When we opened our eyes, we found ourselves on what appeared to be an island.
"It is the year 2035. Nearly twenty three years have passed since the massive invasion by the Nightmare Legion. The Weaver Of Calamity was defeated but at great cost, the once glorious Dream World has been fragmented into various isolated continents that have all lost contact with one another. Indeed, it is a Dark Age. Each of the major Dream Knight Houses currently inhabits a single continent. Your aim is to reconnect the various continents and restore the glory of the Dream World however to do that, you must first develop the continent to which you will be assigned. Starting from scratch, you must rediscover and develop all the tools and techniques needed to reconnect the continents or will you stand alone? The choice is in your hands. Each continent's progress will be shaped by its unique set of beliefs and culture. These will guide your technological advancement as well" my Dad's voice narrated the backstory to the game.
I opened my eyes in surprise.
"Th-This is…!" I exclaimed in surprise and turned to look at my siblings.
They had similar expressions.
"You are surprised I see. Indeed, the storyline was developed by your Dad" Concordia said.
"It is rumoured that for five years after the defeat of Zanböngfar, your Dad remained in the World Of Dreams And Symbols working to reweave the Dreams Zanböngfar destroyed when he went on a rampage. For those five years, the Dream World was completely cut off to humans and even Dream Knights could not access it" Arlene explained.
"It was shortly before your Dad's return that Dreams gradually began to manifest amongst humans once more" Mitsuki explained.
"The training simulation programme. Could Dad be trying to teach us how to Dreamweave?" Keiran wondered.
"What are you saying? Aren't you guys already experts at Dreamweaving?" I asked.
"You know about the three major abilities of a Dreamweaver don't you San?" Saito asked.
I nodded.
"The first ability is the ability to create anything out of Dreams. The second ability is the ability to battle any kind of Nightmare and the third ability…is the ability to merge Dreams with Reality" I explained.
"However, there is a fourth ability" Saito said seriously.
"A fourth ability?! Are you serious?!" I exclaimed in shock.
"Dad and Mom are always breaking your videogames right before you face the final boss. Don't you remember what they tell you whenever they do that?" Saito asked.
I recalled my Mom's words,
"You'll be prepared to defeat the last boss...the moment you learn to counter your Dad's ultimate move...THE STRATEGICALLY ANNOYING BUT EVER USEFUL...(UN)DETECTABLY STEALTHY DISCONNECT WITH NO WARRANTIES!"
"You're trying to say Dad defeated Zanfar with a lame move like that?!" I recalled my reaction.
"Yes…it's precisely because it was so lame…that it actually worked" I recalled my Mom's words.
"Hey Dad, I really wanna know…did you really defeat Zanfar with a lame move like that?" I recalled my question.
"Of course…" I recalled my Dad's smirk and his air punch. "…I disconnected him from his power source!"
"You've got to be kidding me" I said with a bored look on my face.
"Do you recall Zanböngfar's power source?" Saito asked.
"Human negativity and fear" I replied.
"Do you recall how he was defeated?" Keiran asked.
"Augmented human positivity. The merged Dreams Of Humans" I said.
"Dad did indeed use that technique against Zanböngfar" Ariel said.
"That lame technique is indeed at the class of a bloodline limit" I said with a bored expression on my face.
"You finally get it. The fourth ability of a Dreamweaver is within the name of the technique itself. To connect the Dreams Of Humans" Ariel said with a smile.
I sighed heavily.
"Sounds like the internet" I said with a bored look on my face.
"Feel free to explore your lands and utilize the tools and techniques that align with your ideals but be forewarned, the Weaver Of Calamity still lurks waiting for the opportunity to take advantage of your failures" my Dad's voice said sinisterly.
"I hope this isn't the kind of story where a single mistake triggers a chain of cataclysmic events that leads the World on the path to an Apocalypse" I said with a bored look on my face.
"Feel free to make as many mistakes as you want. It's all part of the learning process but recall that the Weaver Of Calamity is also a 'Weaver' and unlike us, he doesn't weave clothes…he weaves traps. This is XCalibur AOP 2! Union Of The Worlds! Do your best!" my Dad's voice said.
"Now that's some intro. Uncle Zan sure is funny!" Mitsuki laughed.
"Somehow I get the feeling that last statement is coming back to bite us someday" I said with a bored look on my face.
"It's about time we chose our continents" Arlene said.
"Dibs on the tropics" I quickly said.
"Then I'm taking a location that corresponds with North Africa" Arlene said.
"Why?!" I screamed.
"It's rumoured to be the origin of modern language and if we're going to get anywhere, I'd better start developing communication devices as quickly as possible for our now fragmented world" Arlene said.
"Don't cry when you jinx yourself. There was some major toppling of armoured tanks off Bloody Capes somewhere in that Region" I teased.
"Then I'll go with her to minimize the jinx effect" Mitsuki said.
"Why?!" I screamed.
"Going by your logic, I only need to get my sigil to perform a revolution by downing four hundred adversaries for the jinx to be broken" Mitsuki said with a smirk.
