They lolled their head at the sight of the strange human hunching over himself and sweating, gasping as though he'd been running, even though he had only woken up with a shout.
They were curious about this human. He smelled and felt strange, and they were getting tired of running from humans.

The strange human jumped to his feet and started pacing back and forth, as though to calm down.
They decided to approach then, wanting to be a good pack and help a boy calm down about his nightmares.

They hesitated a short distance away from the ring of light. What if this one feared them as well? Humans tried to hurt them so much in this Surface place. They even tried to burn them. It was so scary.
They stepped on a twig.
The human froze.

Oh no. Was he going to hurt them? Humans can be so afraid and cruel.
Oddly enough, the human just stood there, staring.
"Are you... intelligent?"

They paused. The boy wasn't attacking them!
Unable to resist, they bounded into the human's little den area in the grass, barking excitedly to the best of their ability- which sounded like short howls because of their lack of a proper face, but that was okay! They were good, and the human was good.

They didn't mind the strange presence entering their minds with shocked hesitancy.
You're.. many! It spoke in the boy's voice.
We are very many, yes! Whole pack, all together! Will you be our friend?
He blinked, laughing softly in disbelief. Of course I can be your friend, though I am traveling very far and fast.

Sitting on their hind and middle legs, they beamed with their face hole. We are very fast and Determined. We can keep up. Where is lonely human going?
He shrugged, then started walking to the edge of the clearing.
Follow me and find out.

He paused as they leapt up to join him, prancing excitedly. We will follow! We are good! Best!
With a smile, he started jogging.
Have you a name of any kind?
They bounded alongside him.
We have lots of names! But it's silly to tell so many when we are all together. Dr Alphys called us Endogeny. You can too!

The human seemed thoughtful when they said this.
Endogeny, is this Dr Alphys a yellow lizard monster?
They barked in surprise. You know Dr Alphys?
I know of her. Are you a monster of some kind?

They bobbed their head, panting.
We were dogs, but all of us had fallen down. Dr Alphys gave us a medicine, and we all woke up and were okay! But then it melted us and we became Endogeny. But that's okay, we are still Determined!

I'm glad you've found your peace with your situation.
They looked at him curiously, before one of their older minds rose up and spoke.
We are happy as we are, human. Can you show us where we can find other monsters?
The human blinked in slight surprise before answering.

My name is Eragon, and I am headed that way myself.
Thank you, Eragon. We miss our families and want to find them.
I don't know if your families are there yet. Why don't I tell you about this place, Endogeny?
They blinked, but readied themselves to listen to the strange human.

And Eragon, the human, Rider of dragons began to tell a tale beyond imagining.

. • ° . • ° . • ° . • °

It was early afternoon, and flocks of birds were flitting by overhead as Endogeny took on their smaller dog form to stay with their human friend, dubiously investigating every scent they came across every chance they had.

The vegetation consisted of green grass, reeds and moss among the trees, and a grey tinge to the western sky hinted to a storm coming. In the distance among the hills, they spotted an old stone structure that was degraded by time. Eragon turned towards the building, much to their excitement.

An hour later, they arrived at the nearest hill, an aged cobblestone path winding its way towards the tower, who's top had fallen off and lay crumbling to the side. The human smiled, but then seemed to notice a figure squatting among a vegetable garden.

Smells like another human. Are they good?
Don't let him get a good look at you and he'll think you're a normal dog.
We are a pack in one!
That's an even better dog.
They beamed, standing proud before jumping as the other, bearded human spoke up without looking at them.
"Well, are you going to help me finish these peas or not? There's a meal in it for you if you do."

They hesitated, Endogeny glancing up at the human in confusion, only for Eragon to shrug lightly and start walking.
"I'm Bergan…. Bergan, son of Garrow." He lied.
"Tenga, son of Ingvar."

And so Eragon proceeded to help the man remove every bit of foreign plant life that wasn't a pea plant from the garden. Endogeny took this chance to investigate every single smell they could find, before rolling around in the nearby grass in excitement, watching the great blue sky and sun they had been secluded from for so long.

