He dreamt he was swimming in a deep lake.

  In the distance he could see a tower cutting against the red sky.

  All around him strange fish glowed with yellow radiance as they swam about.

  In the shadows below, darker creatures lurked, hunting and swallowing the radiant fish whole.

  On the riverbank stood an old man in a long red cloak with dark blue trim flairing out in small triangles at the hem.

  He waded through the water, plucking a shadowed fish from the depths. His long white hair was tied into a bun, pinned with strange sticks.

  No matter how deep he went, his clothes never got wet.

  Matthew realised he didn't either, he tried to fight the current of the river but felt weightless and weak.

  There was a sense of impermance to the world, the tree swayed around them and the yellow sky flickered.

  Wait… Wasn't the sky just red? He drifted closer to the man who turned with a look of suprise on his weathered face.

  The man's face was kind and round, he had a huge mustache and radiant purple eyes. Floating beside him was a beautiful white crown with green inlaid emeralds.

  The man tilted his head "You're the fifth person I've met just in this batch. A bit early, no? You're strong within the essence but your soul… it lacks—your intent will never grow like this. Do you want to catch a fish?"

  Matthew looked at the fish around him, the hiding ones, the radiant ones.

  There were some that were blue and jumped in and out of the world like a flicker of light.

  Matthew wanted to say something but his words felt insufficient. He had nothing to say really.

  When he touched his face and realised he had no mouth, where panic would normally fill his body, a calm numbness replaced it.

  To some extent he wondered why he had spoken in the past, what exactly did he have to say?

  The elderly man looked at him pitfully, his wrinkled eyes pained. He frowned and raised his hand, "Look at that tower, what do you feel about it?"

  Matthew said nothing.

  He stared at the dark tower in the distance.

  Large dragons circled its spires, their six flimsy wings flapping like distant birds.

  From this far, their triangular heads seemed small, but they spat fire as they glided around the tower's pointed heights.

  The elderly man continued,"Don't you want to know what's inside?"

  Matthew said nothing

  "Inside is the truth of all things, a truth so old it created three great suns and a world of peace and love that flourished for twenty thousand years. What do you think it looks like?"

  Matthew said nothing… but he turned to the older man with something resembling interest in his eyes.

  The man smiled and continued, "What do you want to know most in the world? Not just something interesting but that one thing that will make everything better."

  He hesitated, eyes darkening with memory

  "Why did my father have to die?" Matthew whispered. "What crime was so horrible that they had to…?"

  The old man's smile widened, though his radiant purple eyes dimmed with sympathy. "First off, I'm so sorry for all that has happened. But essentially. Yes... it's in that tower — your father's desires, his hopes, his dreams. What do you think he wanted for you?"

  Matthew turned back to the tower suddenly pushing away from the current carrying him.

  he pursed his lips and rubbed his forearm with his thumb.

  He lowered his head and was silent for a moment "I don't know. I never…. I cared, I loved him, I just…."

  The older man's hands were suddenly on his shoulder, he had a soft light in his eyes.

  His smile held all the love left in this darkening world "Catch a fish before the lights go out. It'll help you get to the tower. It'll help you see who your father was."

  The white crown floated close behind him always following, the sky became dark purple and the world shrank around them being consumed by darkness.

  He looked around, holding on to the elderly man's hand to fight the current of the river.

  There were too many fish in the water. Radiant golden fish, shadowy fish hiding below the water, green stone line fish and a large fish with a wide mouth and golden teeth.

  After a moment's hesitation, Matthew lunged with his left hand, snatching something from the water.

  In his palm, a blue fish flickered in and out of existence. Without thinking, he pressed it against his chest.

  His chest caved in like wet paper and he stuffed the blue ghost fish in there.

  The elderly man let go of him, letting him drift away, "Your spirit is strong, I'll see you again."

  Matthew woke with a gasp, thrashing as if still fighting the current. As he stilled, he noticed everyone staring at him like he was insane.

  Jesse stepped into the healing field, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

  Her forehead wrinkled with concern as she asked softly, "Hey, are you okay?"

  He suddenly felt a sense of deja vu from the hand on his shoulder. He focused trying to remember what he had dreamt about but felt like he was grasping at straws, "Had a really weird dream I can't remember anything."

  Jesse searched his eyes, worry etched into her brow. Then her gaze dropped to his legs, and she gasped. "Your burns?"

  They had healed fully—leaving some scars and looking a bit too red but essentially healed.

