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"Silence awaits the brave."
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The eerie words lingered in Michael's head as he quickly sat up. Looking at the time dial, it was still the dead of the night.
The young man rubbed his hands together and opened up a flickering, but also comforting light to warm himself not because it was freezing outside, but because of those four words which had haunted him for quite some time.
"For the love of the Almighty, let me sleep in peace." he muttered in an annoyed manner.
Michael groggily stood up, looked outside the bedroom window, and glanced toward the beautiful landscape of Elena. Despite the fluctuating temperatures of his land, his homeworld had an otherworldly beauty to it. A kind that was deathly captivating.
He then looked up into the sky and gazed past the stars above. Where Michael knew where his heart truly belonged; the unknowns of space. Since birth, he scarcely left the reaches of his homeworld yet despite such circumstances, Michael never let it affect his dream of finally exploring the unknown and knowing what the universe had in store for him.
Daydreaming often distracted Michael from problems and this time was no different. A few minutes quietly passed, and he finally let out an exasperated, yet somewhat relieved sigh as the chills slowly disappeared.
Michael motioned back towards his linen bed with the notion that hopefully, he could get a full, good night's rest for the Almighty knows how long.
With his eyes finally closed, he attempted to go back into a deep slumber.
"It was never always like this." Michael thought to himself as he slowly fell into a somber mood.
He then looked back to where it all started.
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It was on the night of the young man's 20th name day when the words first started to appear. He felt panic like never before. Everyone who was in range immediately rushed to his room. Michael explained the situation to them, but they were all dumbfounded. This went on for days until Michael reached a point where he decided to take manners into his own hands.
Alas, no matter what medicine he drank, or what activities he did to distract himself, nothing would work.
Priests, sages, scientists, and doctors alike, all of their efforts were in vain.
Two years have passed since then, and Michael's life as of late, for him, has been a cycle of misery. Looping again and again as if he were simply a cog in a living machine.
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"Nightmares again?"
An eerie voice pierced through the dim-lit room.
Michael immediately woke and jolted back up, but quickly slipped and fell hard on the fabriquite-tiled floor which was then accompanied by a hearty laugh that he knew too well.
"Oh...Michaelangelo. I wish I could help, but if our priests were not able to help you then what could a mere guard do?" the voice followed up after a quick chuckle.
"You could help by at least knocking on the door first," Michael responded as he picked himself up. "And please, for the thousandth time, stop calling me by that name, Sir Gyles."
He then sat up and faced the ever-cheery knight, all clad in his signature mix of light crimson and black clothing which Michael always found odd, considering his role as a protector.
"May I sit down, good sir?" Sir Gyles leaned towards the empty chair in the room.
"If you were not able to sense me entering the room unannounced, then perhaps we need to intensify your training." he continued as Michael looked at him with a look of annoyance. After hearing that his training would be intensified, he nodded half-heartedly.
Sir Gyles' face then shifted into a concerned one as he motioned towards the chair.
"Your grace, If I may," said Gyles as he slowly sat down.
"I know this might be a sensitive matter given your position, but we could reach out to the outer quadrants for a remedy regarding your...condition." the knight continued. "I know some good people who can-"
"Sir Gyles," Michael directly cut him off before I could hear the rest of his proposition. "Thank you but no."
Michael had already heard this type of talk countless times from others when he personally sought them out by himself and was in no mood to discuss the topic which would still have the same results in the end.
"I apologize for not taking your condition seriously at first. I merely counted it as one of your usual pranks, but as the days went by--I knew something was wrong." Sir Gyles explained to Michael as he stared at the young man.
"Thank you for your concern--but we will talk no more of this. It is late in the night and I just want to go back to sleep." Michael replied as he sat back down on his bed.
Sir Gyles after hearing the pain in Michael's voice, merely nodded respectfully as he stood up and adjusted his clothing.
"I see." responded the knight. "I will be here outside then if ever you need me, sir Michael." Sir Gyles then motioned towards the door with a stoic look on his face. However, Michael observed from how he moved that the man was truly bothered by his situation.
"I appreciate your offer, Sir. I do." Michael reached out before Sir Gyles could step outside the door. "However I do not wish to offend Mother again as I have already done these past few years." he explained to the knight.
Upon hearing this, Sir Gyles let out a cheeky and quiet laugh.
"You really are your father's son. I understand," he replied. "I will send a maid to fetch you a brew of Lopolla tea to help you in your slumber." Sir Gyles continued.
"Thank you, good sir." Michael silently waved him off, signaling him to leave the room. "You are dismissed. Please do knock on the door next time." he continued as he let out a cheeky snicker.
"Good night to you too, good sir. For apparently, you have visitors tomorrow." Sir Gyles replied, looking straight at Michael who had an excited look on his face.
"Visitors? Who are they? From where?" Michael excitedly asked the knight.
"They never told me. Now rest, I'll send for the drink." Sir Gyles said as he closed the door.
Michael wanted to learn more, but his body failed him as he immediately found himself already half-asleep, whilst hearing Sir Gyles' laugh echo outside the halls before everything went black.