The very portal that was summoned from Thena's mind roughly casts out Lily, Aisha, and Gene into the pale courtyard pavement. Feeling the force from the ungraceful landing, the trio simultaneously lets out a huge groan from the impact. Following just behind them, Esperaunce smoothly flows from the portal in perfect condition.
"Lily's back doesn't feel so good…"
"I feel like I had one of the best dreams ever…but I can't recall the details."
"Same here, Aisha. Though I suppose that is the nature of dreams, for better or for worse. My shin…"
"Alright folks, are ya done complaining? Good, let's not waste anymore time!"
With a simple wave of his hand, Esperaunce materialises a golden door.
"This door is a portal that will take you directly to the oasis that you seek. You mortals didn't make a good first impression, but I am glad that I was wrong. Not only did I get to see a sleeping beauty, I got to see your even more beautiful dreams and how you all learned from them, which demonstrates the beauty of dreams!"
Hearing the golden gleam emanate from the door–the door that leads to the place they have long desired–Lily, Gene, and Aisha promptly get up from their crash landing spots, shaking themselves off. Lily looks at the door, the bright gleam casts stars into her eyes.
"The oasis! It's real, it's real! Thank you, Mr. Esperaunce!"
Lily steadily approaches the door, reaching her hands out to confirm its existence. Just before she could reach the door, Aisha obstructs Lily's path with a look of sterness plastered on her face.
"Please wait, Lily. We cannot leave this just place yet."
Standing side-by-side, Aisha and Gene glare at Esperaunce, much to his confusion.
"Hmm? I said that you all passed. Go on to the oasis through that door–it's not a trap, I assure you."
"How could you so carelessly forget our deal? We not only requested for access to the oasis, but healing for my sister. So why is she still sleeping?!"
"That's strange, I don't recall ever promising that Thena would be awakened."
"You implied it, didn't you?!"
"I only outright guarantee that I would pass you to the oasis if you entertained me with your dreams. As for Thena's condition, I specifically mentioned that as long as my dream fruit is in her system that her physical body will remain sleeping whereas her consciousness remains in the dream dimension."
"You said it had something to do with your so-called essence! Just remove that from her body so that she can awaken from her slumber!"
"It's not that simple, lass. Once the dream fruit is consumed, not even I have the power to undo it. I never thought I needed to ever undo it anyway, so I never bothered looking into it."
"Aren't you a god who has existed for millenia? Surely Thena isn't your first 'sleeping beauty', so what happened to the others?"
"Their bodies slowly aged and eventually died. That's inconvenient for me since without their mortal bodies alive, their souls move on, which makes them leave my dream realm."
"So the only solution…the only solution is to let my sister slowly die while you hold her hostage in her dreams? I refuse to leave my sister in your hands–I couldn't care less about that oasis!"
"...I may not have the power to heal her condition, but that doesn't mean it's impossible."
Esperaunce slightly shifts his head in Gene's direction. Though the god's shades hide his eyes, Gene could feel a wink communicating a message just to him. Based on this hunch, he nods.
"Aisha, Lily, wait here. I will do it–I will bring Thena back to us!"
"Gene, what are you doing? I'm her older sister, so I will take responsibility! No matter what I have to do, even if it's to sacrifice myself…I'll do it!"
"Aisha, I understand how you feel. But right now, this is something only I can do. I'll explain the details later, but just know that my curse can potentially save Thena."
"Your…curse?"
Aisha takes a moment to chew Gene's words and digest them. After gathering herself, she slightly bows.
"Very well then. I'll leave my sister in your hands, Gene."
"Thanks Aisha. I'll do nothing but my best."
As Gene pulls a small object from his pocket, he turns his attention to the eagerly awaiting Esperaunce.
"God Esperaunce, I know what I must do. Please send me directly into Thena's mind!"
"Now that's something I can do easily!"
Snap!
With his needle knife in tow, Gene dives into the portal that emanates from Thena's head. Lily and Aisha look from behind, displaying their full support.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Gene comes to wake, surrounded by the ambience of an empty black void. The only living being here besides himself, a girl who is lying face-up.
It worked! I spawned into Thena's mind, even with my needle knife intact. I look at the short distance before me, Thena is all to herself, lying down as if she were stretched out on her bed. From the looks of it so far, she seems to be her typical self. That's a relief…my friend is still here.
This time, I won't have the same regret.
Gene takes a deep breath, gathering his bearings. Strengthening his resolve once more, he casually walks over to his friend.
"Yo, Thena! How's it going, best friend?"
"?!"
Reacting to his voice, Thena springs her body up, her eyes widened.
"Gene, is that really you?"
"Who else could it be?"
"I've seen you before. You're not a fake Gene that my mind is fabricating, are you?"
"Uh, no? I came here from the real world thanks to Esperaunce."
"Oh, that guy? Then you are the real-deal all right. My neck is gonna get sore from looking up at you, sit down here, will ya?"
"Haha, yep, you're still Thena all right."
"That better be a compliment. I'll take it as one anyway!"
Accepting Thena's invitation, Gene sits down beside her. Now, they are both sitting up on the ground.
"So, how's it going out there? Did my eating of that fruit at least help you all proceed?"
"In a roundabout way it did, but not exactly…"
"Well that sucks. I've been stuck in this empty void for an eternity it seems. That god told me that this is like a waiting area for me to rest in until my next dream starts. After the first one he made me go through, I'm not looking forward to the next."
