The sun emerged once more from the horizon depths, illuminating the world in its path. The birds chirped, the cows mooed, and the kingdom of life awoke. The rays passed through the closed curtains on of my windows, glancing upon my face. Soon, my eyes fluttered open, my whole body raised and curved to vanquish the soreness. I sat up in a steady fashion, once again taking in my room. Memories of last night flashed through my mind.

My second day in this world had begun. How it would progress, that was something worth looking forward to. And also worth fearing.

The mirror on the closet allowed me to understand my appearance. With my hair disheveled, and body unclothed— I was not in a energetic mood. I took my clothes from the closet — yesterday’s, and somewhat roughly placed — and put them on. My eyes wandered throughout my room. The board, and it’s contents remained the same. It reminded me of the title I had given to my diary. On that note, the diary still lay on the table beside my bed, position unchanged from last night. The same went for literally everything else in my room. Why I wondered anything would change — or rather expected, was beyond me. Maybe Mana would have done some shenanigans inside, I did not lock the door after all.

I made my way to the door, nearly tripping on the black ball pen on the way. It had fallen down after I had finished writing the diary entry, I supposed. I put it in my shirt pocket, and made my way down the stairs. A quick glance at the clock on my table before leaving told me the time. 5: 49 am. I had awoken earlier today.

The same hallway and doors greeted me, the whole house bathing in early sunlight. All the windows were open after all. I freshened up, and did my daily morning activities. The bathroom —surprisingly—had not been taken over this morning. I found my parents in the living room, sipping some coffee. My father read the newspaper, while my mother basked in the sunlight. Both were in their nightgowns of some sort, and looked comfy.

”Good morning Eon.” Both greeted, having noticed my presence. I greeted back. “Did you sleep well?” Dad asked as I sat down on the sofa, a cup of coffee already on my table. “Yes. Though, I ended up falling asleep a little earlier than what I had expected. And that, it was a little forceful.” The coffee was bitter to taste, yet warmed my body with energy. I knew that I didn't have any physical disorders -- other than periodic Amnesia. At least that's what I thought. Hey, only one day has passed you know.

Dad chuckled at my confusion. “Well…” I interrupted him, somewhat knowing what would come next. “Let me guess, another thing about this world, where everyone is expected to wake up early and sleep early?” I asked with raised eyebrows. With a quick glance at me from the newspaper, he shrugged and went back to reading. And drinking coffee. It seemed as though the palate for drinks ran in the family.

The morning coffee was a good way to spend time. Calming silence reigned supreme. Only broken by the rustling of papers and the chirping of birds. And then the stomping of a little child as she made her way down the stairs. Covered in teddy bear pajamas, she groggily rubbed her eyes. Mom stood up, and got a cup of hot cocoa for her from the kitchen. Everyone liked starting their day with a drink, I could not help but think. And everyone woke up before 6 too, I should have expected that when Mana had come to wake me up yesterday. The clock soon passed 6, and the day had officially started. I and Mana, we had nothing to do. Literally empty handed when it came to activities. Our parents on the other hand, they were busy. Mom went to the kitchen, and began to cook. Would we have a different dish set today? Dad went out the garden and did some exercise.

A peaceful and ordinary morning, these words were perfect to describe our time.

Time passed quickly. We ate, did the chores, and managed most of the stuff around the house. Dad had some work related to the office that he needed done, and I somehow had the ability to help with that. So help I did — finishing the tasks within record time. Mana spent all of that time loitering around -- she still didn't have that level of skill to contribute. And since even the TV and games were not enough to contain her, it was a miracle she did not storm in while we were working. Also, I was told that today was the first day of a week long holiday, hence she did not need to go to school. As for the other days? In her own words, I made a her too smart in academics for her age class. So she would just do the practical and written exams every year and get her grades up. A full blown shut-in, that in contradicting fashion, knew how to touch grass. Wow.

Stolen novel; please report.

The clock hands moved with the passage of hours, and 11 rang around. We quickly dressed up, and went outside. Dad had gone to call a carriage for us, so we were left to enjoy the noon breeze. The weather was clear with clouds scattered in between. The Sun shone in all its glory. Mana brought her game console along. She really loved playing games. It was an exploration game this time. I was thankful for not having to see anyone’s spine ripped out of their neck.

The carriage — once again electric — came, and we hopped in. Mom had to pull Mana by the collar because of her unreliable focus. We made our way through the roads, cutting across the towns and rivers. My questions brought me to the conclusion that there only a few grasslands had been preserved in this valley. And within them, only one or two were visited by a large majority. They all were massive . Surpassing the space taken by the cathedral’s exterior to be precise. I did not know just which grassland I had seen, and the images did not improve in clarity this time. So we had to visit them all. Amusingly, our family had visited none of those grasslands in our stay here. Proving the lack of connection that the Eikas had with these plains.

The total number of grasslands — this word had turned into somewhat of a mouthful — numbered no more than 3. Located along the northern part of this valley. They all spread across different altitudes, and had a lake or two near them. Trees surrounded them as they etched closer and closer to the hills, all in different variety. I did not have trouble in distinguishing between them, credit to my near perfect eyesight. We reached the west most plains, it was the closest to our home. Nothing much could be seen from the area, except of some herds of animals grazing, and children playing around. Mom’s comment rang in my mind. This valley was known as the most peaceful place in the world after all.

We moved on, the same carriage carrying us to the northern most plain. Once again, we were left empty handed. I felt nothing except serenity and calm as I gazed on the sceneries. I even moved around the place, hoping to find any form of communication or feeling towards my fear. Yet somehow, deep down, I knew. My sense of fear had come from only one of those images. The dining table one. And I had already dealt with that yesterday. Not the fear itself, but decoding the reason for it’s existence.

A couple of hours later, we went to the final plain of green in this valley. Disappointment reigned supreme, for we had failed once again to find any semblance regarding my imagery. Funny thing was, none of these plains, these grasslands; none of them matched my visions. At least not completely. The ones in the memory were larger, grander. And most importantly, had all three of the plains we visited combined. Yes, all the grasslands had some resemblance. But all only matched it when they were combined.

I asked the locals about it, and apparently that was how the grasslands had been millennia prior. Why I had an image of such a long forgotten past was beyond me, but I did not manage to do much regarding it. So I left it alone.

We ate our lunch, it was 1 after all. And headed back to our home. There was not much to do in holiday season, and it seemed as though we would be doing the explorations of the market later on. We were nearing the sale season — mom was really excited about this — and we were also running low on supplies. So it all checked out for future adventures. Now for the present. Mana had gone back to napping, it was a routine for her. Wake up, exhaust yourself, nap, refill energy, exhaust yourself once again, and then go to sleep. That’s how her days were spent.

But this gave me an opportunity. I talked to my parents about the dining table scene, and all the things that I had found regarding it. I kept the stuff regarding “Eon”’s madness to myself. For now. Their reaction to everything else? Incredulousness. They scolded me for not talking about it sooner. I hadn’t mentioned the part of keeping it a secret from Mana after all. A few discussions here and there, and more information was discovered.

About what? Or in this case… about who?

Daemon Symfora. His mysteries grew the more I learned.