Leon awoke to see darkness all around him as he was lying flat in the empty world of darkness. Where am I? Am I dead? Leon thought to himself as he racked his brain thinking about what happened before he passed out. Just before I passed out I was attacked by Kline’s ‘Prison Arts’. So what is this place?  

The barren darkness that Leon floated in felt very calm and familiar, he sensed warmth in the darkness and at the same time he noticed that the pain on his chest he felt just before was receding under the warm embrace of darkness.

Leon slowly stood up and looked around, the place was pitch black, he couldn’t see anything not even his own hands, however he felt safe…

Suddenly a bright, blinding light lit up the darkness, temporarily blinding Leon when he opened his eyes he stared at the light source which was only a couple of metres away from him. It was a Golden clock which was rectangular in shape and on it were numerals that were foreign to Leon which he couldn’t understand, the clock seemed ancient but there was a strange familiarity between Leon and the great ‘Golden Clock’. On the clock were ancient designs and inscriptions that Leon had never seen before, Leon subconsciously raised his hands towards the clock, it made no sense to him as to why he was trying to reach for it. What’s this strange feeling? Why did I raise my hands? Leon questioned himself, he was subconsciously yearning for the protection of the darkness and radiance of the ‘Golden Clock’ which seemed all too familiar as if he had some connection to it.

Without knowing the radiance of the clock grew brighter, simultaneously Leon saw that the clock’s hands were winding clockwise, the clock became brighter lighting up the darkness which was visibly receding under the radiance of the Golden Clock. The darkness was disappearing leaving in its presence a bright blue sky and Leon noticed that he was standing in a vast field of flowers that had appeared out of nowhere and further in the distance he saw streams, large mountains and vast forests.

The vast field of flowers were beautiful, he had never seen such flowers in the Kaiser Mansions garden, yet he knew the names of all these plants: It was a field full of yellow dandelions, tulips, roses and many other flowers blooming under the blue sky, they had a fresh floral scent which Leon breathed in. Leon turned to look at the Golden Clock again and he was shocked, everything in front of the clock was lit up and was a sight to behold however behind the clock was darkness and a reflection of the place Leon was in but it was darker. Despite this it was beautiful because it was under the protection of the night sky, lit up by the hanging stars, both worlds were split: one was day while the other was night and the clock was in between.

“…So beautiful…” Leon said with his eyes wide open, appreciating the scenery.

All of a sudden the clock’s hands rotated clockwise, time seemed to have moved faster as the plants were blown away by a warm breeze, this was a sight to behold giving Leon a fulfilling feeling. While Leon was gazing at the scenery the Golden Clock grew brighter and brighter until it was blinding flash of light and then everything disappeared.

“hmmm…” Leon grumbled.        

“Where am I now?” Leon said to himself as he awoke from the dream world that felt so real to him, he was still reminiscing the feelings he felt in the dream world.

Leon slowly looked at himself and found out that he was covered by a velvet duvet on a grand bed, he was wearing his pyjamas and under that he had bandages covering his torso and arms. However all the injuries he gained from Kline and the pain he felt had disappeared, Leon felt refreshed as if he had spent the entire time relaxing near a lake.

In the room Leon was in, contained a large wardrobe directly ahead of him and a desk was right next to it, with an open window close by. There were ornaments that had intricate designs all around the room; paintings were hung on the wall and there was a small vase on the table next to the bed containing multiple flowers but none of them looked like those he had seen in the dream.

“I’m back in my room?” Leon asked himself.

There was a bowl of porridge and water set aside for him next to the vase, the porridge had a herbal aroma and it was still hot, Leon instantly picked up the bowl and ravenously swallowed the porridge down… forgetting to breathe he chocked as he forcefully tapped his chest to swallow it down, he quickly engulfed the porridge and he chugged the water down, he patted his chest and burped loudly.

“Uuugh,” Leon groaned it seems he was quite famished at that moment and forgot his manners.

“I see, you’ve woken up Leon, it seems you’re quite energetic for someone who nearly died,” said a man leaning on the open door letting a fragrant breeze in. The man had a calm and gentle expression , was well built with white skin, brown eyes, brown hair that was cleanly cut and was swept backwards, he was also wearing an expensive black suit, his facial features were also similar to Leons.

“Father!!” Leon squealed, surprised at how he didn’t notice his father entering the room, his father was precisely Izak the current head of the Kaiser clan.

“ When did you enter the room?” Leon said sheepishly.

“I guess it was when you were devouring your meal, you must have been pretty hungry,” said Izak as he looked at Leon’s embarrassed red face. “Leon you’re lucky that you’re still alive, you were severely injured when the guards found you. If they hadn’t arrived at the scene when they did, you would have died or at least been in critical condition.”

“2 Days!!” Leon said with shock, to Leon it felt like half an hour had passed while he was in that dreamscape, however 2 days had passed. Leon recalled the dream and had the urge to discuss it with his father.

“Father, may I ask you something? ” Leon inquired. “I had a strange dream…”

“Go on,” Izak replied as he sat down next to Leon on the side of the bed. As soon as he replied Leon spoke in detail about the place he was dreaming of and the plants he had seen… the plants that were definitely not from Eden from Leon’s own knowledge of flowers, he also told him about the Golden Clock and the darkness. Throughout all this Izak had a very curious and dumbfounded expression.

