//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: A Chat Between Immortals // Story: The Universal Traveler // by Jason Monroe //------------------------------// Jason's POV As I slept, I altered my dreams to be of memories. I had always been a lucid dreamer, though I had never been able to change my dreams into memories until I discovered my powers. I smiled as I remembered my childhood from before I knew about who I was, back when I was being raised by human parents and thought that I was a human. My dreams slowly changed to a memory of my seventeenth birthday. We had gone to a really fancy restaurant and I ended up getting a nice gaming setup. After a while of letting this memory play I looked down at my right hand and rubbed my ring finger as I remembered my family. The scene changed to that of a mansion that looked like it could house over a hundred people. I smiled as I heard laughter and turned to see my wife, Echo, and my five year old son, Nicholas. It was one of my happiest memories, but it swiftly turned into one of my most hated memories as the scene changed to that of the same house in ruins. It looked like an explosion had gone off in one of the rooms and lit the rest of the house on fire. I started to cry as I saw the cause of it all. A nephalem that had an insane look on it’s face. It lunged at me, only for the memory version of me to bat the nephalem to the side. I could feel the rage and sadness well up as the memory continued. The nephalem kept trying to kill me, only for it to be swatted away like a fly. After several more attempts to kill me, the memory version of me stood up before rushing the nephalem and grabbing them by the neck. As it thrashed, memory me took out a dagger, that was surrounded by a swirling mass of angelic and demonic energy, and stabbed it into the nephalem’s head. As soon as it went limp, a swirling orb like object exited it’s body and started floating away before memory me grabbed it and ate it. Once the memory finished, I changed the dream to that of a living room with a silk couch and two silk armchairs before taking a deep breath. “I know you're here Luna. I sensed your presence ever since the start of the second memory.” I said calmly as I wiped my eyes and heard her walk out of the shadows. I turned to her and saw a look of shock on her face that slowly turned into one of confusion. “I’m a lucid dreamer, so I can tell when someone else forces their way into my dreams.” I said while cracking my neck. Luna nodded upon hearing my explanation. “That makes sense, though we are confused about what you mean by memory.” Luna said as she tilted her head to the side and looked at me as if she wanted an explanation. “Simple. Thanks to my abilities I’m able to do a lot of things, but I can never forget anything.” I said while sitting down on one of the armchairs before gesturing for Luna to do the same. As expected she remained standing and just gave me a very impatient look. I sighed before snapping my fingers, causing a bottle of Jack Daniel's to appear on a small wooden stand next to my chair. “Because I can't forget anything, I am always aware of my guilt, my failures, and everything else that I would love to forget.” I said before taking a swig from the bottle while Luna’s expression softened and she gave me a sympathetic look. “Since I can't forget these things I originally thought that I could forget by drinking. Unfortunately, I discovered that I couldn't get drunk unless I drank alcohol that was specifically made to get beings like me drunk.” I explained before taking another swig of my drink. Luna said nothing as she waited for me to finish. “After that revelation I decided that, if I couldn't forget and I couldn't bring myself to commit suicide, I would instead punish myself in my sleep by forcing myself to relieve happy memories before changing them into the moments that I wish I could forget.” I said while looking down at my hands. Luna was visibly shocked upon hearing that I was essentially torturing myself as a way for me to pay for my sins. I expected her to ask what these sins were or to try and attack me, because I am a danger to her subjects. I never expected to hear what she asked me. “How long?” Luna asked while looking me in the eyes, as she had regained her calm and in charge attitude. I looked her in the eyes and gave her a confused look. “What do you mean?” I asked as I tried to wrap my mind around her question before taking a swig from my bottle. “How long have you been torturing yourself like this?” She asked causing me to spit out my drink as my eyes widened before I took several deep breaths and looked her in the eyes. “My birthday is April 10th, so I’m about 1,973,864 years old. I started when I was around thirty, so that means I’ve been doing this for about one million, nine hundred and seventy-three thousand, eight hundred and thirty-four years.” I explained before chuckling as I saw Luna's jaw drop. I always enjoyed seeing people's reaction to my age, just because they always asked if I was immortal. I'm not because that would mean that I can't be killed and I most certainly can be killed. “B-but how?! The only beings that are anywhere remotely near being that long lived are Discord, ourselves, and our sister!” Luna practically shouted in disbelief as she stared at me. “Correction. The only beings that you know of in your universe that can't die of old age are Discord, yourself, and your sister. That's not counting beings that you don't know about, or beings that aren't natural to your universe. But I think it's about time I wake up.” I said as I stood up and smiled at Luna before snapping my fingers, causing my dream to fade as I slowly woke up. “If you wish to talk some more, find me at Starswirl's tower without trying to fight me. I’ll do whatever as long as you don't attack me, though I suggest checking the frozen north. There's something there that might pique your interest.” I said while smirking as I saw Luna open her mouth to say something before she was forced out of my dream as I woke up.