The snow storm showed no signs of abating.
Even as a new human, the icy-cold breeze still stung my skin. I tightened the canvas around me, wearing only my classic suit underneath, two high-quality artificial silk—— fine and thin fabrics. Though, my body didn’t lose its warmth, expectedly.
But then my glasses fogged up. Realising that no one would stay outside in this evening snowstorm, I took them off and tugged them in my pocket.
I glanced at the person in front, wearing four layers of clothes and a scarf. Just a quick peak, the frost was as merciless as blade, I had to keep my sight lowered or else it would slip into my eyes.
"Put this on," he said, taking off the thick canvas overcoat he got from the village and offering it to me earlier on before we departed. I glared, didn't take it.
"I'm a new human. We've been made for this," I said, he should have known he needed it more.
"Ah, yes yes, who hasn't seen a snowstorm. If you return to Inoasis losing even a strain of your hair, I'll have a really hard time explaining it, young lord," he snorted.
Later, as he predicted, the sky darkened within half an hour, without warning. We activated our night vision gadgets and walked towards the direction he remembered at least 10 years ago; I wondered if he remembered correctly. Following his footprints, we had walked about half an hour since we left the village. I lifted my right arm, device on my wrist stated “-8℃”, but I doubted it was lower than this figure. The communicator flashed up, ready to call.
I glanced around, blinked. Feeling a bit teary, perhaps not used to the overwhelming frost. Also, it's really inconvenient to walk on snow in just loafers. The snowflake slipped into the leathers, I could feel the uncomfortable wetness under my foot, getting more and more slippery.
I fumbled my wrist, hesitating.
But it was winter. For the first time in my life, I was witnessing the real snow. Condensed by natural low temperatures, carried by the wind, falling on any land freely. I had only seen earth winter in the Database, and it was recorded footage from a thousand years ago. As an Inoasian, we couldn't experience it if we never went out from the barrier; like how leather shoes stepped on light and fluffy, with a satisfying crunch of snow underfoot, leaving funny irregular footprints, and a long trail behind as I moved, unsteadily. The trees stood lifeless, their trunks unmoving in the wilderness even in the strong wind, yet not all of them were without leaves. My breath turned into mist, hanging in the cold air and then disappeared.
The sky was dim, the land glowed in soothing whiteness.
Everything was new for me.
Suddenly I didn’t feel the striking chill on my face, the snowflakes hitting my skin had lessened a while ago when I lost in my thoughts. I looked up, almost bumped into the person in front of me.
"Are you okay?" He slowed down but didn't turn.
"I'm fine." I lowered my head and tightened the coat offered, or else my suit was about to get wet from the storm.
"We cool?" His teasing tone slipped into the strengthening cold wind. Annoyance flared within me, as the guilty embarrassment crept up my cheeks and ears. I refused to answer him, and fortunately he remained silent. The wind was growing stronger, and soon he might have to shout to be heard.
"We're almost there, just ahead. If we're lucky, there might be a vacant room." He broke the silence.
"A…temple has rooms for guests?" At last, I swayed off the wrist device’s screen, didn't call for the shuttle. There’s only one by chance to feel the outside.
And the anger of mine was not resolved yet. Just a few days, the best warrior of my army with me, we should be safe. Not a single person acknowledged that I left the barrier except my father, if only he cared.
"Yeah, only this one. It's especially important for the poor souls who happen to encounter a snowstorm. Just in case, you know." He answered, teasingly.
I really knew nothing about the weather nor season in the Second World, dragged someone and just stormed out from the barrier of Inoasis, without any confirmation beforehand...I was mad and exhausted, but it wasn’t justifying the fact that I made a foolish, bad decision.
"...thoughtful planning," Ashamed, I turned away, about to apologise. No, wait, why should I apologise——
"We're here."
I peeked through his shoulder, a grand and ancient building stood tall in the midst of the heavy snow, silent and solemn. Red, unlit lanterns swayed beneath the tiled eave, stirred by the fierce storm. The building’s outside are surrounded by trees with only branches left, adorned with numerous ribbons of different colours fluttering in the wind, as if beckoning to the visitors.
