The young boy skipped playfully through the lavish city. The city was quite grand— a mix of old roman marble with european houses Edric’s used to seeing. The city today was especially lively and bright, according to whatever info Edric got. It was some celebration for the entire town.

  Edric calmly followed the boy, his mind still thinking of his name.

  Kael, no the one I know is older, stronger and bigger. But–

  On closer look at the boy, it did remind him of Kael. His hair might be a different color but his mannerism, speech style and the cokyness ,reminded him of Kael through and through. Which didn’t make any sense? Has he travelled to the past?

  “Wait-” he muttered,

  SYSTEM

  [SYSTEM NOT AVAILABLE IN DREAMSCAPE]

  Dreamscape, well that confirms it. I am in a dream—

  “Hey, mister. I’m hungry , you promised to buy me sweets.”

  Edric’s train of thought was interrupted by Kael. He stopped thinking about the implications for now and looked ahead.

  The boy turned around, and started walking backwards with his hands behind his head and a pouty grin on his face.

  “You promised,” Kael said even louder. “I saved your life, remember? So it’s only fair if a get a sweet-cake, pie or a tart, or maybe all three.”

  Edric sighed, “Right, right, you did only cut me down from a tree.”

  “ONLY,” he clutched his chest in a dramatic fashion. “That rope was basically strangling your ankles. If I was any second late you would have been drain of blood or worse-”

  Yeah, he is definitely Kael. There’s only one person who I know that is so melodramatic.

  “Got it little man. Now lead the way.”

  The boy grinned, pointed at a direction and started marching forward. He maneuvered the streets like it’ second nature. The people, merchants and others greeted the little boy like they knew him.

  “You must be famous around these parts.” he said, observing the unique architecture— the marble roads, greek like arches and buildings. Several guards posts and the joyous nature was quite contagious.

  “Yeah, I get around alot.” The boy stopped for a second to look for something. “Ah there it is, Uncle Jeriya!” the boy started running towards a pastry shop.

  Edric stopped for a moment to smell the delicious scent coming from the street vendor– it felt familiar somehow, actually the entire location felt familiar. Edric chalked it off as it is a dream. Kael gestured to him and he followed.

  “OHO, Kael, what are you upto? “ The vendor said , his tone cheerful. “And who is this man? You aren't causing trouble to him are you.”

  “I’m not, I saved his life. And now he owes me a favor.”

  While the two were bantering, he looked around his pockets to find money. He didn’t believe a dream would actually have money but— he picked out a couple of coins from his pocket. Three gold, two silver and ten bronze, each with a common crest on them. He grabbed one of the coins, between his index and thumb and started focusing on the crest under the sunlight.

  I have seen it before but where. Wait, is it—

  “Hey mister, are you gonna pay or not.” Kael, tugged his pants. His expression was curious to see a man fondling over some coins.

  “Yeah, how much for-,” he looked around the displayed food items— a variety of pie, cakes, tarts and— tiramisu , or at least that’s what he thinks it is. “That , how much is that .” he pointed at the tiramisu, something about that made him nostalgic and made him really hungry.

  “Don’t worry, it's in the house. For our Kael.”

  “No, I insist. I don’t like leaving my debt unpaid.”

  “Shush boy!,” the vendor picked out two tiramisu. “It’s a celebration out there, and everyone wants to have fun. Besides you seem like a good lad, tell you what do me a favor and keep that little rascal out of trouble.”

  “What was that!” Kael bickered.

  “Nothing,” he handed the cup to Kael, patting his head. Then gave another to Edric, then waved goodbye to them as he attended by other customers.“May the star of hope shine brightly.”

  Star of hope, is a star fiestival? *GROWL* Enough of that, time to eat.

  Kael skipped forward eating his sweet , Edric followed without any questions, sniffed the cup in his hand and then took a bite. God damn that was good, it wasn’t too sweet, had a bit of a tangy taste and melted in his mouth making him drool. He clobbered down the cup one spoon at a time and the next thing you it , it’s completely gone.

  Have I tried this before? It tastes really familiar , almost nostalgic.

  “Hey mister, there's some more fun stuff in town central.” The boy increased his pace.

  Edric smiled, as he too increased his pace. “ Alright, wait up.”

  “HEHE, slow poke.”

  They maneuvered across the streets and various blocks leading to the town centrals— entertainers, singers and performers performed on small stages—- people, children and family flocked to them and showered them with cheers. Edric was impressed by the singers, he turned up to see decorations propped up covering the houses. He noted the color emerald green being a prominent one.

  Everything was great, it looked like a perfect city. Happiness, joy, and healthy citizens . But where exactly was this, he tried to guess the place from the maps he read, and matching it with Kael’s past but he couldnt put his finger on it. Maybe the capital?

  “Hey Kael, where exactly are we?”

  “Huh? You don’t know the place you came to do your merchant activities.”

  “Give me a break, I'm new here. I just picked a direction and walked.”

  The boy looked back at him with a suspicious expression, then turned forward. “Not completely sure, but I think they call it the Veyra Estate or State, from the family that runs this place–”

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  Veyra? Wait hold on–

  It all started to make sense— the crest , the nostalgia and the sense of familiarity. He was in the Veyra estate, the more he recalled the details, the more he remembered the nightmare he had.

