The King of Dreams

Chapter 5

"You're home, my Lord," Lucien whispered with a tinge of sorrow.

"I am," Morpheus replied, his voice tinged with relief as he regained consciousness.

Morpheus needed assistance getting up from his prone position, so Lucien offered his hand. Together, they crossed the barren desert, their steps leading them to a towering gate covered with ancient statues, one of which conspicuously displayed the emblem of Morpheus' helmet.

Morpheus reached out, his hand gently making contact with the gate. A resounding rumble echoed through the air as the gate swung open freely, granting them passage.

"Forgive me, sir, but... the realm, the palace... they are not as you left them," Lucien cautioned, her words laced with a mix of warning and anticipation. 

As the gate swung open, revealing the kingdom that Morpheus had once ruled, a profound shock coursed through him. His eyes widened in disbelief at the sight. There were no signs of trees, no bustling of life.

When Morpheus returns from captivity, the palace in the realm of dreams reflects the consequence of his absence and the influence of his captor.

 The palace, once a grand and majestic structure, now bears the nightmares of neglect and decay. Their glow is barely piercing with darkness.

"What happened here?" Morpheus's face was engraved with sadness, his face filled with sorrows. "Who did this?" he inquired, his voice tinged with both grief and determination.

"My Lord, you are The Dreaming. The Dreaming is you," Lucien responded, her voice carrying a tone of reverence. "With you gone as long as you were, the realm began to.... decay and crumble." Lucien carefully explained the reason behind the kingdom's faded and decay appearance.

Morpheus turned his gaze towards Lucien, concerned across his face. "And what of the residents? The palace staff?" he inquired, his worry palpable.

"I'm afraid most have departed," Lucien replied, her voice tinged with sorrow.

"Gone?" Morpheus asked, his expression showing surprise. "Some went looking for you" Lucien retorted.

"And others?" As he got closer to Lucien, Morpheus asked a question. 

"They thought, perhaps, you'd grown weary of your duties...and" Lucien said. Morpheus jumped in and interrupted Lucien.

 Morpheus asked in a helpless tone, "What?" He asked, "Abandon them?" Morpheus shoved in his face. 

"Had they so little faith in me? Does my own subject not know me?" Morpheus asked Lucien.

"If I may, sir, It wouldn't be the first time one of the Endless had just....." Lucien was trying to explain when Morpheus interrupted her.

Morpheus said, "Enough." "I won't allow nightmares and dreams to prey on people in the real world. Morpheus declared resolutely, facing his palace from a far distance, "I will bring them all back. I created the realm once, and I will create it again."

The gate behind them as they made their way to the palace closed softly and loudly.

As Morpheus steps foot inside the palace, he is met with a sense of desolation. The once vibrant and opulent halls are now shrouded in darkness and shadows, their splendor faded. The walls, once adorned with intricate designs and artwork, now bear cracks and signs of neglect.

The air within the palace feels heavy, carrying a sense of stagnation and melancholy. Dust particles float in the dimly lit corridors, a testament to the lack of activity and care. The grand chandeliers that once illuminated the palace are now dimmed, their glow barely piercing the darkness.

The sound of creaking floorboards and distant echoes adds to the eerie atmosphere, as if the very essence of the palace mourns the absence of its ruler. The silence within the halls is deafening, broken only by the occasional gust of wind that sweeps through the deserted corridors.

Morpheus's throne, once a symbol of power and authority, appears worn and weathered. The fabric is torn, the cushions flattened, and the regal adornments dulled. It stands as a stark reminder of the time that has passed and the weight of Morpheus's captivity.

The palace's gardens, once vibrant and teeming with life, now appear overgrown and unkempt. The once meticulously manicured hedges and blooming flowers have given way to tangled vines and wilting foliage. The absence of caretakers and the touch of neglect are evident in the tangled mess that now engulfs the once-lush paradise.

Morpheus was saddened by this and decided to make things better than they had been before.

"I kept a journal for a while. A chronicle of everything that happened in your absence. But slowly, the words began to fade," Lucien spoke softly, echoing inside, "sometimes after you left, all the books in the library became bound volumes of blank paper. The next day, the whole library was gone. I never found it again" Lucien explained what happened in Morpheus' absence.

"And yet you remained while others fled, the royal librarian of an abandoned kingdom," Morpheus spoke, his voice tinged with a mixture of regret and appreciation, acknowledging Lucien's unwavering dedication.

""I never felt abandoned, I knew you would return," Lucien replied, her voice filled with conviction and assurance.

