Akuniryas woke up coughing heavily, opening his eyes in pain as an intense tearing sensation shot through his back.

He couldn't help but grit his teeth, clutching his head as he slowly stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

Pitch black enveloped the area, making it impossible to discern where he was, but a familiar feeling quickly welled up in his heart.

This was that strange dream again, he was in the darkness of the enigmatic great city.

"I remember successfully infiltrating the underground fortress of the Dragon's minions, but I think I was discovered. What happened after that?"

Akuniryas stumbled as he straightened his body, clumsily using his hands to feel around and get a sense of the environment.

"Hard and cold and damp, seems to be brick walls…I recall last time dreaming I was thrown into a pit by a bizarre set of armor, but I haven't had that dream for over a month…"

He analyzed calmly after coming to his senses.

"This must be related to the mutation of my body, but what principle allows me to dream and come here? Why can my physical form still feel sensations in the dream? Is this really a dream realm?"

Doubt after doubt arose, for this was already the third time he had re-entered this place.

As his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, the meager moonlight seeping through cracks in the ceiling allowed Akuniryas to vaguely make out the outlines of objects around him.

It seemed to be a large underground street, and he was leaning against the wall in a small corner.

Holes had been dug out of the street walls, over two meters above the ground - he must have fallen from one of those openings above.

"What's that on the ground? Linen cloth? Candles? Did people used to live here?"

Akuniryas stepped forward to explore, quickly stumbling upon abandoned items littering the floor.

He bent down to pick one up, instinctively reaching for the daylight stone lamp at his waist, but grasped at nothing.

He then realized all the weapons and equipment he had been carrying were gone, with only a linen longshirt remaining on his body.

"I'm just wearing a piece of cloth now? Last time I entered this dream realm…"

He furrowed his brow, trying to recall the previous scenes, but could only remember being thrown into the underground of the enigmatic city, with all other details fading from memory.

Not knowing when this journey would end, Akuniryas could only randomly pick up some candles to grip in his hand, feeling along the walls as he headed in one direction.

The damp underground held not a whisper of life - though scattered with abandoned belongings, not even the sounds of scurrying rodents could be heard in this truly deathly stillness.

After an indeterminate period, a dazzling glimmer of flames suddenly caught Akuniryas' eye.

"Someone's there?"

He couldn't help but stop in his tracks. In this dead, enigmatic city, the hint of civilization's light held unknown implications.

"I recall the Archmage Sula telling me that church tomes record a species of massive fish lurking in the depths of the sea. They use bright lures on their heads to attract prey in the darkness, then swallow whole those fools who willingly swim into their gaping maws."

Akuniryas' heart pounded as he hesitated whether to approach this omen of uncertain fate.

The flicker of flames was far away, though dim, it glimmered like a sole beacon of hope piercing the despair, unconsciously drawing surrounding creatures towards it.

He suddenly felt that wavering flame to be so warm, like a gentle mother reading a bedtime story to her child, snowflakes lightly dusting the windowledge, the crackling hearth allowing complete relaxation and tranquility to wash over body and soul.

"Ah! Why am I walking over by myself?!"

Akuniryas snapped out of his trance, realizing the flame was now very close, his body having been lured forward as if spellbound.

Now up close, he saw this warming fire was floating unattached in midair, tendrils of gentle reddish waves rippling outwards.

"So comfortable!"

As those warm ripples reached him, Akuniryas felt the tension in his body suddenly loosen, a nurturing life force slowly replenishing and soothing his frayed nerves from the brink of breakdown.

"Incredible!"

Emboldened by some urge, Akuniryas inexplicably extended his hand, wanting to touch that warm flame.

But just as he was about to make contact, he suddenly remembered something!

"Wait! If this is a fire, why doesn't it illuminate the surroundings?"

His outstretched hand cast no reflection in his vision, the area near the light source remained indiscernible.

Huh…

A chill wind blew from ahead, the surrounding darkness seeming to take on a sentient form, flowing and shifting fluidly. The purple moonlight seeping through created eerie cold streaks of rust-colored hues.