When they crept up behind the stranger named Tenga, the man whirled to glare at them, only to hesitate upon seeing them. "My, what a curious dog. Or are you such a thing?"

Since he seemed to have proven he was not a threat, they came up and set their forepaws on him to be pet. He chuckled and pet their messy head between the ears, then tossed a pea at them. They immediately jolted to catch it in their face hole, panting with pleasure at the food.

He resumed picking the peas, Endogeny feeling comfortable enough to change, sitting beside him to watch or stare at a fluttering butterfly.

An hour had passed since they first arrived when the two humans finished weeding and collecting peas. Tenga started leading Eragon inside, Endogeny following as Eragon blinked at them in their less.. normal dog form.

Tenga paused at the door, glancing at the amalgamate. "No dogs allowed inside."
They immediately blinked their face hole, ears slumping.
Why?

"Muddy paws on my floor, on my scrolls." He huffed, letting Eragon inside as the boy pet them in apology, closing the door after himself.
Endogeny whined, resting a paw on the door but resisting the urge to scratch it.

After a few moments, they got too bored and turned to wander the area again. They quickly found the fallen top of the tower and went back to sniffing it, enjoying the plethora of smells in the one spot alone.

They had wandered to the end of the crumbling stones when they spotted Eragon sneaking out, tilting their head in confusion as he crept to his pack and grabbed it, gesturing for them to come on.
He's a spellcaster and unfortunately mad, as well. He explained with thoughts.

Endogeny couldn't help but shudder at the thought of a human with magic, bounding over and padding alongside Eragon as they left the tower behind.

. • °  . • ° . • ° . • °

They were approaching a human settlement.

For the past day and a half there had been more and more humans traveling on the road as Eragon and Endogeny. The boy would walk with his chin tucked in avoidance as Endogeny would dissolve into a cloud, unseen by everyone but as a faint greying of the area they resided, entirely unnoticeable unless one was searching for it.

So they were a silent mist as Eragon walked towards this village named Eastcroft, surrounded by a large bluff. The sentries asked the humans carrying weapons of any stragglers before calling out the order to close the gate.

Two men slowly pushed the heavy wood and iron doors shut, barring them with what must have formerly been four oak trees, so large they were.

The invisible Endogeny stared in awe of the great doors as Eragon was interrogated by a watchman.
"Hold there! You've not been to Eastcroft before, have you?"

"This is my first visit."
"And have you family or friends to welcome you?"
"No, I don't."
"What brings you to Eastcroft, then?"
"Nothing. I'm traveling south to fetch my sister's family and bring them back to Dras-Leona."

The ghostly dogs returned their attention to their human friend as the stranger pointed down the road.

"Then you want the wayfarer's house, by the main well. Go there and you will find food and lodging. And while you stay here in Eastcroft, let me warn you, we don't tolerate murder, thievery, or lechery in these parts. We have sturdy stocks and gallows, and they have had their fair share of tenants. My meaning is clear?"
"Yes sir."
"Then go, and be you of good fortune."

He was about to leave when the watchman called out again. "But wait! What is your name, stranger?"
"Bergan."

Satisfied, the man returned to his rounds. Endogeny watched the human disappear around a corner before solidifying beside Eragon, who was hurriedly checking a board pinned with papers depicting all kinds of things, namely human criminals.

Endogeny waited patiently with their tail wagging for Eragon to start walking again. When he did, he headed in the direction the watchman had indicated. They padded alongside him proudly, keeping a lookout for anyone that might appear and see them.
Then they saw the little white dog.

The pup looked much like a pomeranian, only with a more wolfish face and legs. They yipped at Endogeny in recognition, and it took only a second for them to recognize the other.

Fox! Fox!  They yowled while charging at the small white dog, who bounced up and down as he vibrated in elation.

They collided with a good deal of goop on Endogeny's part, barking joyously at their reunion, rolling around on the ground as Eragon chuckled and strode away, letting them have their moment.