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“It’s really strange, there are no such plants in this world….. Even with its vast wildlife and floral species, and I have no idea what the significance of the darkness and Golden Clock have with the dream.” Izak proclaimed.

What Leon did not know was that his father knew where he had been to, however he kept it from Leon. Leon had involuntarily travelled to the old world, Earth. His father had studied it’s wildlife and history over the years and Leon had described them exactly as it’s been described in the ancient books and records of the old world in the Kaiser clan’s library: that was brought by the Kaiser clans ancestors. Izak had pondered how his son had journeyed to the old world and how the old world was related to the clock and darkness Leon spoke of, even so he dismissed the idea and went back to talking to his son.

“Leon take a rest for now, I’ll be waiting in my room and I want you to come by as soon as you fully heal since I have some things to discuss with you.”

“Yes father,” Leon replied respectfully.

Izak stood up and headed towards the door, as soon as he walked through the open door a well built man wearing a Keikogi was standing there. It was Leon’s great-uncle, Lerdo Kaiser whom was a very strict man that would always wear training clothes unless there was an important meeting within the clan. He was a person accustomed to wearing these types of clothes for training. He had blue eyes, brown hair, a high nose and he had a strict look on his face as he stood in front of Izak.

“Uncle,” spoke Izak with a hint of surprise in his voice.

“Izak, I have some issues I have to speak with you about,” he said while looking over Izak’s shoulder at Leon who was lying on the grand bed.

Izak looked back at Leon and looked at Lerdo, he realised what the issue Lerdo came to talk about was.

“Okay let us speak outside,” Izak said as they both left, Izak closed the door shut. Leon sat on the bed as he just stared at the luxurious wooden door. When he saw his father look back at him Leon understood that they were about to speak of him, so he got out of the bed and tip toed straight towards the door, aiming to eavesdrop on his father and his great-uncles conversation.

“You know what your son has done Izak? Let me tell you if you haven’t heard yet, he went and fought against a member of the Rauber clan and what’s worse is that he lost. Do you understand how shameful that is to us, the Kaiser clan to have lost against such a worthless clan like the Rauber clan. We are the respected descendants of Noah…. It’s just despicable. Izak remember, if your son cannot conquer the path of kings before he is 16, he will lose his right to lead the clan… let me just be frank: your son is deplorable, doesn’t have a Vision and worst of all is he brought shame to the clan!” Lerdo stated furiously as his voice grew louder.

There was an awkward silence, Izak’s expression was cold as he stared at his uncle, Lerdo seeing this stepped backwards, he was slightly scared knowing that he had just overstepped his boundaries by openly stating how worthless Izak’s son was.

“Yes….. he is weak.” Izak stated coldly.

Leon hearing this felt his mind go blank, he knew that Lerdo considered himself weak and unworthy of being the next head, it was extremely frustrating nonetheless Leon was able to take it because of his father’s belief in him but what he heard just now, shattered Leon’s confidence. Everything Lerdo was saying was true, he was truly worthless.

Leon couldn’t listen to this any longer and ran towards the wardrobe and took a pair of clothes out, got changed and dashed the pyjamas on the floor, he looked around the room and saw that the window was open, he quickly ran and jumped out through the window without looking back for even a moment. Leon’s room was only on the first floor so he managed to land safely, at this moment he had one though and one thought only… to runaway.

Leon couldn’t take sitting down any longer and a furious flame was born within him, he wanted to get out of the city and travel to the great forest, south of Reon, to train, to become stronger and to prove his worth, he might get lucky and gain a treasure that’ll help him get stronger.

What Leon did not know was that his father had more to say:

“Yes he is weak, but do you know that he somehow entered the old world while he was dreaming,” said Izak

Lerdo’s eyes widened, his anger dispersed, he couldn’t utter a single word…. after a few moments he recollected his thoughts and replied in disbelief: “ I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t have to believe me, however everything he described was similar to the ancient books in the inner library, he holds some secrets that even he doesn’t realise. He also has talent, he’s already stronger than the average adult in swordplay. What Leon lacks is the ability to absorb the natural energy to increase his physical strength and speed or he would have definitely been a genius in our clan,” Izak said truthfully. “I believe he has a great future ahead of him or why would he have dreamt of the old world, so when he recovers I’m going to start training him in ‘External Techniques’, to make sure he’ll pass the path of kings with just his talent.” Izak replied with confidence.

“Okay, as you wish, however you must remember your promise,” Lerdo exclaimed one last time and walked away through the large corridors of the mansion.

Izak waited for Lerdo to leave and then turned back and opened the door to Leon’s room, however he noticed no one was inside, the duvet was left crumpled on the bed and the wardrobes door was left open. Izak saw his sons pyjama’s on the floor and the window was open with the gentle spring breeze entering the room blowing the curtains.

Izak was confused and then suddenly realised. Leon must have heard what I was saying to Lerdo and misunderstood, Leon is still injured he mustn’t have gotten far, Izak thought to himself. Izak ran and jumped through the window and landed on the ground and saw Leon’s footsteps on the soil, he immediately followed the trail worrying where his injured son would go.