  So you're telling me, Kael’s hometown is Veyra. He said is studied in a temple. Why didn’t he tell me? Well I didn’t exactly ask him…. But what if he knows about my identity? No, No . He doesn’t feel like a person who lies.

  He cleared his mind, and started focusing on the present, or the past since this is a memory. If this was really his hometown, the place known as the pillars of the kingdom. Then maybe he can find a clue about why this big estate went downhill.

  He started to focus more on the little details, the architecture, the smell, the security etc. The more he thought about it, the more the disappearance didn’t make sense. His knowledge about the current technology and architecture wasn’t exactly vast, but compared to modern Magnus, Veyra was a whole nother beast. In a good way, unlike the grim slums of Magnus, there was an air of positivity.

  Then again his sample size is quite low, he only saw maybe a tenth of the city. Who knows what lies beneath the city. All this information would normally make him anxious but for some reason he was complacent. Maybe because it was a dream, or just fatigue from the past events talking, since all he wanted to was relax.

  Soon they turned to a really long road, and like really long. It was wide, divided into two– one for each direction like a highway. Carriages driven by horses, and bulls? Extremely red bulls , with a majestic look and groomed hair pulled the carriages.

  They use bulls as transport? Neat.

  “There will be a parade at night. It will be huge!,” Kael said with wide gestures and an excited smile. “There will be horses, magic and much more.”

  “Wow, they really go all out,” Edric said enthusiastically. He looked around the buildings, located nearby. Most were some sort of business— jewelers, clothes, weapons, books and so on. All of them had a sign for discount, covered in decorations where the primary color is emerald green.

  Emerald green? Why that color? Is it because of the crest, but the majority is blue with some green. And why emerald green?

  He turns to ask Kael to quench his curiosity. “Hey, Kael. I heard the celebration is because a star is born or something like that?”

  The boy slowed his pace, the show by a street comedian pulled his attention. “Yeah, apparently the patriarch's grandson had been born.”

  “Oh, that makes sense. But why the emerald green decorations.”

  “Haha,” the boy laughed at the comedian's stunt of turning a banana into a sword. “That I think, the heirs' eyes are emerald green. I heard he takes after his mother.”

  “Hmm,” Edric was lost in thought.

  “You seem quite interested, mister.” the boy started looking for something. “Oh there it is,” the boy grabbed a hold of Edric’s hand and pulled him through the crowd.

  “Wait–”

  Kael didn’t listen, he ran through the crowd for several minutes . Edric couldn’t see where he was going, all he could focus on was Kael.

  Damn these kids are strong, or am I just weak..

  Then they stopped–

  “Look,” Kael pointed at a large poster. “That’s the star.”

  Edric looked up to see the poster in full frame. The poster was more of a portrait— the borders where embroidered in silk, the height was at least 6 feet, and the main subject was a small baby— the baby was swaddled in cloth with the Veyra crest on it. Edric admired the painting for a good moment.

  Did they hire the world's best painter for something, why the hell does it look so good. Edric thought, as he admired the layer of soft skin painted on the baby and it’s eye— emerald green looked right at you.

  His chest thumped in anxiety, turned his gaze down to read the name. ‘Edrous Lucien von Veyra- born on the 12th day of Vaelmont, year 608’. Edric gulped—

  That confirms it.

  “Hey mister,” the boy tugged his shirt. “Your eyes are really similar.”

  Edric hesitated, put on a light smile. “Might be just a coincidence.”

  “Maybe, they say people with Emerald green are natural leaders.”

  Edric slowly nodded in agreement, his breath slow and calculated. He didn’t know what to feel. No, he expected this ever sense he found out that this place is his hometown. But still, he wanted to believe that it was lie.

  “Mom, is that the future leader?” A child in the crowd asked his mom.

  “Yes, dear. Just like how the current patriarch brought prosperity to our lands. The future will follow.”

  Prosperity my ass! I’m right here. I really want to shout to the world, and scream that they will be dead in a decade. Edric takes a long breath, and tries his best to calm down. It’s still just a dream, if he wants he can confirm with the present Kael.

  After a long internal pause, he decided to let go of his thoughts, and to enjoy the festival. Who knows , he might even find a clue for the future.

  He turned to the boy. “Hey Kael, let’s go have some fun. I’m getting bored just walking around all day.”

  Kael turned to meet his eye, he paused and then let out a boyish grin. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that. Follow me, there’s games to play.”

  Just like that, the pair went off on their journey. Kael maneuvered through the city, showing off the landmarks and games like a tour guide with his loud boastful voice. Edric found comfort from the boy’s energy, admired the city, people and the life the it had with deep focus.

  They eventually arrived at what seemed like a circus— a large one surrounded by other performers, games and so on. The laughter of adults and children echoes throughout the block. Kael stopped in front of what looked like a game where you need to deflect magic shots using a wooden sword. His eyes widened as he focused on a knight minifigure.

  Edric watched his anticipation, smiled and walked to the vendor. Payed the vendor a coin and grabbed the wooden sword— one, two and three. He deflected three light shots, directing it to the target one by one. Each hitting a bullseye.