A religious symbol, dignified guardian of this land.
…………
Crossing the threshold of the building, I was surprised to find an extra stepping plank, and the sound of our leather shoes echoed loudly on the wooden platform.
There was something in the atmosphere… I caught a whiff of the dry wood scent, mixed with a hint of moisture, and... floral? I did notice some bouquets placed on the ancient human altar, freshly bloomed.
Heard our footsteps, a bald man in a beige robe appeared from the right aisle, his steps quick and light. I didn't even have time to switch on my mask. They exchanged quiet words, and the stranger's gaze kept flickering towards me, as if the sight were probing my skin like unwelcomed claws. Quickly, I closed my eyes before he could see my pupils’ strange colour, seconds after I turned to avoid, not wanting to listen to their conversation.
Glancing through the dimly translucent glass windows, I sighed, trying to brush away the uneasy feeling. Realised that we’re outside the barrier, the rules of my bloodline left far behind us, no one recognized me in the middle of this peculiar temple during an evening snowstorm, and there was no need to hide my face. I should’ve trusted them, the people of the Second World.
The faint cold wind squeezed in from the corner, stirring the tensed air around me, a sense of comfort. Safe.
Feeling a pat on my shoulder from my companion, I turned around, facing both of them. The stranger nodded to us and gestured with a bow, inviting us to enter the right aisle. My face flushed with embarrassment at my earlier rudeness, and I nodded back at him, letting myself be led into the warm space behind the front altar. My device beeping, indication of environment detected: advisable temperature for human habitation.
They were using the real fireplace outside the room, those with woods and flames, somewhere in the public space of the temple, I assumed. I could smell the burning woods. We entered a room, there were lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. I was a little surprised that they used electricity, perhaps I should have known better about them. The room was furnished with wooden tables and cushioned , clean bed, but……
There’s only one bed.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll collude with that monk to kidnap you here?" My companion joked, closing the door behind us, scanning the room.
I took off the thick canvas coat , handed back to its original…owner? borrower? He came Inoasis a decade ago, I doubted how he got the clothes from the villagers if he didn’t have the currency of the Second World. He took it and tossed it on the only bed, when found nothing to hang it with.
"In a place easily detected by a scout device?" I looked around the room. A humid and ancient incense wafted in the air, calmingly brushing away the tickling imagined claws on my skin once I stepped in this temple. Lifted my arm and I activated my wrist device for proper scanning.
"... or knock you out and hide somewhere else?" The other person was still taking off their heavy winter clothes, put them on the bed that seemed too narrow even for one person, now with a hill of heavy clothes.
I rolled my eyes.
"Oops, sorry," he quickly picked up the clothes he had just put on and tossed them on the floor. "Forgot that I don’t have the privilege. Here, please, my young lord." Of course he misunderstood my gaze.
The discomfort of being in a different world crept up my legs and settled in my chest... I needed time to adjust… perhaps a safer place to just sit down.
"Theo," I couldn't help but find a wooden stool, yes, an ancient stool. The low furniture made me feel like I was crouching on the floor. "We're outside the barrier, I can't fall asleep here."
There were no troops, no reconnaissance, no Faucher Defense, not even advanced technology, just ancient human stuff. If Jacques found out we were here...
"Easy there, they won't find us," Théo sat down on the bed, leaned back and stretched, looking truly relaxed. "You Inoasians have no faith, and even reject any religious elements. It's surprising that you would stay here for the night."
I patted the residual moisture on my pants.
I had to admit, faith was a territory I couldn't understand for the time being…yet. Since birth, my father and the royal family, even the entire Inoasis, prohibited any religious thoughts. Since the establishment of the New World, any belief was defined as a crime by the law.
Only absolute order and discipline preserved the civilization.
...is it?
But here, in the Second World, the greenery began to flourish, and the seasons started to return... After the apocalypse, all of humanity had moved on.
Except Inoasis.
"Okay, Faucher," Théo sat up, then stood up, "sorry to make you use a bed less than 5 meters wide for a night, but you need to rest now." He made a gesture of invitation.
"I sat on this stool for almost five minutes." I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes, again.
