Pak

　　wake up

　　(...What?)

　　Images of Du閚 faces flicker before my mind`s eye. Children, men, women, everything in-between&

　　listen

　　No! No, no, no, no, no, this isn`t happening&

　　(Who&)

　　I catch glimpses of Du閚 in the War - glimpses of their last moments, before the swords and arrows pierce them, before their breath slips away&

　　listen

　　Wake up! Pak, wake up, please&

　　(But& I`m dead. I can`t just come back. I made sure, this time&)

　　The soldiers keep their faces as blank as the stone all around them. Their families sob over their corpses, if they`re lucky enough to get them back at all.

　　listen

　　Cabbage, do something!

　　You have to - you have to fix him!

　　Do some magic! Anything! Please&

　　(...Kano?)

　　I watch their bodies get thrown into a furnace. I watch them go up in flames.

　　Please don`t leave me&

　　It`s always the family that tosses them in, if the family is still alive.

　　Please& just wake up&!

　　(But& where did you come from?)This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

　　The magic fire doesn`t make smoke, but their remains still have to go somewhere&

　　Come b-back&

　　The ashes plume from the furnace, long after the bereaved have gone.

　　Please, Pak& I miss you& Please, please wake up&

　　They cling to the walls for a while. It`s almost like they`re afraid.

　　I`m so sorry&

　　(Why are you apologizing&?)

　　But eventually, they disperse into the tunnels, sparkling in the darkness&

　　I love you& I love you& I&

　　decide

　　When the Du閚 speak to me, their faces light up again, thousands of them all at once. Traces of their consciousness still live in the spoli.

　　(What&?)

　　decide

　　But they`re dead. They`re as dead as I am. It doesn`t make any sense. How am I able to hear them? How are they able to speak&?

　　live or die

　　I don`t hear their voices, exactly& it`s more like something is pushing against my motionless heart, writing on its surface.

　　(How&?)

　　live or die

　　They`re giving me a choice& a second chance.

　　(Why are you here&?)

　　family

　　I don`t deserve this. Not after all the terrible things I`ve done.

　　(It`s too late now, isn`t it&?)

　　The world is so dark. The world is so cruel. I left it for a reason - I couldn`t take it anymore - but&

　　(If& if he`s really there&)

　　listen

　　You didn`t deserve this&

　　I should have - I should have done more.

　　You deserved so much more&

　　(He`s really there&?)

　　live or die

　　Kano

　　Pak`s eyelids twitched. Kano gasped and fell forward, hovering close to Pak`s head, still cradling it in his hands. Cabbage cooed and hopped closer, his ears forward and erect, eyes wide and reflecting the green light.

　　As the spoli left Pak`s body - through his ears, his nose, his lips, and through the gashes that cut through his wrist - they left behind the Dream`s magic light, its breath, its blood, and its sight. They stitched together his broken skin, filled his lungs with air, cleared the glaze from his eyes, and then dispersed into the Obsidian again.