The World in Dissonance (Volume 2)

Chapter 1 - Part 3

Part 3

The evening sky above Sadler’s Wells Theatre had already begun losing its warmth when Dedicatus arrived at the hospital.

It was around 5:30 PM.

The streets of London remained alive outside, but the atmosphere within the building differed completely. The sterile scent of medicine, the dim white lights and the quiet footsteps echoing through the corridors created a suffocating contrast with the grandeur of the opera house they had left not long ago.

And yet, Beatrice Ashcroft still followed behind her.

The young aristocratic maiden had not spoken much ever since they received the news at the theatre. She simply accompanied Dedicatus in silence, her expression unreadable beneath the composed demeanor she always carried.

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The room number Father John had been assigned to was not difficult to find, with the institutions they received from the nurse they met in the hall.

Dedicatus pushed the door open.

And there, little Laurencia rested upon the hospital bed, motionless.

Machines quietly monitored her condition while the faint rhythm of her heartbeat echoed through the room in repetitive intervals.

And beside her sat Father John.

The Catholic Priest raised his eyes upon noticing the two girls entering.

“Dedicatus...”, quietly said Father John.

The young girl approached the bed slowly.

Laurencia’s face looked peaceful... Too peaceful.

It did not resemble sleep.

“What happeneth exactly!?”, asked Dedicatus.

Her tone remained composed, though Father John could tell she was restraining herself.

“We found her unconscious in one of the corridors near the eastern wing of the theatre!”, explained the priest. “There were no visible injuries... No sign of struggle either...”

“N’ the doctors!?”

“They still cannot explain why she entered a coma.”

Dedicatus remained silent.

Father John continued.

“They ran preliminary examinations, but nothing conclusive appeared. Her pulse is stable, her breathing is normal... Yet she refuses to wake up.”

“Like her consciousness got disconnected from her body!?”, asked the girl with the medical eyepatch. “Just like what happeneth to dozens of kiddos all around the country!!”

“That is one possible interpretation.”

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Silence settled briefly inside the room.

Beatrice stood near the window, quietly listening to their exchange without interrupting. Unlike earlier during the opera, there was no rivalry left in her expression, only observation. She was an outsider there, and she likely felt like she didn’t have the right to speak what was on her mind at that time.

“Did Laurencia say anythin’ strange before leavin’ her seat!?”, asked Dedicatus.

Father John shook his head.

“She only said she was going to the restroom.”

The eldest of the Liddel sisters lowered her gaze toward the unconscious girl.

Her thoughts accelerated.

The unknown individual absent from the audience, Laurencia collapsing during the final act, the timing... None of it felt random.

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Hours gradually passed and the sunlight faded completely from the city, allowing night to overtake London.

At some point, Beatrice finally stepped away from the wall and adjusted her coat.

“I should return home now.”, she declared calmly.

Dedicatus slightly nodded.

“Thanks for followin’ me this far.”

“It would be improper to leave a rival alone after such circumstances,” replied Beatrice in her usual composed manner. “Besides... this situation piqued my curiosity.”

A faint silence followed.

“Take care of yourself, Dedicatus.”

Then, Beatrice Ashcroft left the room.

Not long afterward, Father John also stood up.

“The church cannot remain unattended the entire night.”, explained the priest. “I will return early in the morning.”

“Got’cha Father!! For my case, Imma stay here!!”, replied Dedicatus instantly.

Father John observed her for a moment before nodding.

“Try to rest if possible.”

“That’s unlikely.”

The priest sighed faintly.

“That is precisely why I mentioned it.”

Then he quietly left the room as well.

Time passed and the night deepened. The young maiden Dedicatus remained alone beside Laurencia. She sat there in silence while the sound of the monitoring machine repeated endlessly in the background.

Hours passed, but it gave an impression as if one hour lasted an eternity. Thus, the young girl did not sleep... Or more likely, she didn’t plan to rest at all. There was something only she could do at such a time, and the young girl most likely planned to put all her strength into that.