. • ° . • ° . • ° . • °

.... 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽'𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓓𝓸𝓰.
ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴, ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴.
𝓘𝓽'𝓼 𝓒𝓵𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓬'𝓼 𝓐𝓷𝓷𝓸𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓓𝓸-
ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴!
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓽 𝓶𝓮𝓪𝓷𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓔𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓰𝓮𝓷𝔂 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝓼𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵-
𝔇𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪.
𝓨𝓮𝓼?
𝔚𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔩 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔙𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔫. ℜ𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔴𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔬𝔠𝔲𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔬𝔱𝔥 𝔈𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔬𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔤𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔣𝔢𝔩𝔶.
... 𝓐𝓵𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽, 𝓑𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻.

. • ° . • ° . • ° . • °

The crowd roared with bursting noise, full close to brimming with humans bustling with energy and drunk with merriment. Traveling families with dirty and frayed clothes stared at everyone that came close to them, and boisterous men hung around, enjoying a night of the drink. Though most of everyone stayed well away from one table- the table full of Empire soldiers that laughed and groped the waitresses.

Eragon was only waiting for the headmistress of the house to appear so that he could rent himself a room, but no one was showing.
It was then that he noticed the cloaked woman in the corner, four drunken farmers surrounding her carelessly, getting riled up by whatever quiet responses she was giving to their advances.

Then one of the men to her left reached over to flick her hood back, only for her to grab his wrist and let it go so quickly it was in just a blink of an eye. Nevertheless, the hood dropped to reveal.. Arya. But human. Her eyes were rounded, as were her ears- unlike their typical slanted and angled appearances.

Eragon reached out with his mind, only for a vicious attack to stab into him, then a voice louder than even the surrounding roar of conversation around them to cry out.
Eragon!
Arya?

They caught each other's eyes for but a moment, then the bodies closed in and they lost sight of each other. Eragon promptly crossed the room to intrude on the men.

One of the farmers regarded him in distaste, saying. "You're awful rude, barging in on us uninvited-like. Best make yourself scarce, eh?"

"It seems to me, gentlemen, that the lady would rather be left alone. Now you wouldn't ignore the wishes of an honest woman, would you?" Eragon suggested evenly.

"An honest woman?" Another laughed. "No honest woman travels alone."
"Then let me set your concern to rest, for I am her brother, and we are going to live with our uncle in Dras-Leona."

The first three glanced at each other timidly before backing away, only for the largest of the four to stand up in front of Eragon.
"I'm not sure I believe you, friend. You're just trying to drive us away so you can be with her yourself."

Lowering his voice, Eragon addressed him. "I assure you, she is my sister. Please, sir, I have no quarrel with you. Won't you go?"
"Not when I think you're a lying milksop."
"Sir, be reasonable. There's no need for this unpleasantness. The night is young, and there's drink and music aplenty. Let's not quarrel about such a petty misunderstanding. It's beneath us."

To his relief, the man calmed down after a moment, grunting. "I wouldn't want to fight a youngling like you anyway."
He turned and stumbled off with his buddies. Eragon slid next to Arya.
"What are you doing here?"
"Searching for you."

He glanced at her in surprise, to which she lifted an eyebrow. He turned back to the crowd, faking a smile. "Are you alone?"
"No. Two others followed me…. Did you rent a bed for the night?"
Eragon shook his head.
"Good. We already have a room. We can talk there."

They both stood up at once and went upstairs, going down a hallway on the second floor to the last door on the right, whereupon Arya knocked twice.
A few shuffling noises sounded inside, then a voice called out from the other side. "Who's there?"
"I have him."

The door opened, the interior dark as Arya entered first, followed by Eragon. The room was illuminated solely by a lamp across the street via the window and two sets of eyelights, one large, round and golden yellow and the other catlike and turquoise fading to light blue.

With a murmur, Eragon lit the wick on the oil lamp on the low table, revealing Abyss and Bird as well as a fluffy white dog on the bed.
"Congrats." The crystalline skeleton told him.
"You've discovered the Dog. And he likes ya."

