I wake up.

And a heavy migraine forges manacles and straps them right onto my skull.

‘Ouch…’ I think to myself.

I sit up on my bed of hay.

I feel sweat trickle down my back and my forehead is damp as if I am being splashed with water.

“So – It was a dream?”

I say out loud very relieved, and I kind of laugh at my stupidity.

“Of course, that was a dream! I would never be able to fight like that!”

I say sort of making sure I was being delusional.

I am here now. That’s all that matters.

I can feel my arm clearly and the natural sense of rhythm in my body. The only thing that clashes with reality is that – the dream felt too real.

I could somewhat feel a sort of ghost-pain somehow, I think back to the nightmare and the image of burning, makes me almost throw up in agony.

I look around, father is asleep as well as Aella.

Exactly how it should be every and each morning, I can see the large pot we used in the exact same place - unchanged.

Finally, I go to check the time on my pocket watch. It's the exact in my dream.

I decide to start my day now rather than wait longer. I get up and outside after having carefully opening and closing the door to ensure no sound was made.

And as if I am repeating my actions, I take the cloak that’s hung before setting out.

I think slowly to myself and come to the conclusion that I should go back to the village, and probably discuss more about emblem magic with old man Jim.

I eventually make it towards the river and I admire the orange skies bleaching the clouds very slightly. As I approach the bridge, I hear splashing and it intrigues me.

I’m directly on top of the bridge and I look downwards to see old man Jim doing some sort of acrobatic move and then slamming the pair of nun chucks into the water.

Just like last time.

“Hey! Old man Jim!”

“What are you doing up there?!”

And we go through a little back and forth, as I shout running down the slope and next to the river.

“About yesterday.”

I start and he instantly cuts me off.

“Save it.”

The voice of the old man echoes into the chambers of my mind, a strange feeling.

As if everything has been pre-determined already and I am following a script – Déjà vu.

“I get it, it’s not safe. Right?”

I ponder through my thoughts recalling the vivid dream and the exact conversation with the old man.

“Did Arthur tell you? Or did someone else tell you yesterday?”

“No, you did I guess.”

I say looking at him weirdly. And he returns the same look. So, I continue.

“I had a dream and in there the Water Village got attacked or something by beasts then I tried to attack them and got defeated badly.”

I laugh nonchalantly.

“Ed, what are you on about? Give me your arm.”

He pulls back my tunic sleeve and reveals an emblem imprint, my eyes widen and my heart drops.

“I’ve got my emblem now…”

It isn’t any emblem I even considered gaining.

It isn’t the Peace, Elemental, Dark or even a weapon art – It is some sort of hourglass.

“Out of all the emblems me and your father theorized would occur we would have never seen this… A time emblem...”

“Time?!”

“Time. One of the last surviving emblems of the ancient realms, a time far ago before the formation of the emblems currently dominant.”

He speaks and what unfolds is an endless spiral of questions. I know I am about to un-fold the past thousand years of un-known murky waters.

The reveal gives me a sort of confirmation that I do not want to accept, the fact that my dream was an exact recollection of what is going to happen.

That is not any random dream – everything there would actually happen; the village is going to being attacked. I did climb that mountain and we did fight off those beasts. An eery, empty void enters the conversation.

I start to think edging on the line of insanity, how could ten beasts kill a whole village of elementalists?

“Ed, this is crucial you have to tell me what happens in that dream!”

Terror conducts through my body, as I muster random events together.

I forget some details.

And I manage to glue all the events together in a frantic timeline.

His eyes prick in shock.

‘It is fine right now’ I tell myself as I know it’s yet to happen.

‘But what if fate is pre-determined…’ A hollowing thought flushes my thoughts and actions from all conscious activity.

I want to get re-assurance from Jim that everything would be alright and that fate itself could mend to our very will, but as soon as I open my mouth to speak, I’m met with is words.

“We need to go to the village right now, whatever destroyed the village is about to take place once again I recon. So don’t waste any time go!”

As we emerge from the river, he doesn’t bother to dry himself with his spells but runs as fast as possible, I try to catch up with him and I get fast as the morning fatigue dries from my eyes.

For him it seems like this was a daily exercise, which it probably is– running for a couple miles. I mean no wonder he looks pretty aged and can still keep up with life.

“What about my weapon!”

I shout to him as he glides through the path.

“Don’t worry, I have it sorted!”

Eventually we get to the second bridge across the water that leads to the working sector.

“Wait follow me!”

