ALEXANDER KALLIS:

Standing alone in the middle of a small town street, gasping for air as a rainstorm flooded the sewers, I looked around in confusion with a blood-soaked sword in hand. The ominous dark clouds blocked the sun, a sight that felt all too familiar.

“Rally to me!” yelled a knight coming into view, wearing full plate armor with a crescent moon symbol engraved on the breastplate. “We must delay them as long as we can!”

Trailing behind him were a few dozen city guards with spears and shields at the ready, splashing water everywhere as they ran toward me.

Were they enemies? Allies? These thoughts popped into my mind as I gripped the longsword firmly, just in case.

“Help us!” A cry coming from behind stole my attention as a young woman and a boy no older than ten ran out of an alleyway.

She held his hand, leading him to the soldiers, running in fear from the danger that followed.

My eyes went wide at the sight of a four-meter ogre-like monster with charred skin covered in obsidian and curved bull horns poking out of its forehead, demolishing a house before finding its way onto the street.

It didn’t even give me enough time to react before it unleashed a petrifying roar that matched the thunder raging above us. The monster slammed its fists on the ground, sending a shockwave that ruptured the ground, making the woman and child fall helplessly.

Hundreds of crimson eyes suddenly appeared from the shadows as a horde of monsters that looked like the miniature version of the big guy came charging at us, letting out a warcry that made many behind me tremble. Armed with curved swords and barbed spears, they oozed bloodlust with every step they took.

I’ve never felt such malice in my life. Just one look was enough to tell that mercy was not an option.

“Form a line!” yelled the knight as the soldiers took a stand a few steps behind me, setting up a shield wall with spears at the ready.

“Keep your heads down,” I said to the woman, extending my hand toward the horde before summoning forth an overwhelming amount of mana. “Heightened Magic: Draconic Chain Lightning.”

The very ground I stood on cracked under the pressure as lightning surged through me before I unleashed it at the horde. It disintegrated everything it touched, turning monsters to dust; however, it didn’t stop there as the lightning continued until it eventually reached the giant in the back, killing countless in the process.

The giant demon managed to brush it off with only minor injuries as the lightning discharged into the ground, but my focus quickly dropped to my hand as I was shocked to find myself casting such a spell.

Fearing for their lives, the young woman grabbed the boy and quickly ran behind the line, barely escaping the horde that never stopped despite their losses.

Knowing it wasn’t the time to be distracted, regardless of my confusion, I raised my hand again to cast another spell, but a sudden appearance of a new entity at my side drew my gaze. The only thing I saw was a blade made of silver, engulfed with necrotic energy, being thrust toward my chest.

Blocking the attack, our swords locked as I gazed into the gleaming gold eyes belonging to an ashen-hair young-looking woman with an attractive feminine human form and batlike wings connected to her upper back. She wore clothes that left little to the imagination.

Clicking her tongue, she looked annoyed, almost as if she expected me to roll over and die whenever she desired.

“Knew you were trouble,” she said, pulling her blade back. “Dagger Arts: Fad-”

“Heightened Magic: Thunderwave.” With a snap of my fingers, a blast of energy sent the woman crashing into a nearby house.

While I wanted to think more about the magic I was performing, I began wondering where were the demons that charged. Weren’t they supposed to reach us by now? Surely if the two humans passed by me, the much faster monsters would’ve as well.

Turning around made my nightmare come to life as reality itself distorted. Suddenly I was surrounded by a bloodbath as the demons broke the shield wall and engaged in a chaotic melee, slaughtering everyone in their path.

Disoriented as if I had leaped through time, I glanced back at the demon I sent flying but got distracted by a wrathful roar from above. The obsidian monster that stood in the back was falling on top of me, forcing me to cast Shield; however, the strength behind its punch managed to break through the barrier, knocking me prone.

Looking away after its spit flew toward me while it bared its teeth, I turned to a decapitated head that was barely a finger apart from my face. Gazing into each other's eyes caused me to gag as I wanted to vomit after realizing I was swimming in a pool of blood, but then I noticed a change. The corpse’s dead brown eyes slowly turned pale as the mouth opened slightly, allowing it to lash out with a screeching growl, trying to bite me.

“Aaaa!” I quickly jumped in my bed, grabbing my chest after being startled by a nightmare.

“Aah!” Alice yelled, falling backward as she watched over me while I slept. “Ouch!”

Quickly realizing I was in my bed, I looked over at Alice, noticing she had fallen on her butt.

“You okay?” I asked, chuckling as if nothing had happened.

“What the heck was that?” Alice asked, sighing before standing back up. “God, you scared me.”

