The flames scattered everywhere. Accompanied by death and slaughter, the world continues to be torn asunder from inside and out.

Matt stood alone in the shadows of the war that made the world today. Figures of men, machines, and monsters alike filled the streets.

Soldiers wielding their guns confronted some mages only to fall prey to their bizarre powers. Tanks demolished the many churches and infrastructures that represent human civilization. Conscription became a common occurrence. Operational intelligence and espionage battles have become nastier.

Innocents that have nothing to do with the war became collateral as the battles further devolve into the barest state of inhumanity.

Everything about this is unpleasant. The city of Freo that Matt recalls as his home was a wonderful place, unlike the warzone presented in front of him now.

For some reason, Matt is aware that this is a dream.

Visions of an era far gone by, are interspersed with the landscapes as Matt aimlessly walks along the coast of bloodshed.

A bitter distaste for magic grew on Matt as he watches the several magics that devastated cities, armies, and humanity to a smidgen.

It's as bad as the nuclear weapons the different superpowers at that time possess.

Except, instead of being wielded by a nation, it can be now wielded by one mage—

Deludging cities with snow. Raining meteors without mercy. Spreading deadly plagues without remorse.

Like a screen in motion, the dream continued to display the terrible war that eluded Matt in his long years of petrification.

Then it found me.

I am certain.

A cathedral decorated with immaculate sculptures and carvings greeted Matt. Its gate is open and none of the traces of war can be found in the place.

I feel it calling unto me.

So I entered.

Just when Matt was about to step on the gate's pathway, the scenery changed. The place look darker, almost eerie, but the familiar aesthetic of the cathedral calmed Matt's worry. This must be the inside of the cathedral.

"Despair! That is what you shall do, shall feel, and shall be your end! Watch me as I devastate this world and return it to the primordial state it once was. I will redefine the concept of magic according to my visions. I will be God."

A manic voice reverberated across the cathedral halls. A crucified old man and a levitating masked man are confronting one another.

"PREPOSTEROUS! HOW DARE YOU!" The old man shouted back, displaying his fury through the sudden undulations of mana.

Then, a battle ensued. Matt watched the masked madman, who claimed he will be god, intently... For some reason, Matt feels irreversible danger from him.

Matt wants to escape, but his curiosity won't let up.

The magic battle that followed was immense. Even though it doesn't involve any flashy display of destruction, Matt was in complete awe of the intricacies of their spellcasting.

The crucified old man was defeated in the end. Mystifying dark runes enveloped the old man as his flesh turned wooden brown... It was a familiar scene, just like how Matt and Len were petrified in their ashen gray miserableness.

There was silence. The masked man looked at me. His eyes that of icy blue, it is cold, and it invites dread.

Then I woke up.

Matt rose from his sleeping posture with haste. Cold sweat fills his back. It looks like he fell asleep after eating his fill of tough rabbit meat. Exhaustion has finally caught Matt resulting in his sudden slip into slumber's embrace.

It was a nightmare, an ominous one.

And nightmares to mages generally translate to danger. This is something that Matt's mentor, Kahowzki, repeatedly told Matt.

Matt's breathing was rough, he felt suffocated. Matt cast CALM on himself, effectively suppressing his intense emotions.

Dawn is upon them. The warmth of the sun reached Matt's skin, reminding him to hurry. Matt made a quick scan of the surroundings, there was the familiar hut, the ashen remains of the bonfire, and the small mound of a grave.

Nothing's changed. There is calm.

Is it an unfounded worry? Perhaps...

The nightmare felt damn so vivid, and those eyes! Yes, those eyes... They felt real. Like how the eyes are the gateways of our souls, so is how dreams are a reflection of our reality.

It's better safe than sorry.

So he ran and sped to Kaira's hut.

A series of bad things are about to happen. Shit is about to go down, and Matt has no clue where it will come from.

Little Kaira slept on the makeshift bed made of rattan. The little girl is struggling in her sleep, alternating between frowning and grunting, she seems to be having a nightmare.

Matt carried her over his shoulder, picked a random direction then left the hut.

The vegetation of the forest is green and lush. Unlike the wasteland scenery Matt saw in his nightmare and the city where that murder machine dwells, the forest appears to be amiable enough for a smooth and safe journey.

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In spite of Matt's optimism, he just has to be proven wrong. Matt's DANGER SENSE says otherwise.

Last night's spellcasting training rendered Matt a small gain. Matt was able to formulate a magic spell worth three techniques: telepathy, analysis, and focus, thus the manifestation of the magic spell, DANGER SENSE.

As the magic spell's name suggests, it is a magic spell that allows Matt to sense danger. The danger is weak but it is getting stronger. Aside from the main threat hounding Matt's mind, there were also the smaller threats that warily lurk in the forest.

HOOOOOOWWL!

"A pack of wolves." Matt hissed, worried about the prospect of being surrounded by them.

A grey wolf standing 1.5 meters tall bars Matt's path. Its eyes are cunning and its fangs are sharp.

"And as expected, they are bigger from what I remember." Matt grits his teeth, preparing his mind for battle. Matt can sense through his periphery the skittering wolves stalking him.

Given the years that have gone by, it is understandable how much animals would also change.

Matt made a stance, his right hand raised.

The silent and still wolf took Matt's gestures as hostile. The wolf growled, flexing its mighty fangs.

They would battle until only the victor remains. Such is the law of the jungle, or in the wolf and Matt's case, the law of the forest. Survival of the fittest is about to ensue if not for Kaira's meddling~

"Bri.ng...me...d.own." The voice was hoarse and in pain. The little girl, Kaira, helplessly flailed at Matt's shoulder. Her hurt throat swells up in pain when she speaks, but she persisted.

"Bring...m.e...do..wn." She weakly repeated.

