Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph2 Ch21: Secrets of the Child

Seven stepped out of the tent, and made his way to the bench in Dirtmouth. He sat down, and took a much needed rest. After his fight with Grimm, his body and mind were exhausted. He once again had more questions than answers. The glitched children and girl, why Brumm was missing, how he could hear secret conversations and enter different places upon the touch of a finger, and most importantly, all that talk about him being a dream! All those questions were running through Seven's head. He needed answers, but how could he get them?

He figured the best thing to do now, was to ask around town. He could probably get some answers, or leads from the townsfolk. Maybe Sly could answer some questions. He did seem like he knew most of the things that happened in this place. He walked into Sly's shop, but found out he wasn't there. In his place, was an open door that lead to the basement. Seven climbed down, and saw candles lighting a room in the distance. He walked towards them, and found Sly, sitting in front of the biggest nail Seven had ever seen.

"So... there is one more to join our group," Sly said. He stood up, and looked at Seven. "Forgive me, but I have nothing to give you. I already gave away the last charm to the one I thought would be the last to join us. But as the great Nailsage I must give something to those that have proven their worth. Tell me, what do you seek young one?" Sly asked.

"All I want are answers," Seven replied. "I'm so confused, I don't even know who I am."

"Well, I can see why you have that confusion. You're acting like someone else," Sly said.

"What?"

"The way you fight, the child beside you, it's all too much like the knight," Sly explained. "You need to stop acting like them, and act like you."

"Wh-what? But I don't even know who the knight is!" Seven expressed.

"Then maybe there is something I can give you."

Sly turned to a large pile, and pulled out a small map. "This map shows the location of all Nailmasters in Hallownest. Since I gave them the title, you should be able to find them with this," he said, handing the map to Seven.

"Thank you. Thank you so much!" Seven said.

"Rather than thank me, why not go and continue with your quest? You still have to take care of the child right?" Sly asked.

"Oh, yes! Once again, thank you!" Seven yelled as he ran to the exit.

He ran back to the bench, and pulled out his compass. As excited as he was to finally find some answers, he wanted to help the Grimmchild first. He looked at the compass to find the flames, but noticed something odd. There were only two flames on the map. Weren't there supposed to be three? As he looked, he found something else. One of the flames was very close to a mark on Sly's map. He pulled out the map, and looked at it. He identified the three places he'd already visited, and found the fourth marker in a place called "Deepnest" on the map.

The fourth marker had to be the knight! And it was close to a flame as well! Although Seven was confused about why there were only two flames, he could figure that out later. Now, he needed to find answers. He looked at the map, and found a stag station very close by. He quickly got to the stag, with the Grimmchild following him, and they rode off to the "distant village", as it said on the destination.

Seven could barely contain himself as they rode the stag. He could practically jump out of his seat! The stag arrived at the station, and Seven hopped off. The Grimmchild felt the excitement of its bearer, and shared it. They both exited the station, ready to find some answers. Seven quickly stopped as he realized the area below him. There were houses, woven in silk, with a large pit below. Seven carefully moved from surface to surface, trying to reach the houses.

The Grimmchild flew over to one house, and chirped for Seven's attention. The house had a red light inside, so Seven assumed a flame was in there. He figured getting the flame first wouldn't be so bad. But, if there was a flame in there, how would he fight the Grimmkin? Shouldn't the flame be out in the open so the Grimmkin could fight him? He shrugged the question off, and entered the house with the Grimmchild.

Once he entered, he was shocked. There wasn't a Grimmkin in the room. It was Brumm! What was he doing here?

"So, we meet again. Here, at the edge of the world," Brumm said. "The Ritual repeats itself, all to prolong the heart of Grimm," he said, looking at the Grimmchild. "Would you believe me if I said that this Ritual has happened before? In this very Kingdom?" He said, looking at Seven.

"What? What are you talking about?" Seven asked.

Brumm took a deep breath. "Not long ago, the knight arrived at the lantern. Using the dream nail, it lit our scarlet fire, leading us to this destroyed kingdom. Our Ritual took place, and the knight gathered the flame, feeding the child. It seemed that it would complete the Ritual, but something intervened."

"What? What intervened?" Seven asked.

"The Signal Tower," Brumm explained. "It arrived in our world, and disturbed the events of it. Our kin scattered out again, the child lost it flame, and the knight's place in the Ritual was removed. The Tower changed this world, to a point beyond repair, leaving us with no other option, but to start our Ritual from scratch."

Brumm looked back at the Grimmchild. "Well, take the flame I have harvested, it is what you came here for after all," he said. He waved the torch, and the Grimmchild swallowed up the flame.

Brumm continued to look at the Grimmchild, as it flew around Seven. "The child," he said. "The child must remember. It must remember the time before, the knight, and the Ritual. A false life is no life. It must remember the correct Ritual."

With that, Brumm vanished, leaving Seven and the Grimmchild with the path that laid ahead.

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Okay! Well I'm back from my short Halloween break, and this phase is nearing its climax! I hope that this chapter was written well, and that you all will be left excited for the end of phase 2, and the beginning of phase 3.

Well, see you in the next chapter everyone!