“Sorry.” I awkwardly smiled, realizing I was shirtless.

“Stay still,” she said, sitting beside me with the back of her hand pressing against my forehead.

“What are you doing?” I furrowed my brows, not minding the attention.

“Checking for a fever,” she explained, removing her hand a second later. “Seems you’re fine for now.”

“Why would I have a fever?” I asked, still disoriented and confused.

“Because your core cracked.”

When she mentioned it, I noticed a throbbing pain in my chest, but it was incomparable to what I had endured before, making it easy to ignore; however, realizing I was in pain reminded me of what had happened to us.

“Is that so?” I sighed, closing my eyes. “How long was I out for?”

Without answering my question, Alice slumped her head on my shoulder, gripping my forearm with her hand, and whispered, “Dammit. . . I’m-”

“Don’t,” I interrupted her, cupping her wrist with my free hand. There was no way I couldn’t smile joyously. “Don’t waste your breath saying something useless, okay? Things couldn’t have gone better.”

She chuckled, nodding while still resting her head on my shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered, tightening her grip.

“Me too.” I opened my eyes, slightly turning my head so I could see her. “You hurt?”

Stolen novel; please report.

She shook her head, exhaling slowly before finally lifting her head back up and gazing into my eyes.

“I had minor cuts and bruises, but they were easily healed by Razivolt, so it’s like I never even left. Don’t worry. However, you’re the one I was worried about, but luckily Asia was able to heal all your injuries. After you fix your core, you’ll be as good as new.”

“I’ll be even better now that I fully awakened my gift,” I reassured her, dropping back on my pillow.

“Yeah. . .” Alice finally smiled, pushing her hair behind the ear while gently looking down at me, refusing to let go of my arm. “We saw everything that happened using divination.”

“That’s. . . useful.” I hummed, thinking why they hadn’t used it on me to find out where Tartarus was when I talked to them about it.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it wouldn’t work.”

“Huh?”

“Rampaging inside someone’s mind can leave lasting damage, so my parents would never do something like that to you.”

“Damn, you really can read my mind.”

“We had a similar thought when I first found out about the spell, and allowing the spell to do its thing won’t cut it either. We’d need someone specialized in such magic, and sadly we don’t know anyone like that.”

“Then how’d you see the fight?”

“We used it on the Astral Moonflower or whatever was left of it by the time we reached Thysa. Though, we couldn’t find out who placed the monster in the garden since it hadn’t sprouted before then.”

“I see,” I mumbled, looking up at the ceiling. “But who would do such a thing? There’s no way it’s one of the families causing trouble in Thysa.”

“Why do you think that?” Alice looked intrigued with a coy smirk.

“Well. . . If anyone wanted to kill me, there were better ways of going about it, but that’s beside the point. The real reason is that they’d gain nothing by having you killed. Their kids might be dumb, but I’m sure their elders aren’t fools. At best, they’d enrage your parents, which would make them behead all the elders. Besides, I’m sure they’re still going to try pushing that marriage proposal onto you.”

“Ugh. . . Don’t remind me.” She looked disgusted, averting her gaze. “But you’re probably right. Mom told me the same thing.”

“Well, I’ll leave it to your parents to find out.”

“Yeah. We should focus on training,” Alice said, taking me by surprise at how cooperative she was with the idea of staying out of it. The idea of us losing our lives probably had her shaken.

Even though I said we’d leave it to her parents, the idea of a third party being involved wasn’t a thrilling thought to have floating in my mind, but at least we were safe within the Palace.

“Excited to strengthen your core?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yup. Been waiting long enough.”

“I’m glad, but now it’s time for the real question,” I smirked, bending my knee as I got to enjoy the comfort of my bed. “Do I have to wait just as long for you to tell me how long I’ve been asleep, or will you keep it a secret until the day I die?”

“Oh, right.” She chuckled, which was good enough for me. “It’s been three days, including the time it took to carry you back.”

“Three days? Damn.” I yawned, putting my arm behind my head.

“Don’t tell me you’re still tired?” She teased with a wide smile.

“Maybe I just want to be spoiled,” I joked, glancing to the side, noticing the flowers left on top of the bedside table. “Did you pick these out of the garden?”

“Yeah. These are some of my favorites. Their smell is supposed to help with sleep.”

“I see how it is. . . No wonder I stayed asleep for so long. It was all part of your plan.”

“Damn, you have me all figured out. And here I thought I had a chance of keeping the sleeping beauty captive in my palace for all eternity. Now everything’s ruined.”