This was no illusion! Some massive creature was lurking in the shadows like those deep-sea leviathans, using the warm light to lure prey! That gust was the harbinger of it moving to strike!

With this thought taking root, Akuniryas immediately turned to flee.

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But a silvery beam lanced out, striking him!

"Huh? I can't move?"

He struggled to take a step, but his body was as immobile as wood.

THUD! THUD! CLANGCLANGCLANG!

The muffled thunderous steps of something huge approached from behind, accompanied by the grating of decaying metal, a sound that grated on the nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

Swish!

A massive head lowered in front of him, leaving Akuniryas paralyzed, unable to even blink in horrified observation of the creature before him.

The flames finally flared brightly, a downward-pointing triangular helmet leaning down to scrutinize him. But it was dozens of times larger than the armored figure that had shoved him into the pit earlier. A shepherd's staff the size of a bridge pillar slammed into the ground, gripped by an armored, taloned hand of gigantic proportions.

"A giant?!"

Akuniryas couldn't help but think of the legendary beings, though these were merely metaphorical constructs from the Church's Book of Revelation - there was not a shred of evidence they actually existed on the continent of Mu.

A garbled, dissonant rumbling echoed out, and Akuniryas' bindings suddenly released, causing him to tumble to the ground.

The giant stood, casually snatching him up and striding off in one direction with heavy steps.

Akuniryas was helpless, the rusted iron talons locked in an inescapable grip. With only a linen robe on his body, he had no means to fight back.

THUD.

The jarring journey continued until the surroundings suddenly brightened, and he was flung onto the ground once more.

"Cough cough, where is this?"

Gritting his teeth, Akuniryas stood up to find himself on a cliffside ledge along a mountain, a pitch-black cave entrance behind him. The silvery-white moonlight draped like gossamer over the towering peaks.

"This? How is this possible?"

He looked around in disbelief, for he was certain he had previously been on the surface world, the enigmatic city bordering the ocean with no mountain ranges in sight.

After being thrown down, he should have emerged in the underground realm. How did he end up partway up a massive mountain, the moon shifting from a purple-red crescent to a silvery-white full phase?

"Well, this is a dream after all, any bizarre phenomenon can be explained away."

Akuniryas reassured himself, unable to analyze his location through conventional geographic knowledge.

But when he turned his gaze to the giant next to him, his expression became even more incredulous.

The being stood upright like a human, its armor style and visage consistent with the previous knight encounter. However, its proportions were unnaturally slender and elongated, its neck improbably long, with a thick tail trailing behind.

"Snake-man? Lizard-man? What is this creature?" Akuniryas swore he had never witnessed something so jarringly unnatural.

Until twin pairs of grey wings unfurled from the giant's back, rustling as if about to take flight like a bird.

"A dragon!"

The familiar wings caused realization to dawn - this was a dragon! Yet it did not crawl, instead standing bipedal like a human while clad in armor, clutching a staff in its talons.

"The ancient dragons looked like this?"

Before he could react further, the dragon warrior let out a low draconic rumble, then swept its massive tail in an arc that sent Akuniryas tumbling off the cliffside!

…

"Ah!"

He jolted awake with a shout, startling the kobold guard.

"Stay still!"

The kobold smacked him with the butt of a crossbow, causing Akuniryas to cry out in pain.

"I'm back? Oakenburg? That's right, I infiltrated the enemy's underground works and was captured."

He stared around wide-eyed, looking dazed as if emerging from another world, not caring at all that he was locked in a prison cell.

"Hmph, scared you silly." The kobold sneered at the human's dazed look before walking away.

But Akuniryas was confounded by the vastly contrasting shift in scenery, unsure which realm was the true reality.

"I need to request leave to go see the old mage at some point," he thought hazily. "These riddles are going to drive me insane."

...

"You all go ahead…"

An aged voice drifted in from outside the cell, followed by the hushed tones of kobolds conversing in their secret tongue.

After a while, the iron door creaked open and a black-robed priest entered.

"Greetings, favored of the divine. I am Paladin." The black-robed priest introduced himself gently. "Those molten dragon kin have been sent away. I have many things I wish to discuss with you."

