CHAPTER 164: CHAPTER 164: THE DREAM’S END

Time on Hala blurred for Arthur and Carol, but the logs showed it had been almost three weeks since they began their work. The planet’s shift was faster than either had dared hope.

"Look at these crowds," Carol said, pulling up images from Dar-Benn’s latest rally. "She’s gone from hundreds to tens of thousands in a week. Her support isn’t growing, it’s exploding."

Arthur nodded, watching footage of the latest gathering. "The dreams accelerated everything. Once people started believing Hala itself was warning them, their allegiance to the traditional factions crumbled. Why follow generals who promise only death when someone offers a genuine path to life?"

"At this rate, she’ll unify them within a month. Maybe two." Carol shook her head, half-amazed. "I thought this would take years."

"Desperation is making the common people rebel. My dreams of a reborn Hala reinforce their hope, give them the push they needed to act."

They watched Dar-Benn speak, her words carrying across the massive crowd. She talked of unity, of healing, of Hala’s future. The crowd hung on every word.

It hadn’t been just speeches, though. Dar-Benn had fought for every inch of support, literally. Both established factions had sent strike teams to silence her. But she’d been Starforce once, trained by the best the Kree military could produce. That background, combined with her message, drew warriors to her banner daily. Currently it was a three-way deadlock, but the momentum clearly favored Dar-Benn.

Carol sighed. "Thank god. I thought this would take years. Now that it’s working... once this is done, I can go back to space. To the quiet. To the stars."

Arthur didn’t smile. "Don’t get your hopes too high."

Carol turned to him. "Why? What happened? Everything’s going right. We did it."

"There’s something you need to know." Arthur’s voice dropped, taking on that careful tone that preceded bad news. "I’ve been observing the thoughts of this Dar-Benn character."

Carol frowned. "And?"

"She’s genuine about saving Hala. That passion is absolutely real. But there’s more." Arthur pulled up his personal notes—fragments of surface thoughts he’d collected over the week. "She dreams of the Kree Empire’s restoration. Not just Hala’s survival, but its return to galactic prominence."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Like I warned before we started this whole intervention—once Hala is stable, she’ll look outward. She doesn’t just want Hala safe again. She wants the old Kree Empire returned to its former hegemony, then expanded beyond even that."

Carol’s expression hardened. "So the Kree will be back to their old ways? Conquest and subjugation?"

"Yes. It’s embedded in their cultural DNA. Every potential leader I’ve observed shares this core belief. The empire isn’t gone in their minds. The civil war has just temporarily diminished the idea."

"Can we do something? Can we use the dreams again? Show them what happens if they try to expand? Show them me coming back. The Annihilator. To destroy their leadership again."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Someone’s warming to the name Annihilator now."

"Be serious."

"I can’t be Sirius," Arthur said with practiced timing. "The world already has its hands full with one."

Carol’s fist began glowing with photon energy, her glare promising violence.

"Okay, okay, no more jokes." Arthur raised his hands in surrender, then sobered. "I could try modifying the dreams, but honestly? It might have the opposite effect. They hate you more than they fear you at this point."

"Any other bright ideas?"

"Not really. So let’s try it anyway."

He moved to the control crystal, which had pulsed steadily for weeks like a mechanical heart. The silver light cast strange shadows as he approached.

"Let me craft something truly fearsome," he said, already reaching for the magical threads. "If they even think about conquest, they’ll dream of facing the Annihilator and a devastatingly handsome mage clothed in darkness—"

He placed his hands on the crystal’s surface, reaching for the dream network’s intricate web. But the moment he tried to weave new patterns, something fundamental shifted.

The crystal shuddered.

The runes Arthur had carved began to unravel. Threads of silver light snapped like violin strings under too much tension. The shelter’s lights flickered. Then died. Then came back, dimmer. Colder.

The temperature dropped ten degrees in an instant.

Arthur froze.

For the first time since beginning this project, Arthur felt watched

.

A voice, not physical but echoing through his mind like thunder in a cave, spoke:

"This is not your realm, little mage. You play with forces beyond your station. The Dream Dimension ismine,and you have overstayed your welcome."

Before Arthur could respond, before he could even process what was happening, the crystal exploded.