“Well. . . at least you think I’m beautiful.” We both laughed before enjoying the silence briefly. “Three days, huh? I assume you’ve already started training?”

“Nah. I wanted to wait for you to wake up first.”

“You might regret not getting a head start,” I teased, but all I got in return was a sweet smile.

“I hope so. . .” she mumbled endearingly, waiting a bit before speaking up again. “Hey, I probably shouldn’t pry, but did you have a nightmare?”

“Ah, yeah. . .” I sighed, remembering my dream. “I was actually planning to talk to your uncle about it since I’ve been having a repeated nightmare all my life.”

“Worried it might be a vision?”

“I hope not,” I said, grunting after a dull pain passed through me.

“You okay?” she looked worried.

“I’m fine,” I reassured her, taking a deep breath before showing her a soft smile, hoping it’d convince her.

“Tell me if you need anything.”

“I will, but I’m surprised I’m not hungry after not eating for three days straight. . .”

“That’s because we fed you belaberries, and Asia used healing magic on you.”

“Neat,” I said, thinking how useful that would’ve been every time I woke up late back home. “Anyway, about the nightmares. . . I used to have them once a month as far as I could remember, but I always believed they were caused by the curse.”

“At least now you know it’s not, or should I say, it wasn’t the curse that caused them.”

“Right, which makes it all the more confusing.” Honestly, it felt good hearing Alice referring to my curse as something in the past. “They always started the same, with me standing atop a wall, preparing for a battle against demons that were sieging some unknown town.”

“Guessing that never ended well. . .”

“Yup, but I always had magic during these dreams, which was why I believed it impossible. However, things are different now. Awakening my powers changed my life, but it also changed my nightmares.” I stroked my chin, trying to figure it all out. “This time, I was in the middle of the street with a horde of monsters attacking a group of soldiers standing behind me. There’s more to it, but the dream was chaotic, and some things were illogical as all dreams are.”

“Like what?”

“Time flowed weirdly. It was as if me forgetting to pay attention to something caused it to freeze in place until I remembered it. There was a moment I was too focused on fighting a demon that I didn’t realize just how long it took the horde charging toward us to get to us. But as soon as I did, they suddenly appeared around me, already fighting the guards.”

“I’m sure my uncle will be of greater help, but I’m guessing those aren’t visions,” Alice said confidently, finally letting go of my hand as she crossed her arms. “Visions aren’t flexible the way you described your nightmare, and they only tend to show small glimpses of the possible future. If you had control over your dream, then it could potentially be a memory. Though, I could be wrong.”

“A memory?” I furrowed my brows. “Pretty sure I’d remember that.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Alice crossed her legs, pressing her elbow against the knee. “Maybe those memories belonged to someone else. That would explain how you could manipulate them and why everything’s distorted.”

“Is that even possible?” I asked and regretted it as soon as I did. “Nevermind. . . After everything, that’s what I choose to doubt.”

Alice chuckled, glancing back at me again.

“It’s just a guess anyway, but Uncle is sure to know more. I’ll ask him to come by later.”

“Yeah. . . Speaking of which, what happened to the flower? You mentioned you brought it back to Thysa.”

“It somehow survived the fight, and thanks to Razivolt, we were able to bring it back without ruining it completely. Auntie’s already made the antidote, but she said you must repair your core first. I don’t know the details, but the healing ritual will slowly recover your eyes, and it’ll take a few weeks before you’re able to see normally again.”

“Few weeks?” I sighed, throwing my head back. “Guess I can’t be greedy.”

“Be patient.” She chuckled, probably waiting for months to say that to me. “Besides, we’ll be mostly strengthening now, so you’ll be sitting in your room a lot.”

“Does that mean we’ll be training separately?”

“It might be distracting if we train together, but at the same time, I’m willing to give it a try.”

“Sounds good to me. I’m always up for a challenge.”

“I know. . .” Alice said, standing back up. “Anyway, I should go tell them that you’ve woken up. Might’ve been a good idea to do that first.”

“Maybe, but I always enjoy our talks, so I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Same.” Alice smiled, giving me a wink.

“Hey. . .” I mumbled with both hands behind my head, enjoying the fact that I could laze around. “Thanks again for the flowers. They do smell amazing.”

“The least I could do for my knight in shining armor.” We both chuckled before she turned and walked over to the door. “I’ll be back before you know it, so don’t go running around until you’re fully recovered.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.” I paused before a coy smirk appeared on my face. “Probably.”

“Don’t you dare.” She sighed, leaving the room. “Just stay put. I’ll be back.”

Left all alone, I glanced at the ceiling again and exhaled.

“Memories, huh?”

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.