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  Everyone gathered and marvelled at what had essentially been a miracle. Jesse asked "was this caused by your dream?"

  "How many hours have I been asleep?" He asked hesitantly

  Asha's face fell as she answered "You barely slept for a minute before jumping"

  Matthew closed his eyes as some of the events came to him. A black tower, him swimming through a river and a calming voice.

  He shook his head weakly, "I don't think it was the dream."

  Everyone settled talking about how amazing the Lantern was while Jesse rubbed her hand over his back reassuring him that everything was okay.

  They touched and checked his leg and it felt essentially healed. He exchanged his spot for the girl with the mangled arm refusing the advice that he should just stay a little longer.

  The girl cradled her arm and smiled for once "Thank you so much."

  He gave her a nod and walked on his legs feeling his legs buckle and shake from what was usually normal for him.

  Jesse supported him, warning worriedly, "don't rush it you're okay. Take your time, let's walk in a circle first."

  There was a tingling sensation running up his body from his legs with each step, he cringed and hissed everytime his legs touched the cool stones.

  Beside him, Jesse called out to someone to help her take note and watch the sleeping patients.

  She stayed with him helping him walk till Matthew didn't need her help, taking small steps while she held his hand.

  He cursed "Goddammit… this actually feels kind of nice. The shackles of being a cripple — broken."

  Jesse laughed as he took his small steps. She swung their hands playfully. "Thank God for that Lantern. Some of those injuries… I had no idea how to handle them."

  Mathhew shrugged and stopped her from swinging their hands, "I think you're more than helpful"

  Jesse looked away and her voice came almost as a whisper responding. "There a lot i can't deal with, i'm suck at surgery and—"

  "No one minds. What you can do has been extremely helpful. Who knew if my leg would have healed so quickly without that salve you made."

  Jesse opened her mouth to disagree but just exhaled and muttered something under her breath.

  "Insulting me quietly, huh?"

  "Oh, shut up. I'm not insulting," She retorted.

  Matthew raised an eyebrow and asked, "what were you saying then."

  She turned away making an annoyed sound , Matthew laughed and let go of her hand to return to his bag.

  He looked at the crowd of people and realised a lot of people had been looking at them.

  Sitting among the rest of the First Legion, he endured their playful punches and jeers, barely noticing as he pulled out his notebook.

  He scribbled down everything he could remember from the dream. The memory of catching a fish lingered, but it was already starting to fade.

  He was sure the dream wasn't responsible for his healing—just a byproduct. What lingered felt like a fragment of knowledge. If he could complete it, maybe he could finally understand it.

  Over the next few hours two people with horrible injuries fell asleep and woke up nearly fully healed.

  One of them was the girl he had given his spot to, her cold dark eyes lightened up as she realised she would once again be able to use her hand.

  She cried, clinging to Liam, who soon broke down with her. The crowd erupted into cheers — even those who had opposed helping before joined in.

  Jesse and Parker interviewed the girl and the other boy about their dreams but got vague answers and talks of a black tower.

  They immediately tried to get the others to sleep but were unlucky and even those who fell asleep had no enhanced regeneration.

  When Adelina sat down beside him, Matthew glanced her way. It felt like luck — he'd been meaning to find her anyway.

  She looked a bit unsure looking between Matthew and the ground. She asked, "Do you think your dream was similar to what felt during the Wishing?"

  "The dream was different, I've never been to a river that had an impossibly large dark tower in the distance," he answered.

  Adelina's eyes clouded with thought and she twirled a piece of her black hair about.

  She murmured, "the wishing had all seen different memories. The Lantern however made us all see the dark tower… there's also the fact that the same calming voice was in each dream and spoke of the Lantern."

  Matthew raised his hands adjusting his glasses furrowing his brow, "The voice asked what?"

  Adelina looked up surprised, she opened and closed her eyes rapidly, Stuttering. "oh well the boy who fell asleep said he told someone about the white lantern in his dream. The fact you all had the same dream means we can access something during these large magical events"

  They talked a bit about the others' fragmented memories and Matthew started to build a working memory of what had happened, he smiled a little at the fact that Adelina was already providing so much value.

  Matthew signed, brushing his beard as he thought, "This was really helpful. I thought you didn't think much of this spiritual nonsense"

  "It's not that I didn't care, I just…" She trailed off, struggling to find the words. Then, with a sharp clap of her hands, she continued, "During the Wishing, I didn't just feel phantom sensations… I went back home."