Ash waved as they entered the Hungry Alligator Inn, and they joined her upstairs at their usual table.

“Hey! What’s up guys? You said there was an urgency, Zac?”

“Yeah. We’ll end the cult tonight.” Zac didn’t hide the truth.

“Oh. Are you really allowed to tell me that?” She asked in a lower tone.

Zac shrugged as he glanced at Mahon. “Not really. But we trust you. Just to be sure, you might need to stay with us until we leave.” He flashed her a malicious smile, and the woman giggled.

“Ah, I guess I have no choice but to stay with you now.”

“Are you done?” Mahon intervened in a serious voice. “We've an important subject to discuss.” The two lovebirds turned their heads to watch him, unsure if he was joking or not. “What beers are we drinking? There will be only one.”

“Haha. Right. A very important question, indeed.” Zac said with a smile.

The trio chatted and joked for a few minutes while they selected their beers before jumping to the real subject.

“So Zac told me you wanna leave the army, Mahon?”

“Yeah.” He answered. “What I envisioned Ratho to be was, in fact, completely wrong. The war isn’t really one, and nobody is really suffering from it. And the army is controlled by the nobles. Although I knew about the latter before coming here, I expected something different. Something less… political.”

“So you don’t want to be part of it? What about your goals of having some impact on the world?”

“I’ve thought a lot about it. Nightmare helps to sort one’s mind, and the land has been more than calm in the past months… If I’m realistic, I think the biggest feat of my life was to stop the Nightmare war, although I’ve seen no recognition for what I’ve done. Deep inside, I know that I will not be able to do something bigger than what I did there. I don’t think I can repeat the miracle in Ratho.”

Zac and Ash stayed silent and let him speak. They knew sometimes it was best to give time to someone to express what he truly felt.

“Six months before, and I’d have hit myself for having such a thought. How can I abandon so quickly? Alas, Ratho isn’t Nightmare. There is no need for a great general here. Instead, I feel something else would bring even more change. Something I had not even a hint existed before, for there is no such thing in Nightmare. No one tried to invoke musical instruments. Invoking a weapon was already quite some feat. There was no time for hobbies. But in Ratho… It’s so different. People don’t realize how lucky they are here.”

He took a sip from his beer and continued.

“I thought about it as you showed me that part of life I didn’t really know. Both of you. In your own way. And I think it’s time I realize what I imagined doing in Ratho isn’t for me. There is another path I can walk on. A path of peace. Of life. Of joy and happiness. I’d be a fool not to try at least.”

Mahon raised his beer and clinked it with Zac and Ash’s own drinks as a conclusion of his own thoughts.

“That’s actually pretty mature. I’m impressed.”

“Zac!” Ash interrupted. “It’s a serious topic.” She turned to Mahon. “What are you thinking exactly, then? Zac explained some of your ideas, but I’d like to hear it directly from you.”

“I’m not completely sure, but I think music could have a more important place in people’s lives. Nightmare happened 34 years ago, maybe even 35 now, and we lost so much because of it. That also means we have the opportunity to build back things how we want it to be. It’s an incredible opportunity, and I feel we can do it. You, Ash, because you’ve been in the game already for longer than us. You built your own music shop. You’re obviously looking forward to the development of music. Zac, because he wants to have an impact in the world strong enough he could help his family. The army was his choice, but honestly, I think it’ll need a miracle or two to find something there, given the actual situation. There are more opportunities with music. He is a noble, so he could find us events to play at.”

Mahon gulped some of his beer before continuing.

“And lastly, me. It’s obvious I’ve been a musician before Nightmare. It still calls to me, and from the way I progressed, there are probably many more songs stuck somewhere here.” Mahon tapped his head. “I don’t think I told you, Ash, but my past self knew a counselor because of my music. Isn’t it proof that we can be impactful with music? And if I did it once, why wouldn’t I be able to do it again? Also, there are more important things in my mind, like you two. I feel I can build something with you, whereas my job at the war would be to destroy things instead. And maybe lose my only friends.”

“I see…” Ash finally said. “I think you’re right about the place of music and that we could make it grow much bigger. It’ll not be easy, though. I’m just a shop owner, and both you and Zac are still inexperienced in the world of music besides playing. It would need months and months of hard efforts, hundreds of unfruitful attempts, a thousand more failures, and I could go on. Are you really ready to try this?”

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Mahon looked her straight in the eyes. He had thought about it for many nights now. He knew his answer.

“Honestly, I’m not sure I could do something without giving it all my energy. I’m not one to do dozens of things at the same time. I pick one, and I don’t stop until I collapse.”

She nodded at his words and turned to Zac. “And you?”

“Ah… You heard the bull, right? He is all muscle and no brain. He needs someone to help him or he’ll just keep coming at the wrong walls again and again.”

“Seriously, Zac.”

