Chapter 2 : A Dream

He no longer felt the freezing cold of the frozen ground that had been draining the life from his limbs, and the heavy chains that had been choking and bloodying his wrists vanished as if they had never existed.

He opened his eyes very slowly, only to be assaulted by a blinding, bright light. His sight had grown accustomed to the absolute darkness of that desolate prison, and a sharp pain pierced his eyes from the intensity of the glare. However, it soon began to fade, giving way to a light green hue that brought tranquility to the heart.

Vain stood up apprehensively, feeling a gentle tickle beneath his bare feet. He was standing on a carpet of soft, comfortable grass, a stark contrast to the icy floor of that gloomy, blood-scented room.

The short grass stretched as far as the eye could see, endless. The air around him was warm, carrying the scent of pure, refreshing air that chased the remnants of the biting cold from his bones.

He no longer felt pain; instead, a strange, unfamiliar sense of comfort washed over him.

He looked up at the sky; it was a clear, reassuring blue, studded with white clouds that partially obscured the sun, casting a soft light. In the distant horizon, a towering brown mountain stood, its peak embraced by the clouds.

High above, he caught sight of flocks of white birds flying with absolute freedom—a freedom that sharply contradicted his state as a shackled, will-deprived prisoner just moments ago.

A warm breeze caressed his skin, which still bore the scars of torture. As he stood in this tranquil paradise, a strong sense of familiarity overwhelmed him, as if the very atoms of his being recognized this place.

"Why do I feel like this place looks familiar?" he whispered to himself in confusion.

But the answer came from right behind him, in a calm, confident voice: "Hello, boy."

Vain flinched, a muffled scream escaping his throat.

The sudden appearance of another voice terrified him, but this one was completely different. Its tone was gentle and warm. Even though it was just a short sentence, the contrast was stark between it and the entity that had stolen his eye in the dark.

He spun around quickly to see the source of the voice and found a tall human man with blond hair, looking directly into his eyes with a serene smile.

The man wore strange clothing and held a striking wooden staff in his hand, topped with something that gleamed under the sunlight... it looked like a jewel.

"How long are you going to keep staring?" the man asked.

Vain tried to reply, stammering, "I don't..." but his words trailed off as he carefully observed the man's smile. It was a very warm smile, yet mingled with a deep, heavy sorrow, as if the man were on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry, I won't do you any harm," the man said reassuringly.

That strange feeling flared up again in Vain's chest; he was certain this person knew him, knew him well. He saw this encounter as a golden opportunity to understand his lost truth. "D-do you know who I am—"

"Stop." The man interrupted him with sudden sternness, causing Vain a profound shock. He had stopped him before he could even finish his question, as if the man had read his mind and knew what he was going to ask.

The gentle smile vanished, replaced by a firm, decisive look that made the atmosphere around them suddenly heavy and tense.

The man sighed, and the smile returned to illuminate his face once more. "Oh dear, things got tense. Alright, alright, let's try this again." He then added, "I will introduce myself first; my name is Naros... Naros Titer."

Naros Titer possessed a majestic aura. Despite his suspicious behavior a moment ago, he seemed like someone with good intentions.

Vain couldn't stop himself from feeling safe around him, as if a part of him was whispering that it was okay to trust this man.

"Vain," he replied briefly.

Naros's eyes widened in clear surprise the moment he heard the name. Vain felt a wave of relief; this highly confirmed that the entity hadn't lied to him, and that this was indeed his real name.

Vain continued, "My name is Vain, though I feel you already know that."

The look of surprise gradually faded from Naros's face, replaced by a broader, more enigmatic smile. He tilted his head to the right, looked deeply at his strange staff, then raised his gaze to stare directly into Vain's eyes with a piercing look that let anxiety seep back into his heart.

"W-what is it? What do you want?" Vain asked, his voice shaking.

"What do I want? Haa... I don't have much time left, so I came to tell you that I..." Naros's face was enveloped in terrifying resolve as he finished, "...changed my mind."

"Huh?" Vain muttered in disbelief.

"As I said... I will break my promise," Naros affirmed coldly.

The words scrambled in Vain's distracted mind. What promise? What was this man talking about? "What are you talking about? What promise?" he asked in utter confusion.

Without any warning, Naros pointed his staff directly at Vain. A blinding flash erupted from the jewel, glowing with blinding intensity. Vain's survival instincts instantly kicked in.

He turned and ran as fast as he could, barefoot on the soft grass, fleeing from this man who had suddenly turned on him.

But the light was faster. A beam of energy pierced his right leg, completely obliterating it in an instant. He lost his balance and plummeted forward, slamming face-first into the ground with a violent force that rattled his skull, knocking him unconscious for a fraction of a second. His nose shattered, and half his face tore from the impact.

He didn't realize the extent of the damage due to the frantic speed of events, until blood erupted from his severed leg, profusely staining the green grass.

Vain let out a deafening scream born of excruciating physical pain and lethal shock. Why is he doing this? Amidst his agony, he turned his head with great difficulty to see what Naros was doing, only for another beam of light to shoot out at blinding speed, piercing his heart directly.

Everything stilled, and an absolute silence fell over the place. The sound of the wind ceased, and for a very brief moment, the void swallowed all the pain.

In that instant, Vain saw Naros's other hand crumbling into the air as if it were melting ash,

until it disappeared completely.

"Go back and try again," Naros whispered, smiling…

And again that smile was…

warm.