According to psychologist, people could experience vivid, dream-like states while in a stated of coma or emerging from one, though they differed from normal REM sleep dreams. These experiences were often described as, long, detailed, and sometimes hallucinatory or nightmarish, often reflecting partially heard, real-world events.

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Dreams.

Since ancient times, dreams had always held a spiritual significance far beyond simple imagination. In The Bible, dreams repeatedly appeared as a medium through which divine messages were transmitted.

In Genesis 41, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and foresaw the seven years of abundance and famine.

Daniel deciphered different prophetic visions shown to him during sleep.

Even Joseph, the earthly father of Christ, received warnings from angels through dreams as seen in Matthew 1 and 2.

There were dozens of case of dream related visions written in the Bible, but the belief that Dreams held important significance was not only limited to Christian communities.

To numerous civilizations and religions, dreams were not mere illusions born from the unconscious mind.

They were gateways, bridges between the material and spiritual planes.

While asking Father John about the state in which Laurencia, Dedicatus mentioned something about the same situation all around the country. It was one of the reason the young girl were often absent at home and at the university. Father John and Dedicatus were on the weird case of unknown and suspicious coma that recently plagued the children of Great Britain. And as one would expect, the mere fact that a Priest and a Jack of All Trades, specializing in Spiritual and Esoteric knowledge, were on those cases would imply that they were tied to supernatural phenomena.

It was not surprising to learn that among certain esoteric traditions existed a practice known as Dream Walking.

The concept varied depending on cultures and beliefs. Some shamans considered it a spiritual traversal through another person’s soul. Certain occult practitioners interpreted it as the synchronization of consciousness through the astral plane. Meanwhile, some mystic branches linked it to lucid dreaming elevated to a supernatural level.

Regardless of interpretation, the principle remained mostly identical, and that was ‘To enter another individual’s dream’ or more precisely, ‘To reach their consciousness through it’.

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Though she did not receive any of the Nine gifts of the Spirit like her twin sister Alyss and friend Sonya, Dedicatus possessed extensive knowledge regarding those matters.

The young maiden had studied countless texts related to dreams, spiritual projection and consciousness. Ancient grimoires, theological interpretations, occult manuscripts, psychological theories—her room, back at the Liddel Mansion, was practically a small library dedicated to such knowledge.

And thus—she did what she was best at. She attempted it without hesitation.

The hospital room remained dimly illuminated while midnight approached. Dedicatus closed her visible eye and carefully held the left hand of little Laurencia. Her breathing slowed while her concentration deepened. As she visualized her little sister in order to open the gate that will let her connect to the little girl, the young maiden with a medical eyepatch attempted to establish a bridge between their consciousness... To follow the pathway formed by dreams.

But even after a while, nothing happened.

Dedicatus tried again, this time relying on symbolic visualization techniques derived from hermetic traditions.

Then again—she faced failure. It was not something new to the girl, but at that time, it had more impact on her as she didn’t have a backup plan.

The scientist Albert Einstein once said ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’. Thus, for an expert such as herself, failing twice something she could usually achieve meant only one thing. There was a wall preventing the connection.

Hours continued to pass. The young maiden thought of all the methods she knew, such as biblical meditation, occult synchronization, esoteric breathing patterns, mental projection. And yet, every attempt reached the same conclusion. There was no response.

Laurencia’s consciousness was definitely isolated behind a wall. Or perhaps—it was somewhere unreachable.

For the first time in a long, Dedicatus experienced something she deeply disliked, and it was none other than the feeling of Powerlessness.

The night eventually came to an end. And morning was finally casted over London.

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Alyss and Sonya had finally returned from their voyage to Carnforth. However, to their surprise, once they arrived at the Liddel Mansion, the residence stood completely empty. Under normal circumstances, their home should never remain unattended, especially at such hour. And more importantly, the spare key was not beneath the doormat like it usually was.

“This is weird!”, declared Alyss after checking beneath the mat one more time, just in case she had somehow missed it. “If they left, they would usually leave the key here. Moreover, they habitually never leave at this time!”

