Immediately Rigel was gone and out of hearing range, all hell broke loose in the room.
"Malyster was there?!"
"How? How was he there and we didn't even notice?!"
"How did he even get there?!"
"Does that mean he knew about the Hades Dreamcatcher before even we did?!"
"Everyone calm down!" Elara urged, her voice cutting through the chaos like a knife.
"Calm down? Calm down?!" Jaxon exclaimed, his frustration bubbling over. "There's absolutely nothing to be calm about! We just got gaslighted by Malyster! Malyster!"
"True that," Rune agreed from her spot beside him, her tone laced with disbelief.
"Guys," she sighed, trying to bring some sense back into the conversation.
"No, he's right," Liora said, sitting up straighter, her expression grave. "Malyster knew about the Hades Dreamcatcher before we did, before the Elysian Paradox even told us," she gestured emphatically to the intricate tapestry its threads shimmering. "Then, there's more to this; something big is really coming."
"I know that," Elara sighed heavily, rubbing her temples as if to ease the tension building in her mind. "I know but what exactly can we do? We don't know anything."
"Do you know what would have happened," Finn started, his voice low and serious. "If he had managed to get Rigel to his side?"
The atmosphere in the room shifted palpably as everyone tensed at the thought.
"He's a Hades Dreamcatcher, a Veilkeeper; we would have been cooked," Finn concluded solemnly.
"It would have been history all over again," Kael added quietly, and a heavy silence descended on all of them as they let the grim realization sink in.
Elara swallowed hard, her resolve hardening. "We won't let that happen then. We can't. We won't lose another Dreamcatcher to the dark side."
☬
Meanwhile, Rigel was abruptly pulled through the door and found himself walking back into the store again. He blinked in confusion and turned around to look at the door just as Mira closed it behind them.
"What—What just happened?" He asked, bewildered. "How did we even get here? One minute we were... there and now—"
"This building is laced with Dream magic," Mira explained matter-of-factly as Theo started leading him away again, this time towards the exit. Mira followed closely behind them, her presence a comforting anchor amidst Rigel's confusion. "The doors most of the time lead to a place in the building you want to be at that time."
"So anyone can just open the door—"
"Well," Mira drawled out with a playful smirk. "Not everyone; just you know, Dreamcatchers."
Rigel hummed thoughtfully then fell quiet, letting their conversation drift into silence. He let out a long breath of relief when he finally stepped out of the store; the cold air hit his skin like a refreshing wave, reminding him that he could finally breathe.
He expected Theo and Mira to leave him be now that they had led him out of the store, but as he turned around and started walking away, they fell into step beside him. When he gave them a questioning look, Theo shrugged casually.
"We'll walk with you for a bit," he said nonchalantly.
Rigel just nodded; arguing with Theo felt pointless at this moment.
"What's a Veilkeeper?" Rigel finally asked when silence stretched between them like an unwelcome shroud.
Mira seemed startled by his question but Theo answered almost immediately with an earnest expression.
"A protector," he replied earnestly. "Non-Dreamcatchers don't see it but there's this thin line that separates Dreams from Reality; you're like the human version of it—a signpost standing in the middle of both worlds."
Rigel sighed warily, feeling overwhelmed by this new reality. "That's…"
"A lot," Mira finished for him with an empathetic nod. "I know it sounds overwhelming but that's just what it is."
"There hasn't been a Veilkeeper in a long time you know?" Theo added thoughtfully. "Centuries."
"Why?" Rigel asked, curiosity piquing despite his unease.
"When Morpheus created the Dreamcatchers based on Greek Gods," Theo continued as they walked along the street lined with dimly lit lampposts casting soft glows on their path, "she didn't just give them one power; she gave them all the powers of the gods they were inspired by." He gestured animatedly as he spoke. "Take Mira and I for example—we're the only two in our group inspired by Eros, the god of love and desire. We can manipulate people's emotions both in dreams and in reality—make someone who wants to kill us fall head over heels for us on a dime—but we also have other abilities like Eros Arrows, Heart's Embrace, Healing Touch..."
"Empathy, Guiding Light—and more we probably haven't even discovered yet," Mira chimed in enthusiastically.
"It's the same with me?" Rigel asked hesitantly.
The two nodded vigorously.
"Yes," Theo confirmed with an encouraging smile. "It's absolutely the same for you. And some of the power you have is very dangerous and powerful, back then Veilkeepers were hunted by Non-Dreamcathers,"
"That's one reason why we're a secret, they're still people out there who are still after not just Veilkeepers but other Dreamcatchers.".
Rigel let out a long breath as they reached an intersection where he had to make a turn; uncertainty churned within him like a stormy sea. "That's—that's quite a lot to unpack."
"Understandable," Mira said gently as they paused at the corner.
"You'll come around tomorrow, right?" she asked hopefully.
Rigel nodded slowly after contemplating for a moment. "Yeah... I will."
It wasn't until he moved to go that he realized Theo was still holding his hand tightly. He turned back to look at the white-haired boy in confusion.
"Theo..."
Theo grabbed his other hand too and looked him dead in the eyes with an intensity that made Rigel's heart race—Mira's presence forgotten in that moment.
"Promise me," Theo urged earnestly, "if you see anything strange or unsettling—you won't respond to it; don't give it your attention or even look at it. Okay?"
Rigel blinked in confusion at Theo's sudden seriousness but felt an inexplicable weight behind his words. "Theo?"
"Okay?" Theo stressed again firmly.
Rigel sighed deeply; once again he really shouldn't argue with this boy. "Okay," he acquiesced reluctantly.
Theo's face lit up with a dazzling smile as he released Rigel's hands like it was some kind of victory. "Good! Have a good night then; we'll see you tomorrow."
With that, Theo turned around and grabbed Mira by her wrist before she could wave goodbye—a gesture filled with curiosity—and together down another street corner.
Rigel watched them go for a moment before turning back around and heading homeward, ready to call it a day after everything that had happened.