*Two Weeks Later*

'Maybe hiking along the side of the mountain was better than hiking across the summit's.'

Jerome squinted to see through the blizzard that was whipping at him from all sides at one of Mount Starfall's peaks. He wasn't sure how such a blizzard could occur, since the very top of Starfall usually doesn't have conditions like this until halfway through winter.

Jerome had already suspected the worse. Trident may be doing something to manipulate the elements. If he has the power to completely alter the Dreamworld, then he may be using that power to slow Jerome down even more.

Regardless, Jerome was not going to let a snowstorm and a mountain slow him down from getting back home. Whatever Trident has planned, he would definitely commence his plan in the biggest city in the Dreamworld, Anduruna.

No matter what the odds may be, there was only one person who could stop Trident. That person was Jerome, his adopted son and the only immortal Hell Hybrid in existence.

Jerome looked down at his feet. The blizzard was just light enough for him to see the ground four inches around himself. But, barely.

If it weren't for that, then he would not have seen the edge of a downhill slope that he was about to walk off of.

Jerome looked east towards Anduruna, not seeing the city through the blizzard. Seeing no other way down and knowing that forcing through a blizzard on top of a mountain was hazardous enough, Jerome shrugged....

And walked off the edge. Instantly, he went tumbling down the sparkling blue snow of the slope, going faster as there were surprisingly few rocks sticking up from the snow to stop him.

After several brief minutes, Jerome slammed headfirst into the snow at the bottom of the slope. Everything went black at that moment.

* * * * *

Jerome woke up and pulled his head out from the snow. He felt his neck and could feel it was snapped. The impact to the snow was strong enough to break his neck.

Instant death, of course, but there's no such thing as permanent death for Jerome.

The Hybrid grabbed his head and turned it in sudden motions. First left, then right. He put his hands down and moved his head around, feeling that his neck was in place.

'I've got to stop doing that.'

As he stood up, he looked up at something suspicious that he saw moments earlier.

Through the flurries of snow, Jerome saw something carved out of the side of another peak. Looking at it with more focus, he could see it was a large, castle-like balcony. He could see the battlements along the balcony's surface.

'Well well well. What a coincidence.'

Before Jerome and the others left Anduruna months earlier, Lilith had explained what happened after she and her friends were hastily put on a telepad and sent to a fortress on top of Mount Starfall. 

'Seems that I've found this fortress.'

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to survive in the cold for much longer, Jerome climbed up the slope towards the balcony.

* * * * *

Jerome grabbed the edge of the balcony and pulled himself through the embrasure of a battlement. Looking through the blizzard, he saw a doorway with carvings all around it leading into the presumed fortress.

'A fortress inside a mountain. How strategic....'

Jerome suddenly froze in thought as he heard something over the blizzard winds.

As if nature felt his unease, the winds died down for the briefest second as a ear-ringing howl pierced the raging winds.

The howl was half-wild and half-civilized. Jerome didn't have to guess what it was. Or 'who' it was.

"It's good to see you again, brother," Kali said. Her voice drifted perfectly through the blizzard.

Jerome's eyes went wide as he scanned every inch of the balcony. Her voice didn't come over the blizzard.

It came from his mind.

'No way! She's telepathic?! That's-'

'Possible! Absolutely possible! Father has made everything possible since you've been gone. Well, not until recently, that is. But, that's besides the point. You're too late, bro. Father will succeed. It's for the greater good that he succeeds. You have to understand that!'

'Greater good?' Jerome thought, talking back mentally. 'What greater good does he have in mind, sis? Enslave the entire Dreamworld so no one gets killed by the Nightmares? Turn everyone into Nightmares? Or does he plan to turn our people into normal Dreamkeepers like Mephisto pointed out before he died?'

Kali laughed. 'You're just as smart as ever. But, just so you know, you're wide off the mark on all three guesses. The Nightmares are gone. Father dealt with them all. That was only a test run, though. Now, he's ready to put his little project to the ultimate test.'

Jerome stood in the freezing snow, completely dumb-struck at what he heard. 'The Nightmares... are gone? What do you mean?'

'I mean GONE! Poof! Vanished! Magic act! Never, ever existed. You really have no clue what Father is capable of now. Like I said, they were just used as an example. Now, he's ready to begin with the biggest makeover the world will ever witness! The utter erasing of the Dreamworld! Then, he's going to rebuild it, from the time this all began to the end of time itself! I'm tellin' ya Jerry, it's ALL gonna be worth it!'

Jerome just could not believe the information he was given. 

