You are walking through the streets of Cairo. The buildings lean at impossible angles, their shadows stretching too long in the amber light of a sun that never moves. The bazaar is silent. Only the soft padding of paws on ancient stone.
You turn, and there it is.
A cat sits in the center of the empty street. Massive, the size of a lioness, its coat the pure, absolute black of a moonless night. Its eyes, luminous and golden, fix upon you with an intelligence that makes your skin crawl. You feel the weight of ages in that gaze, the patience of something that has watched empires rise and crumble to dust.
It speaks.
The words bloom directly within your mind, deep and resonant, like the purring of some great primordial beast echoing through a temple's empty halls.
"Iris. You see more than most. The veil is thin for you. That is why I have come."
The great cat rises and begins to circle you, its movements liquid and predatory. The golden eyes never leave yours.
"There is one who carries something that does not belong to him. Something taken. Something that must be returned."
The cat stops before you, so close you can feel the heat radiating from its form, smell the ancient dust and incense that clings to its fur.
"Make him bring it back."
The words strike like a physical blow.
"The sands remember what was stolen. The river thirsts for what was lost. Make him bring it back, or the scales shall never balance."
The golden eyes narrow. Within them, a flash of starlight.
"I have watched over these lands since before your tongue had words for 'ancient.' Heed me, Child of the Green Sight. Make him bring it back."
The cat opens its mouth, and darkness pours forth, a tide of shadow that swallows the dreamscape whole. You feel yourself falling, tumbling through the void as the command echoes endlessly:
"Bring it back... bring it back... bring it back..."
You wake with a start, heart pounding against your ribs. The sheets are damp with sweat, and for just a moment, just the briefest flicker, you see the silhouette of a great black cat sitting at the foot of your bed before it dissolves into the predawn shadows.
The faint scent of incense lingers in the air.