For a moment, both of them remained silent, with the weight of Dalton's words still hanging in the air. The realization that his father had given up on his brother hit Tomas like a truck, and he felt a strange mix of emotions wash over him. He had a love-hate relationship with his brother, like all normal siblings, but to hear this from his father felt wrong in a way that he couldn't quite articulate. Lucien was the most hardworking person he had ever seen. He didn’t deserve to be given up.

Recording what he had just done, the fear of punishment crept into his mind, and he stood frozen, wishing he could simply disappear.

Dalton quickly realized that he had made a mistake, speaking so harshly to a ten-year-old boy about his own brother. After a few minutes of silence, Dalton started seeking to diffuse the tension, and the best way he knew was to bring up a more interesting topic to the conversation.

Very carefully, he slowly started speaking again. "Do you remember when I told you that an expert would come to teach you how to control your powers?"

Tomas's curiosity instantly got the better of him, and he momentarily forgot about the conversation they had just had. "Who is it, Dad? Please stop hiding it from me!" he implored.

Dalton chuckled. "It's me and your mother, of course! There's no one better suited to teach you than your own parents. When you were talking about your dream, I noticed I have one that’s very similar. And if I'm right, you'll soon receive a dream related to explosions just like I did. Isn't that awesome?"

Tomas's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? REALLY? REALLY?!", he exclaimed, unable to contain his joy.

Dalton spoke in a serious, grave tone to his son, his eyes focused and intense. "Listen to me carefully now, son. What I am about to say is very important and is the reason I stopped you from talking more about your powers in the open. Do not let anyone know that your dream is related to ours and that you have the potential to inherit especially my power. Let them believe that your destiny is to be a frontline armored defender and your dreams are unrelated to mine or Artemis. Do you understand?"

Tomas slowly nodded, a mixture of shock and confusion on his face. He didn’t understand why he had to do this, after all he was quite a simpleminded kid. For him it was quite an honor to receive his parents powers and it was something that he should proudly talk about with his peers.

Dalton continued, "You see, my power is a source of discomfort for many people around the world, and it keeps them in line because it is simply too good against them. But if they were to find out that someone else has the potential to inherit that power, they might see it as a direct threat and send assassins after you. That's why it's so important that you keep it hidden for now. at least until you are strong enough"

"I didn't know you had so many enemies, dad," Tomas said, still trying to wrap his head around what he was hearing.

"They're not exactly enemies, but they would certainly prefer to avoid any potential headaches," Dalton explained. "You see, every Clan has a few powerful individuals who can handle any problem that arises and instill fear in other Clans. Over time, a balance has been established, with territories being divided among the strongest Clans. But even during times of peace, the emergence of a new powerhouse like yourself can cause a shift in the balance of power and make some people uncomfortable. If you truly inherit my power, you can quickly reach close to my level of mastery over explosions and become a force to be reckoned with. And that's why some Clans, including our neighbors, might take action against you."

"So, you need to keep it a secret until you become strong enough to defend yourself, okay?" Dalton finished, looking at Tomas with a stern expression.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Dalton and Tomas, that said neighboring Clan was taking action.

That clan, known by all as the Tamers, renowned for their mastery in the control and management of beasts, had once been a faction of the Knowledge Clan but had since established themselves within the territory of the Mixers, remaining concealed until recently being discovered by the Mixers' scouts.

In an era devoid of warfare, where Clans sought to avoid conflict and preserve their forces, any perception of weakness could invite aggression from others. The Tamers' presence in the Mixers' territory challenged their power and prestige, introducing a unique dilemma. The Tamers possessed a formidable ability—if they were attacked and a single powerful Tamer survived, he could trigger a mass migration of low-level beasts. This domino effect would compel stronger beasts to either depart or assail the Mixers in search of sustenance, effectively cornering Dalton's Clan.

Thus, the Mixers found themselves in a precarious position, forced to tolerate the Tamers' presence to avert potential disaster. Unbeknownst to the Clan leader, however, their neighboring Clan harbored a skilled scout—a master of covert operations.

This scout, named Arden, was actually a very simple guy. With a lean and agile frame, he stood in his house checking on the link with his beast. His piercing blue eyes turned birdlike, sharp as a hawk's gaze, and he missed nothing as the Mixers' every move was meticulously observed.

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Arden's most prized companion was a rare and special breed of bird known as the Shadow wing. This magnificent creature possessed the ability to fly without producing any sound, enabling it to glide silently through the air. Its feathers had the remarkable ability to change color, allowing it to blend effortlessly with the sky, making it virtually invisible to the untrained eye. The Shadowwing perched atop Dalton's house during the night, serving as Arden's watchful sentinel, unseen by all.

For years, Arden had honed his skills and performed his duties with unwavering dedication. He had become an expert in reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and stealthy infiltration, keeping track of all the important people in the Clan which they shared the zone with. His dream path, combined with his fine long range control over this special bird, made him an invaluable asset to his Clan.