In a concealed part of his mind, Jerome thought, 'The Nightmares are gone? Erasing the Dreamworld? To the point where 'this all began?' What does it mean?'

'Damn it, Kali! Just tell me! What is Father doing to make himself do this? How is he making himself this powerful? What is his secret? Tell me now!'

Jerome peered at the fortress entrance to see the form of a Dreamkeeper crawling through the snow towards Jerome.

'You'll have to torture me for the answers, Jerry! With me bleeding in your arms!'

Jerome flashed out his gun and fired at the creature. It rolled out of the way and simply vanished, digging its way into the knee-high snow.

'Just try and kill me, bro!'

Again, another howl breached Jerome's head. The fox holstered his gun and summoned his katanas.

Without replying, he braced himself for the unexpected.

One way or the other, he was going to find out exactly how all of this was happening.

One way or the other, he was going to defeat his own sister.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jerome jumped onto a battlement on the balcony lip. Not the best place to be in a fight like this, but standing in the snow with your enemy crawling around in it isn't very safe either.

Fortunately, he did see several spots that were not at a knee high level. Those spots would be his only source of safety on the small balcony to avoid an attack from underneath.

However, with this blizzard and judging by how long it's been raging, he was surprised the snow on this structure wasn't neck high.

Jerome scanned the sparkling blue ice, which was slightly dimmed due to the dark storm clouds and thick snow flurries that seemed to overwhelm Starfall. Jerome knew just how fast Kali is, so he would have to be faster in order to dodge her if she leapt out of the snow at him.

The snow blowing around his eyes seemed to fool his vision, but he stayed focused.

Taking a chance, he leapt for a low-level hole in the snow.

In midair, Kali leapt out and her right-hand claw rings slashed through Jerome's leg. He shouted and cringed as he tensed his body, knowing he wasn't going to land properly. Just as he crashed to the low snow, Kali glided back into the high snow. 

As Jerome leaned up quickly, he observed his wounds. Rather serious, but would heal as quickly as usual, nonetheless. He looked around. The high snow surrounded him from all sides. Kali could poke out of the snow and drag him in at any second.

Jerome looked at his leg. It still hasn't healed.

'What the hell?' Jerome thought in disbelief. 'What's happening? These cuts should've healed seconds ago!'

Jerome winced as the wounds sent spikes of pain to his brain. He couldn't begin to wonder how this was happening.

He was immortal and possessed abnormal healing capabilities. How could these bodily traits just cease to function?

Then, Jerome thought about his father and the power that he may possess.

'So, that must be it. Father has reached this limit. That must've been what Meth was pointing out. For better or for worse, Father is turning us into Dreamkeepers. I never imagined he would be able to do this. Apparently, he must have chosen me among the first few still out there to be converted. Figures he would do this to me now of all times! Got to stop this damn leg from hurting.'

His breathing rapidly increasing, Jerome tore a long, wide piece of leather from his coat and wrapped it around the thin, deep cuts tightly.

Despite the threat of Kali, Jerome gingerly made it to his feet. The leather cloth was tight enough to stop the bleeding and the pain. But, he still had trouble moving the leg.

'Bitch must've got the nerves. I really don't need this right now.'

Jerome tightened the cloth even more, battling through the pain. His leg barely obeyed his command to move when he tested it.

'Shit. That'll have to do.'

'Makes you feel alive, doesn't it? Being normal, that is.'

Huddling in the snow, Jerome thought, 'There's nothing wrong with being what we are, Kali. Meth confided in that to me. He realized that just before his death and admitted that our father's plan is pointless. Don't make me have to kill you for no reason. I don't see the sense in it.'

'You still don't get it, do you? None of this even matters! When it's all over, it'll be as if it never happened! That is his true plan! To erase the Dreamworld as we know it and then rebuild it! No more Nightmares, no more Dark Dreamkeepers, and definitely no more Hell Hybrids! It'll all be the same up to the point when the Nightmares came into existence. After that, the pages are going to be rewritten. Things are going to be different, brother! And it's all for the cause of saving our people and annihilating evil! Just as we were created to do, Jerry! Father's plan is absolutely perfect! Just admit it!'

Jerome glanced at the doors to the fortress. Realizing that he was no longer immortal, he would not be able to survive a battle in these conditions.

He lowered his arm and could feel the force coarsing through him. His katana formed in his grasp.

'Okay, at least I still have my Power. What's left of it, anyway.'

Pulling out his revolver, he leveled it at the snow as he slowly retreated to the fortress. As he had his back to the doors, he opened them with one hand and quickly closed them.

