"Hooo..."
Ryu exhaled, breath condensing into thick hot white air.
He opened his eyes in the middle of the night. It was dark. Two swords in the room were lighting up. Sitting in the center of the room while holding in both hands the Unbreakable Destiny, a pair imbued with ice and fire dragon orbs.
A few minutes ago, Ryu was on trial to overcome these weapons' power. Since Gavin's grandfather promised that succeeding would allow him to sell them to Ryu.
The room was frozen while hot steams drifted around like a sauna. For hours, the Fire Dragon Sword and Ice Dragon Sword's power contradicted each other, creating this cold and hot environment.
Now that it was midnight, the two swords started to calm down. This short time enabled Ryu to grasp part knowledge on how to use them.
Since the swords were like living objects, all Ryu did was be friends with them by acknowledging their painful past and absorbing them into his own.
'Your lives and my life are now combined. We are not three, but one. Your burdens, I will carry. Your dreams I will achieve. And your wishes I will accomplish.'
Click... Click.
Ryu sheathed both swords and tied them into the sword belt on his waist. It was provided earlier by Gavin's grandfather.
"Kai egeneto fos."
A fire appeared above Ryu illuminating the dark surrounding and allowing him to see the door more clearly that leads outside.
Passing through the door leads to another room. The room was the familiar armory at the back of the shop.
Clink.
Another surprise was waiting after Ryu stepped foot inside the shop. Some strange men were waiting for him idly. Their sensitiveness and reactions were relatively slow, allowing him to discreetly cast scout magic.
"Epitrepste mou na do to perivallon."
Dozens of men were in the vicinity hiding in the dark: 6 were inside the shop, 6 were in the back alley, 12 were outside the front entrance, 4 people inside the room holding Gavin and the others captives, and 4 people on the roof as a lookout. The whole place was surrounded so that not even a cat could escape.
"Who?"
Ryu said, nonchalantly crossing arms on his chest.
The people inside the shop were slightly shocked as they revealed their weapons in response to being caught off guard.
After the place was secured, a man hiding in the room's farthest corner appeared, stretching his hands towards Ryu like he was asking for something.
"I'll not beat around the bush, kid. We have captured your friends, so hand over the swords, and we will let you and the others live."
A band of thieves. A cliche that always happens in movies. After someone gets a hold of a good item, there would always be people who would want the easy way by ganging up on the person. And here, Ryu was not even confused since this had already happened many times when he was still in Southbourne City. In fact, these people were quite novices compared to his other encounters. Quantity over quality.
"Another pathetic bunch."
Ryu heaved a deep sigh.
"Since I'm in a good mood, I'll let you guys live as long as you atone for your sins and get lost."
They paused as they looked at each other for a second before everyone started laughing.
"Pffft! Bwahahaha! Boss Wolf, did you hear what the kid just said?"
"Viper, it seems that this kid has a loose screw."
Despite the humorous statement, Viper eyed Ryu with his fierce bloodshot eyes.
"It seems a kid like you wasn't taught by your mommy."
Swish!
Within three seconds, the person called Wolf vanished into smoke and appeared in front of Ryu. His arms were raised and stretched to his back, wearing metal gauntlets, a weapon used by a class known as a fighter.
"This boy is finished."
Someone said in the background.
"Provoking boss Wolf, a 5-Star Brawler, is suicide."
Since the Dragon's Lair incident, Ryu has stopped being complacent and underestimating his enemies. As much as possible, he wanted to end things quickly so an accident would be less likely to occur. He learned his lessons.
"I gave you a chance, but you became deaf to my words."
Ryu slid one foot backward and bent the other while he grabbed the Ice Dragon Sword.
"Still, you guys are lucky since my ice sword doesn't want to kill."
That was right. The Ice Dragon Sword wished that it didn't want to kill anymore. This pair of swords still didn't have a master until they met Ryu. The previous people failed to subdue the Unbreakable Destiny because they didn't respect the swords' wishes.
Slash!
Ryu dodged, and a gap was made, making Wolf's attack missed and giving enough space for his sword to slash through the air without hitting anyone.
"Ha! Who are you trying to hit, kid?"
Wolf laughed. Shortly, his laugh turned into an unexplainable expression.
Crackle!
"I... I'm freezing, help m—!"
"Ah!"