The entire dream network, weeks of exhausting work, vanished like smoke in a hurricane. The runes he’d marked on sleeping Kree became meaningless scratches that would fade within hours.

Carol caught him as he staggered backward. "What just happened?"

Arthur’s voice came out hollow, shaken. "I thought I was just implanting memories in sleeping minds when I sent those dreams. But I was wrong. Terribly wrong. I was actually reaching into the Dream Dimension itself."

He’d thought it was similar to how Voldemort sent visions to Harry through their connection - direct mental manipulation. He never imagined he was actually trespassing in another realm entirely. If he’d known, he would have been infinitely more careful.

"Dream Dimension?"

"It’s a realm where dreams, fears, and imagination take physical form. When you sleep and dream, part of your consciousness travels there."

Carol stared. "So... there’s a whole world inside our dreams?"

"You can say that. There are other similar dimensions too. You’ve already seen the Mirror Dimension when we spied on the Kree. There’s the Dream Dimension, various Hell dimensions, the Dark Dimension, and dozens more."

"You learn something every day." Carol processed this. "So these dimensions have rulers? And one of them noticed you?"

"Him or maybe someone else. But from the power displayed, it was probably the big one himself. Doesn’t matter though. The message was crystal clear: stop meddling with dreams or face consequences."

"So that’s it? No more sending dreams?"

"Yes." Arthur’s voice was flat. "No more Arthur Hayes, the Dream Master."

Carol let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. "Good. While we were doing a good thing... it felt wrong. Like we were stealing their thoughts."

Arthur didn’t argue.

"Was that thing strong?" she asked. "The voice?"

"If it was Nightmare, then yes, incredibly strong. I don’t know exactly how powerful, but beings like him operate on levels beyond normal magic. Maybe we could fight him off, maybe not. But I don’t want to make enemies of entities like that if it’s avoidable." Arthur rubbed his temples. "If I offend him, I might never sleep peacefully again. Eternal nightmares aren’t worth saving the Kree."

"I already don’t like my dreams. Don’t need them getting worse." Carol looked at the empty space where the crystal had floated. "So we can’t change Dar-Benn’s mind. Can’t influence the outcome anymore."

"No. And even the existing dreams will fade now that the control crystal is gone. Within days, they’ll seem like distant memories."

Carol closed her eyes. "Then once the civil war ends... and Hala recovers..."

"They’ll rebuild the Empire," Arthur finished. "Just like I warned you from the beginning. Save the Kree, and they’ll eventually threaten everyone else. It’s who they are."

Carol was quiet for a long moment, processing the implications. Then her jaw set with familiar determination. "Fine. I’ll stop them. Like I promised."

"That’s a permanent commitment, Carol. You’d become a full-time galactic superhero. Forever watching, forever intervening."

"Then that’s what I’ll be." Her jaw set with determination. "I broke their empire. I’ll make sure they don’t rebuild it on the backs of others. again"

Arthur studied her face, seeing the resolve there. "You’re serious."

"Completely. The weaker worlds need protection. When the Kree start expanding again, I’ll be there to remind them why they stopped."

"That’s... an exhausting path. We could avoid all this, you know. Maybe arrange some accidents, let the civil war continue. Let them destroy each other."

"No." She shook her head firmly. "I’m ready for this. And besides - why should Earth have all the protectors?"

Arthur smiled faintly. "I could never be selfless like you."

Carol glanced at him. "You aren’t so bad. You’re here saving Hala right now. And I don’t have to worry about Earth with you there."

"You don’t have to praise me. Everything I do is for selfish reasons ultimately." Arthur turned back to the monitors showing Dar-Benn’s growing movement. "Though I don’t think things will be quite as dire as we imagine. Dar-Benn gaining full control and Hala recovering could take years, maybe decades. A few setbacks might cause them to lay low, focus on defense rather than expansion."

"No," she said quietly. "They won’t learn caution. They’ll rebuild. They’ll remember their strength. And when they’re ready... they’ll reach for the stars again."

Arthur sighed. "Fine. Then call me if you need backup."

They stood together in the shelter, watching as Hala transformed before their eyes. Peace was coming. A peace with ambitions, with hungry eyes turned toward the stars. But still, peace.

It would have to be enough.