At the <Observatory>--

"Okay, Fainn, listen up! We have 125 Resource Points. The new scanning feature costs 10 Resource Points, just like the cheapest <Mess Hall> meal."

A shower of light flew out from behind Svilran, and little bells went off. I looked for bells on her, but I couldn't find them. Still, she was cute.

"So we can use it a bunch of times--nice! Okay, let's do it!" I said.

Channeling a little of Dorth, I placed my hands together and prayed. Svilran, excited, stood next to me and clasped her hands too.

"Please, oh please, Svilran's boss, please let us progress here," I pleaded.

"Yeah! Please, mada--I mean--boss! We've been good! I swear!"

I cracked an eye open and glanced over at her. "Think our prayers will be answered?"

Svilran cracked an eye open too. "I don't know. My superior is a little strict."

"Should we <Wishing Fountain>?"

Svilran went pale. "Please, no."

"Well, we'll have to find out! Man the controls, Miss Svilran!"

"Aye aye, Captain Fainn," Svilran said, saluting me and making a pirate hat made of sparkling light appear on her head for a moment. We looked at each other and stifled some giggles before getting started in earnest.

"Okay, Fainn, I'll zoom out on this. What do you think?"

I studied the screen--there were countless stars of different sizes and colors--it really was like looking at a starry night sky.

"I don't know... Doesn't look right to me... Switch to another, helms-woman Svil!"

With a giggle, Svilran made the steering wheel spin. "We need to give serendipity a chance to take the wheel, of course."

"There, stop!"

Svilran happily grabbed the wheel and let me study the screen of stars. "What do you think, Captain Fainn? Is this the sector?"

"Yes? Maybe? Oh, I'm nervous... Okay! Hit the scan button!"

"My pleasure!" Svilran hit the new button on the console, and we watched as a green light traveled across the screen. I closed my eyes--I was having too much fun getting invested in this.

Svilran gasped, and my heart jumped.

"Fainn! Look!"

I opened my eyes and saw three spots glowing brightly. All other stars had been removed from the screen.

"Okay, Svilran, what does this mean? Can you just confirm it for me?" I asked, a little in disbelief that after so long, we could actually be close to summoning a Hero.

"There are summonable Heroes!" she excitedly said. Before I could react, she went pale. "Hold on!" She quickly glued her eyes to the console and started hitting buttons and pulling levers. "Fainn! Remember the conditions for summonable Heroes?!"

My heart dropped. "They have to be close to dying!" I looked at the screen again--Svilran was already zooming in on one of the worlds already. "Wait! Svilran! The other two worlds--we didn't mark their general location!"

Svilran looked at me, her jaw hanging. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I panicked and forgot!"

"Can you go back? Maybe even just so I can memorize relative distances?" I looked around the telescope and pulled out some paper and a pencil from a small drawer in the base. "I could even mark them on this--"

"I can't. Once I started zooming in, it stopped isolating the worlds!"

"Dang it. Fine, okay, we can just scan them again--we have the points! For now, this one--"

"We're in the world! The telescope will get us in the ballpark, and then we just need to fine-tune her to get a better look... There's the glow!"

I looked at the screen to see a glow behind a lot of haze.

"Come on... And there! Oh, my..."

"They're not always going to be in a pretty situation," I said.

We both studied the screen, observing the Imaginal lying on the ground in some ravine. They looked like they were... crispy, for lack of a better word... Yeah, I was being charitable. They were char-black. I was sure that wasn't their natural skin.

"Come on, Svilran. We need to put them out of their misery."

"I know! It's just so sad!" Svilran fiddled with the telescope and shot up. "It's done!"

Meanwhile, I watched the Imaginal take her 'last' breath.

"Fainn! I'm going to go out to greet the Hero! I'm not sure that the <Portal> will fix everything because of its low Level... Could you check the other two worlds in the meantime?"

"Sure," I replied, taking the seat. "I'm not good at the greeting part of the job anyway."

"Okay! I'll call you if I need anything!"

"Got it," I said, looking at the console.

Svilran ran out the <Observatory's> doors, leaving me to stare at the console.