Viper and another person who tried to help and dashed forward, including the three who ran outside, were frozen. Half of the room was filled with ice in just a split second.
Whistle~
"Your Majesty."
Felix said, appearing beside Ryu.
"Clean up this mess."
"As you command."
Felix disappeared instantly. Hundreds of Shadow Assassins under the Shadow Intelligence Guild surrounded the place in a few seconds.
On a silent night, the screams of people calling for help could be heard. But no one was brave enough to come out of their homes and see what was happening. Later on, this day became a famous horror story in the neighborhood. They called it 'The Bodiless Night Shrieks.'
***
Another day, another dream. These absurd instances started to happen when Rosie was six years old. It repeated more than three thousand times; She had already become immune to it. So much that her consciousness could now freely move inside this illusion.
But today was somewhat different. Rosie's dream was so intense that her emotions piled up.
"Rosie."
Her father called. In her dream was a father who was always there with her. But in reality, the family's business was more important, and Rosie only saw him several times within years. She could even count the number of times she had met him all her life with two hands.
"Dad!"
Rosie replied, running towards her father with open arms, jumping as she hugged him.
"I missed you!"
"I missed you too, sweetie."
"Will you stay at home?"
"Of course, I'll be here with you forever from now on."
"Dad!"
Rosie cried. She was so happy that she danced throughout the room.
The happiest dream Rosie could have ever wished for. However, a dream would still be a dream that gathers the dreamer's inner emotions and turn them into something. Something that no one would expect. A pleasant fantasy could always turn into something horrible someone would want to wake up immediately. But for a reason, they couldn't.
"But, sweetie."
"Yes, dad?"
"Your three brothers became successful businessmen. How about you?"
"How about me?"
"We know that you have no talent in doing business. But you should have at least one thing you're good at. Right?"
"Talent? But dad, I'm still a student—"
"And yet, your brothers were already successful your age."
"I'm studying hard—"
"You're not even among the top students of the Royal Academy."
"I'm doing my best—"
"Is that all you can say? Wouldn't it be better if you were just born as a boy instead?"
"No, dad! Even as a lady, I'll become someone better than my brothers! I'm even set to become the crown princess—"
"Liar!"
"What?"
"My daughter is a liar!"
"W-What do you mean, dad?"
The face of Rosie's father, brimming with happiness a while ago, suddenly darkened. She could see the disgust on his face as his whole body grew twice bigger.
Much, much bigger, covering the light from the chandelier lamp.
The room became dark, and all Rosie could see was his glowing red eyes. His eyes were looking at her with prejudice. In a slow, trembling, and hushed voice, she asked.
"D-Dad?"
Whoosh!
A large amount of wind wiped the house in an instant. Then Rosie found herself in the front of a boat while the angry waves slammed and whacked against its sides. The vessel rocked and made her cling to the rails when she noticed a woman standing at the other side, unaffected by the same circumstances.
"Help me!"
Because of the big raindrops that continued to hit her face, Rosie shouted while her eyes were half-closed. The rain was so intense that her vision was blurry, so she couldn't identify that person.
Sssssshhhhh!
The strong wind deafened her, so she only noticed that the woman was already at her side. Then the woman suddenly thrust her hand at Rosie's throat, gripping it so hard as she lifted Rosie by the neck.
"Ack! Yu..aack...!"
Rosie struggled and saw the face of the woman.
"Yu...Yume?!"
Now that their distance was close, Rosie could see that the one who was holding her up was none other than the person she wanted to remove from her life the most. But the one in front of her was different. Yume was confident and domineering that even Rosie trembled in fear.
"Why are you trying so hard, Rosie?"
"Ack... What?!"
"Whatever you do, the position of the crown princess will always be mine."
"S-Stop... Choking me..."
"The King already decided. Even if Shin loves you, you can only be his concubine. A position that is lower than mine."
"No... I'm... The future queen!"
Rosie struggled, wriggling her body so she could get away from Yume's grasp. But whatever she did, Yume was stronger, and her strength overpowered her.
"...Kill."
"Kill? You want to kill me, you talentless woman?"
"Hahahaha!"
In desperation, Rosie laughed and forcibly remembered that this was all a dream.
"Go on, Yume! I know you can only do these things in my dream. But when I wake up, I'll make sure that you will, again, suffer so much that you'll beg me for your life!
Hahaha! Hahahahahaha!! Hahahahahahahahaha!!!"