Dawn felt himself fall asleep next to Madame Ruzha, but when he woke up he was in the same place, Camcourt's supply port.
Dawn: W-Why am I still here… He inquired as he pulled himself up off the cold concrete of the supply port ground.
When he looked around, he discovered that his companions' bodies were gone, as was Madame Ruzha. In reality, there were no people in Camcourt or the nearby supply port. This was true until Dawn heard a voice shout out his name from behind him. As he turned around, he noticed Margit.
Dawn: "Margit?!" He yelled back before running at her.
He grabbed her into his arms as soon as he got close. She accepted the hug, smiling as she did.
Margit: "It's good to see you again, Dawn."
The two immediately broke their hug and began examining each other. Margit was dressed in the same blue slacks and white top she had worn during their unsuccessful raid on Kowai.
Dawn: "How are you talking to me?" He questioned as dozens of different thoughts started to fill his head. How is she alive? Why am I here? What happened to Rowan and the council?
Margit: "What do you mean, Dawn? You were the one who left." Her smile quickly faded into a somber expression. "After we all died, and Warin left us, you did the same."
Dawn was taken back by her words, unable to process them.
Dawn: "W-What? You all died…" He began to panic, unable to discriminate between this fake reality and the real one. "Warin and I didn't want to leave you!" His voice ached as much as his heart.
Margit: "Then why did you leave us, why did you leave me?" Tears began to stream down her face. "I loved you, Dawn."
Dawn began to shake his head frantically. Hearing these words was only re-opening the only barely closed wound.
Dawn: "I loved you all so much.." He said as more tears began to roll down his cheeks. "I left because you were all gone.. I had no choice." He started to doubt his words, and his decision.
Margit: "You're right, Dawn." Her tears stopped. "You didn't have a choice. We left you first after all, just as your parents did."
Dawn stared at her with a disturbed expression plastered across his face.
Dawn: "W-What are you saying Margit?"
Margit: "We all left you, just like everyone else will. You have nothing anymore, Dawn. Even Warin left you, and told you to leave so he could just get rid of you." She started to laugh. "I killed myself so I didn't have to love you anymore! It was just too much, and it made me hate myself so much more than I already did!" She suddenly burst into a full-blown laughter. "Maybe I should say that you drove me to my selfish end, Dawn!"
Dawn started to lose track of his own thoughts, now only being able to focus on what Margit was saying to him. His breaths started to shorten until they didn't even exist at all. He was suffocating in a void of doubt and self-hatred. Is this really my fault? As Margit continued to laugh, Dawn fell to the ground as he gasped for air.
Margit: "You are so pathetic, Dawn! You can't even save the lives of your friends so how can you even hope to save your sister, or even yourself?!"
As Margit spoke, Rhys' dead body appeared directly in front of Dawn.
Margit: "LOOK AT HIM DAWN!!!"
Dawn's eyes dilated at the sight of his deceased friend, and his tears turned into hyperventilation. He felt like his lungs had collapsed inside of his chest, and a weight like no other was pressing down upon him.
Margit: "HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE LEFT BEHIND, HUH DAWN?"
As she shrieked these things, she took a knife from her pocket and drove it directly through her chest.
Margit: "WATCH AS I KILL MYSELF FOR YOU DAWN, SO THAT YOU CAN FEEL THE SAME PAIN THAT WE ALL FELT WHEN YOU KILLED US AND LEFT US BEHIND!!!!"
Margit began to stab herself repeatedly in the chest as blood flew everywhere, all while laughing and screaming wildly. Dawn couldn't help but watch in horror as Margit took her own life again, supposedly due to his actions… but suddenly he blinked and found himself in a strange bed and room, shouting at the top of his lungs. His body was soaked in sweat, and his thoughts were racing.
Rowan hurried into the room as he awoke, swiftly approaching Dawn and pulling him into her arms to soothe him in his clearly terrified state.
Rowan: "Everything is okay, I've got you." She spoke to him softly as he began to cry on her shoulder. She had no idea what had happened, but she could only imagine that it had something to do with Madame Ruzha's actions from earlier.