"I apologise, Master Faucher," he smirked , completely unrepentant.
I couldn't even stretch my legs, the discomfort of leaving Inoasis grew stronger as I thought about how to make through the night and the possible threats, the earlier regret plagued my mind again. I sighed.
Afterall, it was my decision to leave the barrier and come to the Second World, which had caused an ordinary human to come out with me in this deadly winter with a snowstorm... I stood up, unable to suppress my anguish, ashamed of my carelessness.
"Please forgive my rashness this morning, Theo," I met his brown eyes, "I just..."
"Had a fight with your old man." Immediately, he confirmed.
Wait, how did he know?
"Seems that I guessed right." He then placed his large hands on my shoulders, exerting a slight force to make me sit on the edge of the bed, and the owner of the hands sat down next to me. The bed creaked, but it felt stable.
"What's there to feel sorry about? Been a while since I wanted to breathe some fresh air."
Lowered my gaze onto the wooden floor, I was speechless.
…………
Théo is the comrade of the Faucher Force, Royal Army of Inoasis.
He has been my mentor since my father sent me to the army five years ago.
Later, I found out he was only two years older than me, and he had been in his new office for six days at that time. I doubted they granted him the office only after my father appointed him to guide me.
Because, later still, I learned that he was an ordinary human from the Second World, with a normal lifespan, normal beliefs, and normal bloodline, even without a family name.
"Lower-class ass."
I would hear people say this about him behind his back on the nights when I, without royal privileges, obediently served in the army. Actually, even if someone said it to his face, he wouldn't care, and brush it off without a thought. The fact that he single-handedly broke into Inoasis and survived with his inhuman, terrifying talent has been enough to deter others from acting against him physically, especially after their superiors have seen his performance.
Having exceptional marksmanship, with a 100% accuracy rate, not even a single miss in his fired record.
A New Human could not do this even with decades of training.
Deadeye.
“They’re just jealous,” Théo joked, after I’ve been told his daily supplies are always less than others. I asked when I saw he used ‘matches’ ', such an ancient way to produce sparks through friction … for his cigarettes.
Until three years ago, my father, with the intention of having me lead the army, restored my royal status.
I issued a decree, promoting Theo by two ranks, and warned of severe consequences for any bullying or boycotting behaviour within the army.
“You don’t need to do that,” he found me after the promotion, hands tucked in his pockets, chuckling uneasily.
I knew I should.
Even I knew his true intention behind all he did, but how much belief and courage does it take for a Second World human to survive in Inoasis? He saved my life, twice, he deserved that.
Right now, I felt the warmth from the arm next to me, and for a moment I didn't know what to say to him who was both a mentor and a friend, and also my right-hand.
Sometimes, I wonder what we would be if he was an Inoasian. After the dust settled, he would tender his resignation and leave. Back to his home, out from the barrier. He wouldn’t want to stay in this mess.
Soon enough, it would become my mess to deal with.
"The rule that the Faucher family must have their face covered when they leave the house... is perhaps useful," Théo spoke first after a while. "Your expression is clear enough."
My cheeks flushed, and I uncomfortably crossed my legs, avoiding his gaze.
"You have many subconscious movements when your face is uncovered, too, my shy young lord," he chuckled, crossing his arms. "Reveal your face means exposing your weakness, Faucher."
Faucher.
He kept reminding me of my identity, my bloodline, the inexplicable mission and responsibility I have carried since birth.
And my father. The echoes of our earlier argument reverberated through my mind, each relentless word a piercing arrow of accusation.
I suddenly felt annoyed and didn't want to hear that name.
"Francis," I sighed.
"Huh?"
"My first name," I turned to look at him. "You've seen my face now, so please don't call me by my family name outside the barrier in the future." Once again, I broke the rules.
Théo widened his eyes, seeming incredulous.
"What?" My cheeks began to burn again.
"Nothing, Francis, hah, it's a nice name."
…………
I returned my gaze to the very same piece of wood on the floor, as if it suddenly became an interesting object to observe with.
In fact, I didn't feel tired at all.
