//------------------------------//
// Chapter the Twenty-Second: The Mind of a Dreamer 
// Story: Failure, Eternally Retold, Part One: The Human Element 
// by Kiernan 
//------------------------------//

Nik cowered as Siegfried rose to just his hind legs. His front four legs spread out wide, making him look massive as he let out a mighty roar. There was no way he could win a fight against something so huge. Still, he had promised that he would do so. 

"Shouldn't we be helping him?" asked Twilight. 

"He chose not to have somepony stand in for him," answered Kai. "He chose to face this battle alone."

"But what if that's the wrong choice?"

"It is the wrong choice," responded Remy. "Having somepony you trust fighting beside you makes all the difference in the world. We'd even allow that."

It was all Nik could do to avoid the gnarled claws that reached for him from Siegfried's arms. The beast may have been big, but it certainly wasn't slow. To make matters worse, the ground kept shifting, meaning that no matter how he tried to escape Siegfried's range, Nik kept being pulled back in. "If only I had a weapon," he thought aloud to himself. He would be just as helpless with a weapon, though. He wasn't a fighter. He had no idea how to effectively use a sword or spear. All he knew was what everyone knew; The pointy end goes into the other guy.

"What if he's hurt?" asked Twilight, growing more concerned by the minute. "Those claws look really dangerous."

Incubus shook his head. "Siegfried knows when to stop. He won't really harm your friend. None of us here would want that. At worst, he'll just scare him a little."

Finding himself unable to dodge one of the claws, Nik was grabbed by Siegfried and lifted into the air. despite his struggles, he found himself unable to break free of his captor's grasp. Siegfried lowered himself until five of his legs were back on the ground, the exclusion being the one holding Nik. He brought Nik right up to his face and opened his maw. Down his throat, Nik could see a mass of writhing tentacles. He knew for certain that he was about to be eaten. He closed his eyes and prepared to face his doom.

Doom never came, however. Instead, one of the tentacles pressed against his forehead, and Nik could feel his eyelids growing heavy. He could feel himself drifting off to sleep. 

It was at this moment that Fluttershy awoke, and was escorted by the ballerina to the rest of the group. "What's going on?" she asked. "What's happening to Nik?"

"He's just begun his trial," answered Remy.

"Wait a second. I thought you said fighting Siegfried was the challenge?" asked Twilight. "Doesn't this mean he just lost?"

Succubus chuckled. "No, my dear, facing Siegfried was the trial. We said nothing about fighting. Siegfried is the closest thing there can be to the physical manifestation of fear. To win, you just need to face that fear."

Without moving the tentacle from Nik's forehead, Siegfried looked up into the sky. A display opened in front of him, and they could all see into Nik's dream.

In Nik's dream, they saw another human. A male, much larger than Nik was. His hands were gloved, and he was wearing a stocking on his head. He was facing away from Nik, and carrying something large in his arms. With the click of the latch sliding into place, Nik watched through the doorway as the burglar stole into his mother's bedroom. There was a scream, followed by silence. The burglar exited the room, and entered the next door. This was his sister's room. Nik bolted out of his bedroom and ran from the house, his bare feet slapping against the pavement. He would normally have been too embarrassed to run down the street in nothing but his briefs, but fear had overtaken him. At any rate, it was the middle of the night, so there was no one to see him.

He didn't stop running until he was grabbed by the police. He was taken down to the precinct station where he was given a blanket and questioned. They asked him why he was out so late in so little clothing, as well as his name, home address and phone number. After calling his house and receiving no answer, they placed him in the back of a cruiser and took him home. The police were shocked to find the door open, though when they came back to the cruiser, their first question was whether Nik had someone else to stay with.

Nik moved in with his uncle. Two years passed, and seventeen more people died under the exact same circumstances. Each time, the victims were found with a pattern carved into their back. The detective in charge of the case noted that each house that was hit was following a pattern, and set up a sting operation at what he perceived to be the next target. His hunch was correct, and the killer was brought to justice.

The killer was a religious zealot, and he believed that if he carved the pattern into his victim's bodies, he'd be granted salvation in the afterlife. He cursed the fact that he was only four houses away from being saved, and spat at the detective that had found him. Nik had been present for the trial, and had recognized his face, even through the stocking. This was the same man from his house.

As the display closed along with Siegfried's eyes, Twilight and Fluttershy knew why Nik hated Kai as much as he did. While not everything was the same, the killer had the same eye color, brow, cheekbones and jawline as their resident sorcerer. Kai, not being as aware of his face as those who saw it regularly, did not manage to put it together.

"Why are you both looking at me as if I'm some sort of criminal?"

"I think I know why Nik doesn't like you, Kai," Fluttershy said as she shifted uncomfortably. "I think he's been drawing similarities between you and the human who killed his family."

Kai frowned. "Why would he do that?" 

"Because you look just like him," answered Twilight. "Aside from you being a unicorn and him being a human, you're the very spit and image of the killer."

Kai lowered his head. "I see." He stood up and walked over to where Siegfried had laid Nik's body. As the tentacle retracted, Nik awoke. "I know you despise me. I know there's nothing I can say or do that can change your mind. But do you think that perhaps we can maintain an air of civility between each other?"

Nik paused for a moment and nodded. "Agreed."