Kieran woke up slowly. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a training room shirtless. His body dripping with sweat, while several wounds on his body regenerated quickly. Around him, training dummies were destroyed, turning into metallic liquid, slowly reforming their bodies.

'It's a dream again.'

He tried to look for clues around him when light footsteps were heard behind him. It was at this moment that the Kieran in his dream turned towards the sounds of the footsteps without him being able to emit the slightest resistance.

He was suddenly struck by the sight. A woman stood a few meters in front of him. He could tell he had never seen her in any of his previous dreams. However, compared to all the other people he saw in it each time, she didn't have any blurred features. He could see her perfectly and distinguish every detail of her face.

'So beautiful...'

Kieran couldn't help but think such things in front of her despite having no desire for the woman in front of him. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. Even the idols of the Aegis Alliance, who were highlighted by the media, could not stand next to her without being ashamed.

She seemed ageless, her ethereal beauty transcending the boundaries of time. Strands of her impeccably coiffed silver hair, elegantly arranged in a bun, cascaded gracefully down her back, enhancing her royal presence. Her eyes, a mesmerizing shade of purple, seemed to hold entire worlds within them, drawing Kieran into their depths with an irresistible allure. The delicately pointed ears visible beneath her shiny hair alluded to her elven heritage.

Enveloped in an aura of grace and majesty, she wore an exquisite white dress that enveloped her figure like shimmering moonlight. A delicate crown rested on her head. With each step, she moved with an elegance that seemed to transcend the boundaries of mere mortals, her presence commanding attention and reverence.

As she approached the Kieran in his dream, he could feel the weight of her gaze on him, like the gentle caress of a summer breeze. It was as if she could see deep into his soul, untangling the complexities of his being in a single glance.

Kieran was surprised by the emotions he could feel coming from the Kieran in his dream. He didn't seem at all affected by the beauty of the woman in front of him. He didn't even show a semblance of reaction to her appearance.

"I welcome the Queen of Felranlian," said the Kieran in his dream.

The woman's beautiful purple eyes fell on a white mark resembling an ancient inscription that seemed to be carved into Kieran's chest as her lips curved into an elegant smile.

"It looks like you're showing your mark by staying like that," she says.

The Kieran in his dream smiled at her words. He could suddenly feel an immense feeling of pride and an inexplicable warmth filling his mind.

"It’s my greatest pride! Why should I hide it?" Kieran replied.

"Don't you consider the fusion of your soul with the Fragment of Origin your greatest pride?"

"It’s not even close to coming in second place."

"If the others in the assembly heard you, they would probably beat you to death," the Elf Queen sighed before continuing, "I knew from that day that you were strange. No one else would ever have done what you did."

"But I have to thank Your Majesty, thanks to you, I was able to silence all the elder elves back then. It was really refreshing!"

"It's just the two of us here. No one is looking at us. You have no reason to call me Your Majesty or by my title."

"Should I call you Rulyin?"

A smile appeared on Kieran's face.

"You better, unless you want me to break your legs."

The smile on the woman's face was always so elegant, but Kieran suddenly felt a shiver down his spine.

"I must thank Rulyin for allowing me to participate in the assembly, even if the results are different from what I expected." he said before heaving a long sigh.

"What do you think of the Primordial project?" asked the Elf Queen.

"Nothing in particular. I don't know if the project will work or not. Truth be told, I tried so hard to join it only because she was one of the thousand chosen for the project, but now they have decided to change everything, and I am the only one chosen..."

"Tell yourself that if the project succeeds, you will be able to silence the elders by yourself and without my help this time."

"But what if I fail and things don’t go well?"

"It is a possibility. It is also the reason for my coming here. I have already spoken with the assembly, and even if many were against this idea, in the end, the last choice is mine. I will transfer my ability to you."

'Transfer her ability?! Is such a thing possible?!'

Kieran was lost at the situation before him when a look of shock appeared on the face of the Kieran in his dream. A torrent of complicated emotions invaded his mind at that moment.

"You can't! If you do this... You'll... She'll hate me for this... And her whole... Her whole life will change," Kieran's voice grew weaker and weaker the more he spoke.

"Do you really think she's that weak? Even if her life is going to change, I know she won't give up. And if you're so afraid, you just have to become stronger as fast as you can to catch up with her. Won't everything be back in order by that time? Anyway, my decision is already made whether you like it or not. You won't tell her anything about our conversation, and once the Primordial project starts, you might not even remember it anymore."

"Are you really okay with this?" Kieran gritted his teeth, his hands clenched so tightly that blood flowed from them as he felt an emptiness fill his heart.

"If it was before you had this mark, the mere thought of transferring my ability to you would never have crossed my mind, but now I have no hesitation."

"You are crazy..."

A soft laugh rang out in the training room.

"You're truly the last person across all universes who could tell me that."

Everything started to slowly darken in Kieran's vision, soon he could only see the woman's face, he suddenly felt that her purple eyes were fixed on him and it wasn't the him in his dream, it was the real him.

The woman's lips moved softly as the world went completely black.

"Take care of her, or I'll break both your legs for the next millennia."

Kieran felt his consciousness darken at that moment.

***

Kieran woke up in the middle of a destroyed field with a sharp pain in his head. The memories of his dream appeared vividly in his mind, yet a part of it seemed blurry as if veiled.

Slowly opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of a small floating whale in front of him, looking at him with large, shining eyes. As soon as she saw him open his eyes, Luna rushed towards him. The next moment, he embraced her and gently caressed her, helping him calm his emotions that were unstable due to his dream.

"Here. I'm fine, don't worry Luna," he said softly.

"Don't bother him when he just woke up, little whale," Runihoril said as he walked towards Kieran, causing Luna to become agitated and curl up in his arms.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough to the Silver rank, Kieran."

"Thank you, Master. How long was I passed out?"

"A little over an hour."

Runihoril stared at Kieran, who seemed to be lost in thought. He could see tiredness hiding deep in his eyes.

'Did he have a nightmare during the brief time he was unconscious? The last time he slept was four months ago. Since his nightmares kept shifting between the bloody battle on the plain and the destruction of Ozryn with the vision of his family's corpses, he no longer wants to close his eyes. With the Heavenly Tribulation, it wouldn't be surprising if his body had finally succumbed to fatigue,' thought Runihoril.

"Is everything okay? Did you have a nightmare?" asked Runihoril after thinking a bit about it.

"No, not this time. I had a dream where I saw an Elf Queen. According to the me in my dream, she is the Queen of the Felranlian kingdom. Those who came to the Aegis Alliance come from Loania. I wasn't aware that the elves had several kingdoms."

"There was only one kingdom in my time. They may have had to separate due to feuds over time. Did she talk to you in your dream?"

"Yes. That's also the most incomprehensible part of my dream. According to the exchange between her and the me in my dream, I would be part of a project, and to increase its chances of success, she wanted to transfer her ability to me," said Kieran, deep down hoping that his Master would tell him that it was an impossible thing, that he could consider his dreams as just mere dreams and nothing more.

But contrary to what he hoped, only silence could be heard. Shock appeared on his face as he looked at his Master in deep thought.

His voice was shaky as he spoke his next words.

"It's possible to transfer an ability?!"

Illustration:

Elf Queen :