…Ding. Da-da-ding-ding!
Da-da-da. Ding!
A soft, uplifting melody was playing somewhere.
Arin frowned slightly. It sounded familiar, like something he'd heard a hundred times before.
Da-ding! Da-ding! Da-da-da.
It was slowly getting louder.
Oh, wait.
It was something he'd heard before, and far more often than just a hundred times.
It was the theme song of his favorite character, from one of the games he'd loved as a teenager. He'd replayed the best parts at full volume so many times that his older sister had threatened to drown him in the kitchen sink. He'd liked it so much that he'd even set it as the default alarm sound on his mobile phone back then.
Several years had passed by since then. And even though he hadn't revisited that game in a while, and had switched out devices a couple of times since, he'd never changed that default setting.
Da-da-da-ding!
Da-da-da. Ding!
This was what he heard every morning before hitting snooze. It would repeat after every ten minutes, and was therefore also what he heard while forcing himself to finally roll off the bed and start getting ready for work.
Awesome.
Hello to yet another day of redoing the same designs for the tenth time.
Was it at least a Friday? Man, he hoped it was Friday. Please be Friday.
…
Wait…
Arin frowned a little harder.
There's no way he was actually hearing that sound. He didn't have to get to work right now. Not while he was still stuck in another world.
Not while he was Rin.
Ding-da-ding!
Ding! Ding!
Ding…
Slowly, the melody faded away. It had just been a dream, after all.
And you can't bring a dream into the real world.
Gradually, Arin was becoming more aware of his surroundings. For one, he was lying down. While he'd been asleep, his brain must've been working overtime, trying to soothe him with sounds that were familiar and nice.
Why did he need soothing anyway? For that matter… why was he asleep?
Hadn't he just been –?
Arin snapped his eyes open, taking in a deep breath at the same time. He was lying on a soft mattress, inside a dimly lit room. The lighting was just perfect, allowing him to look around without being blinded, and the air had a strong, but not unpleasant, floral scent. It was displaced occasionally by soft puffs of cool wind that entered from underneath the window drapes.
After a moment, he noticed that there was another bed to his side. Curled up under the covers, with only the top of his head showing was –
'Siel?'
'Wha- huh?'
The boy jumped to sit upright, scrambling to escape the covers he was tangled in. He leaned forward, peering in Arin's direction blearily.
'Oh… brother Rin. Wait, brother Rin! You're awake!' The boy quickly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, shuffling forward to swing his legs off the bed.
'…Hm.' Arin blinked hard, trying to clear his mind. He was glad to see Siel safe and unabsorbed by plush armchairs. But…
Why were they here? What had happened to them?
As though to answer his unasked question, Siel's face broke out into a wide grin.
'Last night was a fine display of your skills, brother!'
…uh, what.
'But to think I fell to the curse so easily…' the boy scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. 'Well, I am glad you were there to destroy it and resolve things while I lay lost in sleep.'
'I… did?'
???
'Still, I cannot imagine how you managed to identify the source and extinguish it while already under its influence,' Siel was saying. 'In my case, I must admit the sudden sleep was far too strong – to the point that I didn't even realize when I fell asleep! I was convinced for a while that Elara's room was changing and unfurling all around me – and that I was being swallowed by that armchair! Terrible!'
That had all been a dream? But hadn't he also fallen into it?
Arin had sat up, and was currently rubbing his knuckles against his throbbing head.
'Ah, my apologies!' Siel's eyes widened, and his voice immediately became lower and softer. 'I'd almost forgotten about your injury!'
Injury?
'Elara told me of how you were found lying on the ground. I suppose the last of the curse struck you right before it dissipated, and unlike me – who was lucky enough to fall into the armchair when I slept – you fell right onto the ground. Does it…' the boy's voice had lowered almost into a whisper by now. 'Does it hurt?'
Arin shut his eyes hard, then shook his head a bit. He then realized what Siel had just said. 'Elara? She's awake? Then everyone –?'
'The villagers are all awake!' Siel cheered. Then, he slapped his hand over his mouth and lowered his voice again. 'Apologies. But you'll be glad to know that the curse had not only been siphoning away life force, but also storing it. When you destroyed it, everything was restored. Everyone is awake and healthy. It's almost incredible!'
'Incredible' was correct. How was it possible that everyone was fine. Hadn't Sir Veylor told them of three people who had already…
…already, what?
Arin opened his eyes again. Clearly, the head injury was messing with his thoughts and memories.
Siel was still talking.
'The headman's family arranged this room for us. They're hoping we'll stay a while. All the residents of Silvershade were informed of what had happened, and want to thank their savior with a celebration, after all. However, since matters have been resolved, I really do think we ought to be returning to our Tower soon. What do you think, brother Rin?'