I shout towards the old man suddenly recalling that Angela was here, he stops and looks at me. I quickly run down the slope and hear a majestical voice signing,

I peak through the corner remembering what had occurred last time.

“Angela, come quick!”

She hears my voice.

Soon she reveals herself with an embarrassed, red face.

I turn back up the slope to see Angela peaking her head at the corner and sees me and Jim. She looks confused but proceeds to walk upwards.

“Hurry!”

I frantically say.

She looks at us as if we are maniacs, but she decides to hurry up probably since Jim is here, and gives me a standing creditability.

We start running again and the village becomes closer with the entrance of the main road being right up ahead. We look back to see Angela only catching up now breathless.

“What’s with the hurry what’s going on?!”

“No time to explain, just follow!”

Jim says not eager to waste a single second, I feel like if I had spoken to anyone else about the dream I would have been locked away and examined by a doctor.

But Jim believes me.

He closes both his eyes and looks like he is channelling some sort of mental energy.

“Jim, Ed! What’s going on!?”

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Angela now practically demands to find out.

“The entire village will be destroyed in a couple hours from now…”

I whisper in a dull, sorrowful tone.

“That’s not funny Ed…! Jim what is going on…?”

She desperately clings onto him and pleads for a more reasonable answer, something that didn’t sound so far-fetched and absurd.

Jim looks down towards the ground and his face sheds a sorrowful look.

“Exactly what he said.”

Her face sort of drops along with her hands which seem to lose all power.

“H-How can you be so sure?!”

She did what I expected anyone else to do upon hearing my dream.

“I awakened my emblem, Angela.”

I speak a little harshly, hoping she would give up and listen already.

“And what Emblem would tell you that!?”

“Time.”

Jim responds ending Angela’s denial by ending shocked face.

And her face turns into a hopeless mess.

And I can’t help but mould my thoughts into depressive bombs blowing up my mind. ‘What if it is truely hopeless?’.

“It isn’t, I’ll do everything to stop it.”

There Jim goes yet again as if he is reading my shallow mind.

“We can’t stand around despaired for nothing!”

Jim leads us to the path towards the capital and towards the mountain through a different route after.

“I sense it here, Isn’t that right Ed?”

“I didn’t really pass anyone though…”

I answer back not trying to fall into a saddening mood whilst Angela follows quietly.

“We’ll just have to sit and wait then I guess? But in the meanwhile, Angela are there any strong Emblem magic users here that you know of and can bring here?”

“I mean sure I do there’s a lot of them in this village but the issue is going to be ludicrous If I tried to convince them there was a threat coming…”

“I really don’t want to get kids like you involved into this.”

Jim says to himself obviously but we can hear it, I feel a sight disappointment.

With myself being hurt by his word of ‘kid’ making me feel so useless, hopeless and powerless.

“Would maybe Rob or Gaven be any help?”

Angela asks softly.

“No, it's better off not they wouldn’t be able to stand off with such enemies of this level. Maybe a few lucky hits but after a while ultimately, they would fall.”

I kind of nod unfortunately.

“Your right but Gaven awakens his emblem during the fight, remember?”

And I realise I had missed that part of the information out, as the tragedy of the event all clouded my thinking. His eyes awaken in a bright spark.

“Do you know what Emblem it was?”

“The light emblem I recall, with some sort of glow as an emblem cast.”

“Angela and Ed go fetch Gaven quickly, If I’m mistaken this could be grave.”

“What’s your plan-”

I ask and he cuts me off quickly as soon as I start talking.

“Quickly there’s no time left to waste!”

“Fine!”

I say running off and Angela naturally follows after me, I slow down a bit despite our current situation to be on the same pace as her.

Not wanting her to possibly have a panic attack.

“Do you know where Gaven’s house is?!”

She shouts through gasps of air.

“Of course I was there yesterday-“

I stop myself, thinking I sound delusional and just keep running instead.

As I expect when I arrive the window is open with the curtains flying around in the wind.

Angela looks at me before realising my bizarre plan to wake him up.

I put one foot inside and then the next.

I am inside his dark bedroom nothing but him illuminating from the early sunlight.

“Gaven wake up!”

I shout slightly trying to wake him up as fast as possible, but no one else in his family.

“No man!”

He mumbled, he goes to grab his blanket and I pull it off of him in a harsh, quick manner. He finally looks up at me shocked but probably dizzy from it all.

“I one hundred percent look like a manic, I get that – but excuse me this once.”