"Mitsuki, I never thought I'd say this but you're a genius!" I said with a smile and thumbs up.
"I'm going for a place with lots of Sun and Beaches. Perhaps a location that corresponds to the Carribean" Ariel said.
"If Ariel's going there, I'm going to make sure she's safe" Saito said.
"What sort of danger could harm her in a game?" I asked.
"You seem to have forgotten that the Weaver Of Calamity is an immaterial being. It's mistakes like these he usually transforms into opportunities for himself. Ariel has the ability to nullify curses and Dad will be watching us all but I'll be watching Ariel" Saito said.
"If you're choosing places with lots of Sun and Beaches and San has called dibs on the tropics, then I'm sticking with Concordia" Keiran said.
"You're already at Weaver Of Calamity class level! Why would you do that?!" I asked him.
"I'm not done training Concordia and her abilities are only just beginning to take shape. Before they completely do, there'll be many opportunities for the Weaver Of Calamity to attempt to cripple her abilities. Like Mitsuki, I'll be sticking with her to minimize the jinx effect to Concordia or at least to attempt to balance it out" Keiran explained.
Concordia turned to look at Keiran. She seemed to admire him for a second till she realized that she was actually admiring him.
"I can take care of myself but I appreciate the offer" Concordia grumbled as though she were partly flustered.
"Then I guess that leaves Ciella and I" I said.
"I'm coming with you San" Ciella quickly said.
In the next instant we were all teleported to the lands we chose.
Concordia and Keiran found themselves in a rocky land that was very windy.
"Why did you volunteer to come with me?" Concordia asked.
"I was very serious when I said the Weaver Of Calamity would attempt to cripple your abilities before they are fully formed" Keiran said.
"What do you mean?" Concordia asked.
"In a sense, you wield antithetical sigils which are actually a fusion of your Mom's Bow Of Orion and your Dad's Tomahawks Of Hope. Your parents wield the Elements of Wind and Earth respectively. The corresponding Souls Of Virtue to these elements are Freedom And Hope respectively. Reverse the logic and the corresponding Souls Of Evil to these two elements are Enslavement and Despair" Keiran said seriously.
Concordia opened her eyes in fright. Then she calmed down.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.
"I'm a Weaver as well so to an extent I understand how the Weaver Of Calamity works" Keiran said.
"But I can't just change my sigil. You know that Keiran. It's a manifestation of my identity" Concordia said.
Keiran smiled.
"I know. Fortunately, as antithetical as your sigils are, both your elemental affinities fall under the category of Elements Of Generation. I suggest you focus on honing your ability to utilize Elements Of Generation. I wouldn't recommend that you attempt to utilize Elements Of Destruction though" Keiran advised.
"How is that okay for San and not for me?" Concordia asked.
Keiran scratched his head and laughed.
"Well for San…it's sort of a family thing but all three of your Elemental Affinities fall under the category of Elements Of Generation. You have an affinity for Water as well which symbolizes Kindness And Purity. The corresponding Soul Of Evil to that element is Decay. This is the reason I suggest you stick to Elements Of Generation. Each of the Seven Elements of our World has a corresponding Soul Of Virtue as well as a corresponding Soul Of Evil. Just by explaining this simple fact to you now, I am very certain that the Weaver Of Calamity has already began to take advantage of it" Keiran said.
"Then why the heck would you even explain it knowing that?!" Concordia yelled in anger.
"As long as you don't attempt to learn any Elements Of Destruction, you should be safe. In your particular case, just stick with Lightside Elements. You'll find out what I mean in time" Keiran said with a confident smile.
"What happened to going all out?" Concordia asked.
"Consider this one of your limitations Concordia. Unless of course you're trying to say this is the limit to your capacity for creativity" Keiran said seriously.
Concordia recalled Keiran's words from when they began training together.
"If you beat me in our sparring sessions just because you managed to overcome this technique…then I really deserve to lose. It would mean I've stopped growing even though I was aware of a flaw in my fighting style".
She recalled also the realization she'd come to.
"I see. I began to develop my sigil in order to grow stronger. Every time I developed a new technique…it was to overcome an obstacle that seemed insurmountable. My awareness of my limitations allowed me to devise the means of overcoming those limitations. This awareness of my limitations was the source of my creativity. That was lost the moment I developed an 'unbeatable' technique. But now that that technique has been beaten…I can begin to grow again" Concordia recalled. "I see" she realized.
"You're a very creative person Concordia and it is true that every sigil possesses a balance of good and evil, same as every human so you should realize that it is actually strange…almost unnatural for a person who wields antithetical sigils to possess an affinity only for Elements that fall under the category of Elements Of Generation" Keiran said.
"I see, so this is the 'Spider' Battle Style you keep talking about. The Art Of Weaving" Concordia realized. "But you do realize that you might have just plunged us both into one of the Weaver Of Calamity's traps don't you?" Concordia asked.
"Tsk tsk tsk, my dear Concordia. You really underestimate the Art Of Weaving don't you? Weavers do indeed utilize looms and threads however…we also utilize scissors!" Keiran said with a smirk. "For now, just take my advice" Keiran said.