Dangxiao Er was the town of cabins — Maple wood cabins to be accurate. In Frisnian-style, roads were lined with evenly shaped square brick, oriental wooden structures and ceramic tiles. From the horizon, the light of the setting sun painted the small town in the surreal orange color.

Usually, the various wooden cabins, doubling as stalls, would still be opening for business, filling the air with the sound of sizzling and smell of delectable treat being sold over the counter.

That wasn’t the case.

The total silence and the veneer of fear hanging in the air was enough to clue anyone that something was abnormal.

Two men garbed in black robes wandered down the road. They paused in front of a cabin — a bar — absorbing the out-of-place rowdy celebratory noises from within.

“Clue?” Yuri — Requiem — said.

“Yes,” said Rem — or Dream on his job.

The two men went into the pub for some information gathering.

…

It was immediately obvious why the town had turned uncharacteristically dour.

A burly man in leather jacket and metal accessory was emptying alcohol down his throat, boasting about his conquest in the nearby red-light district. Next to him, a similarly dressed man and two Dark Elves were enduring the ordeal, looking dead in the eyes.

Dream’s eyes widened. He guided Yuri to the far room by the corner, trying to remain undetectable to the four rowdy guests.

Requiem might be new to this new job, but he knew exactly what he needed to do.

[Aero Law]

The air in the pub shifted in an imperceptibly subtle degree. An alteration of air muted the two heroes, while amplifying the sound from their targets.

…

“Another drink,” said the rowdy man.

“Just stop it dude,” said his friend. “We’re on the clock.”

“Who cares?” the rowdy replied. “We have a big payday ahead. Can’t believe we need to work with those up—”

“Stop,” a Dark Elf replied. “We cannot let the tale of this alliance leak. It will be terrible if Tai move early.”

Another Dark Elf grumbled, “Things would be better for everyone, if she didn’t fail that bloody invasion.”

…

From the shadow, T’s voice was heard.

‘Failure?’ T said.

Unlike her earlier appearance, T’s shadowy form was shaking in disbelief. It was like a giant iceberg had dropped from the sky and overturned the law of physics she knew for most of her life. Reality seemed to spin around the ghost, leaving her with only the conversation across the room, the falling confidence in her stomach, and the emotion she didn’t felt in a long time.

Somehow the failure of Tai Tianshang hit T like the Great Recession to her employment prospects.

‘Failure?’ T repeated in disbelief. ‘The raid on Frisnia is a failure? But,’ she paused, ‘that couldn’t be possible!’

L chose that moment to appear and tried to keep her allies under control, ‘Calm down.’ She looked worriedly at Requiem and Dream. ‘You are giving—’

‘This is serious!’ T said. ‘You know this changes everything. If—‘

‘Shhh,’ L said panicky looking at the two men calmly watching them breakdown. ‘You are going off-scr—’

‘The script was screwed the moment that guy intervened!’ T pointed at Dream. ‘Don’t you realize how wrong everything is? You are smarter than this! You must know it likes I do! None of this is supposed to happen! Back then this guy didn't exist, and don’t you remember that I actually took over Frisnia!’ T turned her attention to Dream. ‘You know right? You know what we are, and where we came from at a first glance,’ T’s voice was shaking. ‘What is happening to us?’

Requiem, Yuri, never expected to see T like this. Gone were the stern and silent, sinister figures confident in her power. The side of T he never saw now surfaced for all to see. Disappeared was the girl who joined L in huffing against Dream’s philosophy. Her bravado and self-confidence was gone, replaced by fear.

Something went severely wrong for T, and by extension, L. Requiem believed they knew right from the start but willfully ignored the knowledge with their usual confidence, hiding away the inconsistencies and convincing themselves in the knowledge of their superiority.

For a time, it worked. In the contained environment with only Dream who made his disapproval of them very clear and the newbie in Yuri, they successfully buried their doubt. However, they were no longer isolated in the woods or a van. Yuri was no longer a naïve child, but a practitioner who studied the depth of Mana. Finally, T had received the key disparity she could no longer ignore.

It was then Yuri finally discovered the side T tried to hide — an emotionally malnourished girl leaning on her power as a crutch. 

L reacted little to T uncharacteristic breakdown in front of the differing reality. In fact, she faded away in the background.

Dream, watching what he believed to be the potential development, considered explaining the truth to T who had her reality shattered. 

It was then, looking at his mentor’s hesitation, that an idea arose in Requiem's mind. It would explain why T was so agitated when she heard about Tai Tainshang’s failure, but could it be possible? The more Yuri thought about it, the more likely it became.

But the very concept tying the thread together was outlandish.

Time travel is science fiction, isn’t it?

It would explain everything. T’s behavior about Tai’s failed invasion and her true name. Dream’s distrust of the two. The theory about L identity and why she tried to avoid it. All of this mystery could be explained by the ability to travel in time.

Before Requiem could ask Dream to spill the bean. The door to the pub swung opened. 

Requiem felt a wave of energetic Mana rippling through the room. On instinct, he raised his Aura and channeled the supernatural force away.

The new entrée was a handsome man with navy blue hair. His face was smooth without a hint of scar or wrinkle. The two blue eyes pierced the room like the gaze of a hawk. The man wore a worn traveling garb, hiding his muscle and athletic body beneath the gray tattered fabric. His old dusty boot graced the floor, weary from the long journey.

Dream met the new entrée’s gaze, and he was anything but pleased.