Inside, he found himself standing in a brightly-lit hallway illuminated by frozen water mixed with the strange sparkling mineral that was also mixed with the snow outside. Barricades with miniature battlements on top lined the walls.

'Definitely a fortress. If I recall, this is actually a Troika storage depot.'

A hallway leading to the left took Jerome into what looked like an artificial natural environment. Complete with a ceiling painted with fake gray clouds and walls painted with white trees. The room was almost as big as the underground arena from the ziggurat, which was huge. The center of the room offered real trees, small lakes, and several small cliffs.

'Guess they didn't trust themselves using the real thing down the mountains, if I'm correct that this is a training room.'

'And correct you are.'

Jerome threw himself to the floor to avoid being tackled from behind. Planning ahead, Kali landed and ran on all fours to the training forest.

The brother made it to his feet and aimed his gun, but the sister was already out of sight.

'I'm so glad you chose to come in here. This is like a haven for me. It's like a haven for any hunter! I hope you're ready, Jerry. Now, I'm not holding back!'

Wincing at his wounded leg, Jerome holstered his gun and summoned both katanas.

Glaring into the forest, Jerome painfully jogged into it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As quietly as a breeze, Jerome hugged the trees as he barely put any weight on his feet. He couldn't hide his own scent from Kali, but keeping quiet would make things less easy for her. The less senses she has to work with, the better.

As Jerome purposely walked down a muddy slope, Kali watched from an overgrown bush amidst the trees. 

Leaving himself exposed, Jerome knew he was taking a risk as he tried hard not to limp. With an injured leg and his immortality gone, he was more vulnerable than ever.

'I won't be able to track her down like this,' Jerome thought. 'My best bet is to let her come to me.'

As expected, Kali made her move, leaping out of the bush with great speed. 

Like fighting a wild beast, Jerome lashed out with his right blade, slashing to the left, as he stepped aside. He missed, but barely. The very tip of his blade ripped through the side of the black and gray body suit she wore.

Kali went into a roll as she hit the ground and then leapt into the trees.

Jerome positioned his right blade next to his left arm, feeling another attack.

The wolf leapt out again, this time going into a roll before jumping up and attempting to pounce on the fox.

Jerome blocked the claws with both blades as she fell down to her feet. Swords and claws remain connected for several minutes until Kali jumped back and swiped at her brother. He leans back and blocks a second swipe just in time.

Like a predator, Kali viciously swipes at Jerome. Now, he could feel his ability to predict her movements begin to fade. On top of that, he could swear the fur on his hands was slowly getting brighter, but he hasn't dealt any physical damage to Kali yet.

'What's happening to me?'

Minutes ticked by and Jerome could feel himself back into a tree. Kali, with a powerful swing, smacked Jerome's left blade aside and returned her arm to an attack position with abnormal speed. With a snarl, she sunk her claws into the tree trunk.

But, Jerome's head wasn't there.

She saw something to her left. Jerome was on his rear end twenty feet away, staring wide-eyed at his sister.

"What the hell?" he mumbled aloud.

Ignoring the mystery, Kali bared her teeth and slashed her claws through the tree as she advanced on him.

Jerome stood up just as she leapt for another pounce.

But, Jerome was gone again. She looked to her right as he laid on his back, gripping his face.

"Oh fuck, that hurt!"

Kali saw an imprint of his face in a tree right in front of him.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Kali said. 

Willing her Power to full strength, she summoned her energy claws. Dragging them along the ground, she sprinted towards Jerome. The fox froze, then rolled out of the way as her claws tore through the dirt where he was. She looked after him, but suddenly he phased through a tree and was gone.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, not now, please not now!" Kali pleaded to herself. "Brother! Get back here right now!"

She raced into the trees in Jerome's direction.

* * * * *

Unbeknownst to her, Jerome had gone no further than the tree he phased through. He stopped right inside the hollowed-out tree, which was the kind of tree that grew leaves along the inside of the trunk.

'This... this must be... my true Power. My Dreamkeeper Power.'

'Where are you, Jerome?'

Jerome thought, 'Kali, I'm only going to give you this chance right now to give up. Go into hiding or something. What Father is doing is not worth fighting for. There's nothing wrong with what we are. We're normal the way we are. We just need to make the people understand that. We can be normal as Hell Hybrids. Think about it.'

Jerome's mind was silent except for his own subconscious thoughts. Then, Kali replied, 'I don't believe you. I just don't believe you. I always thought you were a little full of yourself, but after hearing that, you've completely blown me away!'

