『 Irvar, Nothran, Children's Bedroom — 20 Everi, 4:25 AM 』
"No... No..." Itoî groaned, thrashing wildly in his bed.
He was making an awful racket. Uyan, who was a light sleeper, couldn't take it anymore. He first pressed his pillow against his ears to muffle the noise.
"Fuck... Itoî, you're a pain! Can't you just shut up at least when you're slee—"
"No... No... NOOO! AAAARGH!" Itoî violently screamed.
Uyan immediately turned on his lamp.
"What... What's going on?" he asked, his eyes darting left and right before abruptly locking onto Itoî.
He saw his brother standing up, eyes closed and crying. Blood seemed to be dripping from his right eye.
"Hey, Itoî! Hey! Heyyyy!" Uyan cried out, panicked.
He looked over at Vars, who was sleeping like a log, as if he couldn't hear a thing.
"For fuck's sake! He manages to sleep while his brother is screaming right above him!" Uyan snapped, furious.
Without hesitation, he rushed to the door, threw it open, and ran to his mother's bedroom.
"MAMAAN! MAMAAN!" Uyan screamed, pounding violently on the door.
The door next door opened, and Kaelle stepped out, yawning.
"Uyan...? What's with all the screaming?" Kaelle asked, rubbing her eyes.
"It's... It's Itoî! I don't know what's wrong with him! He's screaming, he's bleeding, and he looks like he's in a lot of pain!"
Kaelle's eyes widened. Worried, she pushed open her mother's door.
Noémie was sound asleep, wearing noise-canceling headphones—the kids tended to make a lot of noise at night.
Kaelle walked over to the bed, snatched the headphones off her mother, and shook her frantically, tears in her eyes.
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"Mamaan! Mom! Something's happening to Itoî, Uyan says!"
Noémie jolted awake. Without a word, she bolted from the bed and sprinted to the boys' room. She quickly scanned the room to make sure there was no intruder, then her gaze snapped to Itoî.
The boy seemed to be choking as he cried. He was on his knees, and blood kept dripping from his right eye.
"Rafaëlla, grant me your blessing!" Noémie cried out.
Her hands became enveloped in a golden light, warm and gentle. She climbed the ladder of the top bunk to get Itoî, then ordered the others to stay below.
"Stay here. I'll take care of Itoî in my room. Kaelle, I need you. Bring me the scroll from the attic, the one with a purple stamp. It should be in one of the boxes."
"Got it!" Kaelle replied briskly.
She rushed out to head to the attic.
Noémie laid the young boy on her bed, then pulled out a large white scarf covered in magical inscriptions. She laid Itoî down on it and chanted, reciting the blessings necessary to cast several spells:
"I call upon Ascénie, goddess of good omens, Rafaëlla, goddess of healing, and Erlot, god of joy, to lend me their strength."
Noémie closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, footsteps echoed in the stairwell. It was Kaelle. She headed to her mother's room, the door having been left ajar, and quietly waited for the spells to be finished.
"Ascenie's Hands!" Noémie shouted.
Hands made of light appeared and wrapped around Itoî.
"Erlot's Cage!" Noémie continued.
A luminous cage materialized around the boy.
"Rafaëlla's Flame!"
A white flame with a golden outline surrounded and burned him.
"Aaaargh!" Itoî screamed, writhing in pain.
The hands of light didn't let go.
"Mom!" Kaelle cried. "Itoî is in pain, you should stop! This isn't the solution!"
"Put the scroll on the bed and leave the room," Noémie replied in a strict, icy tone.
Kaelle hesitated for a moment, then obeyed and walked out.
Noémie raised her hand, index finger pointing to the sky, the other fingers curled. She frantically traced incantations in the air.
While divine magic called upon the gods' help out loud, classical magic required formulas to be written.
With a swift motion, Noémie grabbed the scroll with her right hand and kept tracing runes at a dizzying speed.
Once the runes were drawn, she unrolled the scroll and cried out:
"Orina! Goddess of secrets, allow me to use the ancient scroll of identification!"
There were several types of scrolls: the classical ones, recently written in current languages; the ancient ones, dating back several centuries; and finally, those of the Origin.
The scroll shone with a blinding light, illuminating the entire room. Its glow was so intense it could have been spotted from hundreds of meters away.
The writings, initially dull and faded, also glowed with an orange hue. They then warped until they became legible to anyone who mastered the art of magic.
"The all-seeing eye, the one no one escapes! Plunge me, I who am blind, into the world of those who can read and see from the other side!" Noémie exclaimed.
Her fingers burned from holding the scroll. Then the light went out, and Noémie collapsed next to her son.
She had succeeded.
She was in the dream world, more specifically in Itoî's nightmare. She had entered it directly, without going through the path of dreams.