An hour or so after dinner, my brother and I went out to the backyard where Aidan had built a structure that housed a recreation room.

Aidan took his strange stance, legs spread wide, knees bent, left arm out in front and his blade in his right hand pointing backwards. He was inviting me to come to him, I knew that, but I couldn't help myself. I planted my feet firmly, my sword gripped in a two-handed hold in front of me with the tip of my blade facing Aidan. I charged expecting a broad sweep of his sword that I could deflect, but it never came. He side stepped my charge, grabbing my arm with his free hand, and then nimbly kicked the back of my knee in. Suddenly I was on the ground, his blade pointing at the back of my head. In mere moments, I found myself completely defeated.

“You're getting…better, but you’re still too direct with your engagements,” Aidan said laughing.

“I'm working on it,” I responded cheerfully as I pushed myself back onto my feet.

I wasn’t as skilled as Aiden but I made up for it in tenacity. This similar sequence of events repeated for another hour before Aidan finally called it quits.

“You did well today. Let's call it a night and pick this up again some other time,” Aidan said.

“Good plan. I'm gonna go shower,” I responded, panting.

“And leave me to clean up by myself? I don’t think so,” he chided.

“Fine…I’ll help clean up first, then I’ll go shower,” I said, feigning reluctance.

After tidying up the room, we made our way back to the house. Once in my room and fresh out of the shower, I collapsed onto my bed feeling both tired and content. Although there had been some oddities throughout the day, it was mostly uneventful. As I drifted off to sleep, I hoped for another unremarkable day tomorrow.

Several hours later I was startled awake by a flash of green light. In a daze I looked around the room frantically, searching for the source of the light. Standing up from my bed I slowly creeped towards the light. I still couldn't tell what it was coming from but the closer I got, the more it intrigued me. As I made my way closer, I saw that the light was coming from the pendant my father had given me. I reached out to grab it, and as I did, an odd sensation jolted through my body. The light exploded in vibrance, blinding me, and I suppressed a yell. As my vision slowly returned I realized just how quickly this day had gone from average to eccentric.

I was completely taken aback and could only manage to blurt out, “What?!”

My head was spinning with ideas until a mysterious voice called out to me.

“Cian! Welcome to my home,” it said, quite clearly to me.

I could barely think; I barely even realized I was no longer in my own room. Instead of white walls and blue carpet, I was greeted with a multi-coloured sky which resembled an aurora borealis. The ground looked normal enough: dirt, rocks, grass, and in the background were trees lining the horizon. The air was strange, it felt and tasted refreshingly clean; with every breath I felt revitalized.

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“Wh..who are you? What do you mean, welcome to our home?!” I asked, looking around.

Oddly enough I was not terrified, just incredibly confused. The voice was eccentric, majestic, almost as if it weren't human. But then again, I couldn't guarantee it was human.

“This must seem strange to you, but you can't let that interfere right now. I am a 4th world dweller. This is the 4th world,” the voice continued on.

“What do you mean the 4th world? Where is this? Why am I here?” I asked in shock.

“You must call my name before I can answer your questions. You should know it well. Think hard, and prod the mysteries of your soul,” the voice responded.

"But...this makes no sense at all...how come you can talk to me now but not answer my questions?” I asked but the voice did not answer me this time.

“Nonsense,” I huffed out, incredibly frustrated.

I gazed around at the scenery, or what I thought to be scenery. The view around me suddenly faded into a white fog.

“How could this possibly happen? This defies…everything…Oh well I guess, this better not be some sort of elaborate scam,” I thought to myself and swallowed hard.

I began to search through my heart and with a confident voice, shouted out the name: “CADEYRN!!!!”

The instant I spoke, a blinding red light engulfed everything. I instinctively shielded my eyes with my arms from the intense light, but the intense glare persisted. After a few moments, the light vanished and the voice that had spoken before returned, sounding closer and more tangible. It was only then that I realized I had been transported back to my room.

“You called, Master,” the voice chimed.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Before me was the very pendant that I had received from my father only twelve hours earlier. I was amazed that such a thing could possess such a secret. It was apparent that the pendant was talking to me, and I began listening intently to what it was saying.

“I'm sure you have some questions for me to answer, don't you...my master,”

I was less surprised this time and was able to rhyme off the first one that came to mind.

”What the heck is going on?!” I shouted, suddenly appreciating that my family was full of heavy sleepers.

I had held my composure thus far, but I was beginning to crack. I wanted answers, I needed answers, and I needed them, immediately.

“You're in a world called the 4th World, also known as the world of dreams. This is a place that everyone knows, and yet is for the most part, completely secret. You are what we call a 4th World Guardian. You exist to keep the balance between your world and ours,” it said simply.

Slowly, regaining my composure, I continued my line of questioning. “I see... so how am I going to help you exactly? Or I suppose… guard?” I asked, trying not to sound too skeptical.

“As your weapon I can help you protect yourself and others, however I am only half of what you will require,” the pendant spoke.

“And what exactly does that mean?” I asked.

“You are also in need of your armor. It will protect you, as I can only aid and provide offense for you,” Cadeyrn said with much dismay though it had no face to display it.

Understanding a bit more, I wiped the sweat from my brow and continued questioning. “So how exactly am I going to get my armor?”

“There used to be a jewel inside the pendant, or rather, myself. At some point however it disappeared. This jewel is the key to your armor and survival in our fight. You must find it,” Cadeyrn reiterated.

“Could it possibly be where my father kept you?” I asked.

“That is a distinct possibility,” Cadeyrn agreed.

Realizing just how awkward the situation was, and also how inadequate the timing, I made my voice more stern and demanding. “Well, since it's too late to accomplish anything now, I believe it would be best if we started searching tomorrow. You can also answer my questions and tell me more about all of this. For now however, I just wish to sleep.”

“Understood my Master. We shall search tomorrow,” Cadeyrn replied and the dim glowing light around the pendant vanished entirely as it fell silent.

Smiling at how simple this all seemed to be, I headed back to my bed and surprisingly began to drift off to sleep.