Jerome attempted to make sense of that. 'What are you trying to say?'

'You're going to kill Father, take the ring, and remain a normal Dreamkeeper while leaving us Hell Hybrids alone. That's exactly what you plan on doing, isn't it? You're going to keep it all to yourself!'

'Wait, I'd never do that! And, what is this 'ring?' What are you talking about?'

Jerome didn't hear another word from Kali, only the sound of tumbling trees and neatly sliced rocks falling to the ground as the enraged wolf began tearing the artificial forest into ribbons.

"So, this is it. She's not going to let this go. Guess I'm left with no other choice," Jerome said aloud, shaking ice crystals from his clothes. It wasn't until that moment that he realized just how cold he really was. He shivered almost uncontrollably, feeling the freezing air of the fortress combined with the effects of the blizzard from earlier.

Steeling himself, Jerome fought the bitter cold forming around his body and concentrated. In the darkness of the tree, his halo appeared. But, instead of giving off its orange light, it was yellow. He looked up and he now had a brilliant yellow halo in place. He looked at his hand and noticed his fur was just as yellow, but not bright at all.

'Looks like my fur color has changed, too. Let's see how much change my Power has undergone.'

He focused and suddenly, he looked at his hand. His hand was blurry and translucent, like a swarm of gnats were flying all around it.

Cautiously, he touched the tree. His hand went through the trunk, then he pulled it back in quickly.

'I can walk through objects?' Jerome thought, intrigued. 'But, how was I dodging her - '

As he attempted to walk out of the tree, he suddenly went soaring forward after the first step. He slammed his feet down as hard as he could, his eyes glued shut. He opened one eye, then both. He stood outside in the forest. He looked back to see his tree thirty feet away.

He walked thirty feet away from the tree in a single second.

'Speed,' Jerome hissed in his mind. 'My true Power is speed. I never would have imagined. From brutally demonic strength to angelic speed and agility. What a transition! It feels amazing! I can see why Kali is assuming what she claimed. She must think being normal is going to make me greedy enough to keep this 'ring' that Father has and keep all the Hell Hybrids the way they are. What could she have meant by the ring? Does this mean that this ring is the source of my father's immeasurable power? A lousy ring is causing all this? It's impossible!'

Jerome looked over his shoulders. The collapsing trees were getting closer. Kali was coming back the way she left.

'Well, only one way to get the answers now,' Jerome thought grimly, already forgetting the temperatures that numbed his vulnerable body.

Seconds later, Kali tore through the trees in a mad frenzy, looking around like a rabid ryuu-neko.

"Where are you, you bastard?!"

Suddenly, she felt something grab her ankles. She looked down to see two hands coming out of the ground.

"What the hell?!"

The hands pulled her off her feet, sending her crashing face first to the dirt and leaves.

Jerome climbed his way out of the ground, the molecules of his body being shaken at an accelerated rate due to his Power.

He reached out with his hand and tried to summon his katana, but it never came. He looked at his empty grasp in concern, then thought, 'Right. Looks like those are gone for good, too.'

Then, he remembered the memorabilia he took from the ziggurat after his battle with Mephisto. A crescent throwing knife.

Holding the blade pointed at Kali, he waited as she leapt back to her feet and turned to Jerome.

Seeing the new Dreamkeeper poised in defense, Kali simply grinned. "You are so screwed now!"

She began flipping backwards to gain distance. After regaining her standing position, she bared her claws as she targeted her victim.

She took one step forward and gasped. 

Jerome was now in front of her, his knife deep in her chest.

"Think again, bitch."

She looked down and saw the knife magically glide through her chest from the wound up to her heart. She felt the knife vanish from the wound, like it wasn't there. Then, she gasped again as it reappeared right inside her heart. Suddenly, Jerome snarled as he pulled it out, tearing her heart out from the inside.

Kali moaned as she gripped both wounds and fell back first to the ground.

She weakly looked up at Jerome, who thought, 'There's nothing wrong with us, Kali. Maybe we should be normal. Maybe this is right. But, somehow, this just doesn't feel right. This isn't the way to become normal if we have to be. But, I just feel that we're normal as Hell Hybrids. That's just how I feel.'