“I’m serious. I love nothing more than music, and Mahon’s arguments ring deep inside me. Is there really a difference between grinding my fighting skills and hope for a miracle or grinding my music skills and hope for a miracle? I’ve more fun in the latter, and as Mahon said, we can stay together. I’m in. Two hundred percent in.”

“And you Ash?” Mahon finally asked. He had talked about it with Zac already, and he had shared enough with his friend to know what he really wanted. But Ash, he didn’t know. And without her, it’d be much harder.

She smiled at him. “Of course I’m in. I’d blame myself every single day if I let this opportunity pass without even trying. Three talented musicians, one noble, one with magical music power, and a music shop owner. I wanted to be certain of your real motivations, but from what I can tell, yes, I’m definitely in!”

The trio smiled at each other, and Mahon raised his beer. “Then it’s settled?”

“Yeah.” Zac raised his own glass and placed it against Mahon’s one.

“Yup.” Ash spoke at the same time, completing their little ring of beers with a clung.

They all took a sip to mark the deal once for all and laid back in their seats.

“What now?” Mahon asked. “I’ve actually not much idea what we should do first.”

“See! All muscles, no brain.” Zac commented with a sarcastic smile. “From my perspective, here is how I see this. First, deal with the cultists. Easy peasy. Then, we build our music group and practice. Via my parents, I could find a lot of receptions where we could play and make some money. We make ourselves known and revolutionize music. Invent songs and instruments. Create party themes. We can even imagine some specific songs for events like Faday, New Year, and more. I've got so many ideas.”

“Hold on.” Ash intervened with a smile. “Let’s not race through this. First, we need to make sure we can survive this. Where would you live? Where do we get money from? I don’t have enough for the three of us, and there is no free meal like at your school.”

“I've saved a lot of money.” Mahon said. “I’ve only lived on my own for 2 months in 22 years. The rest of the time, I’ve had no real occasion to spend anything. I can handle myself for years without a problem.”

“And my family could help us. Not directly financially, but at least with some meals and housing.” Zac added.

Soon, the trio forgot about their actual problems and dreamt of their next adventure. Mahon had opened a door, and they had all rushed behind him with a ravenous enthusiasm. The possibilities were endless, and they had more than enough skills to make them real.

As Ash had said, they wouldn’t build anything before months, and they’d have to overcome their own hardships. However, it’d come later. Tonight was a dreamful evening. They had every right to fantasize about their future and envision what they could become.

The night turned darker and darker until the time came for the duo to take its leave. Mahon had to join the cultists while Zac would prepare for the ambush. It was the last hardship before their new path. Or the first.

“It’s almost time.” Mahon said with a smile. “Let’s end this cult one time for all, and then we’ll focus on our future.”

“What did they really want in the end?” Ash asked, curious.

“The cultists? Just to end the no-dream pill.” Zac answered. “They want to destroy the factory and the storage to get rid of it completely. As if it would make any difference.”

“That’d still lead everyone to Nightmare.” Mahon intervened.

“Yeah, for a week maybe. But the nobles aren’t stupid. They would find a way to keep the market flowing while they build another factory, and we would be back at the starting point with doubled security measures. I doubt the cult would be able to do anything impactful in Nightmare in such a short window.”

“You’re probably right... Well, they weren’t really known for their intelligence.” Mahon shrugged. He had dealt with his fair share of cultists now, and most of them were just simple people not thinking more than a meal ahead. Their intellect wasn’t why they had been recruited in the first place.

No need to be smart when you’re just a pawn in the noble families’ game.

“Isn’t it still dangerous? Trying to end them all in one night?” Ash asked in a worried tone.

“Some cultists are dangerous, but most aren’t even close to my level. And with Mahon at my side, I don’t risk anything.”

“But you’ll not always be at his side, right? You said you were not together in the beginning.”

“Ah stop it. You sound too much like my mother.” Zac joked. “We’ll only be split during the first part, but as soon as the battle begins, we’ll be together. Mahon is my duo. We always fight together. We trained to fight together. Don’t worry about it. There is nothing that can happen to us.”

Ash wasn’t easily convinced by Zac, and she turned to Mahon for confirmation. “Mahon, you’ll stay with him and protect him, right?”

Mahon could hear the fear creeping in Ash’s voice. He had planned to stay with Zac and protect him anyway, but his experiences in Nightmare prevented him from jumping to an easy-going attitude. He had lost friends in simpler situations.

“We’ll stay together, don’t worry. I can’t promise it’ll go well, because sometimes it doesn’t, but I’ll try my best to prevent anything bad from happening. Zac is my friend too, and I care about his life. The school also cares about us, and they’d not have given us such a mission if they didn’t believe we could solve it without a problem. Worst case, the storage burns and we run away.” He tried to reassure the woman.

The look Ash threw him didn’t really seem convinced.

“Ah, you still don’t know how to talk to girls.” Zac intervened. “Go on your own, I’ll take care of this.” He said to Mahon as he put his arm around Ash’s shoulder and went for a kiss.