"What?" Eragon asked, puzzled. The pup just yipped and curled it's legs in- but instead of laying on the bed, he floated in the air, hovering up to Eragon's face and licking him, then turning upside down and falling to the ceiling, where he stood up and pranced.

Bird chuckled in mild confusion as Abyss smiled, sitting on the bed and watching the strange dog as another one with a hole for a face popped up from under the bed.
"They're pretty rare actually. Apparently only a handful of AU's have one."

"How much energy does he have to spare to do all of.. that, so casually?" Eragon questioned as Arya crouched down to peer at the second 'dog'.
Bird shrugged. "No one knows how they do it, just that they're the Annoying Dog."

"And this one?" Arya questioned, regarding the slimy white 'dog' that lacked a face.
"Oh, that one I do know. Their name is Endogeny." Eragon explained with a fond smile.
"You've been traveling together?" Bird asked as the amalgam started swelling, changing to their preferred form as they licked Arya's hand with a tongue that emerged from the depths of their face hole.

"Yes. They found me a few nights ago and decided to join after I told them of the Wyrdaí Islingrya."
The white dog suddenly dropped to the floor, landing on all fours and choosing that moment to shake itself. The sound of metal tinkling filled the room.
"Oh, he's got a collar?" Abyss asked, bending over to check it out. The dog just gravitated towards his lap before he could get to his feet.

"Hey, does your book tell Dogs apart?" Bird asked him. Abyss shrugged, pulling it out of his inventory. "I think I remember a page on AD's and C's." He said while opening it up, studying the pup's tin nametag before flipping through pages.

"Well.." Bird sat on the mattress beside him, twitching his wings away from it as Endogeny chose him for affection, plopping their head in his lap while glancing at the elf and human.
"Why don't you tell us why you stayed behind in the first place?" He asked the Rider, rubbing the amalgam between the ears.

"Yes. Saphira said you stayed behind to kill the last Ra'zac and to explore the rest of Helgrind. Is that the truth?" Arya quested.
"It's part of the truth." The human admitted.
"And what is the whole truth?"

Eragon glanced between everyone present in seriousness. "Promise me that you won't share what I'm about to tell you with anyone unless I give you permission."
"I promise." Arya didn't hesitate, though both skeletons paused to look at him.

"I… prom..ise." Bird struggled, afraid of giving his word. Abyss studied Eragon's face for awhile before he found whatever assurance he was looking for, nodding. "Promise."

The human Rider then proceeded to explain that he found Katrina's father within the bowels of the dark mountain, how he chose not to bring him to the Varden and how he had to curse the man as punishment instead in hopes of the butcher being able to redeem himself. He wrapped up his story by saying: "Whatever happens, Roran and Katrina can never learn that Sloan is still alive. If they do, there'll be no end of trouble."

There was a moment of silence then, made tense by Abyss's unusual stillness, his eyelights dead.
"You should have killed him." Arya said.
"Maybe, but I couldn't."
"Just because you find your task distasteful is no reason to shirk it. You were a coward."
"Was I? Anyone with a knife could have killed Sloan. What I did was far harder."
"Physically, but not morally."

"I didn't kill him because I thought it was wrong. I wasn't afraid… not that. Not after going into battle…. It was something else. I will kill in war. But I won't take it upon myself to decide who lives and who dies. I don't have the experience or the wisdom…. Every man has a line he won't cross, Arya, and I found mine when I looked upon Sloan. Even if I had Galbatorix as my captive, I would not kill him. I would take him to Nasuada and King Orrin, and if they condemned him to death, then I would happily chop off his head, but not before. Call it weakness if you will, but that is how I am made, and I won't apologise for it."

Abyss was mostly back to normal as he handed Bird the open book, listening to Eragon and Arya as the elf spoke.
"You will be a tool, then, wielded by others?"
"I will serve the people as best I can. I've never aspired to lead. Alagaësia does not need another tyrant king."

The elf woman rubbed her temples wearily. "Why does everything have to be so complicated with you, Eragon? No matter where you go, you seem to get yourself mired in difficult situations. It's as if you make an effort to walk through every bramble in the land."

