Doubts and fears were the foremost things on the young man’s mind as he continued to wander in an unfamiliar space, the only thing visible to his eyes being a shade of black that completely filled his surroundings.

Whether he found himself there by coincidence or fate, he didn’t know. Whether it was real or just a dream, a fantasy perhaps, he also didn’t know. 

What he did acknowledge, feel and see was the absolute nothingness that surrounded him. No matter where he looked, no matter where he went, there was nothing except the darkness that surrounded him.  

Yet, as was the natural order of things, opposites were inextricably connected and gave meaning to one another. Where there was darkness, there was also light, even if a little far away. 

Despite having lost his bearings, the man continued forward. Tired, and almost on the verge of giving up, his hopes were renewed when he saw a faint glow just ahead of him. Approaching it, the radiance took on the form of a blue butterfly and flew around him in circles. After repeating this a few more times, the butterfly perched on his right hand and transmogrified into a large key as a wooden door suddenly appeared before him. 

Even though his face showed signs of confusion at the sudden turn of events, the man pressed forward. As he inserted the key, the door opened and began pulling him in towards an unknown place. Despite his best efforts to resist, he was pulled in by an otherworldly force as a a blinding light enveloped him. Next thing he knew, he was descending through the air, ultimately ending up hitting the floor. 

“That hurt…” 

As he recovered from the pain, his eyes opened to a breathtaking visage, the likes of which he had never seen before in his life. 

The wanderer found himself upon a place that completely ignored anything that could be called “common sense”. Numerous islands that were inexplicably floating in the air filled most of the area. Each of these had vegetation exotic enough to put the gardens of even the wealthiest nobles to shame, with some even featuring lakes that had waterfalls with seemingly no end, their pure and crystalline waters flowing to the very heavens. The most remarkable thing about the scenery, however, was a huge celestial body that could be seen in the sky. No matter where one went, it followed closely, like a mother with her child. 

Yet even as he tried to contain his amazement at the sight, there were still various things his mind couldn’t comprehend. 

Why did he find himself in that place? Did he die, and if so, was this heaven? Or perhaps, was there a supernatural force that made him see all of those things? Trying to find the answer to those questions only left him more confused. To clear his head, the man decided to explore his surroundings. 

As he did so, his attention was caught by an enormous island that towered over the others. It had what appeared to be a gigantic arch, statues and numerous other objects which he could not identify due to the distance between him and them. 

The wandering man resolved to get there to take a closer look at the objects over on that island and hopefully find an answer to his queries. There was one small problem, however. He had no idea of how to get there. 

The islands were at such distance from each other that if someone tried to jump from one to another, they would fall before reaching their destination. He looked downwards from the edge of the landmass he stood on to see what was below him, yet saw nothing more than islands and clouds. In other words, jumping wasn't a valid option. And so, he began searching for another way to cross. 

Out of all the objects that were in the floating islands, one was a recurring existence: Unusually tall and pointy stones that stood on the edges of each island and had numerous patterns drawn on them. The man approached one of them and saw a pattern that resembled a human hand. Instinctively putting his left hand on it, a set of crystalline stairs that connected the landmass he stood on and the neighboring island suddenly emerged before him. 

Despite being taken aback by the bizarre mechanism, the wanderer continued onwards and repeated the process several times until he got where he wanted to be. 

As he reached the island, he set out to closely examine the objects that surrounded him. The arch, despite having gigantic dimensions, didn't seem to have anything out of the ordinary with it. It looked the same as any he had previously seen. The statues, for their part, portrayed humans with wings wielding swords, spears and different kinds of weapons. 

As he continued to carefully examine the place, the wanderer's interest was piqued. Not by the arch or statues that he previously saw, but rather by the objects that were on top of a table–A pale blue gown and a pendant. 

The gown, albeit simple in design, appeared to be made from high-quality materials and exuded a faint glow. The pendant, silver-colored and with a mysterious red stone as its centerpiece, exuded an otherwordly radiance. The gem was shiny and reflective enough to see one's face in it. The wanderer approached it and saw his facial features remained unchanged. Black hair, blue eyes, and a slightly pale complexion were reflected on the gem as he used it as a mirror. 

What this meant, of course, was that he wasn't alone. The objects on top of the table belonged to someone else. And he decided to find whoever that was, as well as the reasons for why he found himself there. 

"Hello? Is there anyone here?" The man inquired as he looked around for signs of somebody else. Yet the only reply he got was the sound of silence. 

"Hello?" Once again, the man inquired. And once again, the result was the same. After repeating this a couple of times more, he sighed and again shifted his attention to the pendant on top of the table. Just as he was going to touch the gem once more, however, an unexpected change took place. 

The beautiful scenery that had surrounded him but a few moments ago was suddenly replaced by a shade of grey, fog covering the area. Though the wanderer could not see a thing, he did hear the sound of someone coming out of the water nearby. 

