"You're not munching on anyone's nightmares. We need to find Time, remember?" I replied. "Speaking of… Anything?"

He gave me a weary look. "Nope."

"Whoa. Yes," Dream said, glancing around with renewed interest. "It's ever the slightest trace, but he was here. More recently than in other places. Hold on."

She dashed across the market square and vanished. Moments later, she appeared at the top of the stairs, which led to the upper parts of the fortress. Nightmare and I followed. Up here, the richer folk dwelled. Their clothes looked better, with layers of velvet and finely crafted brocade. Gold pins adorned the men's chests, and gemstones were sprinkled around the women's necks.

"Up there," Dream said, pointing to the highest point of the fortress.

It looked like a temple of sorts, just above the throne room. In this place, the society was literally layered inside the fortress. At the top was the temple—for their god, I assumed. Right beneath it was the ruler, a king of sorts, perhaps. Upon reaching the throne rooms, I noticed they were open. I could see the regal seat from outside. People probably gathered here, requesting an audience whenever they had needs or concerns. The entire section was heavily guarded by armored swordsmen, but there was no monarch in sight.

Below, the nobility lived. The commoners had been left at the bottom, though none had struck me as miserable in any sense. They didn't know any better, either. They'd yet to emancipate themselves like many had done before them, on Earth.

This isn't Earth.

Still, this civilization's existence begged the question. How had they developed here, in the first place, and with such astonishing similarity? Unlike the Supernatural Dimension and the In-Between, the people of Earth had not gone around exploring. They didn't have the technology or the magic that had been made available through GASP to the supernaturals.

What if the people of Earth had been isolated from the rest of the dimension? Had someone put these creatures here, on Astram? What were the odds that such similar civilizations would grow, almost simultaneously, on different planets so far apart from one another?

I'd have to answer these questions later. The pinnacle of our journey was within our reach, as we made our way up the last steps and stopped in front of the temple's round, polished pillars.

"Oh, now I feel it," Nightmare said, giving his sister a surprised glance.

"What do you feel?" I asked, already on the edge of my seat. Had we finally found the Time Master?

"Our brother," Dream said. "He was here, beyond a shadow of a doubt."

The temple towered above us in shades of charcoal and limestone gray. It felt cold and empty, but I knew it wasn't. A Reaper had passed through here, not that long ago—I didn't sense it myself, but the looks on Dream’s and Nightmare's faces told me everything I needed to know.

We were getting closer to finding the Time Master.

Kelara

"I'm surprised there are other human-like creatures out here," I said.

The three of us stood before the temple's pillars, not enough courage between us to go inside. I couldn't understand why. We were three Reapers, two of us even among the oldest in existence. There was something inside that prevented us from moving right away, but we didn't have the courage to speak up.

"This dimension was once rife with them," Nightmare replied. "Some destroyed others in interstellar wars for dominance. Others destroyed themselves by ruining the ecosystems of their worlds. Earth, as you know it, is not the first instance of humans becoming the dominant species."

Dream nodded in agreement. "There are a few more like Astram out there, a few of them actually farther ahead in terms of technology and development. Here, the people have maintained a certain state for thousands of years. They've been like this for a very long time."

"Do they not feel the need for progress?" I asked.

"Do you not feel the need to set foot inside the temple, already?" Nightmare said, a sarcastic grin slitting his face.

"After you, sir," I retorted. "How am I supposed to be the first one to go in?"

Dream giggled. "I take it we all feel it, then. The dread oozing out of this place."

"What is it?" I sighed.

Inside, there wasn't much to be seen. The lights were dim, barely glowing on wall-mounted torches, blue with orange wisps. Shadows stretched across the floor, but I could still make out a large statue in the middle of the temple. Its face wasn't visible, but even so, its eyes sought to haunt me.

"Something awful happened here," Dream said. "Not to the living, but to one of our own. A Reaper bled here."

"Whoa," I blurted. "How can a Reaper bleed?!"

"Old magic. Death magic," Nightmare replied. "We can feel our brother's presence, but even you can sense his suffering."

Bracing myself, I sucked in a breath and finally moved, taking the first steps inside the temple. Darkness briefly enveloped me as I passed between two of the pillars, the statue in the middle revealing itself. It was odd that barely anything could be seen from the outside. As soon as I walked into the shadows, everything seemed to come to light—albeit a soft one.

"Oh, snap." Dream chuckled. "That's him!"

"What?" I asked, staring at the statue.

It was the figure of a man sitting on a throne, in what looked like an elegant tunic, a sculpted pocket watch hanging from his chest pocket. His hair was combed back, his eyes hollowed out. His long fingers spread like a spider's legs over the armrests. And he seemed to be smiling.

Nightmare gasped. "They made a statue in his likeness. If you think Death will be pissed about my sister and me, wait till she hears that the Time Master allowed himself to be worshipped by a bunch of mortals!"

"Now that I look back, our dream munchies are nothing compared to his effigy. We might get a slap on the wrist, at best," Dream added.

"He's their god?" I managed, leaning forward to check the symbols engraved into the statue's square, solid base. I moved my fingers across each letter, understanding the text along the way. "Yes, he is. The Lord of Time, they call him."

Dream and Nightmare circled the statue, their scythes out and glowing intermittently as they moved. They looked like shadows, mere wisps that hovered across the floors, moving graciously and enacting a series of spells designed to connect them to the Time Master.

"Any sign of him, beyond what you've been sensing?" I asked.

The statue text was pretty specific in terms of the locals' mythology. One day, the Lord of Time was said to have stepped down from the heavens, using his power to stop entire wars and bring peace to the nations of Astram. The people of Astram considered him to be a liberator of sorts.

Walking away from the statue, I checked the temple's interior walls next. Bas-reliefs covered the upper half, while more writings were carved into the bottom half.

"He was here recently enough," Nightmare said.

"Another Reaper attacked him. Hurt him deeply. One of ours," Dream concluded, giving me a worried look.

It didn't take long for me to put two and two together. "You mean to tell me the Spirit Bender is behind Time's disappearance, too?"

"Does it not make sense?" Nightmare murmured, picking up a broken gemstone from the floor, where it had been wedged between two of the base's stones. He frowned, cautiously sniffing it. "This was his. It fell from his watch."

"His watch," I repeated, hoping he'd clarify his statement.

"His accoutrement, shall we call it?" Dream said. "They call him the Time Master, Kelara. Naturally, a tool of time measurement is his favorite accessory. A pocket watch, to be specific, with the lid made of rare blue gold and covered in precious, unique gemstones. See?" She pointed to the sculpture's pocket watch. "That, right there. It's a real thing. He spent eons foraging through the darkest corners of the universe in search of the perfect stones for it."

"And this is one of them. Well, it was. No longer, clearly," Nightmare said.

The temple texts spoke of the Time Master having spent a considerable amount of time on Astram. It irked me that he'd taken such liberties, against every single rule that Death had set for us on the matter.

"He wasn't just worshipped here. He lived on Astram for centuries. They brought him offerings. They sought his council. He made and broke empires during that time. It's so illegal," I mumbled.