"Your mother said very much the same."
"I'm not surprised…. Very well, let it be. Neither of us is about to change our opinions, and we have more pressing concerns than arguing about justice and morality. In the future, though, you-" "You can't be serious." Bird suddenly interrupted.

Both human and elf looked at him, seeing that he wasn't even paying attention to their conversation at all. Abyss winced, noticing them.
"So.. fun fact, according to this book.. this might be the original Annoying Dog…. From the original universe. The.. entire core of the Multiverse."

"According to Error, it was bound to happen eventually."
"According to Error it's supposed to mean point of no return." Bird shot back shrilly. The little dog yipped as though laughing, black eyes gazing at Eragon with intelligence and mirth.

"Are you afraid of this dog?" Eragon asked curiously, petting the pup as it's tail wagged.
"I'm afraid of hurting it accidentally and hurting a bunch of other dogs by doing so." Bird explained anxiously, turning a wing around to start preening his feathers out of stress.

"Freaking out's not going to help the situation, you know." Abyss explained calmly. The dog licked his hand and then hopped off his lap, only to flip, hover upside down in midair and start floating upwards, pumping their legs.

They all blinked when the dog phased through the ceiling instead of landing on it.
Endogeny whuffed, sounding oddly proud. Abyss shrugged, reaching over to pat the amalgam's head. "He'll be back."
"That was normal?" Eragon questioned.

Abyss just snorted. "It's Toby Fox himself. For all I know there's nothing he can't do. He could be a god for all I know." He paused. "That would explain some things if he was, actually."
"I thought gods could recognize other gods." Bird stated.
"I'm not-" Abyss started to deny it, but hesitated.
"I don't know anymore." He eventually mumbled, fiddling with the end of one scarf.

Endogeny then came up and placed a comforting paw on his leg, looking up at Abyss silently with a considerably neutral expression for a faceless being.
"Skeleton's best friend." Bird whispered with a nudge, managing to smile.

Eragon leaned against the far wall, about to say something when the dog reappeared with a pop, hanging downward as it's tail somehow spun like a helicopter, tongue hanging out as it hovered in the room. It swung itself towards Abyss and landed in his lap, circled for a moment, then flopped onto him, rolling through his shirt and sitting on his pelvis, arching it's back against his spine in a stretch.

"Ow- that hurts." Abyss snorted at the pup, who looked at him with a big dog smile.
He sighed and let it lay there, giving up and petting it. "You're okay."
There was a silence, then Eragon spoke up.
"How did you find me?"
The skeletons both indicated Arya, who answered.

"I guessed which route you would take from Helgrind. Luckily for us, my guess placed us forty miles west of here, and that was close enough for me to locate you by listening to the whispers of the land."
"I don't understand."

"A Rider does not walk unnoticed in this world, Eragon. Those who have the ears to hear and the eyes to see can interpret the signs easily enough. The birds sang of your coming, the beasts of the earth heed your scent, and the very trees and grass remember your touch. The bond between Rider and dragon is so powerful that those who are sensitive to the forces of nature can feel it."

"You'll have to teach me that trick sometime."
"It is no trick, merely the art of paying attention to what is already around you."

"Why did you come to Eastcroft, though? It would have been safer for all of you to meet me outside the village."
"Circumstances forced us here, as I assume they did you. You did not come here willingly, no?"
"No…"

Endogeny turned and fwumped on the floor by the door, back pressing against it as they watched the conversation, to which Eragon gestured to Arya's dress.
"Have you finally abandoned your shirt and trousers?"

She smiled lightly as Bird glanced out the window, Abyss holding back giggles as the dog snuffled into one of his scarves, investigating the scent thoroughly.

"Only for the duration of this trip. I've lived among the Varden for more years than I care to recall, yet I still forget how humans insist upon separating their women from their men. I never could bring myself to adopt your customs, even if I did not conduct myself entirely as an elf. Who was to say yea or nay to me? My mother? She was on the other side of Alagaësia."