A day's long journey was not enough to exhaust a quarter of my energy, and of course, this level of cold was nothing. My palms remained warm, and my pants and socks gradually dried in the comfortable temperature. When I first entered the room, I also noticed the large blanket hanging nearby. If I spread it out on the floor, perhaps I could...
The night was still young, and Theo, being a regular human, should rest. I, however, didn't want to spend the night staring at each other in this awkward silence.
Just as I was about to speak, the person next to me began patting his pockets, realising he couldn't find the small box he was looking for. He suddenly stood up and patted all the pockets of his pants.
"What's wrong?" I asked, knowing full well.
"Hurried out this morning, didn’t bring my smokes," he didn't sit back down, and I watched as he walked towards the shelf where I had noticed the large blanket. It clicked in my mind.
He took the blanket.
"Lung failure will catch up to you before the war."
"Heh. Started smoking when I was 17. Too late.”
"And you, use the bed. We still need to walk back tomorrow, and I don't want to call for a shuttle," I stood up, both feet on the freshly spread blanket. On the floor.
"Young lord, have mercy," Theo chuckled. "Given our different statuses, Master Fa--"
I glared at him.
"Okay, okay, Francis," he raised his hands, feigning surrender.
"I don't need to sleep daily, you know that well," I said, reaching into my inner pocket and pulling out something I had been carrying with me for a long time. Looking up, I handed it to him, watching with satisfaction as his brown eyes widened in surprise.
"Your favourite, from Haria."
He stared at me for a long time, then hesitantly reached out and took the cigarette. I didn't look at him again, instead removing my cumbersome outerwear and shoes, leaving only a thin shirt. Folding the clothes neatly and placing them on the small stool, I sat on the bed.
He continued to hold the cigarette in his hand, watching me carefully as I spread out the blanket and pillow.
"Are you satisfied now? You can go outside for a smoke."
"I was just... joking. No smoking allowed here," he put the box back in one of his pockets, then sat back against the edge of the bed, his curl, long hairs brushing against my forearm.
I had no intention of falling asleep. But it was already night, and in two more hours, it would be Theo's usual bedtime. At least, that's how it was regulated in the army’s chamber. I could always force him to bed later. Besides, my eyes felt a bit dry from experiencing the winter storm for the first time... some shut-eye wouldn’t hurt.
I glanced at Theo's curly locks, noticing he was holding an old paper photo and staring at it intently, lost in thought.
"Who are they?" I turned, unsure if I could approach.
"My girls. The ones I told you about last time."
The girls who were illegally brought in by Jacques, taken to the underground city to be experimented on...
"...I'm sorry," I lost my words once again, overcome with anger. Jacques was my enemy, committing illegal acts that defied the law, but I could never empathise with Theo's situation; his family was forcibly taken from him, their fate unknown, and I could hardly imagine the despair a father must feel.
All the people of the Second World were potential victims, and I must...
"In fact, I adopted them," he interrupted my thoughts, handing me the photo, perhaps the last one, of the three kids. I sat up, took the offer.
"They don't even have names, just messing around in the village. The tall one is more quiet, taking care of the two younger sisters," he pointed to the girl with long black hair, perhaps the eldest of the three. "I call her 'Big Sis', the youngest is 'Little One', and the second one, I call her 'Ponytail'."
"They look very lovely," I carefully examined the photo, noticing that the three indeed had different hair colours and features.
"They are." Theo sighed.
"What if…… their genes successfully merge with ..." I immediately shut my mouth.
Theo turned his head, looking deeply at me, and slowly shook his head.
"Living for two or more centuries like you, watching loved ones leave, one by one…" he averted his gaze, "I don't think you volunteered to become a new human, did you?"
Afterwards, he turned back, lying down on the soft edge of the bed, closing his eyes as if unwilling to think about this possibility.
I continued to look at the photo of the three girls, their smiles making me think. A father has the right to know more about the details covered up by my family, or any other rulers of Inoasis, about the banned drug --
"...I think you noticed that the victims brought into the underground city are all women or girls," I didn't mind breaking the rules again. "Do you know the reason?"
Theo raised his head, frowned.
…………
"Then, why are you a New Human?"
