Waves of people roamed around him as Ash found himself walking midway through a giant intersection of white streets. Convoluted, mismatched, and chaotic yet familiar scenes existed all around him instead of tall buildings like he was in the middle of an unfamiliar mega-crossing.

He found out that he was now in his former body, wearing boxer shorts and his favorite shirt. It was the final thing he wore before he heard that voice.

He gazed at his former hands but wasn't feeling all that sentimental when he could move them.

When he lifted his head, he could see a place that was too familiar for his liking. A building where a couple of white, featureless people come and go. He could even see a few of them act like they were talking to each other, even though they were all featureless humanoid figures.

There was a tiny voice inside his mind that told him to enter, but he didn't.

When he turned his head around, he could see more of such scenes. A huge white castle with the same figures guarding it while some march outside, an enormous white dragon being ridden by one of the white humanoid figures hurtling down some arrow in the distance. A tower with featureless figures wore white robes fit to their own unique sizes.

A giant bridge, a hotel, a mountain, a river, and all the other shapes that Ash could recognize but were all in white formed a convoluted, mismatched, and chaotic place, yet all jammed into a single city.

He wasn't bothered by it, so he brought his attention back to his walk.

Countless figures were going about their day. He was curious about what this place was, but suddenly, all the figures gradually stopped moving.

It was like someone had pressed the pause button.

Ash noticed that it was the same in every direction.

The place became eerily silent.

Ash started to walk, as he could no longer tell what would happen next. He made his way through the frozen-in-time streets to find an exit or a hiding place.

But then, his prediction came true. Even when he was already a few meters away from his initial position, more and more figures were frozen in place.

Gradually, their bodies, necks, and heads all turned to face him!

He wasn't sure why they were doing this.

Feeling their gaze, he couldn't sense any malicious intention.

He tilted his head to ponder it for a moment.

Huh, so they aren't going to jump on me.

Ash turned his head and found an opening. He started slowly walking in a direction, while the figures just continued to turn their faceless heads. Their feet slowly moved as they began to follow him.

Since they were harmless and this was a dream, he didn't mind anymore.

Eventually, he arrived in a blank area where all was white as far as the eye could see. Even the sky was an endless expanse of white, like he had just stepped out of a giant dome.

He turned around and saw that the faceless people were now gathered by the border of the amalgamation of blurry places, too far for him to see. They were all just standing there, watching him with their faceless heads, but strangely, he wasn't afraid of them but just felt an elusive sense of melancholy.

The countless figures bent their backs and bowed down to him. Instantly, they and their chaotic country slid off the surface of the glass, leaving a white expanse, riding the convoluted place with them.

 

…

 

"Teacher!"

A high-pitched shriek roused Ash from his slumber. An uncertain length of time has passed. Ash didn't know how long it had been, but he knew it had been a long time, just enough for him to become well-rested.

He was not tired or thirsty anymore, but he felt like he could eat the whole Jollibee menu. He could guess they were no longer near the river, so they were either at the young woman's home or her school. The other possibility would be at her teacher's house, which would be weird since living with your educator isn’t normal.

Have I just dreamed of something? I can’t remember what it was all about. Hmmm. I guess it’s true what they say about dreams. When you wake up, you’ll forget most of them. I only remembered walking through something, I can't remember what it was.

With his eyes still closed, Ash finished his contemplation as he could hear Lucy arguing with someone.

"Ash honestly returned! He's a friend of mine who got lost in the woods and had no idea where he was headed. Oh, oh, and he shivered! If you were there, you would see how cold and terrified he must have been all alone in the woods. You would gladly take him back!"

"I told you Ash was going somewhere far away, but you ignored his wishes."

A cold but elegant voice replied to Lucy.

He could hear Lucy arguing with a woman whom Ash predicted to be Lucy’s “teacher.” Judging by the tone of her voice, she was concerned for Lucy’s well-being.

Did the previous Ash really leave Lucy and die deep inside the forest? No, something is wrong. Why would a small dog willingly venture out alone at night near a bear’s den? Besides, this woman said that Ash went somewhere far away. Why would a teacher have information about a student’s dog? It just doesn’t add up. I need more information.

The small dog still kept his eyes closed and listened to the conversation. It was his chance to gather information, and he wouldn’t let this slip from his grasp!

Good thing I can still understand them.

“But he didn’t leave! He was out there all alone, behind a tree, shivering in the cold. I picked him up, and I don’t know, maybe he thought it was another human, and he jumped off and ran away, so I chased him.” Ash heard Lucy abruptly pause for a moment, then added, "But he came back willingly, I promise!"

What!? Who was that? Who came back willingly!? I don’t know such a person.

Ash rejected her internally.

"Hmmm, what happened to your left leg and why are you hiding it? Don't tell me you slipped and fell."

The woman's voice, whom Lucy was arguing with, responded, emphasizing each syllable getting louder, evidently on the verge of explosion.

"Something like that...Hehe."

Lucy mumbled under her breath, but it was still audible enough that even Ash could hear it.

But instead of a litany of disciplinary speeches, Ash heard the woman sigh heavily before asking, “Don't tell me you fought that bear?”