  “Mister you're amazing, WOHO!”

  Edric smiled, even the vendor was surprised. Looks like all the training wasn’t for nothing. He pointed at the knight toy, grabbed it and gave it to Kael.

  “For me?” the boy's eyes glistened in excitement, his mouth grinning as wide as it could. “Ahem, I mean, I'm not a child but thanks.” his voice was low and embarrassed. Which did really didn’t hide his true feelings.

  Edric rolled his eyes. “Sure, sure, big man. Now, let’s play something else.”

  The boy smiled, grabbing his hand. Went off to play more games, eat sweets and have a good time. Edric tossed his worries behind and enjoyed the moment to the fullest.

  Time flew by, they spent their time having fun in the city. Eating food, playing traditional games, enjoying the parade and so on. The sun was beginning to set in the horizon— Edric and Kael say by tree on a small hill located at a park. They sipped popsicles from their hands as they laid their backs on the thick tree bark.

  “BURP,” Kael lets out a loud burp. “Ahh today was fun! I wish everyday was like this.”

  Edric peacefully looked at the horizon. “Yeah, I hope so too. But when you least accept something comes and hits you where it hurts.”

  “Woah, you sound like an old man.” The boy smirked.

  “Hmph,” Edric pats the boy's hair. “Say, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

  The boy rubbed his chin, squinted and was lost in deep thought, before springing up. “I’m going to be a Veyra knight.”

  “Oh really,”

  “YES,” The boy stood up, pointed at the far away parade. “And I’m gonna protect the star of this city. I’ll make sure no one hurts that little guy.”

  Little guy ahh, either this some next level foreshadowing or just my dream talking.

  “You know what, I think you’ll succeed.” Edric held a soft smile. The boy smiled in response.

  *BOOW*

  A loud horn was heard from a distance.

  The boy turned to Edric, “Oh, the evening parade show is starting. Let’s go mister!” he starts running down the hill.

  “Coming,” He slowly raised up to follow— but suddenly as he watched the boy run in the distance, the world started to blur. His sensation started float, a moment later he couldnt feel his legs.

  “KAE-” he tries to call out Kael but no sound came out and then the world turned white. Something kicked in his brain, making him understand the situation— the dream was ending.

  That was fun, looks like that's the end of that dream. Should make fun of Kael… I should. Wait woah—

  Like a jet flying through the sky, he started flying backwards. The world distorted around him as he flew back. Then strange murmurs started echoing through his ears—

  He looked up to see— images, no memories of Kael. Memories of Kael flashed across his eyes. He could only see glimpses of his memories, some of him as a teen, another one was a temple, and many more strange places flowed by.

  He started to slow down, he could feel the trip coming to an end. He opened his body wide to relax himself. Then he saw one last memory, this time it flowed longer than a second.

  In it he saw a glimpse of a house, from the window he could tell it was in Magnus. In the far corner a middle aged man packed his bag with pages and pages folders. Edric could only see the back of the man.

  Who is this?

  *CREAK*

  “Father, what are you up to?” Kael's voice rang as he creaked open the door.

  Father? So he must be the one who adopted him. He said he is a scholar so the pages make sense. But hold up, his voice sound like the present and his clothes—

  Kael was wearing the exact clothes he met in his first mission. Then he saw the clock on a table, based on the time. He theorized that this happened after the first mission… at least he guessed. But this was odd, if he was right than this is after the lockdown. Then where is his father going to?

  He let the memory play out—

  “Nothing for you to worry about. The minister has ordered me a task and I can’t say no. So I will be going to the capital. Ohh about the lockdown, I got permission.”

  Kael scoffed, jumped back to the sofa. Laid his staff down and stretched his arms out. “How long will you run errands for those oldies?”

  Kael’s father glared at him. “Watch your mouth boy, there's a reason we can live in peace. Or else… who knows what they can do to us. Dear god, if only Veyra patriach was still alive. May he rest in peace.”

  Veyra? Again?

  Kael whistled . “ Veyra… Hey father, would you believe me if I told you if one of the Veyra family survived?”

  “Don't joke around boys.” The middle man wrapped his bags.

  “Listen, today. My partner he reminded me of the sta—”

  Sta-? Wait, star so he knew!

  ******

  Back at the temple,

  Kael squirmed in his place,rolled over and then got up. Gave out a very audible yawn, stretched his arms out and opened his eyes.

  “YAWN, huh?” Kael looked around, confused about where he was. “Where the hell am I? Have I been kidnapped?” He panicked dramatically. Then he saw the girls sleeping on the side, he looked around to see the barricade of furniture and the fabric they slept on.

  He got the gist of the situation down, but was still confused. He frowned, looked to see if anyone was awake. Edric started twitching his eyebrows, then his body became awake.

  “Oh, Edric, you're awake. What—”

  *BOOM*

  Edric had unleashed a powerful punch across Kael’s face, sending him flying hitting the wall. Honestly, that punch was quite impressive.

  Edric got up furiously, his brows frowned, voice strained and he screamed.

  “YOU KNEW!”

  The statement was loud enough to wake everyone up.