“I have a bad feeling about this...”, replied Sonya while finally setting her luggage down upon the pavement.

The atmosphere felt off, too quiet. Even the mansion itself seemed different.

“Let’s contact Father John! He may know about their whereabouts!”

And thus, the two maidens stepped away from the entrance of the mansion and headed toward the nearby streets in search of a public telephone booth. At that time, mobile phones were far from being a common convenience, and for most people, public telephone remained the quickest solution in situations such as this.

The streets of London remained active despite the early hour. Vehicles of all kinds passed one another, pedestrians crossed the sidewalks. The city had already awakened, yet neither Alyss nor Sonya paid much attention to it. Their minds were elsewhere.

After walking for several minutes, they finally located a red telephone booth standing near a street corner. Sonya quickly entered first while Alyss remained outside, anxiously pacing back and forth.

The girl in glasses inserted the coins before dialing the number of the church Father John was attached to.

The ringing echoed briefly, then after a while someone answered.

“St Peter’s Italian Catholic Church speaking.”

“Father John?”, instantly asked Sonya.

A brief silence followed before the familiar voice of the Catholic Priest responded.

“Sonya? Have you two finally returned?”

His tone alone immediately confirmed that something had happened.

“Where are Dedicatus and Laurencia?”, asked Alyss loudly enough for the Catholic Priest to hear from outside the booth.

Another silence followed, and that one was heavier.

“They are currently at the hospital,” answered the priest carefully.

The expressions of both girls instantly froze.

“The hospital?”, exclaimed Alyss. “What do you mean by that?”

“What happened?”, immediately followed Sonya.

Father John sighed faintly on the other side of the line.

“Laurencia was found unconscious yesterday evening during the opera performance at Sadler’s Wells. The doctors still do not know the exact cause of her condition.”

The atmosphere around the booth suddenly felt suffocating. Alyss tightly clenched her hand.

“Is she alright!?”

“She is alive”, replied Father John. “But she has yet to wake up.”

Neither of the two girls spoke for a brief moment. The reality of the situation slowly settled upon them.

“Which hospital is it, Father?”, asked Sonya firmly.

Father John immediately gave them the address. “St Bartholomew’s hospital!”

“We are going there right now!”, declared Alyss without hesitation.

“Dedicatus remained there the entire night!”, added the priest. “Please hurry.”

The line eventually ended.

Sonya slowly lowered the receiver. Outside the booth, Alyss already looked prepared to run there herself if necessary.

“She’s in a coma...”, muttered the Christian girl in glasses.

Alyss bit her lower lip. Then—without wasting another second—the two maidens immediately rushed toward the hospital.

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Time ran gradually. And the two girl finally reached their destination. The hospital corridor suddenly echoed with hurried footsteps.

The door abruptly opened.

“Laurencia! Dedicatus!”

The two young maidens had arrived in panic. Their expressions instantly shifted after seeing Laurencia lying unconscious upon the hospital bed.

“What happened?”

“When did this occur?”

Questions immediately overlapped one another. And then, their eyes finally landed upon Dedicatus. The eldest sister remained seated beside the bed, still wearing the same clothes from the previous day and still awake. She had not slept the entire night.

“Dedicatus, what is going on?”, insisted her twin sister, unable to contain herself any longer. “What happened to Laurencia?”

Yet the girl remained silent. In response to that unbearable silence, Alyss suddenly rushed toward her elder sister then tightly gripped both her shoulders.

“Please, do me a favor and answer my questions?”, angrily demanded the younger twin, her trembling hands betraying the storm raging inside her heart. “What the hell happened? How could you let something like this happen to our little sister?”

“Alyss...”

Sonya instinctively attempted to intervene, but no proper words came out of her mouth. Both of them knew it was unfair to blame Dedicatus. But at that precise moment, Alyss was no longer thinking rationally. Fear, exhaustion and panic overwhelmed her emotions, causing her to react unlike her usual self—not as an investigator, nor a brillant and gifted person—but simply as a terrified elder sister.

