Chapter 79: The War

For several minutes after the Rabbit vanished, nobody spoke.

The observation tower felt unnaturally quiet.

The wind blew across the distant fields.

Massive sheep wandered between fences.

Workers slowly resumed their duties.

Life continued.

Yet the feeling left behind by the Rabbit remained.

Gene leaned against the railing and stared at the road.

The same road he and Selene would soon be traveling.

The same road leading toward Hearts Crossing.

The same road the Rabbit had warned them about.

Twice.

That alone worried him.

Insane creatures generally weren’t known for handing out useful safety advice.

Selene moved beside him.

“What are you thinking?”

Gene sighed.

“I’m starting to think your grandmother was involved in something much bigger than we thought.”

Selene nodded slowly.

“So am I.”

Behind them, Mary finally broke the silence.

“Come downstairs.”

Gene turned.

Mary’s expression had become much more serious.

“The Rabbit showing up changes things.”

Bo nodded.

“We need to tell you everything.”

⸻

A short while later they found themselves seated inside a private meeting room near the center of the compound.

The room was surprisingly comfortable.

A fireplace crackled softly.

Maps covered one wall.

Several old paintings hung nearby.

One painting immediately caught Gene’s attention.

It depicted a bright blue sky.

Green fields.

Beautiful forests.

Clear rivers.

Children playing.

Smiling travelers.

The same landscape outside.

Except alive.

Colorful.

Happy.

Gene pointed at it.

“The world used to look like that?”

Mary looked toward the painting.

Her expression softened.

“Yes.”

Gene glanced toward the small window.

Outside, everything appeared grey.

Not completely colorless.

But muted.

Dull.

As though someone had drained away most of the life.

The sky remained covered by thick silver clouds.

The sun barely showed through.

Even the grass seemed tired.

Mary noticed him looking.

“It wasn’t always like this.”

Bo quietly nodded.

“No.”

“It wasn’t.”

For several moments neither sister spoke.

Gene sensed they were gathering courage.

Remembering something painful.

Finally Mary took a deep breath.

“It started about twenty years ago.”

The room grew quiet.

“At first nobody noticed.”

“Just little things.”

She leaned back.

“A traveler going missing.”

“A village disappearing.”

“A story changing.”

Gene frowned.

“What do you mean changing?”

Mary pointed toward Emily.

“Her family.”

Emily looked up.

“The Muffets.”

“Originally their story was different.”

Gene immediately understood.

His stomach tightened.

“Something rewrote it.”

Mary nodded.

“Exactly.”

She looked toward the fireplace.

“The stories began changing.”

“The endings became darker.”

“The monsters became stronger.”

“The heroes became weaker.”

“The happy endings disappeared.”

Nobody interrupted.

Mary continued.

“People blamed each other.”

“Then they blamed the Rabbit.”

Bo laughed bitterly.

“We were fools.”

Mary nodded.

“Complete fools.”

“The Rabbit was trying to stop it.”

The sisters exchanged a glance.

Then Mary spoke quietly.

“He knew before anyone else.”

⸻

Gene listened carefully.

The story felt important.

Not merely because of the world.

Because of the cult.

Because of the Hollow King.

Because of everything happening in the summoner worlds.

Mary continued.

“The Rabbit came to every village.”

“He warned everyone.”

“He told us something was coming.”

“He begged people to prepare.”

Bo shook her head.

“No one listened.”

Gene sighed.

“That sounds familiar.”

Mary gave him a knowing look.

“People rarely listen before disasters.”

The room fell quiet again.

Finally Bo spoke.

“The sky changed first.”

Her hand tightened around her teacup.

“I remember it perfectly.”

Gene noticed something strange.

For the first time since meeting her, Bo looked frightened.

Truly frightened.

“The morning started normally.”

“The sky was blue.”

“The birds were singing.”

She swallowed.

“Then everything stopped.”

No one spoke.

Bo stared into the fire.

“The birds stopped singing.”

“The wind stopped moving.”

“The river stopped flowing.”

Emily looked confused.

“The river?”

Bo nodded.