Morpheus, consumed by a profound sense of sadness and failure, lowered his gaze towards the floor. In an act of quiet contemplation, he reached down to retrieve a shard of shattered glass, the broken fragments symbolizing the remnants of his crumbling palace.

With a determined grip, Morpheus extended his hand, fingers splayed wide, as he sought to harness the power of his mind to rebuild what was lost.

Morpheus, determined to arrange the pieces of his palace, encountered unexpected challenges. With each attempt, the glass elements resisted his touch, refusing to fall into place.

No matter how he envisioned the layout or carefully positioned the pieces, they seemed to defy his control.

Frustration etched across Morpheus' face as he grappled with the unyielding glass. It was as if the very essence of dreams resisted his command, reminding him of the delicate balance required to shape and mold the realm of dreams. 

The glass pieces shifted and slid, defying his efforts to create the desired composition.

"You need rest, my Lord," Lucien remarked as she sought to reassure Morpheus while wearing a worried expression.

"You'll regain your strength after some food and additional rest," she added.

Morpheus struggled to stand up and uttered "No" in a hushed voice while breathing heavily. He said, "Not without my tools.

"Your tools?" With an unsure expression, Lucien inquired.

Morpheus responded, "my ruby, my helmet, and my sand." "Why, what happened to them?" Lucien questioned.

"They were taken away from me. By my captors. And then taken from them" Morpheus said as he continued fiercely "I know not where, Nor what I am without them" he murmured while attempting to catch his breath.

Back in the real world, a woman speaking on the phone in Arabic while standing in a room filled with antique furnishings says, "Darling, : How are you? You will never guess what I am staring at, though. It costs 22 million, and it's a Caravaggio. As she hung up the phone, she said, "Well, of course you can think about it, but not for too long."

When her phone rang, she went to answer it but was unable to hear anything. She also checked her surveillance footage but found no one. She ventured outdoors, but no one was there. She quickly returned inside, closing the door for more security.

"Quite the place you got here, Ethel" Corinthians' words made Ethel uneasy as she saw a face she was unfamiliar with.

She questioned, "Who are you? How did you get in?"

"Getting in was the easy part. The hard part was finding you" Corinthians said, complimenting her for leading a wonderful life and successfully deceiving others into believing she doesn't exist.

Approaching Corinthians, Ethel said, "apparently not good enough." She was informed by Corinthians that he is not really a person. "What are you, then?" Ethel asked 

Corinthians asked, "Do you remember the being Magnus kept caged in his basement?" as he was attempting to pour himself a drink. "King of dreams?" he questioned. 

"Are you one of his" terrified Ethel asked, "I'm my own man now. With your help, I intend to stay that way," Corinthians answered. 

Corinthians needed her assistance since, as Ethel enquired as to why, he informed her that the King of Dreams was escaping from his cage and would soon be pursuing both of them.

Because she insists she did Morpheus no harm, Ethel doesn't think she won't be his target.

She was informed by Corinthians that the king of dreams would come for her for taking his tools.

She was trying to figure out how to escape as panic flooded her face.

In the palace, 

Morpheus declared, "There is only one sure way for me to find my tools, I must summon the three-in-one."

Lucien tries to persuade Morpheus that "surely it hasn't come to that."

Morpheus reassured her that the three-in-one are aware of everything and can see the past, present, and future.

"Yes," but they use riddles when speaking. Lucien forewarned him, "They never tell you what you want to know. Only Things You Should Never Know," she muttered as her face twisted to the side. 

"Perhaps just this once you could ask one of your siblings for help," she added. Where your tools are would be known to Destiny without a doubt. Or desire.. She made an effort to counsel Morpheus.

She was informed by Morpheus that just as his siblings had their own realm to attend to, he did as well, and they did not meddle with one another's personal affairs. 

"You may not, but they have been known to, perhaps just this once you could tell them what happened to you," Lucien persuaded Morpheus.

"I am quite sure they know what happened to me. And not one of them came to my aid." He replied with a dejected tone that almost made him want to cry.

With a long break in between, they turned to face the earth. The hush was broken by Lucien's remark, " The fates aren't cheap, you know".

She continued, "They cost a bloody fortune."

"And right now, I lack the strength to even call them, let alone pay the price." replied Morpheus. "Unless....is there anything of mine that remains in the dreaming, something I created, something intact," Morpheus questioned

Lucien made an effort to recall what might still be present in the world of dreams that might still contain some of the power that can be absorbed by Morpheus. She told him what it was after she recalled.