“Answer me Goddamnit!”

Right after those shouting words, Alyss finally seemed to regain a fragment of composure, her breathing slowed slightly and her hands gradually stopped trembling.

Then—for the very first time since they entered the room—Dedicatus finally answered her sister. But it was not a verbal answer. The eldest sister of the Liddel family slowly lifted her visible eye toward her twin Alyss, revealing an expression so cold and spine-chilling, that the younger sister unconsciously loosened her grip before stepping two paces backwards. Neither Alyss nor Sonya knew how to react to it as Dedicatus never looked at them that way, even once.

It was not anger, nor hatred. That gaze felt worse. It was the gaze of someone who had not slept, who had spent the whole night staring into helplessness while cursing herself for not finding solutions to the current situation.

“Ya done!?”, suddenly asked Dedicatus.

Her voice was coldly calm.

“Please don’t blame her, Alyss! None of this is her fault. Laurencia was under my responsibility while Dedicatus was performing during the Opera!”.

The one who intervened this time was none other than Father John. The Catholic Priest had seemingly just arrived after rushing from the Church he had been appointed to, exactly as he had promised Dedicatus the previous evening.

“It’s just like what I explained to you over the telephone.”, continued the Priest, while avoiding their gaze out of shame. “No one truly knows what actually happened to her.”

His expression darkened.

“She was found unconscious, and it was only after bringing her here that the doctors informed us that she had fallen into a deep coma.”

Silence immediately ruled all over the room. A crushing silence so unbearably heavy that it felt as though the weight of the world had descended upon their shoulders. No one knew what else to say, none of them was in possession of the answers they all desperately sought.

Then—as if attempting to break that dense atmosphere—Dedicatus slowly stood up from her chair.

Without another word, the girl with a medical eyepatch began walking slowly toward the door of the hospital room. And while facing away from them, she finally spoke.

“Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you.”

“...”

Only Sonya noticed the expression that crossed Dedicatus’s face when she quoted those words from ‘Beyond Good and Evil’, written by Friedrich Nietzsche.

“Ya two, stay here!!”, suddenly ordered Dedicatus. “Her case is tied to the one me n’ our good ol’ John here were workin’ on!”

“Wait! You mean it’s connected to the mysterious comatose cases spreading all over London?”, suddenly asked Father John.

“What are you gonna do, big sis?”

It was unusual of Alyss to call her that way. Yet at that moment, the younger twin’s voice carried far more emotion than usual.

“Imma head home first n’ change clothes! Can’t get the business done dressed in this outfit!”, replied the girl.

And finally, she tilted her head back and looked at her young twin.

“Then obviously... Imma crush ’em all! Those bastard cultists bared their fangs at the Wrong Monster!! The Abyss Gazer is comin’ for them.”

(If it’s really connected to the Cult of the Anti-Christ, will she really be able to solve it on her own? I’ve been after them for couple of years but I barely made a progress)

Those thoughts were crossing the Catholic Priest’s mind.

A devilish grin slowly spread across her face as she uttered those words. Those were the last things she said before leaving the hospital room. And even as she crossed the doorway, that same wicked smile still lingered on her lips.

“Such a frightening face doesn’t suit you at all, you know!”

The voice belonged to someone who was standing just outside the hospital room. It was Beatrice Ashcroft, leaning against the wall beside the doorway with her arms folded.

“I assume you already know where to look!”, continued the girl.

“Appreciate the concern but ain’t got time to play with ya, Beato!! Am in a hurry.”

“Then I shall accompany you! After all, it takes a monster to stand beside another one!”

“Whatever!! Just try not to slow me down!!”

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As Dedicatus made her way to leave the hospital, Beatrice stepped into Laurencia’s room.

“Please leave Dedicatus to me! I will make certain she does not stray from the proper path!”

The girl then bowed respectfully to them, wishing them a good day. Every gesture she made perfectly reflected the grave and refinement expected of someone of aristocratic stature.