Kali smiled weakly, coughing up blood. 'You're really something else, Jerome. I don't think you can stop our father now, but I guess, at this point, you've got nothing to lose. The ring that he has is called the Ring of All; More popularly known as the First Halo. An object that could give you whatever your heart desires. It was created by Nethers with assistance from the other gods. A former Sacrare goddess named Serapis attempted to take the ring for herself. The evil deeds she had in mind caused Void to be born. With the help of Void, Serapis challenged Nethers for the ring. But, Nethers wouldn't have it. He was too powerful anyway, according to legend. He banished Serapis and Void from the heavens and sent the First Halo down here to the Dreamworld. To show Serapis just how angry he was, he created the Nightmares and assigned Void to be their appointed leader. Nethers sent the Nightmares on a relentless rampage around the world to kill everybody in sight. Somehow, the Dreamkeepers survived and the Nightmares vanished. Now, you know the true reason for the Extollo's arrival so many years ago and the war they waged with Anduruna when their priests were shoved out. They were supporters of Serapis, seeking revenge against those who follow Nethers and his fellow brethren. 

'To make a long story short, Nethers created an all-powerful ring, Father has found it and is now using it to cleanse the world of the evil that Nethers created out of vengeance. Because of the ring's power, I don't think you stand a chance against Father.'

Jerome pulled out his revolver. 'I'll take my chances, Kali. It's the least I can do to stop this chaos.'

Kali coughed again, still smiling. 'I'm sure you will, bro. I'm sorry, Jerry. So sorry for all of this.'

'I know you are. But don't worry. It's over for you now. Time for you to rest.'

Kali closed her eyes as tears began to form. 'Thank you, Jerome.'

The brother simply smirked. 'No problem, sis. See you later.'

The wolf trembled as the bullet went into her skull.

Completely unaware that his body was slowly dying from the unforgiving temperatures, Jerome turned and walked out of the training room.

Holstering his weapon, Jerome now stood confused and bewildered, now comprehending all that Kali told him.

'The First Halo. Created by the gods. And that is what Father is using to give himself power. That must be it. As mythical as it may sound, it has to be the only explanation. All this time I thought Nabonidus was just giving him power somehow, but now that doesn't seem to be the case. All that training, all that practice, all of that solitary confinement. He was practicing his use of the First Halo. 'An object that could give you whatever your heart desires.' He must've been thinking about our purpose in life. To prove to Nethers of our worth by waging war with the Nightmares he created and being victorious. The only way to do that, in his mind, was to use the object that started all of this and destroy the Nightmares with its power, then normalize the remnant of the Hell Hybrid population. Thus, wiping out everything that Nethers had created. I guess this means if the First Halo exists, then so must the gods that forged it. It's just unbelievable.'

Jerome nearly shouted as he hugged himself, falling to his knees.

He looked at his hand to see it shaking, his blonde yellow fur covered in frost. He could no longer resist the cold.

But now, he couldn't stop. He looked out the fortress entrance, into the blizzard.

'There's no turning back. Not now, not ever. I've got to get to the city. Have to find Father.'

Slowly rising to his feet, Jerome trudged out the doors.

He moaned as he was instantly bombarded by the elements. He could think about nothing but the cold. He forced his way through the knee high snow as his heart pounded his chest.

Completely forgetting he was on a balcony, Jerome bumped into one of the battlements and went tumbling over the edge.

He shouted as he fell the short distance down to a slope, his voice echoing loud across the lonely mountains. He slammed back first to the snow and went sliding down the perfectly smooth peaks. He eventually stopped as the slope flattened out.

Jerome turned onto his belly and looked on to see the blizzard thinning out. But it was still too strong to live through. He looked across the mountains and saw the overwhelming size of Anduruna, now closer than before.

"Mmmm-mm-may-bbbe I cc-can...."

Jerome attempted to rise, thinking about using his speed to run straight to Anduruna in no time at all.

Alas, the Dreamkeeper fell to his face. His body was completely weakened.

'Damn it! Not now! I just can't stop right now.'

Jerome lifted his head and pulled his arms forward. Slowly, he drug himself through the snow for only a couple of feet before coming to a stop.

'It's no use. It's over. I'm done.'

Less than a minute went by as Jerome lay helpless. He used the last of his strength to raise his head one more time.

Almost fifteen feet away, a figure in a black hooded cloak, wearing gloves and boots, stood facing Jerome. The figure held a silver staff with a wickedly sharp blade on the side near the very top end. The bladed staff was a scythe.

Jerome looked dumbfounded as the figure approached, using the scythe for support.

The fox sighed and dug his numb face into the snow.

'Vornskyr. The messenger of the Underworld. Either I'm going hysterical or this is truly it. This is the end for me. For me....'

The last sound Jerome heard was the hooded figure stopping right at Jerome's head.

Jerome the Dreamkeeper saw nothing but darkness after that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~