"Where to?" I asked her as I stumbled behind her, while she pulled me through the dark alleys. "Shut up and follow me, you horse," she said without turning back.

  We reached a dead-end alley, the same place we were before. She used her magic again, and I felt myself rising into the air. This time, my fear was less, and my confusion was greater.

  On the roof, the cold air was pure. "Lie down," she said, pointing to an empty spot beside her. "Just look up."

  I did so hesitantly, lying on my back on the cold rooftop. "What's wrong with the sky? It's just a dark cavern ceiling." "Look closely."

  I looked. I saw the distant crystal points we called stars, and the blue moon that cast a sad light on our dead city. It was beautiful in a strange and desolate way. Then I turned my head and looked at her, lying beside me, the moonlight reflecting in her blue eyes.

  And I realized that this view... was more beautiful than the entire sky.

  "My dream is to go there," she said suddenly, pointing upward. "Not to this ceiling, but beyond it. To the continent of Arcadia. It's from another world, Hongbin, a world where Mana is everything, just like Rei is in our continent. There, I can learn everything, become the greatest sorceress."

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  She sighed, and the frustration was evident in her voice. "But I'm stuck here. In Chang'an, the most closed-off city on the most closed-off continent. And the only way out is through the city of Hui'an."

  She suddenly turned to me, her eyes staring into my face with seriousness. "I told you my dream. Now it's your turn. What's your dream?"

  I looked away. "I don't have a dream."

  She sat up quickly, looking at me in shock. "What are you saying? How can you live like that? We are in the world of dreams, Hongbin! Everything is possible here! We are the chosen ones, we are the dreamers! Our dreams never end; when we achieve one, we go to the next, until we die!"

  I said in a low voice, "But I don't have anything like that."

  "Then find one!" she said with enthusiasm. "Create one! And if you can't..."

  Her tone softened, and she reached out and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Then come with me. You are my friend. Fulfill my dream with me, and on the way, you will find your own."

  I felt something warm spread through my chest. Something I had never felt before. Hope.

  She suddenly smiled and added slyly, "But don't be a burden."

  I looked at her with mock anger. "A burden? Look who's talking! You're the one who shouldn't be a burden!"

  She laughed. A clear, bright, ringing laugh that echoed in the cold night air.

  I looked at her laugh, at her smile that lit up the darkness around me. And in that moment, I knew. I had found it. A dream. Her laugh. Her smile. I want to protect her. She is my shining sun. My light that will lead me out of this hell.