For a time, the two simply sat on Dawn's bed. Rowan let him cry till he couldn't anymore, then laid him back down.
Rowan: "You got my shoulder really wet, you know." She teased in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Dawn: "I'm sorry about that." He responded, still in a state of mild shock.
Rowan nodded her head: "No need to be sorry, the shirt will be fine. Would you like to talk about what happened?" She stared at him worriedly.
Dawn: "I was back in the supply port, and I saw one of my friends.." Dawn paused before closing his mouth.
Rowan: "We can talk about it another time." She placed her hand on his.
Dawn looked at her hand, and then back to her face.
Dawn: "Thank you."
Rowan: "Want to learn some more about that gun you saw earlier? I told you I'd tell you more about it after you met with the council." She gave a warm grin.
Dawn: "Sure. I had almost forgotten about that.." His voice was small. He was making an attempt to put his mind elsewhere, but no matter what it kept going back to his dream.
Rowan: "Well, let's get you familiar. Guns are lethal, and not to be messed with. I can tell that they aren't really your style, but I'm still going to demonstrate." She then lifted her black top, exposing her waistline and pulling out a pistol. "You see, this part is called the trigger. When you pull it, a burst of Ukiyo comes out of it. This burst can penetrate a lot of things, even your body, so be careful." She then put the gun away. "Guns come in all different shapes and sizes, but all you need to know is to just be careful around them."
Dawn: "You mentioned Ukiyo?" He had heard this word again, and he wanted to know what it meant.
Rowan: "Yes, I will teach you about that now. Ukiyo is basically the force that holds everything in the universe together. Without Ukiyo, everything would fall apart. Life would die out, planets would crumble, and so on. Although it is a good thing, it can be used to hurt people as well." She spoke in a serious tone.
Dawn: "Madame Ruzha mentioned that I had barely any of it. What does that mean?"
Rowan: "Well, everyone is born with Ukiyo, but some might have less than others just as some might have more. Do not let that get you down though, that does not mean you can't grow the amount of Ukiyo your body contains. I do not know how to teach you that, but I have seen people do it, so I know that it is possible." She then rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "I am surprised that you didn't learn about Ukiyo in school."
Dawn: "I mean they might have, I just might not have been too focused on it, because the word sounds familiar." He offered an awkward chuckle.
Rowan sighed: "That doesn't shock me. Most kids don't pay attention in school anymore." She then stood from the bed. "Ukiyo is hard to gain control of without proper training, but now is not the time for that, you need to focus on the test." She placed her hands on her hips and looked at him. "I will need to take you to the facility soon so you can get started."
Dawn: "Before we go, you said you would tell me everything I needed to know about The Epsilon Order once we got to Tsukimi. Can you explain that?" He sat up in bed.
Rowan: "Well, I should start where it all began. Since the beginning of time, or 1PreM, there has existed a vast group of people known as Epsilon. The Epsilon Order was built upon Ukiyo, and the teachings of how to use it. Ukiyo was bestowed upon the universe by the Origin Seven in order to hold peace amongst all life, and the Epsilon were formed to be the peacekeepers. Currently there is an ongoing war being waged out of pure hatred between The Epsilon Order and The Divine Solace. The Divine Solace was a similar group formed by a previous member of The Epsilon Order in order to push his own teachings. Both groups are playing tug of war with expansion. The Epsilon Order is striving to bring peace to the universe again and is constantly placing different planets and domains under their protection, while the Divine Solace is doing the same but for different reasons such as their thirst for power and control. This war has been going on for ten years, and has shown no sign of stopping any time soon." She then took a deep breath after talking so much.
Dawn: "That is a lot to take in.." He scratched the back of his head.
Rowan: "I know, and there will be more time to learn about it, but now is the time to get ready to take the tests."
Dawn: "Hold on, tests? You have only said test, singular, until now, not plural." He said while staring at her.
Rowan: "Oh.. surprise!" She said in a nervous tone. "The test is split into multiple tests." She said before turning around and walking out the door. "Meet me out here when you are ready!" The door then closed shut after she finished her sentence.
Dawn: "I really hate tests." He groaned before getting out of bed, starting to get dressed.