“It froze.”

“Not ice.”

“Just…”

She searched for words.

“Stopped.”

The room felt colder.

“The sky turned grey.”

“The sun vanished.”

“The nightmares arrived.”

Gene’s stomach tightened.

Nightmares.

The same word appeared repeatedly.

The same thing connected to Dreamseers.

To the prophecy.

To this world.

“What kind of nightmares?”

Mary laughed humorlessly.

“The worst kind.”

⸻

She stood and approached one of the maps.

The map showed the entire region.

Several areas had been crossed out.

Others were circled.

A massive mountain dominated the center.

Mary pointed toward it.

“That mountain.”

Gene immediately recognized it.

The same mountain visible on the horizon.

The same one the Rabbit had looked toward.

“The nightmares came from there.”

Selene frowned.

“How?”

Mary shook her head.

“We don’t know.”

“We only know they started emerging from the mountain.”

Bo’s expression darkened.

“And they didn’t stop.”

Gene leaned forward.

“What were they?”

Mary’s answer came instantly.

“Everything.”

The room went silent.

Mary pointed at different locations on the map.

“Monsters.”

“Ghosts.”

“Living shadows.”

“Things made of teeth.”

“Things made of eyes.”

“Things that wore people’s skin.”

Emily looked sick.

Mary continued.

“They came in waves.”

“Every day.”

“Every night.”

“Every hour.”

Bo rubbed the stump where her missing leg should have been.

Gene noticed it immediately.

He had somehow overlooked it earlier.

The lower half of her left leg was gone.

A polished wooden prosthetic rested beneath the table.

Bo followed his gaze.

A sad smile appeared.

“This?”

Gene nodded.

Bo looked away.

“The battle.”

The atmosphere instantly grew heavier.

Mary sat back down.

Neither sister spoke for several moments.

Finally Bo took a long breath.

“You’ve heard stories about great wars.”

Gene nodded.

“Sure.”

Bo laughed softly.

“It wasn’t like that.”

Her eyes became distant.

“Heroes weren’t charging into battle.”

“Nobody was giving speeches.”

“Nobody looked brave.”

The room felt silent.

“We were terrified.”

Every word sounded genuine.

“We were children.”

Gene realized something.

The sisters had actually fought in it.

Not heard stories.

Not learned from books.

They were there.

Bo continued.

“My father died on the second day.”

“My mother on the fourth.”

“My older brother on the sixth.”

Her voice remained calm.

Almost too calm.

Like she’d repeated the story too many times.

“By the second month…”

She swallowed.

“There weren’t many of us left.”

No one interrupted.

Even Emily remained completely silent.

Mary stood and walked toward another painting.

This one depicted a battlefield.

Gene felt his stomach turn.

The artist hadn’t exaggerated.

Thousands of bodies covered the ground.

Entire forests burned.

Cities crumbled.

Dark creatures swarmed across the landscape.

At the center stood a lone figure.

The Rabbit.

But different.

Much different.

His suit was torn.

His ears damaged.

His watch glowing.

Countless monsters surrounded him.

Yet he stood.

Still fighting.

Still protecting everyone.

Gene stared.

“That’s him?”

Mary nodded.

“Before what he became.”

The word carried tremendous weight.

Before.

Before the madness.

Before the guilt.

Before the corruption.

Before everything.

Bo quietly spoke.

“The Rabbit fought longer than anyone.”

Gene continued staring at the painting.

The Rabbit looked exhausted.

Yet determined.

A hero.

Something almost impossible to imagine after meeting him.

Mary pointed toward the mountain.

“The final battle happened there.”

Gene immediately paid attention.

This sounded important.

“The mountain?”

Mary nodded.

“The source.”

“The place the nightmares came from.”

Her expression grew grim.

“Every surviving army gathered there.”

“Every hero.”

“Every monster hunter.”

“Every kingdom.”

The room felt still.

“And they lost.”

Gene frowned.

“They lost?”

Mary nodded.

“Completely.”

Silence.

Bo looked toward the window.

“The mountain opened.”

Gene waited.