"Okay, come on, Hero Hub. Remind me how to use this thing again... Hmm?"

Before I touched the console, I noticed movement on the screen. Curious, I watched for two seconds longer and saw some white-haired kid in edgy armor walk up.

"What the? Is that her friend?"

I asked that, but something about the scene seemed off. The kid... I was pretty sure he was creeping me out on an uncomfortably deep level.

He gently tapped the Imaginal's side with his foot. Then, he did the same thing again, moving their head and inspecting it. The kid stopped and looked around. No one else was there. It was just a ravine with some steam leaving the cracks. Then the kid looked up in random directions. His head slowly turned like he was looking for something. His head passed by my viewpoint, and then, suddenly, he stopped and cocked his head. Then he turned and looked right at me.

I didn't know why, but he made me jump in my seat--those eyes--something wasn't right with the punk. He stretched his neck toward me and squinted.

"Holy--can this kid see me? Is he looking at the telescope?"

The kid showed a toothy grin and returned his attention to the Imaginal corpse at his feet. The kid stepped on the Imaginal shoulder, grabbed its hand, and pulled until he tore the arm off.

Where others would balk, I came in closer. "So, you're that kind of punk, huh?"

No lie, I was bothered.

The kid then sidestepped so that he was standing at the crown of the Imaginal's head. He kneeled, calmly placed the arm at his side, and then rested the Imaginal's head on his lap.

He put both hands on the head, shifted it for a bit, and then suddenly twisted it all the way around and plucked it off the body like he was pulling the head off a toy.

"What the actual--"

The boy stood up, the Imaginal's head under his right arm and the arm in his left hand. He began to walk off, but five steps later, he turned around, looked at me, and waved at me with the severed arm.

A black, oval-shaped portal opened a step ahead of him, he walked in, and the portal closed.

"A portal... That's ominous... Did he just teleport to somewhere in the same world?" The image of him waving at me was still fresh. "Or did that punk know about other worlds? A portal like that--if it connects to other Realms... It wouldn't be impossible..."

"FAAAIIIN!"

Svilran's shrill screen tore me away from the screens.

"Svilran!?" I yelled.

I ran, jumped off the platform, and ran out the open door. I sprinted around the <Observatory> until I had a clear view of the <Portal> and booked it harder when I saw the scene.

"Get away from me!"

"Uwaaah! Faaaaain!"

Svilran was on the ground and crying while the crispy Imaginal was in front of the Portal with a hand pointed at Svilran and wisps of blue fire leaking from their shoulders.

What about Svilran's calming effect?! I wondered. Why isn't it working?!

"Where am I?!" screamed the Imaginal. They looked around for a moment and then shook their hand at Svilran. "You! Did you take him? Where is he--"

I ran in from the side and tackled the Imaginal down to the floor, getting them to land on their chest. I grabbed their thin wrists and held their wrists behind their back with one hand.

"Fainn!" Svilran yelled.

"Svilran, back up! Twenty feet!" The flames on what I could now see were strange, stubby protrusions on the Imaginal's shoulders burned brighter, burning me. "Svilran! NOW"

"OKAY!" she called back, scampering away on all fours before finally running on two legs.

"Get off me!" the Imaginal roared.

I held up my free hand and put my finger and thumb together. "Not until you're calm!"

I snapped my fingers and activated +Nightmares ARE Fiction+. The dome expanded, and now, I could afford to take hits.

"Listen to me! We found you half-dead, and we tried to save you! That's where you are now--you're in a world where dying Heroes go!"

I was making contact with the Imaginal, so my body was beginning to change in response to their fears. I prayed they weren't going to make me have to shift so much--

"F-Fine!" the Imaginal blurted out. "Fine! I'll hear you out! Just get off me!"

Their face was so charred--I couldn't make out what face they were making. I slowly got off them, doing my best to hold off the transformation. They then got up, the flames on their shoulders died down, and they looked at me.

"Are we good? Still up for listening?" I asked, panting.

They shuddered and looked away. "I'm still willing to hear you out..."

With that, I closed the dome, thankful this wasn't going to be a repeat of the Dorthaunzee incident.