As I sit against the wall in the room my eyes start to get heavy as I drift off.
Upon opening my eyes a vast, empty field stretches out before me—endless waves of tall, silvery grass swaying under a sky painted in hues of deep indigo and violet. A gentle breeze rustles through the stalks, whispering secrets I can't quite hear.
"What's happening now "I groan while standing up
I stand alone, armor gleaming softly in the ethereal light. The air feels weightless, like I'm caught between dreams and reality. I take a hesitant step forward, and the ground ripples like water, distorting the horizon.
A voice, soft and haunting, floats on the breeze. "Are you the one who stands against fate?"
I turn, but no one is there. The field remains empty, stretching endlessly in all directions.
"You carry a burden you can't understand," the voice continues, this time closer. It sounds almost familiar—a melody I've heard in my dreams but never in waking life.
My hand instinctively reaches for my sword, but the weight at my hip is gone. I'm unarmed, exposed, yet strangely calm.
"Who are you?" I call out, trying to keep my voice steady.
Silence stretches before me, and I almost think I imagined it—until a figure materializes from the mist. A woman, bathed in soft light, her form shifting and ethereal. Pale hair cascades down her back like liquid moonlight, and her eyes glow a deep, soothing blue.
"I am... a memory," she says gently. "A remnant of a time long gone. A flicker of hope in a world that knows no such thing."
I swallow the lump in my throat, unease prickling at my skin. "Were you the one to bring me here?"
The woman's expression softens, a sadness bleeding into her features. "Because you're lost, Luceras or should I say Jiro. You've wandered so far from your path that even fate can no longer reach you. But... that may be your blessing."
I tense up hearing my real name, a wave anxiety floods over me. "What are you talking about?"
She moves closer, though her footsteps leave no mark on the ground. "You now carry a name that means to shine, yet your light is smothered by doubt. You have the power to change what has been broken—to shatter the chains that bind this world to ruins to stop those who were subjected to the same loss that you experienced."
My heart pounds, and I take a step back. "Why me? I'm just... I don't even know what I am anymore."
The woman's gaze softens further, as if she's known this struggle for far longer than I can comprehend her eyes water as if she's going to cry. "Your existence is a mistake, but not all mistakes are curses. Some are choices made from desperation—a glitch in the order, yet a chance to rewrite fate."
I open my mouth to respond, but the ground beneath my feet shifts and cracks, darkness seeping through the cracks like ink. The sky fractures, pieces falling away like shattered glass.
She reaches out, her fingers brushing my cheek, and I'm struck by how warm her touch feels—how human. "Remember this: even in the darkest night, light will find a way to pierce through. Do not lose yourself to despair and find Nova."
Her form flickers, fading like a dying ember. "You have to keep moving forward... for their sake... and your own there's more that hangs in the balance than you can ever understand."
I reach out, but my hand passes through her as she dissolves into fragments of light. My eyes snap open, and I'm back in the inn's cramped room, sweat clinging to my skin. My heart pounds like a war drum in my chest.
Hayle is still curled up on the floor, her breathing steady and soft. I close my eyes and take a slow, deliberate breath, trying to shake off the lingering sense of loss from the dream. Hope, or whatever she was, left a gnawing emptiness in my chest.
The sky outside the window is just starting to lighten, dawn creeping over the horizon. I can't afford to falter now.
I glance at Hayle, wondering if she's having a dream similar to mine if that's normal in this new world. Looking down at my hands I mutter.
"I'll never let anyone dictate my fate" but "Who's Nova?"