Kano

　　"CABBAGE!" Kano cried, but the darkness swallowed his voice. His screams vanished, too, though he felt the strain keenly in his throat. He kicked his legs and flailed his arms as the air around him grew oppressively, unbearably hot, as if he were falling into a volcano. It incinerated his clothes and his hair, raising blisters on his skin. He begged for mercy. He begged to be saved. He begged for it to end, for the fire to take him already, but he just kept falling. His cries went unmet for eons.

　　This must be what the humans call hell, said some echo in his mind. Him, or someone else - did it matter? It was never going to end. This was his torture, his punishment. This was what he`d earned for his decades of hedonism, for the dozens he`d brought to his bed and never spoke to again. Whatever hole that life had carved into his chest, he hadn`t filled it with the right things, and he had nobody to blame but himself.

　　He hit the bottom arse-first, landing in a pile of smoldering leaves. Kano scrambled upright, slapping the burning debris from his bare skin. Flaming trees surrounded him, thickening the air with smoke. He coughed. A void had devoured the sky, looming close to the ground, as if it meant to put out the fires and all the rest of the world.

　　A shadow darted from between the trees, heading straight for him.

　　Without thinking, Kano turned and ran. He danced around the roots and vines that covered the forest bed, ignoring the brambles that tore into his feet, though he still felt the pain. Somewhere from the sky, a warning boomed like thunder in a voice he recognized, but couldn`t place:

　　Few people live to tell of when they surface,

　　and none pursue when they retreat&

　　His old teacher`s taut visage appeared in the air just ahead of him, an illusion that shattered as Kano barreled through it. But he stumbled, his ankle caught by a thin vine, wrapped between trees like a tripwire. He crashed face-first into the undergrowth, then rolled over and shielded his head with his arms, preparing to die to whatever demon was pursuing him. But it wasn`t a demon that loomed over his naked body. It was Mr. Greenhead, his Cultures teacher. Hordes of shadow-creatures swarmed behind the teacher, beating and clawing against an invisible wall - a barrier erected by Mr. Greenhead himself, his hand held up as if silencing the class.

　　"Wasn`t your father a forest elf?" Mr. Greenhead said with the same lofty superiority Kano remembered him for. "You know what happened to Belethlian, child. Or did you sleep through that lesson, too?"

　　"W-what?!"

　　"I`ve taught many, many fools in my career, young man, but this is exceptional, even by human standards." Mr. Greenhead pierced him with a nauseating, otherworldly gaze. The shadows behind the teacher gnashed and wailed, adding to the cacophony of fire, but the teacher`s voice was scarier than anything else in the horrifying scene.

　　"I won`t be able to protect you from them forever," he said. "I armed you with the truth, and still you rushed into that infernal place headlong, for what? To help your friend?" He plucked the word from his tongue like hair from a stew, grimacing. "The boy has proven himself an enemy of Iridan. He is irredeemable. You can still repent from your traitorous acts, Kano, but that window is rapidly shrinking. I will escort you home, but you must swear to uphold your duty to your people and tell the Guard all you know, so that we may end this War once and for all."

　　Kano gasped as the shield wobbled and cracked, but one flick of his teacher`s wrist repaired it.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

　　"Well? What will it be, young man? We haven`t all day to spend dilly-dallying. You, least of all."

　　Kano`s eyes darted between his teacher and the shadow-people - the Du閚& but were they Du閚? No, it didn`t seem right. He couldn`t make out any details in their movement, but he was sure he saw glimpses of his classmates, the twisted, writhing faces of the same ones who bullied him for no greater crime than having human blood. Something swelled in his chest, something hotter than his fear, and decades of pent-up indignation bubbled in his throat. He`d kept it silent for so long, never wanting to cross any boundaries, never wanting to make any waves, never wanting to upset anyone& But he couldn`t hold it in any longer.

　　"You," he started, taking a deep, shaky breath. "You& Ugh! You`re such a dick!"

　　Mr. Greenhead`s eyes glinted with outrage, taken aback. The barrier behind him shook. Kano shifted to his knees, legs quaking.

　　"You`ve never even seen a Du閚! You don`t know anything about them! You just want to make yourself feel better for not being rich enough to live on the Plateau, so you shit on other poor people - because, what, because they`re not pure white? As if that`s something to be proud of! You`re just an angry, petty old dick!"

　　The teacher`s white skin turned a bright, unnatural red. The barrier shook again.

　　"I`ll have you know, my parents were killed in the attack on the Nellywing Opera-"

　　"There`s no proof that the Du閚 even did that!" Kano shouted, rising to his feet. "I`m sorry about your parents, but you can`t demonize a whole culture of people because of some fucking rumors!"

　　The barrier started to fracture. The teacher doubled over, panting. Kano`s heart leapt, but he curled his fingers into fists, firm in his resolve.

　　"Have you no love for your brethren in Iridan, boy?" Mr. Greenhead hissed. "Mark my words, you`ll be the ruin of us all. The enemy will follow you, wherever you settle, and they`ll breed - they`ll infest these lands, and - agh!"

　　A loud CRACK cut the air as a rift opened amid the fractures. Smoke spilled from it, snaking around the teacher`s feet.

　　"You`re so full of shit!" Kano spat. "You always have been! Pak never deserved any of the hate you stirred up around him! You`re the reason those kids burned his eye, you and everyone like you! You`re the reason he had to hide in my closet for all those years since we left, and he didn`t do a damn thing to deserve it! You are the worst type of person, and I don`t feel bad for you, so fuck you, fuck your parents, fuck that shitty school, and all its shitty teachers, and all its shitty students, and FUCK IRIDAN!"

　　The magic shield shattered, raining shards on the teacher`s back. Kano covered his head as the shadows rushed out like water through a broken dam, engulfing his body, hissing in his ears, and covering him in thick, freezing sludge. Though he was sure he had met his end, somewhere through the panic, a quiet, satisfied spirit whispered its approval. From that place deep in his core spread a warmth that kept him from succumbing to despair. He had spoken truth to power. He was no sycophant. He`d rather die than lick the boots of anyone who`d hurt someone he loves.

　　The hissing and crackling all around him simmered down, then evaporated. He figured he must have crossed the gateway of death, or something like it, but as he lowered his arms and parted his eyelids, he saw that he was no longer in the burning forest. Instead, he stood in the now-familiar current of the Dream - stark naked, bald and lost - but calm. Quiet.

　　"HEY."

　　Kano turned around, locking eyes with Cabbage, who looked very annoyed, indeed.

　　"Put some clothes on," he said, hop-waddling away. Kano flushed.

　　"Where do I-?"

　　When he looked down, he found that he was fully clothed - in his nicest purple button-down and casual pants no less, clean and proper. His guitar case was strapped to his back, feeling somehow lighter than it ever had, and even his wavy red hair had returned.

　　"Cool," he said. He glanced up. Cabbage was staring at him.

　　"Hurry up," the cat-owl said with a huff, then jumped and flapped away.