She stopped herself, as if she'd said more than she meant to.
"In any event, I had an unfortunate encounter with a pair of ox herders soon after I left the Varden, and I stole this dress directly afterward."
"We coulda helped." Bird mumbled. She nodded stiffly at him.

Eragon shrugged. "It fits well." He noted.
"One of the advantages of being a spellcaster is that you never have to wait for a tailor."
Light laughter filled the room briefly.
"What now?" The Rider then quested.
"Now we rest." Arya explained. "Tomorrow, before the sun rises, we shall slip out of Eastcroft, and no one shall be the wiser."

"Sounds good to me." Abyss concluded. Bird hummed in agreement.
Toby yipped.

. • ° . • ° . • ° . • °

"ꪗꪮꪊ ꪖ𝕣ꫀ ᭙ⅈ𝕥ꫝ 𝕥ꫝꫀꪑ ꪀꪮ᭙."
"му мσятαℓ ѕєℓƒ ιѕ ιη∂єє∂."
"...ᥴꪖꪀ ꪗꪮꪊ 𝕥ꫀꪶꪶ ꫝꪮ᭙ ꪑꪖꪀꪗ ꪮᠻ ꪮꪊ𝕣 𝕜ⅈꪀᦔ, ꪑꪮꪀડ𝕥ꫀ𝕣ડ, ꪀꪮ𝕥 ᧁꪮᦔડ, ꪖ𝕣ꫀ ⅈꪀ ꪖꪶꪖᧁꪖëડⅈꪖ?"
"ι αм ѕтιℓℓ ѕσ νєяу ωєαк, ємσтιση. ι ¢αη σηℓу ѕєηѕє тнαт ωнι¢н ι нανє αℓяєα∂у мєт, ησ мσяє."
"ᥴꪖꪀ ꪗꪮꪊ ꫀꪜꫀꪀ ડꫀꪀડꫀ 𝕥ꫝꫀ ꪑꪊꪶ𝕥ⅈꪜꫀ𝕣ડꫀ ꪖꪀꪗ ꪶꪮꪀᧁꫀ𝕣?"
"ι ¢αη ƒєєℓ тнє мυℓтινєяѕє. ι ¢αη ƒєєℓ ѕσυℓѕ ƒα∂ιηg, яєтυяηιηg тσ мє αη∂ тнє νσι∂. ι кησω тнαт тнєу ƒєαя. тнєу кησω σƒ тнє єη∂."

"𝕥ꪮ ꪑꪖꪀꪗ, ⅈ𝕥 ⅈડ 𝕥ꫝꫀ ꫀꪀᦔ. ડꪮ ꪑꪖꪀꪗ ꪖ𝕣ꫀ ᦔꪗⅈꪀᧁ, ꪊꪀꪖ᥇ꪶꫀ 𝕥ꪮ ᥴ𝕣ꪮડડ ꪮꪜꫀ𝕣 ᭙ⅈ𝕥ꫝꪮꪊ𝕥 𝕥ꫝꫀ ꪜꪮⅈᦔ 𝕥ꫀꪖ𝕣ⅈꪀᧁ 𝕥ꫝꫀꪑ ꪖρꪖ𝕣𝕥. ᭙ꫀ.. ꪖ𝕣ꫀ 𝕛ꪊડ𝕥 ᧁ𝕣ꪖ𝕥ꫀᠻꪊꪶ 𝕥ꫝꪖ𝕥 𝕥ꫝꫀꪗ ꪖ𝕣ꫀ ᦔꫀꪖᦔ ꪖꪀᦔ ꪀꪮ𝕥 ꫀ𝕥ꫀ𝕣ꪀꪖꪶꪶꪗ 𝕥𝕣ꪖρρꫀᦔ ⅈꪀ 𝕥ꪮ𝕣ꪑꫀꪀ𝕥 ⅈꪀડ𝕥ꫀꪖᦔ."
"ιη∂єє∂, α ѕмαℓℓ вℓєѕѕιηg нι∂∂єη αмι∂ѕт тнє ¢υяѕє."