"Pah!"

Akuniryas spat on the ground. "Trying to extract information from me about our forces? Even if you threaten me with impalement or the breaking wheel, I won't betray Morey!"

Paladin shook his head. "You misunderstand. When I call you 'favored of the divine', it means our topic has transcended the secular world to discuss theological doctrines - of the divine."

He began pacing. "However, for you to be a common human soldier, and from our prior conversation you seem to lack much profound experience and are quite young…this is strange. How could the divine grace extend to an ordinary human?"

Akuniryas eyed the black-robed priest coldly, wondering if this madman from the Strife Plains was truly insane or just trying to trick him into revealing intelligence.

Finally Paladin asked, "What is your name?"

"…Akuniryas."

"Akun? The ancient orc lord clan? No wonder."

"Who are you calling a orc? Do I look like a orc to you?"

Paladin chuckled. "When I call you of the 'lord clan', I don't mean your bloodline is supremely noble. The ancient orc lords were just an ignorant savage tribe. Rather, you were born with an innate 'gravitational force' of destiny - your life will inevitably encounter a miracle."

"All of the Akun clan have experienced this. Some faced calamity, slain by formidable foes during perilous trials. Others found good fortune, becoming temple guards and living easy lives. You seem to be the most promising, your heredity having transcended the ignorant exterior to be granted a true destiny."

"A destiny?"

"To become a 'hero'!" Paladin approached, extending his ash-grey, scabrous hands trembling as if to caress Akuniryas' veins, yet not daring to actually touch, as if fearing to profane the divine.

Akuniryas eyed the strange man warily as thoughts churned in his mind.

"I've been to a very special place."

"What?" Paladin's head snapped up in shock, his voice quavering as his body shuddered like an old tree in the wind.

Akuniryas could no longer hold back - perhaps confiding in this madman could relieve the burden of the nightmares weighing on his mind.

"I've had this strange dream, a massive realm without end filled with bizarre, jagged architecture piled high. The sky held a purple-red moon, and there were these inexplicable armored knights…"

"Just now, I don't know why I fell asleep…"

Paladin interjected, "That was my doing, inducing your slumber."

"It was you? Anyway, I went to that place again. At first I thought I was underground, but then emerged on a mountain cliffside. And there was a giant there - but it turned out to be a dragon! Wearing armor!"

Paladin nodded fervently, growing more excited as if finding resonance.

"I understand now…"

"Understand what?"

But Paladin didn't answer, instead beginning to mutter incantations as he used a key to unlock Akuniryas' shackles.

"Go, be on your way, the golden covenant is enacted once more…the divine reveals the future…we shall wither and die within the celestial kingdom…"

Akuniryas watched in shock as the iron chains binding him in excruciating contortions clattered away one by one. The black-robed priest even returned his clothes and crossbow.

"He's really letting me go? Seems he truly is a madman after all."

Inwardly rejoicing, he quickly re-armed himself, preparing to escape this demonic lair.

But as he headed for the exit, he couldn't help but pause.

"Old man, do you even know what I'm talking about? This is real, not some made-up tale to amuse you."

"Of course it's real, and we will meet again…"

Warily aiming his crossbow at Paladin, Akuniryas slowly backed out of the cell before turning and making his escape without looking back.

After navigating the winding corridors, he successfully found his exit route and shoved open the iron gates to regain his freedom.

Taking deep breaths of the fresh air, the wide-open surroundings left him feeling unsettled.

In the distance, Oakenburg's town center flew neither Morey's lion banner nor the Imperial eagle - only the blood wyvern's wings still cast their shadow over the grey, drizzling dawn.

"They haven't advanced overnight at all?"

He realized the third wave of the assault seemed to have stalled. No allied forces had managed to push this far by daybreak after the previous night's vicious battle.

"RAAAAAWWWRRRR!"

A thunderous draconic roar erupted from behind. Akuniryas spun around in terror to see the catastrophic, evil and the fear-spreading demoniac dragon locked in an aerial battle raging in the distance.

The great conflict was still raging!