The man smiled with satisfaction and walked right to their table. Strangely, no one paid attention to him. His presence stood outlike bonfires during the night, but not a person turned his way. 

The bartender was fearing the rowdy guess in the corner. The Dark Elves were bored to death by their rowdy accomplices. None of them paid any attention when this obvious freak of nature strode past them and approached the Knights’ table.

Requiem immediately reached for his sword. This blue-hair guy couldn’t be good news. The earlier wave of Mana told him the man already put some sort of spell over the entire pub.

The entrée smirked at the inexperienced Knight’s reaction, anticipating some excitement. Thankfully, a more strategic priority took the president, and instead he turned to Dream.

“Hello, Dream,” the man gestured to a chair. “The world is surely small.”

“Yo, Wayward,” Dream said, nodding. “What brought you here?”

Requiem knew the name, “Wait, you mean this guy is the Samuel Wayward?”

Samuel Wayward was a household name ever since the Venistalis Incident for how much his head was worth.

Yes, Orwell Mehest was considered the ringleader of the Venistalis Incident, and was hated to the bone by the Grand Empire. However, his international reputation and political stance had turned him into a controversial figure. Yes, the negative press out for him was the stuff legends broke under, but he still had sizable hardcore fans.

Wayward? The general opinion around this name was more unanimous. The man was ridiculously dangerous. He was an agent of an assassins' cell who infiltrated the Grand Empire. The man worked his way up to being a Royal Mages then massacred them all during Orwell’s siege on the city.

In that Incident, he wiped out the Royal Knight and helped Orwell bring the Grand Empire’s capital to its knees. Then he emerged from the isolated Venistalis to confront five S-Rankers who were waiting for the ring-leaders to show their heads.

Wayward escaped from that incident unscathed, mauling three-out-of-five S-Rankers sent after him and Orwell. He was without a doubt the strongest S-Ranker in Phantasia and the bar all S-Rankers were measured against.

Contrary to the portrayal of him as a wanton terrorizer of the battlefield, Wayward was behaving in a pacifistic manner. He sat across the two with not a hint of discomfort or hostility. The trio exchanged stares, awkward silence levitated but nothing happened.

It was Wayward who broke the silence, “What is the update on the Fairies?”

Dream shared his knowledge, “We already laid the groundwork in Centuria, but Frisnia and Starland is still at risk.” His eyes hardened. “Best-case scenario, we get Frisnia under control and maybe part of Starland.” He shrugged. “But we may have to fight a marathon in trenches.”

Requiem, being the newbie, felt left out, “Dream, you keep talking about Fairies like they are some kind of doomsday weapon? What is going on here?”

Wayward glanced at Dream in disbelief, “You didn’t tell him? Just how new is this guy?”

“Two weeks,” Dream answered.

“Wow,” Wayward said. He was feeling sympathetic for the heroes. “You guys are that shorthanded?”

“We can manage,” Dream said, frowning. “What brought you here?” Dream then asked what he was fearing the most. “How did you find me, Wayward? This is a very sensitive topic. Our truce...”

Wayward snorted, “The truce is fine—”

Yuri raised his hand, interrupting Wayward. “Hello,” he reintroduced his existence, “Am I still here? What are we talking about? Why are Tinkerbell and Fairy Godmother terrified you two of all people?”

The two — a seasoned superhero and the world-class criminal — turned toward each other in agreement.

“Do you teach him about Primal Arcane, yet?” Wayward said.

“Yes,” Dream replied. “Although, I never get to the gritty detail.”

Wayward took a deep breath and searched for his inner school-teacher, “Okay, kid, let me complete the training Dream’s never get around too.”

…

Requiem wanted to be surprised, but he already expected this kind of reveal, but the reality was still far worse than he thought. It was no wonder Dream, Orwell, and Wayward who held mutually frosty relationships united around the campfire against this threat.

L was dumbfounded at the revelation, ‘Okay, I am nuts, but even I won’t go that far.’

T wasn’t amused, ‘You would.’

It was then Wayward picked up on the two shades’ existence.

Wayward pointed at the shadowy forms of L and T, “Are you sure you want to keep them around? But how did…” His voice then trailed away when he saw Dream’s glare. “Ah, I get it. Poor thing. Fine. Let them win this one.”

‘I feel incredibly insulted,’ L muttered and T nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, what do we do now?” Requiem said. “According to you two, there is no way Tengen Continent can survive the,” he cringed, “infestation.”

“We are working on it,” Dream said, assuring Yuri and pivoting his attention to Wayward. “But let’s get back to the point. Why are you visiting?”

“I’ve just been to Danghai, and I met a complication,” Wayward said. “Namely, Acerbia.”

“The Director of the Isle of Knowledge?” Requiem said. “That guy?”

“Yes,” Wayward said. “He was slowly building up a military concentration in Danghai on the sly.” Wayward then nodded toward the oblivious drinkers they had been eavesdropping. “Plus, there are these guys. Dream, you aren’t stupid. The Dark Elves, the Wolf Hoard and Acerbia are gathering around the international conference, while the curtain to the Fairy Realm was at its weakest. Something is going to blow.”

Dream sat on his chair — deep in thought.

“We need to get a proper picture,” the hero said. His eyes shifting to the Dark Elves sitting a few tables away. “The last thing we can afford to be is reckless.”

“Smash and grab,” Wayward suggested.

“Yes,” Dream nodded in agreement. “Smash and Grab.”