Lucid Nightmares - Fated Flowers Saga

Ch 6: Darkened Rose Wine

I raise an eyebrow, looking back down at him. "How?"

Orferio doesn't answer right away. He sucks on his bottom lip for a moment, lost in thought.

"How?" I repeat.

Finally, he sighs and breaks his silence. "There are a few things I should tell you outright instead of waiting. I wanted you to discover your memories for yourself, but some things should be explained now."

"What kind of things?"

"Things like how our world works alongside yours. Power. Magic. Things like that."

My eyes widen with eagerness. "Okay. Tell me," I say as calmly as I can.

"The simple explanation is that my world is in another dimension. There are borderlines between each world, like a fabric, and portals cause it to rip and allow travel between them. Sometimes, these worlds can be interconnected by too many portals or by general closeness to each other. Earth is very disconnected, but there are influences of my world and Others here."

Orferio's eyes narrow with concentration. "This is complicated, but stick with me."

I nod, keeping my interested eyes on him and memorizing every word.

"In almost every world, there is some type of magic. Earth used to be connected with magic and various creatures until it rejected such things. Other worlds, like mine, held onto magic and expanded from it. My world has similar, or even better technology than Earth, but we also use magic to enhance it. We have different creatures, some even influenced your myths like merpeople or fairies. They are only shadows of the real thing, but they existed in some form on Earth."

"All of this to say... my world is much like a fantasy world in your eyes." Orferio's expression softens, "And you loved it. It can be a wonderful place when there's peace."

My mind begins to wander into the realm of daydreams. Faint images of the other world float through my mind. Like mist in the sun, I see the traces of a rainbow wavering in the air.

"I..." His eyes begin to darken as if he were remembering something twisted and dark. "My brother and I have a complicated history, but we have the same sort of powers. Regardless of where they came from, we have the power to do anything. We can control anything. Create whatever we want. It's at the expense of our energy level and how strong we are in the moment, but everything is under our control. We're what you'd call, gods."

"Whoa..."

He chuckles at my awestruck expression. "It's pretty awesome, isn't it?"

I nod quickly. "It is! I'm so jealous!"

His smile dims. "Magic always comes with a price. It's difficult to control and exhausting, despite our connection with luck."

I stiffen with immediate regret. "Oh. I'm sorry."

He smiles reassuringly. "That's alright. You didn't know. It's why I'm explaining."

"So, you can do, like, anything? Anything in the world?"

"Anything, sweetheart."

"Can you show me? I mean. Something small." I shake my head, "I don't want you to strain yourself or anything... you don't have to show me if you don't want to."

Orferio laughs loudly, smiling like the Devil, and snaps his finger.

The living room falls away leaving us suspended in a pitch-black void. I scream as my stomach drops, the sensation of falling jumpstarting my heart. Orferio catches me bridal style in his arms, grinning, and holds me close to his chest. I gape at him at a total loss for words.