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SM/DC Chapter 105 : A Nightmare
🕑 Added 2025-04-30 22:33:30 +0000 UTCDarkness clouded Arthur’s eyes.
“Did I… just die?” Arthur’s voice croaked into the void dry, low, unsure if it was even real.
There was no answer, only the sudden sharp burning in his chest. Not pain. Something worse. A hollow, consuming sensation like a memory of pain trying to claw its way into the present. His hand instinctively moved toward his ribs.
And the world snapped.
Arthur jerked upright in bed with a ragged gasp, drenched in sweat. His breathing was wild, chest heaving as though he'd just surfaced from the depths of the ocean. His sheets were tangled, his skin clammy, and the faint morning light pouring through the windows was almost blinding.
His hand shot to his chest, fingers frantically searching for burns, wounds, fractures anything.
Nothing. Not a single scar.
“Arthur!” Kara was instantly by his side, her voice thick with worry, eyes wide and searching his face. “Are you alright?”
George was already standing at the foot of the bed, as calm and poised as ever, though even his normally impassive face held a faint crease of concern. “A nightmare, sir?” he asked, his tone refined but not lacking in genuine care.
Arthur didn’t answer immediately. He sat there for a moment, staring at his palms, then ran his fingers through his soaked hair.
“That was… a dream?” he muttered, still checking his limbs. “No wounds. No burns. Not even a scratch.”
He swung his legs off the bed and stood, wobbling slightly. The world around him felt real, too real, yet somehow less than what he had just experienced. The air wasn’t as oppressive. The pressure on his chest was gone. But his mind…
His mind was still trapped back there.
“That felt... too real.”
Kara stepped in front of him. “What do you mean?”
He looked at her. His blue eyes, still glowing faintly from the residue of his power, narrowed with intensity.
“Trigon.” The name fell from his lips like poison.
Kara blinked. “Wait what?”
“We need to find Raven,” Arthur said, stepping away from the bed, pacing. “Now.”
“I still don’t understand what you’re saying, what’s wrong?” Kara asked, matching his steps, concern tightening her features.
Arthur didn’t stop. His pacing became more restless. “I think I was attacked. Or… no. Not physically. My consciousness my soul, maybe. Trigon was inside my mind. Or I was pulled into his realm. I don’t know how..” He stopped mid-step, voice cracking with the weight of uncertainty. “But it wasn’t a normal dream. I’ve seen illusions.This… this was different.”
George, who had stepped quietly to the nearby dresser, offered in his gentle, deliberate cadence, “Sir, would you care for a sedative or perhaps a tonic to ease your nerves?”
Arthur raised a hand, shaking his head. “No, George. Thank you. I just need… time. I need to think.”
He turned back to Kara, his tone softening for a moment. “He said I helped him, Kara. Trigon said I helped him and for that, he would kill me. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Kara looked genuinely troubled now, her usual bravado drained. “That can’t be right. There’s no way you’d ever..”
“I might have indirectly..” Arthur said sharply, then sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “But if Raven’s gone… and Trigon’s been gathering strength… this could be bigger than any of us imagined.”
A long, tense silence followed.
Kara glanced at George, then back to Arthur. “Do you want me to contact the Titans?”
Arthur nodded. “Yes. we should, we need to find anything. Even the smallest lead.”
George clasped his hands behind his back. “Shall I prepare a comm system and arrange additional security precautions, Master Arthur ?”
Arthur’s lips tugged into a tired, grateful smile. “My shadows are enough I think George, but maybe you should just in case.”
As George inclined his head and stepped out with his usual grace, Arthur stood still for a moment, eyes unfocused.
He could still hear Trigon’s voice in the back of his head.
"Tell me, Shadow King… can your little tricks save you from a god?"
Arthur clenched his fist.
“Invading my mind like that..” he muttered under his breath, “I’ll make your never get to escape, Demon.”
****
Arthur stood at his wardrobe, towel draped over one shoulder, fingers running over the row of clothes and tactical wear hanging before him. Sunlight filtered through the estate’s tall windows, casting long golden lines across the floor. The room still held the quiet tension from his nightmare, but Arthur was already sliding back into his rhythm one layer of focus at a time.
Behind him, Kara stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the doorway, clearly waiting.
That is, until he dropped the towel and started getting dressed.
Her eyes widened. “Wha..hey! Could’ve at least waited for me to leave!”
Arthur smirked as he slid on his pants without hesitation. “You can still look through doors and walls, so it doesn’t matter.”
“I wasn’t going to!” she said, whipping her head away, her cheeks flaring a deep pink. “I’m not a perv!”
“Sure,” Arthur said coolly, pulling on his shirt with a faint grin, eyes glinting mischievously. “Totally believe you.”