"ꪖ𝕣ꫀ ꪖꪶꪶ 𝕥ꫝꫀડꫀ ડꪮꪊꪶડ 𝕣ꫀ𝕥ꪊ𝕣ꪀⅈꪀᧁ 𝕥ꪮ ꪗꪮꪊ𝕣 ꪖ᥇ꪗડડ?"
"тнєу αяє... вυт α мαנσяιту αяє яєтυяηιηg тσ тнєιя ωαтєяѕ αѕ ωєℓℓ. ѕυ¢н α ѕмαℓℓ ηυмвєя ιѕ ωιℓℓιηg тσ яєтυяη тσ єχιѕтєη¢є."
"ⅈડ 𝕥ꫝⅈડ ꪖ ρ𝕣ꪮ᥇ꪶꫀꪑ?"
"ιт ιѕ υηƒσятυηαтє, вυт ѕнσυℓ∂ ησт ℓєανє тσσ мαηу υη∂єѕιяαвℓє єƒƒє¢тѕ αѕ α ωнσℓє."
"...𝕥ꫝꪖ𝕥 ⅈડ ᧁꪮꪮᦔ."

Silence reigned between them.

"∂σ уσυ кησω ωнєη ∂єαтн мαу ¢σмє?"
"᭙ꫀ ꪖ𝕣ꫀ ꪀꪮ𝕥 ડꪊ𝕣ꫀ. ꫝꫀ ꫝꪖડ ꫝꫀꪖ𝕣ᦔ ꪊડ, ᥇ꪊ𝕥 ꫝꪖડ ꪗꫀ𝕥 𝕥ꪮ 𝕛ꪮⅈꪀ ꪊડ ꫝꫀ𝕣ꫀ."
"нє ιѕ αωαяє ωє ∂σ ησт нανє мυ¢н тιмє?"
"ꫝꫀ ⅈડ ꪖ᭙ꪖ𝕣ꫀ.
…
ρꫀ𝕣ꫝꪖρડ ꪗꪮꪊ ᥴꪮꪊꪶᦔ 𝕣ꫀꪑⅈꪀᦔ ꫝⅈꪑ."
"нє ιѕ ησт нєяє. му мσятαℓ ѕєℓƒ ιѕ αℓѕσ ƒαя αωαу. ωнαт ωσυℓ∂ уσυ нανє мє ∂σ?"
"ᥴꪮꪊꪶᦔ ꪗꪮꪊ 𝕣ꫀ𝕥ꪊ𝕣ꪀ 𝕥ꪮ ꪗꪮꪊ𝕣 ꪑꪮ𝕣𝕥ꪖꪶ ꫝꪖꪶᠻ, ꫀꪜꫀꪀ ⅈᠻ ꪮꪀꪶꪗ 𝕥ꫀꪑρꪮ𝕣ꪖ𝕣ⅈꪶꪗ? ꫝꫀ ᭙ꪮꪊꪶᦔ ꪶⅈ𝕜ꫀꪶꪗ ડꫀꪀડꫀ ⅈ𝕥 ꪖꪀᦔ ⅈꪀꪜꫀડ𝕥ⅈᧁꪖ𝕥ꫀ- ꫀડρꫀᥴⅈꪖꪶꪶꪗ ⅈᠻ 𝕥ꫝꪖ𝕥 ᦔꪮᧁ ⅈડ ꪀꫀꪖ𝕣. 𝕥ꫝꪖ𝕥 ꪖꪊ𝕣ꪖ ⅈડ ꪖ ρꪮ᭙ꫀ𝕣ᠻꪊꪶ ꪮꪀꫀ."

The crystalline one paused, aquamarine filaments floating from them.

ι мαу нανє тнє ѕтяєηgтн ƒσя α ℓιмιтє∂ αмσυηт σƒ тιмє, вυт ιт ωσυℓ∂ ℓιкєℓу вє ∂ιѕσяιєηтιηg αη∂ ѕнσят. αη∂ ιт ωιℓℓ вє α ωнιℓє вєƒσяє ι мαу вє αвℓє тσ ∂σ ѕσ αgαιη.
𝕥ꫝꫀꪀ ρꫀ𝕣ꫝꪖρડ ᭙ꫀ ᥴꪮꪊꪶᦔ ꫝꫀꪶρ ꪖડ ᭙ꫀꪶꪶ.

