It's said that dreams can be indicators of one's mental state.
So I just had a dream where a tribe of bananas was doing a rain dance around a blender, making a banana smoothie.
I don't know whether I should be glad that I could finally dream in this wretched world, or whether I should be concerned about losing my remaining marbles.
And why are the bananas doing a rain dance around the very thing blending their kind?
Why is there a banana tribe in the first place? Do bananas even have tribes?
Can bananas even be sentient?
….
I should wake up before I go deeper down this banana rabbit hole.
I slowly opened my eyes and was immediately hit by a massive headache, and my vision started to swirl.
I shouldn't have overused my stigma. But honestly, this is much better than a banana rain dance.
"Weird dreams, huh?"
A very familiar voice broke through my headache, and an old heartache throbbed in my chest, resonating through the shards of my shattered heart.
I looked ahead and saw her sitting cross-legged before me, her bright blue eyes glittering with mischief and her black hair flowing over her shoulder, transitioning to a glowing bright blue.
Iris smiled like the troublemaker she was, clad in her black Deathwalker uniform, and looking absolutely beautiful.
She tilted her head. "You really pushed yourself, love."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "You think so?"
"It was a brutal fight. You and Alisax… being forced to fight each other. Lilith is quite the sadistic bitch," she said.
She reached for me, her hand trembling slightly as she went to touch my face, only to stop short, her fingers hovering uncertainly.
Her eyes turned sad as she whispered. "I want to touch you so badly, Mordred, to embrace you, to comfort you."
She lowered her arm and gave me a small smile, filled with sadness. "But we both know that I am not real."
Those words twisted in me like a hot knife.
She was right.
I've been seeing this hallucination of Iris for years now.
Every time I was broken and bloodied by the daemons and tossed into this cell, she was there for me.
An illusion born from my memories of her.
A desperate attempt by my mind to preserve my remaining sanity.
I smiled. "Why do you always appear when I am at my lowest?"
Iris smirked. "Maybe seeing you all bloody and broken just turns me on."
A laugh escaped my mouth. "You're a bloody freak."
"Of course," she agreed, her smirk turning into a coy smile. "I am your bloody freak."
We laughed, and a silence fell between us for a moment.
"I miss you," I said, not meeting her gaze.
"Of course you do." Her voice was teasing at first, and then turned soft.
Her beautiful face was adorned with her mischievous smile. "That's why you should get out of here quickly and meet me."
I let out a weak chuckle. "But you don't remember me. It will be an awkward encounter."
"It doesn't have to be like that," she replied, her tone changing to something more serious. "You can help me regain my memories."
My smile faded. We've had this conversation many times.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Iris," I said. "You'll regain more than just our time together; you will regain the memories of your childhood and the nightmares of the Tear."
Iris pursed her lips. "So you're saying that along with my memories, I will also regain my trauma?"
I nodded somberly. "I don't want you to suffer."
I braced myself. Normally, this would be the part where she snapped.
Except she didn't.
Iris was smiling.
"You really are sweet, love. I guess that's why I fell for you," she said, folding her arms.
"I know you are saying that because you care about me that much, and will do whatever it takes to protect me," she pouted. "But I am stronger than you can ever imagine."
She smiled smugly. "I can handle the memories. The pain. All of it. I'm not some fragile doll you need to protect."
She leaned forward, her long hair trailing over one shoulder. "You should be more worried about yourself. You're the one having full-blown conversations with a hallucination."
A dry chuckle escaped me. "Well, my mind can be bloody weird."
She grinned, but her eyes were filled with concern. "Your mind is more broken than mine."
As she said those words, I felt a presence approaching my cell.
"You have a visitor," Iris noticed, her form beginning to distort and glitch.
Her voice thinned, and the edges of her form flickered like a dying signal. "Catch you later, love. Don't you dare die."
Iris smiled one last time, then vanished, glitching like a mirage, leaving nothing but silence.
The presence stopped right outside the cell.
I recognized it instantly, and my lips curled into a smirk.
"I didn't know the High Commander would provide me with room service."
The black wall of the cell shimmered like disturbed water, and Naberiax emerged from it, his form coalescing out of the mist.
The air turned heavy with his mere presence, and the twin purple flames within his jagged helm flared fiercely.
"You left your daggers in the arena," he said plainly, tossing the Fangs at my feet. They were neatly wrapped in a silky black cloth that was soft to the touch.
I shrugged. "My bad. I wasn't exactly in 'dagger-retrieving condition' at that time."
We stared at each other.
Out of all the daemons under Lilith, Naberiax is the only one I could engage in pleasant conversation with.
That's probably because he doesn't talk much. He is more of a man of action, well, a daemon of action.
An imposing and silent warrior whose few words can carry an immense weight.
And his sword strikes are even heavier, backed by a highly advanced level of sword mastery that surpasses Kay by a whole other level.
Right now, Naberiax is the strongest swordsman I've ever encountered, in this life and my old.
And possibly, one of the strongest beings I've ever encountered.
That is…
A flicker passed through my mind. A daemon enveloped in black cloth and with eyes that shone like stars.
"That daemon," I asked, watching him. "Who is she?"
A brief, unreadable flicker crossed Naberiax's gaze.
"I'm surprised you noticed her in the chaos," he replied.
I smirked. "I tend to do that when I'm in transcendence."
I don't expect him to answer, but something in his posture told me he might just open up.
The mighty High Commander of the daemons is shaken.
And for my amusement, I had to know who it was.
Silence passed over us like a cloud before Naberiax spoke.
"Elariax. She is my predecessor."
I frowned. "The previous High Commander of the daemons?"
"Not of the daemons," he corrected, his regal voice echoing. "The High Commander of the Lumini."
Naberiax shifted his gaze to the transparent wall, at the Tear, as if reminiscing.
"Elariax was one of the first Lumini that rose from Queen Phoebe's spilled blood, and she was second in power only to the Incarnus." He looked at me, and a cold shudder passed down my spine.
"She is also the older sister of Alisax."
Ah. Now I understand.
"That's why she was present in the arena back then," I murmured.
"Indeed," Naberiax confirmed and then looked away. "However, she wasn't supposed to be there. Neither was Alisax."
I noticed something off in his posture.
Is he feeling guilty?
Oh my. This will be some juicy information.
"During the rebellion, Elariax was among the first Lumini to turn into daemons. She promised to support Queen Lilith, but under one condition."
He paused.
"To make sure Alisax doesn't get involved and to keep her away from the palace forever."
I couldn't help but smirk. "And that promise was broken."
Naberiax's eyes flared. "Only because you brought her to this place."
"But she didn't know about your deal with Elariax," I countered. "She guided me to the palace not only because we became friends, but because she loathes Lilith and you guys so much that she wanted to end you all."
I leaned back and shrugged. "I guess I've got to know something about you, Naberiax."
Looking straight into his eyes, I said. "So much for keeping promises, High Commander."
Judging from Naberiax's glare, I guess my astute observation will get me killed.
But I know he can't do anything to me without going against Lilith.
A heavy pressure pushed down on me as he released a small part of his aura. The tower I'm imprisoned in trembled under the pressure.
However, I didn't buckle, releasing my aura to counter his as I stared right into his fiery eyes.
This intense stare off lasted a minute before Naberiax dissipated his aura with a sigh.
"Rest, Pendragon." Turning around, he declared. "The next one to face you will be me."
A wave of bloodlust passed over me, gripping my body in a frigid paralysis as he walked into the wall, melting into the black stone.
"And I will not hold back this time."