K-Kaira? Looks like the little girl is now awake. Matt felt the little girl shift her weight on his shoulder, trying to get out of Matt's arms by herself.

"You can't, it's dangerous." Matt sternly said to Kaira, while he carefully eyes the wolf. Matt's nerves are tense. The threat that caused his nightmare is getting stronger each second he wastes his time here.

"Yaaaah! Ju.st...do...it!" Kaira elbowed Matt's neck with all her might. This caused Matt to flinch and loosen his grip on the little girl.

Though Kaira is still weak because of the blood she lost, she is still of druidic origins. She is stronger, smarter, and faster than most does in her age.

Because of Matt's unguarded attitude to the little girl, Kaira was able to extricate herself with alacrity.

Matt rubbed his neck in consternation. His mentality made quick work of the mana he has gathered in his palms. All Matt need is a thought to unleash his magic.

But Matt restrained himself for Kaira is in the way. Matt's FORCE BOLT will hit Kaira instead if Matt chose to unleash his magic.

Tsk! Matt is disappointed, but he can hardly see through what is going on in Kaira's mind.

Little Kaira kneeled on one knee, and raised her arms, her fingertips pointed outwards like a flower, and her palms pointed to the wolf.

Silence permeated the surroundings.

And just like that, the wolf left along with his entourage. The wolf threat was no more. Apparently, because of Matt's blind escape from the intangible danger, he accidentally intruded on the grey wolf's domain. As the trespasser, what Matt did is wrong. Kaira simply asked the wolf permission for passage, and with a few words, Kaira easily resolved the conflict through her druidic arts.

The conversation was psychic, so Matt didn't hear a thing except the wolf's growling.

Matt approached Kaira, with a few clues about what happened.

"Let's go, danger is afoot." Kaira meekly nodded at Matt's words, and they set off on their way. Kaira doesn't know where to go given her currently frail mind, so she can only follow Matt.

Matt knows that the child is going through a lot, but he can't suppress his curiosity.

"Where did you learn that from?"

"Mom... druid." Kaira can hardly talk, but her succinct answer still enlightened Matt. That explains it all. A druid is a different kind of mage. According to Kahowzki's teachings, druids are part of a rare cache of mages that learns magic from nature. Kaira's mother must be a wild mage at the apprentice level at the minimum.

Kaira must've talked to the wolf through ancient magic. Diplomatic resolution is always better than force. Kaira can't speak much, so Matt left Kaira on her own devices, casually observing her once in a while.

Noon is upon them, and Kaira is getting hungry. She blindly followed Matt with her better-than-average stamina recovery. Kaira doesn't know what to do, she felt like she forgot something.

"Hmmm... this is far enough. For now, we take a break." Matt raised his palm, casting his FORCE BOLT at the shrubs. Then with his telekinesis, he brought his prey to his side. Matt was casually casting DETECT in equal intervals since they started their journey, this allowed him to detect the rabbit, a staple source of protein that the forest has plenty of.

Kaira pushed the sad feeling in her heart away, her doubts vanished along with her hunger pangs thanks to the prospects of eating.

Matt made quick work of preparing the food with his magic. They are in a hurry, and Matt is not much of a cook, so the finished product isn't really pleasing. Matt didn't even bother to drain the blood of the rabbit.

Using the magic technique pyrogenesis, the rabbit was bathed in raging flames. It took Matt some time to cook the rabbit to a satisfying degree.

Matt did this as the two of them, Kaira and him, continued their travel on foot.

'Is this really a break?' Kaira inwardly asked herself about the ludicrousness of their situation.

It caused some commotion along the way as stray beasts of all species abruptly come their way. Kaira dealt with the reasonable ones, while Matt dealt with the unreasonable few.

The rabbit's exterior is charred black while the meat inside is cooked— that's the best compliment Matt can offer to himself.

Kaira is having a hard time processing what is happening around her. After eating her fill as they walk, she finally mustered her courage to ask in her hoarse voice.

"Where... is.. mom?"

Matt was momentarily surprised by Kaira's sudden question. 'Does she not remember?'

"I... had. Night.mare.. she... died..." Kaira continued in her sobbing voice. Tears minutely gather in her eyes. Matt placed his thumb on the little girl's cheek carefully wiping the teardrops, and with a gentle voice, Matt comforted her—

"Don't worry, your mom is doing fine. She is back in the hut, resting. Don't you remember, we are going to find medicine, right?"

—comforted her, with a white lie. It's for her own good, but a white lie is a lie nonetheless.

"You know what, how about you rest here for a while? I just have something urgent to do." Matt led the little girl to a tree. There, Matt dug a sufficiently spacious hole with his magic for Kaira to rest.

Kaira obediently followed. The tree is enormous, tall, thick, and has strong roots. This kind of tree is common in the forest every 20 yards on average.

The vegetation around the area together with the tree serves as good concealment for Kaira's protection.

Matt cast CALM on Kaira with his parting words, "I'll be back."

From there, Matt retraced their footsteps. The smoke he caused while cooking that damn rabbit will not just attract wild beasts but also the pursuing danger.

When Matt started cooking that rabbit a while ago, he felt his DANGER SENSE ringing.

Matt considered the many possibilities of how this danger came to be. At first, Matt thought of the Silver Demon, but remembering his nightmare, Matt thought otherwise.

It must be the masked man, or maybe someone related to him.

The smoke that Matt's cooking caused is not a calculative move on his part, but a coincidence. Matt simply wants to take advantage of this. Cooking food, always leaves traces. For a hunt, the beasts in the forests know that they could feast lucratively if they were to track this food.

Similarly, humans could track Matt this way.

Matt has many questions in his mind, about the war, this particular individual's involvement, and the current world.

So, he walked forth, pursuing danger in a suicidal fashion he never thought he would do in his entire life.