Goleil opened his eyes, expecting to see the weight room but saw only a dark fog.
'I must have fallen asleep from training... but why am I here again?'
He looked around and was met by an endless plain of black dirt and dark fog that clung to his body.
'Will I remember something again? Did my work pay off?!'
His question was answered when he looked for the familiar sensation of mana entering his body but found nothing.
He was disappointed when suddenly he felt like his body was being pulled somewhere. He blinked, and the plain was gone.
Around him now were ornate grey stone walls, constructed from massive stones the size of Goleil's instructor. Intricate patterns were carved into each stone, forming an enormous portrait full of these carvings that scrawled across all four walls, even the floor. Goleil was shocked to find that he couldn't see a ceiling upon looking up.
There was a massive door on the far side of the chamber, inlaid with gold and radiant like the sun. A golden flame was decorated in the middle of the door, reflecting the light of magical stones embedded into the walls, the yellow light giving the room a homely feeling.
There was no furniture, not even a carpet. Goleil's boots thudded softly against the cold stone floor as he walked around the room, unsure of what to do. He had just begun inspecting the patterns on the floor when the gargantuan door began to creak open, the hinges roaring like a beast.
The room began to shake as massive footsteps approached but got softer and quieter as the door opened. When Goleil could finally see who had opened the door, he was shocked.
Goleil pounded his chest as a salute. "Sir Jagan Alfrun the Unbroken! I thought you were dead, and I heard that Vrea has been genocided!" He said, his eyes wide.
The large man chuckled for a second, the deep sound ricocheting off the walls. It seemed to Goleil as if he had aged ten years since when he last saw him in his memory. There were streaks of gray in the man's hair that hadn't been there before.
"You heard right, Guardsman," He said in his gravelly tone, "Vrea has been genocided, the Sun Guard is no more, and the Kingdom has been wiped from existence. Which of course means, I am dead and my soul resides in the Netherworld. I'm merely a figment of your imagination, just like this room." His hands outstretched, gesturing to the walls around him.
Goleil stared at the phantom before him, looking him up and down.
"Wiped from existence?" He repeated hoarsely.
The instructor nodded.
Goleil's knees buckled, but the elderly knight caught him before he could fall. The old man looked at his student with tears in his weathered eyes.
"You have lost a great deal, but not everything. Guardsman, you still have your faith; don't you dare ever forget that fact! Have faith in the Undying Flame! You must always keep your faith, for you will surely fail if it ever wavers."
The young man slowly recovered, nodding at his instructor's words. He didn't trust himself to speak. Grief and rage waged a battle within him, threatening to overshadow everything. He wanted to cry, but he also just wanted to hit something.
"You are a Guardsman now, and you don't need to call me by my full title. Just call me Jagan. I hear they call you Goleil now, a fitting name. Come now, we've much to do."
Goleil nodded, glad for the distraction.
They walked to the chamber's center, and his instructor turned to face him.
"You have been practicing hard, and you've already gotten better. However, training without a mentor's guidance is foolish. I will guide you with all your knowledge."
"My knowledge?"
"Of course, your knowledge! I'm dead!"
Goleil nodded, ready to begin the movements he had been taught all those years ago.
He went to assume the first position when his instructor stopped him.
"Do you think it so easy to become strong simply through drill movements? There is a reason we had you fighting boars every day!" He said, his voice sharp like a drill instructor.
"Then what should I do? I can't exactly go out and fight boars in the training grounds, can I?"
"Of course not! No, you will fight here. We will start with something small and work our way up. Your body has changed. It's no longer the same as it once was, and I don't mean you're weaker. You won't be for long. At its fundamental level, your body has changed, though you don't remember why."
Goleil nodded. "How do you know then?"
"Because I do, don't question it, or your brain will stop working. Now begin." Jagan said, waving his hand and making four Krodian soldiers appear before him, their black armor almost absorbing the surrounding light. Their swords looked sharp and menacing, while all Goleil had was his robes and cloak.
The sun knight narrowed his eyes.
'This guy isn't telling me everything. First, he confirms Vrea has been destroyed, but now he says he only knows what I know. One is a lie, or maybe even both. I must be careful.'
He put his suspicions aside, he had far larger problems to deal with. The biggest being the four soldiers of the Empire charging at him while he had no weapon!