For years, the scout had diligently performed his duties, and after today he was secure in the belief that none of the Clan leader's children possessed power on par with Dalton’s own, finding solace in this assurance. The absence of dangerous heirs among them had eased his nerves.

Today was another normal day for Arden. He watched the kids exit the dormitory, got info on the most powerful ones and even commemorated that the kid who had received a nightmare died. That would be potentially a very troublesome opponent in case he got a flame resistant dream. After that he had a very average day. Trained a bit, made his report on the new info about the kids and went home.

However, everything changed when the scout, already in his bed, overheard the short conversation Dalton had with his son when checking on the bird for the last time today. If the tidbits he gleaned were true, the entire landscape was on the cusp of transformation. The young boy would need to be dealt with, swiftly and ruthlessly, before the situation spiraled out of control. A sleepless night awaited him.

-Lucien-

Late into the night, when the rest of the house was enveloped in slumber, Lucien was wide awake in his room at the corner of the house, staring into the darkness that surrounded him. The little boy was filled with fears, fears of having visions that he wouldn't be able to understand, fears of getting stuck with the same dream for years, fears of never being able to achieve anything significant due to his unlucky fate. It was a cursed world, he thought.

As the night drew to a close and the first light of dawn appeared, Lucien's accumulated stress and exhaustion finally caught up to him, and he drifted off into slumber, unaware of the frightening reality that was soon to befall him in the years to come.

When he awoke, he found himself in a strange place that should have been his bedroom, yet everything was different. The old and sturdy wooden walls were gone, replaced by a flat blue wall adorned with peculiar drawings. Instead of his familiar, trusty, and comforting fur blanket, there was a soft, unfamiliar, and ethereal blue blanket made from a material that he had never encountered before. The most unusual thing of all, however, was that he was not in control of his own body. He could feel every strand of hair on his head, every movement of his muscles, and even the taste of his own saliva, but never once did he have any control over his actions.

Lucien was scared, as he had heard stories of powerful dreamers who could control their opponents' bodies, but experiencing it himself was a completely different matter. The terror only intensified as he realized he had no control over his own body, even though he could feel every strand of his hair and taste his own saliva. His body began to move, leading him to a room with a square of transparent material that revealed the outside and the absurdity of the height at which he was sleeping. He gazed in awe at the sea of towering structures stretching to the horizon, feeling as though he too was standing within one of them.

As he was dressed by his own body, Lucien was struck by the oddness of the clothes - they felt weak, like they couldn't handle even a single scratch, and looked like nothing he had ever seen before. He found himself in another strange room, decorated with chairs and a table made of a material that was both rigid and soft, like a "soft rock". He was beginning to think that everything in this place was bizarre and weird.

The door to the room opened and a middle-aged woman walked in. Lucien studied her appearance, reaching the same conclusion he had about his clothes - weak and weird. The woman appeared to have never done any physical labor or been exposed to the sun, as she was extremely clean and lacked any muscle definition.

Lost in thought, Lucien missed the start of the interaction between his body and the woman, but he could tell by listening to their conversation that they were speaking in a language he had never heard before. Despite focusing intently, he could only vaguely understand the message his body was trying to convey. The words were foreign and the conversation remained nonsensical to him, but at least he could tell that his body's goal was to secure some food. That was a relief, as he was starting to feel hungry as well.

As the day progressed, Lucien found himself being transported from one strange and unfamiliar place to another. He was constantly being whisked away in small metal boxes, each one more peculiar than the last. The first was a cramped and cramped metal container, barely big enough to fit six people, with strange symbols adorning the walls. It was clear to Lucien that the purpose of this box was to transport people from the towering structures that dotted the horizon.

The next box was like a chariot, but with strange doors made of the same transparent material that seemed to be everywhere. By now, Lucien had grown somewhat accustomed to the bizarre sights and sounds of this strange world, but he was still taken aback by the fact that this chariot moved without any visible means of propulsion. It defied all logic, and Lucien was left scratching his head in disbelief.

The chariot finally arrived at a low-lying structure, the first place he had seen that was not towering over everything else. Inside the building, Lucien's body took him to a room where nearly forty children were already seated and an adult was standing. This was the first moment since his arrival that Lucien knew what was happening. His body was there to attend a lesson, and it seemed like it had already started. Lucien felt a sense of relief, as this was a small step towards making sense of the chaos that surrounded him.

For the rest of the day, Lucien's body took part in lessons and interacted with the other children in a language that was completely foreign to him. Despite not understanding a single word, Lucien could feel a vague sense of the message being conveyed, and he was just happy to have some kind of structure in this new and bewildering world. When the day was done, Lucien's body took the same chariot and metal box back home, and as he lay down to sleep, his mind was whisked away from his dream and he woke up in his bed, dazed and bewildered by all that he had seen.