Bo’s voice became barely above a whisper.

“And something came out.”

Nobody spoke.

The room felt colder.

“What was it?”

Bo slowly shook her head.

“We don’t know.”

Mary nodded.

“No one knows.”

“No one who saw it survived.”

Gene’s stomach tightened.

Then how—

“The Rabbit.”

Mary finished.

Gene blinked.

“The Rabbit survived.”

Bo nodded.

“The only one.”

“The last standing.”

The room remained silent.

Mary continued.

“He somehow pushed the darkness back.”

“He sealed the mountain.”

“He saved what remained of this world.”

Gene frowned.

“But?”

Mary’s expression darkened.

“He wasn’t the same afterward.”

Of course.

Gene had already guessed.

The Rabbit hadn’t simply gone insane.

Something happened.

Something horrible.

Bo looked down at her missing leg.

“The nightmares disappeared.”

“The mountain sealed.”

“The world survived.”

She laughed sadly.

“But the Rabbit…”

Her voice trailed off.

“He never came back fully.”

Nobody spoke.

Everyone remembered the creature outside the gate.

The smiling madness.

The fractured mind.

The endless ticking.

The obsession with time.

The grief hidden behind laughter.

Gene slowly understood.

The Rabbit wasn’t merely insane.

He was wounded.

Perhaps more deeply than anyone realized.

⸻

Eventually Mary stood.

“I do have one more thing.”

She walked toward a locked cabinet.

After trying Severa keys, its rust cracked as the cabinet opened.

Inside rested a small wooden box.

Old.

Dusty.

Covered in weird symbols.

Mary carefully carried it back.

Then placed it in front of Gene.

The room became quiet.

Selene leaned forward.

Emily stared.

Gene carefully opened the box.

Inside rested a single key.

Silver.

Beautiful.

Ancient.

The metal shimmered softly.

Almost like moonlight.

Gene immediately felt power radiating from it.

Athena activated.

ITEM DETECTED

UNKNOWN ARTIFACT

DREAMSEER AUTHORIZATION IDENTIFIED

Gene looked up.

Mary smiled sadly.

“The Dreamseer left that behind.”

Selene froze.

“My grandmother?”

Mary nodded.

“Many years ago.”

The room fell silent.

“She arrived one day and told us to keep it safe.”

“She said one day someone would arrive.”

Mary looked directly at Gene and Selene.

“Someone brave enough to walk the road.”

“Someone foolish enough to continue.”

Gene laughed.

“That definitely sounds like us.”

Even Mary smiled.

Selene carefully picked up the key.

The metal glowed faintly.

Almost immediately.

As though recognizing her.

The yellow gem bracelet on her wrist pulsed softly.

The key answered.

A silver light spread across its surface.

Everyone stared.

Then the glow faded.

The message was clear.

The key belonged with them.

Mary nodded.

“I thought so.”

Bo stood.

Then pointed toward the window.

Toward the distant road.

Toward Hearts Crossing.

“You’re going there.”

It wasn’t a question.

Gene nodded.

“We are.”

Bo sighed.

“Then be careful.”

Mary folded her arms.

“And if someone offers you tea.”

Gene grinned.

“We don’t drink it.”

The sisters immediately looked relieved.

Outside, the grey sky stretched endlessly overhead.

Far away, beyond the hills and fields and roads, a faint silhouette could be seen against the horizon.

A mountain.

Ancient.

Dark.

Waiting.

And somewhere beyond it, something was beginning to wake up.

Something the Rabbit had sacrificed everything to stop.

Something that had already started reaching into other worlds.

Gene slipped the silver key into his pocket.

Then looked toward Selene.

She squeezed his hand.

Neither of them said a word.

Tomorrow they would leave for Hearts Crossing.

And whatever waited there would likely answer some questions.

The problem was that it would probably create many more.

Far in the distance, carried on the wind, they thought they heard laughter.

Mad.

Sad.

Lonely.

The Rabbit was still out there.

Watching the roads.

Counting the seconds.

Waiting for a story he desperately hoped would end differently this time.