Nine slaps the wall twice, looks down at the ground, then turns and walks away. As his footsteps move down the hall, my eyes drift closed. After a few minutes, I hear faint whispers. I know a vision or nightmare is coming. I’m aware I’m in bed, yet I’m frozen in place. I feel myself floating, and when a dark doorway forms above me, I start to spin in the air incredibly fast. I rocket through the doorway and I’m moving through a black tunnel with my arms stuck to my sides. As the black turns to blue, the whispers grow louder, repeating the same thing, over and over, ‘There is more to know.’

The blue tunnel turns to green, and green turns back to black. Then, bam, I fall out of the tunnel and my bare feet land on a familiar rocky floor. I swing my arms and find I have control of my body once again. I’m back in the arena at the top of the mountain. I whip my head around, looking for Sam, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Neither is the other Garde member. The space is completely empty, even the bleachers.

But then, in the center of the arena floor, a black stone flips over, and on the other side crouches a large Mog soldier, wearing a ragged black cloak and black boots. His waxy pale skin shines and the sword he holds above his head shimmers, as if lit from within. When he sees me, he stands and points the sword at me menacingly. It’s pulsing, as if somehow alive, an extension of the evil that wields it.

I don’t hesitate. I rush right at him, my palms lighting up and emitting a powerful beam. When I’m ten yards away, I aim the Lumen at my feet and light them on fire. The flames climb up my body as I leap. The soldier jumps at me and when we meet, and I burrow a smoldering hole right through his chest. He turns to ash before hitting the ground.

To my right, another black stone flips over; it’s another sword-wielding Mog. Two more flip to my left, and I hear others appear behind me. The stone under my feet starts to vibrate, and I dive away just as it rotates to produce a Mogadorian holding a cannon. After punching a hole through the closest soldier on my left, I start launching fireballs, battling with a newfound strength. My red bracelet comes to life, blasting open to sever the head of the giant soldier. In a minute, I wipe them all out. My adrenaline is pumping, and I’m listening for more stones to reveal my next round of suitors.