"I-Is someone there?" He asked, stiff as a board. His eyes frantically looked around to see if someone was nearby, yet he saw nothing. After walking around aimlessly for some time, he began hearing footsteps behind him. Quickly turning around, he saw a shadow approaching him from the fog. 

"A fiend...?" The wanderer thought to himself, steeling for a possible attack. Yet as the shadowy figure approached him, it's silhouette began resembling more and more that of a human. 

The man didn't recognize any fiend or humanoid monster that looked like that. Goblins, orcs and the like were all easily recognizable due to their body size. The one in front of him, however, looked eerily similar to a human. As he carefully approached the shadowy figure, it examined him with curiosity. 

After staring at each other for a while, the man decided to inquire with it. 

"Who are you? What is this place?" He asked, advancing towards the shadow. 

However, it appeared as if he got too close for comfort, as the shadowy figure began running away from him. 

"Wait!" The wanderer exclaimed, chasing after the shadowy figure. Despite not being in bad physical shape, he struggled to pursue his target as the shadow ran at a speed that was way faster than his. With each step he took, it seemed as if the shadow got further and further away from him. The fact that the fog limited his field of vision also didn't help. 

After playing this game of cat and mouse for a while longer, the shadowy figure had enough. Suddenly turning towards the man who pursued it, it extended what appeared to be its right hand and created a violet-colored wall of energy that separated the two of them. 

The wanderer tried crossing the wall, but the energy inside it kept him at bay. No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't get past it. 

"Clearly, this is no ordinary human or fiend." The man thought to himself as he stood in awe of the being in front of him. 

It was what happened next, however, that truly confirmed the man's doubts and sent a shiver down his spine. 

With a twirl of its hand, the shadow created a black hole that started to slowly drag him down. Despite his best efforts to resist, the hole kept pulling him in, like quicksand. 

The shadowy figure only kept staring in silence as the man's body submerged deeper into the unknown. When most of his body was inside of the hole, it approached him and spoke with a soft voice, feminine voice. 

"We shall meet again..." 

As he felt his body being swallowed whole by the hole, everything went black again, his consciousness fading. 

---

When the man opened his eyes once more he found himself resting his head on a desk, half-asleep. Numerous papers and letters were around him, as well as what appeared to be the leftovers of last night's dinner. 

Fighting the drowsiness, the man tried to remember how he ended up falling asleep there. As he did so, memories of the events that he had lived in "Heaven" suddenly came to him. 

He remembered arriving at a complex of floating islands that seemed out of this world and navigating through them. He also remembered the human-like being he encountered and the bizarre techniques it used; an impenetrable wall of energy and a black hole that dragged him towards the unknown. But when he woke up, he found himself at his house, as if nothing had changed at all. 

What this meant, of course, was that despite feeling incredibly real the events that happened there were just a dream. Or at least, that's what the man thought. He didn’t recall ever having an experience like that and wondered about what could have triggered the dream, as well as the meaning behind it. 

Numerous questions arose on his head, but before he could ponder more about them, the sound of someone knocking on the door shook him from his thoughts. 

Hurriedly putting on the nearest shoes he had and fixing his appearance, the man went towards the front door. Upon opening it, he was greeted by a boy dressed in armor. The boy, of slim figure and fair complexion, had blond hair tied into a ponytail and blue eyes that were uncharacteristically devoid of the energy and vigor of young people. As he was of slightly below average height, the armor that he wore made him stand out a little. The man stared at him for a little before asking his reasons for visiting. 

"Hello." He said, scratching the back of his head. "How may I help you?"

"Um... good morning, sir." The boy said, making an obeisance. "Is this the house of Lieutenant Lucian Lockhart?"

The man nodded. "That would be me."

"Sir." The boy said as he made another obeisance. "I'm one of the new recruits under Lord Galford's command. My lord says that he has an announcement to make and would like for you to come over to his office as soon as possible."

Lucian pondered on the meaning behind the summon, but nevertheless agreed to go. 

"I see. I'll go there as soon as I can."

"Oh, also." the young soldier said, "He said to tell Lieutenant... Umm..."

The boy somehow struggled to get the words out of his mouth. 

 "Oh, right, Lieutenant Rheiburg to come as well. I visited him but he wasn't in his house."

Lucian nodded to the boy, and gave him a light smile."I will don't worry."

The young man made an obeisance. "Then, I'll see myself off. Good day, sir."

"Take care."

As the young soldier left, Lucian wondered about the reasons why his superior wanted to see him. The city of Druchil, compared to the others in the north, was relatively peaceful. Bandits rarely appeared at all, and if they did, they were swiftly dealt with. As there were also no rebellions or nearby conflicts to speak of, he thought that it probably wasn’t anything related to fighting.  

At the end of the day, orders were orders. Defying them would bring about needless trouble. Thus, Lucian prepared his things and left for the castle. 

---