times this Dragon. He had been able to find different solutions to the beast's attacks.
He ran in an alley of trees in the forest that ended up in Aislin's domain.
A dark hole in the roots of an old tree was another way out.
He plunged into a pond and appeared in a cavern. He found a treasure there, with some medieval weapons. He managed to go out of the cavern with a Sword and a shield. He was back in the safe place, empty-handed. He also ran like never before, dodging breaths of fire multiple times. Even if he knew that there was no real danger, this was scary and exhausting. He was still out of breath when his alarm rang.
"Explain everything to my mother," Aislinn said once again as he was pulled out of the dream realm.
He woke up with Nòtt on his chest like the two days before. He was quick to emerge from the dream. He had something important to do. The cat jumped on the floor, and Park Chung-Ho followed it out of the room soon after. Everything was silent. No one in the main room. He seemed alone in the house.
"Diane? Are you here?" he tried to speak loud enough to be heard.
He went to the garage while waiting for an answer. The car was still here. Everyone was probably still asleep. It was eight in the morning, and he thought he wouldn't be the first to wake up, but maybe they had been in a Dream Expedition all night.
"Nòtt?"
The cat came from the corridor and looked at him as if to say :
"What do you want, human?"
"I guess they are all asleep. I wanted... Well, I need to speak with Diane."
Park Chung-Ho saw the cat turning his head to the corridor and looked back at him and meowed. Then it reached for his food bowl.
"For a short moment, I thought you understood me." Said the young man.
"He probably did."
Diane appeared. She came from the library, apparently.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked.
"I... I have something to tell you."
She saw his serious face.
"Go ahead."
"Your daughter, she said, you shouldn't try to go where she is."
"What are you saying? How could you speak with her?"
"The night she disappeared, she gifted me a part of her essence, that's what she told me after, and since then, she trained me in her domain. But she asked me not to speak about it."
"A part of her essence, you said. And you haven't told me before... What do you know about where she is?"
"All I know is that it is terribly dangerous, even for highly skilled hunters like you and your friends. She told me it was a place from which only dreams and nightmares could go out."
"So you talked with her the previous days, and you're in her domain when you sleep. That means you're safe thanks to her. I need to know the exact words she said to you. Can you do that for me?"
"I will try to get the exact words she used."
His memory was here, with every detail, but he chose to let some information aside. Diane didn't need to know about the kiss, for example.
"My mother wouldn't understand why I did this. And if we're the only ones to know, this ensures that this stays our safe place. I will explain everything you want, day by day. This is a promise..."
"She's wrong. I understand why she did this. And it was really smart of her. But she's right by saying that this shouldn't be told to anyone; this will keep you safe indeed."
"You shouldn't worry about me. I'm in my element. As I said, I'm a dream."
"Oh... So you know about this, too. I see..."
"I asked her if she escaped as she was speaking with me. But she said Sadly, this isn't me, but a small part of my Dream-Me if you want. And I don't understand how I'm able to remember everything this well."
"Her essence makes it possible, I guess."
"She said that she wouldn't be able to stay in the safe place she built forever, though."
Diane nodded.
"The dream essence isn't something we can share easily. And what we share isn't permanent indeed. But please, go on with her words."
"That's all for the place she's in. Wait... She said that she was hoping you would use a waypoint and not go and try to get to her directly."
"Ok. That's what we did last night. Well..." She was annoyed, "do you have a course to attend today?"
"I can avoid it, and it's only this afternoon."
"You'll go to this course. I'm not gonna watch you miss it. But I think I'll need you to do something for me."
"Anything. Just ask, if I can be useful, I'm ok."
"I'll need you to give a message to my daughter. But I'll tell it tonight. I need to search for more information first."
"Ok. I'll deliver the message, don't worry."
"The others will join us soon. Let's have breakfast. Let's not speak about this if you will."
"Ok. But I think I'll have questions too."
"I'll answer it tonight."
The rest of the hunters joined them, and Park Chung-Ho hid the fact that he had one question on his mind. He couldn't help it; the same thought was buzzing in his head.
"He came for me."
Aislinn told him that Albormare came for him. It wasn't a mère nightmare wandering around. It was an attack that was targeting him directly. Why him? Why now? He needed to know. Why was he the target, and why was Aislinn protecting him? She surely knew more than she said, and he couldn't stay like this, ignoring everything about himself.
He went to his course, but he couldn't concentrate. All he wanted was to go back to the Dreamer's Society and ask Diane.
She was there when he got back. But everyone else was with her. She didn't say a single word, but they all went to the library and let Park Chung-Ho alone with her.
"So, you have questions for me. I hope I can answer it."
"We didn't have much time this morning, and we needed to talk about your daughter. But she said something that really is worrying me. First of all, I'll give you the context, and you should let me finish all I will say, because Aislinn had already been very clear about this subject."
Diane nodded, and he continued.
"I read something strange yesterday. In a book, it was talking about something very dangerous, a sacrifice."
He saw Aislinn's mother's reaction. Her eyes widened, and she was about to talk, but she kept silent.
"Aislinn told me this was the way to make a nightmare or a dream enter the physical realm. But she also said this. This is probably what Albormare was after when he came for you. Make you sacrifice something so that he could enter the Physical Realm. I asked her why he was after me and said she couldn't tell. She didn't say that she didn't know. So I presume she knows, but she hides it from me. Probably to make sûre I won't do anything stupid. Am I right?"
Diane looked at him with a strange look.
"I don't know what I Can Say or where to start... This isn't easy..."
Now, Park Chung-Ho was able to recognise this look. It was sadness.
"First of all," she said, "I'll tell them to go to the restaurant, except Sasha... He knows the whole story already. But the others don't know your personal story. And as it's yours, I'll let you decide who to share it with."
Sasha came back with her, and the other four waved to Chung-Ho. The whole room was silent now, except for the cracks of the fire. Diane Nòttdottir sat in front of him.
"I knew your mom and dad for a long time. He was a school friend, and I met your mom when we were eighteen. We were hunters, and they were the best. We've hunted together for years." She was watching the fire, as if it were reheating her memories. She shook her head. "It was good old times. Things were simple, you know, we were young and sometimes a bit silly. Your father and I were both from families of hunters. We'd been wandering the dream realm a lot. I was hunting a nightmare when I first met Park Dam-Dae, your mother. She was a Korean huntress, two years older than me, much more skilled, much more audacious, a bit reckless at times. Your father was joining me for this hunt. The first thing Dam-Dae did was to threaten him with her dagger. He was always joking, and this time. He thought it would be a good idea to surprise us. He ended up on the floor, a dagger at his throat. This fool was smiling. She was pretty, and he fell in love the very moment their eyes met. It took her more time to appreciate him. But here you are. So guess what, she liked him too. She moved to Norway sometime after this."
She withdrew one of her necklaces. "That was hers. I think this should belong to you. She gave it to me, but you're her son."
She opened the pendant and showed him the picture in it. They were here. His mother and his dad. She was pretty indeed. A bit shorter than his dad. Both had dark hair; she had pale skin and fiery dark eyes. He had a joyful stare and blue eyes.
"They were happy," he said.
"They were indeed," Diane answered.
She let him a moment; he would probably have something to say after seeing this photograph. She wasn't wrong about this. He was still holding the pendant in both hands, looking at his parents.
"If you were their friend, why was I adopted and never saw you before ?"
"Let's eat a bit, I'll go on with this story, and I think you'll manage to understand why a bit later. But if you need explanations, I'll answer. You have a lot to catch up with."
"Could you tell me my father's name, please? I realise I never heard it before."
"His name was Marc Franz."