ρєянαρѕ уσυ'ℓℓ вє αвℓє тσ ρяσνι∂є αη αѕѕιѕт. вυт α ωιℓ∂ яιѕк тнιѕ ιѕ ιη∂єє∂.
ꪀꪮ᭙ ⅈડ ꪖꪀ ꪖᧁꫀ ᠻꪊꪶꪶ ꪮᠻ ᦔꪖꪀᧁꫀ𝕣 ꪖꪀᦔ ᠻ𝕣ꪖꪊᧁꫝ𝕥 ᭙ⅈ𝕥ꫝ ꪊꪀᥴꪮꪊꪀ𝕥ꪖ᥇ꪶꫀ 𝕣ⅈડ𝕜ડ. ᭙ꫀ ꪑꪊડ𝕥 ᦔꪮ ᭙ꫝꪖ𝕥 ᭙ꫀ ᥴꪖꪀ ᭙ꫝⅈꪶꫀ ᭙ꫀ ꪖ𝕣ꫀ ꪖ᥇ꪶꫀ.
тнαт ιѕ тяυє… тнαт ιѕ тяυє.

. • ° . • ° . • ° . • °

The room was silent, Eragon seemingly the only one awake, kept up by the haunting anxiety and thoughts of the woman laying on the bed. Bird was in the corner, hunched in and hidden by his dense, dark brown wings. Abyss had fallen asleep on Endogeny, the amalgamate sleeping against the door to prevent any intruders.
The Dog had otherwise vanished, off to wherever that strange animal fancied to be at night.

But then, a soft, watery glow shone eerily, casting wave-like patterns on the dark wood ceiling. Eragon tensed, shifting in place to see what was the source of it.
What it was surprised him.

Abyss had sprawled out on the floor, Endogeny entirely unaware in their sleep as the the skeleton's fur scarves glowed a vivid aqua blue and aquamarine, waves rolling down their length. Strange tendrils started emerging from the feathery fur, glowing like watery lamps as they lifted upward. Abyss slowly began to rise, drifting away from the floor as he moved to a standing position, his slight weight supported by the strange tendrils in a sleepwalker's stance.

He opened his sockets, revealing intense, glowing aqua and aquamarine eyelights, round and similar to cat eyes. He stared off at nothing in particular, scarves changing and growing larger as they billowed. It looked as though he were floating underwater.
Eragon didn't dare move or make a sound, feeling unsure of the situation.

A low ruff announced the presence of the Dog on the bed, Abyss turning to stare at the pup that was just out of Eragon's sight. A strange voice emanated from Abyss, echoing with a dullness that was oddly reminiscent of speaking underwater.
"You know my desperation. My home is in danger. All mortal Souls are threatened by proxy. I must meet with Death. You understand."

An unfamiliar voice spoke up then, sounding young and almost indifferent.
"You are afraid, reborn Soul of Souls. You don't have much time. Come, I will take you to meet with the Painful Death."
"Many thanks, Seer."

Abyss started drifting across the room, carried by the strange wavy tendrils tipped in his signature blue unidentifiable crystals. At the same time, a familiar presence weighed on Eragon's consciousness.
Sleep, Eragon.
Nightmare?! Do you know what this is?
We do, it's why we haven't been around lately.
We asked for this to happen in the first place. There is a situation in other realms, and we need Reaper's assistance.
Problem is, he hasn't been responding. So we're pushing a bit harder for his attention.
What did you do to Abyss?

We helped return the other half for a little while. Go to sleep, Eragon. It is late, and you must rest.
But I can't. My mind will not let me.
Then let us help you.
What do you mean?
We are literally gods-.. a god of sleep, you know.
So sleep.

With that, Eragon's eyes slid closed.