The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

One (Draft 3) "Ordinary World"

"I don't know," Morpheus admitted. He looked to see if Maya agreed.

"We might have sensed something happened to Opium," Maya said, using Mother's name.

"Just hush, please!" Mother walked away from the couch towards the fireplace.

There was a silence as Mother paced the carpet, then finally Sleep whispered, "Opi."

"Sigh," Mother said. "I don't know who it is without scrying. But, like, only a few should know my summons. They wouldn't use it lightly."

"Then, My Love, you know your duty."

"I know," Mother threw her hands in irritated gesture. "But it totally reeks having to part from them!"

"Take Morpheus and Maya with you," Jibril suggested.

"They haven't even been mentored, yet." Sleep almost raised his voice.

Jibril nodded. "I can reserve my gift, for now. Thus, their Introduction is not officially ended. Take them with you, Opium. Once they find mentors, they'll be expected to train and work and they may not be at your side again."

"OK." Mother nodded. She turned then to Sleep. "It seems for the best. We'll be fine. If it's anything I can't handle, I'll summon one of you."

"Do they even have the ability to travel between realms?" Sleep asked.

"I can open a portal," Jibril offered.

Sleep turned his back on Jibril. "My children, do you understand what is needed?"

"Yes," Morpheus said. "I can do it. I can cross realms." He knew it as truth, though he hadn't yet crossed into any other world. He looked again to Maya to see if she shared this, also.

Maya looked at him with the same pearl black eyes Morpheus and Mother had. "I am not certain I can."

Morpheus took his hand from Maya and plucked a single, black feather from his wing, which he offered to Maya. "This might help."

Maya took the feather in her hand.

Mother came back towards the couch. "Murph, you sure about this?" she asked. "I can't take you with me the way I go, so I'll need you to carry both of us."

"Yeah." Morpheus nodded. "It was part of the real me in the vision." He slipped from the couch cushions to stand on the floor. "I need both of you close in front of me."

Maya came to stand before him, but Mother hesitated a moment.

"Sin and I will take care of your duties here," Laudanum told her.

Mother bowed toward Laudanum then stepped close to Morpheus.

He took Maya and Mother into the space of his arms and held them close. Morpheus then opened his senses across time and space, his eyes shifted as his vision expanded and the darkness of pupil and iris expanded to replace the whites.

Morpheus sent his body across the void between worlds.