Kara muttered something incomprehensible under her breath, still very much pointed at the far wall like it had personally offended her.
“You’re lucky I’m mature enough to..., you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Am I?” Arthur asked, slipping into his black coat with practiced ease. With one final tug on his gloves, he turned toward her. “I’m dressed now, by the way. You can stop burning holes in the wall.”
She turned slowly, still flustered. “Unbelievable.”
Arthur walked past her and into the hall, his boots echoing with each confident step. “We need to get going. If you want to accompany me…”
He stopped and turned halfway back toward her, eyes serious again beneath the glow of blue energy.
“…hold on tightly.”
Kara blinked and stepped forward, resting a hand on his arm. Her voice, when she replied, was much quieter than usual. “I already know.”
A beat passed. Then Arthur said the word like a command low, final, powerful.
“Exchange.”
At once, a violent rush of black smoke surged from his boots up to his shoulders, swallowing them both in a swirling shroud of shadows. The air cracked with magical tension. Kara instinctively gripped his coat tighter.
Then
They were gone.
The last trace of them was a shadow demon and a flicker of black mist dancing on the floor before fading into nothing.
****
Jump City -
The skyline shimmered in the morning haze, distant sea breeze rolling through the streets as Arthur and Kara materialized from the last remnants of black smoke atop a quiet rooftop. Below them stretched the vibrant city, cars, people, life moving on without pause.
Kara took in the view, arms folded. “You should probably go see your family now.”
Arthur adjusted the greatsword on his back, his eyes scanning the buildings until they locked onto a familiar tower rising from the heart of the city like a dark, sleek monolith.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “Let’s do that… before heading to the Titans Tower.”
****
Blackwynd Tower -
Kara followed Arthur through the sleek lobby, where staff whispered at the sight of him but didn’t dare interrupt. They rode the elevator in silence, the only sound the soft hum of old jazz playing through it.
The doors slid open at the top floor. Familiar mahogany. Oil paintings. The quiet scent of tea.
Arthur stepped through into the office.
And the world stopped.
Behind a grand desk, Adam Blackwynd stood frozen, files in hand, his eyes wide as though seeing a ghost. Standing beside him was their mother, regal as ever in a pearl-grey blazer until her mouth parted in a breathless gasp.
“...Arthur?” she whispered, voice trembling.
The papers slipped from Adam’s hands.
Arthur only managed a lopsided smile. “Hi, Mom.”
She crossed the room in seconds. “You! You’re alive!” Her voice broke as she wrapped her arms around her son, holding him tight, like she’d never let go again. “I thought I lost you...I thought…”
Arthur stiffened at first, the emotion raw and unexpected. But then he returned the embrace, one hand resting gently on her back, his throat tightening with something he couldn’t name. Something buried.
“I’m here,” he muttered. “I’m here, Mom.”
Kara lingered quietly at the door, arms behind her back, a soft smile spreading across her face as she watched the reunion unfold.
When she finally let go, brushing her eyes, Arthur turned to his brother with a nod.
“I stopped by our house first,” he said dryly. “But the damn thing’s still being rebuilt so I figured you’d be here.”
Adam raised an eyebrow. “Why do I get the sense you’ve gotten yourself into trouble again?”
Arthur gave a half-shrug, smirking. “You know me.”
“That’s the problem,” Adam muttered, crossing his arms. “I do.”
His mother stepped forward, her voice softer now. “Can’t you just… stop? You disappear, then come back with half of us thinking you’re dead. I thought...” she paused, her voice breaking, “...I thought I lost my son for good this time.”
Arthur looked at her for a long moment. Then he spoke, not with bravado, but with truth.
“I can’t stop. People like me, people with power, we’re magnets for trouble. The stronger you are… the stronger that pull becomes. We don’t get to sit this life out.”
She looked at him, trying to argue, but the pain in his eyes told her he meant every word.
Adam stepped forward, placing a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “Then at least don’t vanish without a damn word again.”
Arthur gave a faint smile. “No promises.”
His mother wiped a tear and looked to Kara, as if seeing her for the first time. “Keep him company.”
Kara nodded. “Someone has to keep him alive.”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “I do just fine on my own, after all I have my own loyal army.”
“Says the guy who just came back from being presumed dead,” Adam said dryly.
Arthur chuckled. “Alright, alright. I’m back. But not for long, we’re heading to the Titans Tower,”
Adam sighed. “Of course you are.”
Kara looked between the brothers, then to his mom, offering a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring him back in one piece this time.”
Arthur gave them one final look and said “By the way, have you seen Raven ?”
Comments
Mecha Destroyer98
Trigon is definitely afraid of Arthur because he most certainly was afraid of Ashborn. Ashborn was mostly likely able to strike fear into Trigon's very being.