I say as he stares at me annoyed.

He looks still annoyed I had woken him and finally gets up already dressed.

He goes to exit his door and I grab his arm and lead him to the window.

He looks beyond rage and I would be too if I was in his position – but I wasn’t right now so I kept going hard on him.

“What’s all this about Ed!?”

“The entire village is in danger we need your help!”

“Your crazy I’m going back to sleep-“

I grab his shoulder and thrust my arm towards his face, my palm faces him and, on my wrist, directly on top of a vein is my emblem.

“Nice drawing though…”

I’m getting irritated a bit, although I don’t lose it yet, instead I turn back behind me to Angela, and it appears Gaven has yet to realise she’s here.

“Do your thing and wake him up.”

I can hear a little chant behind me but I don’t particularly pay attention, until I see a blob of water about the size of a bucket float above Gaven and drop all of a sudden.

I can tell the water is cold by the way he jumps up and down shouting in mild discomfort.

I look back and stick a thumbs up to Angela and she laughs a bit.

He looks around and sees Angela.

“What was that for Angela?!”

“Just follow us!”

Angela sort of yells at him but not in an angry way, he decides to actually do so and he looks like an unhappy cat that’s been washed.

For now, though I enjoy this head-start on everyone, but a spring of excitement turns into a dull one quickly when I realise the seriousness of our entire situation.

We meet up with Jim and as he looks at Gaven he looks like he is carving stone with his bare eyes, his thoughts scratch deep.

“Gaven, when I say so repeat – ‘onthullend verlicht’. When you do it imagine all your energy is being harvested into light.”

“Basically, you become the sun I guess.”

I laugh, then pull myself back together when I realise no one else laughs...

“If I say run – run and don’t you dare look back. This goes for all of you.”

Fiercely he speaks, I know he’s friendly. I know he does good. But for a moment he makes me doubt it.

Seeing a nice man become so serious for the first-time kind of shocks me, even father doesn’t change his mood that drastically.

“This is it now, stay on your guard!”

I watch on edge, but my nothing of threat phases me, on the long stretch of road where all seems calm and collected.

One large wagon approaches the village.

My eyes prick in horror, it was the exact cart me, Gaven and Rob had passed warning us to run. It approaches with its animals carrying it towards us.

The same man is there looking at us in an empty tone, his very soul seems forgotten and devoured by the devil. Finally, it halts.

It's only a few meters away.

Ten large beasted-human like creatures evade from the goods at the back of the cargo.

The man controlling the wagon seems to drop onto the seat lifelessly.

Exactly like a repeat of a show, or a rewind in time each beast looks at me with desire to kill, desire to devour me.

The beasts spread out and before they get any closer old man Jim closes his eyes, and I feel like I entrust my very soul to him right now.

All of a sudden, he bursts out a few chants, and a water stream appears from behind him, as if a rope it springs through the air and attempts to strike one of the beasts like a great serpent.

The water lash goes right through one of the beast’s chests.

The beast falls with a great thud onto the ground uplifting the dirt and dust stagnant there.

The other beasts look at their dead member and all without words charge at us, my world feels a shake.

Angela joins in and starts to cast a heavy, large body of water; she recites words fast like old man Jim and I watch in spectacular rage – unable to do anything.

The water above her slowly freezes and the air releases a thick fog, as she freezes the water it takes a mould many frozen spears.

During this Jim is waving his arms around controlling the water as it dashes back to him in a loyal manner and then hits two beasts at the same time.

Beheading them completely.

All seems in our favour; I feel a cruel happiness from watching them die.

Gaven doesn’t really seem to respond, his face stands still as if frozen in time trying to decide whether to fight or go into flight mode.

As they advance slightly closer their moves become faster. Jim swerves the water, they dodge it.

The first of the seven are in reach of attack.

Angela casts down her water spell and crushes three beasts completely.

Leaving nothing but a bloody print on the floor.

The beasts come closer and Angela desperately forms another water body in the hopes of helping us out, on the other hand Jim shows no fear in the face of the enemies.

He stays silent and his face is complex, he sweats heavily and I can see that it is taking up a lot of his energy by doing this all.

Suddenly he shouts even louder than before.

“Getijde spervuur!”

The next two beasts prepare to dis-bark Jim completely, and as a sword, and hammer ever so slight edge closer to him his water dissipates.

I expected anything to happen, but preferably something good. This was the exact opposite.

The sword cuts through his shirt.

He falls towards the ground.