"Y-Yes," Lucy stuttered.

“…”

“...”

"It's the one with the numerous scars etched all over its body, right?"

"Yes," Lucy replied like her voice was that of a bank teller behind a glass wall with a small hole.

“…”

“...”

The room was silent, but Ash could feel the tension receding as time passed. After a couple of more minutes, the woman whom Lucy addressed as a teacher released a tired breath.

“Sigh…”

Lucy didn’t even last a minute before spilling the beans. This lady is formidable! If I open my eyes right now, I bet I can see Lucy looking on the floor being dominated by this woman. Is this her guardian? Where are Lucy's parents? Will I live under her from now on? Right, Lucy called her teacher. Is she living with her? Ash speculated the answers to these questions as the two continued their conversation.

“Lucy, I already told you about not recklessly fighting someone stronger than you. It's a miracle you made it back here with only that small injury. I’ll let you off with a minor punishment. You can only attend the Celestial Ryder Festival if you do well in my remaining… tests."

Lucy slammed her uninjured foot down in defiance as her voice turned a pitch higher.

“No! You just want to find a reason for me to be punished. It’s you, teacher, who lied to me! You told me that Ash was going somewhere far away when the truth was he was just lost out there.”

Gasp!

“Don’t tell me you’re the one who left him there.”

For a few seconds, the lady remained silent before releasing a tired breath.

"Sigh. Lucy, how many times do I have to say that I didn't before you believe me?"

"Besides, About that fight. How did you escape? It was the strongest bear that ever existed in the eastern forest, and I was keeping it for your training at the end of the year. Still, it's a good thing you met it early on. You can think about what happened today and try to come up with ways to counter the bear's movements. When I see positive results in our sparring matches, I'll let you fight it."

Lucy was silent for an extended period. After a few seconds, the lady had had enough and asked, "Lucy, why aren't you answering?"

Lucy responded sheepishly, "Uhmm. That might not be possible anymore."

"What's not possible?"

"I'm not going to fight the bear."

The older woman was silent for a moment and then said, "Afraid? Don't tell me you no longer want to be a knight—"

"No, no, no!"

Lucy quickly interjected as she defended herself, "Teacher! I still want to become a knight! What I meant was, that the bear is already dead! It fell off that big hole at the end of the forest. I can’t survive falling that high. Right?"

“...”

The woman was speechless for a few seconds at how lucky her student was surviving almost unscathed. After a few seconds, Ash heard the cold voice again.

“Tell me what exactly happened, everything, from start to finish."

"…"

Without a surprise, Ash got bored halfway and by the end of the Lucy’s recollection, he almost fell asleep. With his eyes still closed, he kept his ears open.

“And then Ash came back and lirer that bear away from me after I got injured. It chased Ash to the bushes, out to the cliff and it just went straight down below. Ash was just hiding in the bushes! Teacher, you have got to believe in me! I swear!”

"Ash, tell her!"

Both the women gazed intently at Ash and found him staring at them. His eyes widened and snapped his head back down, pretending to be asleep.

What!? How did I end up in this mess? I'm just a dog! A teeny-tiny dog! A corgi that can't communicate! Please keep me out of it. See, I'm sleeping. I didn’t even open my eyes during the entire thing. Just sleep. Pretend to sleep. Zzzzz.

"…"

There was a brief moment of stillness. Ash couldn't tell if he heard a clock ticking somewhere outside. As time passes, silence becomes increasingly uncomfortable for him.

I can feel both of your gazes boring through my skull! I'm asleep!

“Traitor!” Lucy blurted in annoyance.

"Lucy, when I said Ash was leaving, I meant it. People tend to change with time, so you must adapt and learn to live without them in your life. That is what a mature person would do."

Phew, Ash said as he wiped away his nonexistent sweat. I'm OK. Please disregard my presence. Keep going, both of you.

"But Ash is a friend of mine, and he came back to me on his own. We even attacked that bear as a team! Yes, I know he was being useless, couldn’t carry his own weight, and could only be used as bait, but it was our first collaborative effort! Besides, he’s a dog, not a person!"

Hey, that hurts. I’ll forgive you this time. Carry on. Just don’t drag me into this mess.

"Lucy, I already told you that Ash was leaving for the benefit of everyone. You still have other friends in school. If you want, you can always make new friends."

“But Ash is my best friend! Why would he even want to leave me? What do you even know anyway!? You’re not my mom. You can’t even understand what he’s saying and you think you can understand him better than I do? I hope you get struck by lightning, teacher!”

Step. Step.

Thud!

Lucy left, stomping away, and made sure to slam the door on her way out, leaving only Ash and the unknown lady inside the room.

“Sigh… Lucy.”

Step. Step. Step… Step.

The woman's footsteps were about to grow faint, leaving Ash, but it stopped. The sound drew closer as Ash could feel the slight breeze before him.

He didn't move a muscle except the normal rhythm of his breathing.

Step. Step. Step.

Click!

Ash was about to celebrate when he heard her steps moving away and the sound of the knob turning, but the woman said something before closing it.

It was only a light whisper but with Ash’s inhuman sense of hearing made it more audible than he realized.

“You should’ve died.”