The night was clear but cold.

You were sitting on the stone ledge of an old tower, your legs dangling down, and below you was an abyss full of clouds and the silver light of the moon.

Dream was sitting a little closer to the edge, his elbows resting on his knees, and his staff lay nearby. Its golden glow was soft now, almost imperceptible - as if he had deliberately dimmed it so as not to interfere with the stars' shine.

You noticed how all this time he was looking not at the sky, but somewhere into the void. Not at anything in particular - but deep inside himself.

You gently touched his shoulder, and he shuddered, as if returning from very distant memories. He turned to you, but his smile was dim.

“You want to know about him... about my brother?” — he said quietly, and his voice seemed to tremble from an invisible crack inside.

You nodded.

He looked back at the horizon. For a second you thought he would change his mind - but then he spoke.

“His name was Nightmare.”

“Not what we call him now. Back then, long ago, it was just… a name. Not a brand. Not a threat.”

He raised his hand and slowly ran his fingers through the air, as if painting a picture only he could see.

“We lived in a quiet village. Our world was… simple. We were ordinary brothers. He was always calmer than me. Smarter… and more careful. He knew how to find answers where I only saw questions.”

"He loved to read. And… laughed. You can’t even imagine that laugh – loud, real… it was infectious.”

You saw the corner of his mouth twitch, but not in a smile – in a painful memory.

“We were always together. Until…”

He fell silent. For a moment, the wind grew stronger, running across his robe, stirring the fabric.

“Until I… chose the light. And he chose the darkness.”

Dream clasped his hands together, lowering his head. His voice became quieter, deeper.

“It wasn’t immediate. It wasn’t… a simple choice. He was pushed. Over and over. The world, the people… fear. All of it was slowly poisoning him. And I… I didn’t notice.”

“I was blinded by my mission. I wanted to protect, to inspire… But I didn’t even see my brother dying inside.”

You felt his fingers tremble slightly as he raised his hand, as if trying to catch something invisible in the air.

“And when he embraced the darkness… he said that I betrayed him. That I left him alone. And you know…” — he paused, then exhaled, — “he was right.”

He turned to you. His golden eyes were shining - but it wasn't light, it was a wet gleam.

"We've been enemies ever since. But... every time we meet, I see that boy. My brother. Who laughed, all he did was read and argued with me about stupid things.."

“And I… I still want him back.”