All is lost for a moment.

Chaos breaks in my mind.

And then the water disburses into a large fist and collides with the two beasts and the other two behind.

I look at him and his shirt slowly engulf itself with the dye of red blood.

He retreats his ground and the beasts on the ground from the punch don’t get back up.

I look at their bodies.

And even though I think they are all dead.

They start to shake uncontrollably.

Then swell up like a ballon.

Until.

pops.

It’s obvious it isn’t Jim’s doing and as I gulp one more person emerges from the cart.

A hooded man with a posture like a tree bending to the wind’s will is in front of us. No words are uttered but the man seems to limp forward.

He looks up with his head tilted, nothing can be seen except a deep abyss, which his cloak consumes.

It isn’t clear what he is looking at or even who.

I’m prepared to see this man disappear in the middle of my vision from Jim’s water or something but nothing happens.

The wind blows stronger and dust builds up idly.

I slowly turn to Jim with a victorious smile, corrupting as I see his face.

His eyes don’t respond to me.

His entire eye seems to be engulfed by a black ink.

Yet he doesn’t move.

“J-Jim?”

He blinks. And his eyes return back to normal, staring back as if he has seen something I haven't.

This is the doing of a great emblem cast...

“Run. Run now!”

He says frantically, not caring about himself.

“But what about you!?”

“Do it. Now!”

He strictly says at me although I remember his words earlier.

I almost fall back, as I blindly walk behind me and see Gaven catch me.

“We gotta go…”

He says and it doesn’t seem like he understands why either, all we know is that this guy who ever he is – he isn’t normal.

Me and Gaven walk back expecting Angela to join us as we slowly amble away from Jim and the man.

Instead, she casts a water spell and forms a less powerful body of water this time – clearly exhausted.

“Angela come on!”

“I can't leave Jim with this guy! -“

“Go!”

He shouts louder more fuelled with an emotion of rage, and anger.

The opponent does not respond...

He lifts his hand and Jim without hesitation casts a stream of water directly at him, as the water edges closer to the mysterious threat.

It’s stops.

A black aura of what looks to be a mixture of tar and death itself meets the stream with equal force.

Both powers spiral out of control before bursting at the point which they had met.

Everything goes slow in my eyes, but then all of a sudden everything it is going too fast, I couldn’t make sense of what is happening.

Confusion...

I could hear casts of every spell in the index of some great magic book, and everything swirls together as if I am being sucked into a whirl pool.

I start to run.

In a sudden instinct.

I pull Angela right as a spike of black crystals emerges and attempts to pierce her entire body.

She starts to resists but gives up, we run.

Not looking back. But then a temptation overcomes me. ‘Look back’ a voice whispers from my mind.

I quickly glare back towards the sight of Gaven pulling Angela.

While right behind them seems to be the definition of destruction.

For only a second, a split fraction of time itself. A titan-like dragon is birthed from a stream of water.

And its equal counterpart it forged from jagged black crystals in the form of an ungodly moon.

It is like the collision of a thousand galaxies all simultaneously combusting at once like a perfectly composed orchestra.

The dragon volts into the sphere and everything grows large until a grand discharge of death.

As if a flick, a large shockwave bursts into the ground and right through me.

Like a blind man I didn’t know what is going on.

But I hear screams and then a loud crack.

Maybe the universe itself is splitting apart.

Maybe we are already dead.

I feel my head twist and re-arrange its entire structure over and over, building itself from every cell once again – all trying to make sense of the event.

“Go back.”

I start to murmur to myself.

Just go back to the things were.

‘Wake up’.

It's all just an illusion.

‘Right?’.

Nothing happens, but the silence seems to grow louder when I look towards Gaven and Angela who stare blankly – and their souls seem to be taken.

On the floor all around me are shards of crystallised darkness sharply impaling the ground.

Like shrapnel from a bomb.

It looks like an array of feathers from a beast perfectly laid out.

I look again back to Gaven and Angela and see them both on the ground.

Everything loses its meaning, everything become bleak as a stumble towards them.

I can see Gaven’s face fully pale

Angela right next to me almost laying with streams of water crashing down her face as she looks at me.

“W-whats going on?!”

I try to get out of my voice.

But nothing seems loud in my ears. She doesn’t even look at me nor notice me blinded by a sort of sorrowful-rage.

The world becomes faint and bleak

My hands in front of me appear to be a few miles away and the vision zooms in and out like the thumping in my chest

I was hit critically.