"Wow, so even you had a realistic dream as some trial?"
"Huh, you know about that too? Even the crappy talking session afterwards?"
"Yep, all of it. We made a deal to come into the dream realm and entertain Esperaunce in exchange for access to the oasis…and awakening you from your eternal slumber."
"Ah, so that's what it was all about. He certainly didn't tell me all of those details, tch! Anyway, apparently I 'passed' his supposed test. Of all the tests to pass, it just had to be this useless crap instead of my actual classes. How about you?"
"I also passed his requirements. I'm not completely confident about Aisha and Lily, but I'm sure that they passed as well since he happily opened a door to the oasis."
As soon as the word "oasis" entered into Thena's ears, she perked up to the extent of shaking Gene.
"Then, have you guys been to the oasis?! How is it?!"
"Calm down, Thena. None of us have been to the oasis yet…"
"Phew, then there's still a chance for me to see it. Since we all made that god satisfied, I should be waking up so and–"
"...because you are still sleeping. Sleeping for eternity."
Thena ceases her shaking of Gene, her peppy spirit fizzles.
"...so I'm stuck here forever?"
"Unfortunately…"
In a dramatic fashion, Gene unsheathes his small blade and lifts it into the air.
"...I won't let that happen!"
"Gene, what are you doing with that weapon? Is that–"
"Yes, it is. Thena there is something I want to confess to you: my curse has the power to heal. I want to use my curse to cure you of your eternal slumber!"
"You came into my dream to do that? That's awesome, Gene! But why would you need to confess that as if it's a dirty secret?"
"It's because it is my 'dirty secret'. There's too much to explain why I kept it to myself for so long, but the gist is that my curse forces me to share the same pain with the person I healed. So far, I only used it on my cousin when we were kids, and till this day I still feel her pain in addition to mine."
"So you feel everything? Even her cramps?"
"Yeah, I do feel these strange cramps every so often, especially over the last 2 years. How would you know that? I thought I kept the pain to myself very well."
"You poor thing."
"?"
"Gene, don't hurt yourself for my sake. I couldn't bear the thought of you suffering for the rest of your life on my behalf."
"Thena, I would suffer even more if I didn't do this for you. Not only me, but your family as well. Aisha is out there, counting on me to bring you back. Bearing a little physical pain every so often is worth the price!"
"Gene, you really shouldn't–"
"No Thena, I've decided and you can't change my mind!"
Thena flinches, taken aback by his bold resolve.
"...Why? Why someone like me, Gene? Someone who hasn't always been a good friend to you? I don't deserve to ask you to make a life altering sacrifice for me…something that I would probably not even do for you myself."
"You are my friend, my best friend. That's all there is to it. We are all human, none of us have lived so perfectly to deserve nothing but good fortune. Thena, you may be hot-headed at times and a little crass, but that's what makes you, Thena. You have saved my butt several times outside of academics, so even if you never directly stated it, I can see that you value me as a friend. Well guess what, I appreciate you too!"
"Heads-up!"
Thena winds up her arm, and before Gene could react, abruptly smacks his shoulder, catching him off-guard.
"Hey, what was that for?"
"You said that you love that about me, right?"
"Yeah but…"
Thena softly giggles, covering her mouth.
"Gene, thank you for being my friend all these years. I never thought I'd get along with a school geek like you, but I'm glad our fates intertwined. If you choose to heal me, then I will do everything I can to help ease your pain. Even if I have to spend my entire life finding a cure, I'll do it for my best friend!"
"Then it's settled."
Gene brings the needle knife towards his hand, examining it carefully.
Now, how am I supposed to cut with this weapon properly again? I didn't look into the instructions much…drat!
"Gene, I know that you are willing to suffer pain on my behalf, but resorting to cutting yourself? Why would you do that?!"
"Well, my curse gives my blood healing properties. In order to heal you, you must ingest my blood, so I have to make myself bleed. Just give me a moment…"
"Look at you, you are struggling! You have no idea how to use that weapon, do you?"
"You shouldn't know either! It's illegal for minors to use these, you know."
"Duh, but I bet I can do a better job than you!"
"No, let me do it–don't wound my pride!"
Ignoring Gene's desire to save-face, Thena tries reaching out for the needle knife, nearly grabbing it successfully. With precise timing, Gene jerks away preventing Thena from swiping the weapon, but his forceful movement results in him cutting his lip.
"Youch!"
"Gene!!!"
"I'm okay, I'm okay…it was just a little prick. I'll just try again, but don't get close to me and mess me up!"
A thin stream of blood trickles down his lips.
"Does the blood have to come from your hand, or can any blood from any part of your body heal?"
"I mean, all blood in the body is the same, so I would assume that it doesn't matter practically. Why do you ask–?!"
Giving him no chance to respond, Thena tightly grips Gene by the shirt and locks lips with him. After just one second, she releases Gene, who now has moist lips with no trace of blood left. Thena finishes swallowing whatever remains in her mouth, looking unbothered.
"No need to waste precious blood, right?"
"!!!!!!!!!"
So many words are running around in my head, but none of them will come out–I literally can't speak at all!
Thena, why? Why did you do that?! Why do you look so nonchalant about it?! How am I supposed to interpret this?! Is she teasing me, getting enjoyment from seeing me lose my cool?! AAAAHHHH!!!!
In the midst of Gene's mental breakdown, Thena's body glows, and the dark space of her mind gradually fades away.