The question finally came from Theo. I couldn't blame him. Ever since I mentioned the shelving of the Etoiluene gene modification project, the conversation always veered towards questions about my origins.
I paused for a moment, not immediately answering him.
As night fell, the sound of the wind and snow grew louder, filling the sudden silence that had crept into the room. His gaze openly observed my expression, as if trying to understand. Or empathise, I don’t know.
I leaned back against the pillows, contemplating how to tell him, avoiding his cautiously probing eyes.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, really," he interjected, interrupting the awkward silence, yet not easing my tension.
"When my mother’s pregnancy was due, the night before she went into labour, our family doctor, who had betrayed us, switched the IV, injecting Etoiluene into my mother's body," I said slowly.
Theo, unexpectedly, remained expressionless, his cheek resting on the mattress. He didn't ask any questions, patiently waiting for me to continue.
"They had to make a choice. Another doctor urgently performed a surgery to save me from my mother's body. The moment I opened my eyes, I was already a New Human. My mother didn't survive."
At that moment, I closed my eyes, as if releasing a burden. I felt... much lighter.
"Oh god... I'm so sorry, that sounds terrible..."
I lowered my head to look at him. "The key to my survival after being implanted with the drug came from my ancestry, my family's genes were exceptional," I realised the awkwardness talking with this angle, so I propped my head up with one hand, "The Faucher family genes are the most extraordinary, I guess."
It sounds ridiculous.
"No wonder the Jacques are always watching you... all of you are just human after all... Well, I still don't understand why our human civilization has come to this."
To adapt to the impending new environment, to continue the strong survival capabilities, to ensure the continuation of an excellent civilization and genes, to prevent humanity from another apocalypse—these are all the answers I wanted to give, the well-known reasons for the existence of Inoasis.
But at this moment, I was unsure.
Because the person in front of me, this Second World human with a twisted mouth and a questioning expression, possessed terrifying talents surpassing any Inoasian or New Human. He was intelligent, strong, agile, with many brilliant ideas, full of vitality... with emotion, with soul.
And my ancestors, for laughable reasons and an impossible “future", abandoned and left them defenceless against the apocalypse.
"I don't know either," I finally said.
Theo smiled.
"It's okay, it will be fine."
I opened up, and the deepest confusion about the bloodlines’ mission naturally spilled out of my mouth. I knew there was no one who could help me, all I needed was someone to talk to… The earlier argument with my father had left me exhausted. We’ve been trying to search for centuries and gathered the painfully limited resources. We tried. The Earth was healed eventually, slowly, but they insisted on leaving literally to nowhere. How could we, as a human, remain so obstinate in the face of such evident recovery? I don’t understand.
I would never understand my ancestor’s barbaric decision, forsaking all other life.
In the end, we talked for quite a while. This friend from the Second World comforted me instead.
"Well, you have plenty of time to think about the future of Inoasis. For now, find the underground city and get rid of that guy," mentioning ‘that guy’, Theo's expression darkened. "I have an idea."
"Spill it." We had already changed positions, or rather, he had changed positions—he also sat on the bed, both of us leaning against the wall with our legs crossed, continuing our late night conversation. Noticing the temperature dropped, we took the blanket on the floor as an extra cover, now two layers thick, along with the constant warmth of the firewood from the other wall.
We should have no problem getting through the winter night.
"The underground city is not under Inoasis at all, maybe it's somewhere else outside the barrier," he said, tilting his head. "With their technology, creating another invisible barrier is less likely a challenge for those crazy scientists."
"Impossible, not when they needed resources," I argued, "except for my…family, no one has permission to enter or exit Inoasis. Besides, apart from the need to conceal and transport a large amount of resources, all storage and consumption are recorded in Vidal's system."
Theo turned to look at me, eyebrows raised. I leaned against the wall, waiting for him to ask questions.
"Do you trust Lady Vidal?"
Aurora's troubled look appeared in my mind. The mysterious family that held all the wisdom and history of the past, the sage who had always been wise and peaceful, rarely showed such an expression. Yet at that moment, I, an outsider, happened to catch her frowning, her lips slightly pursed as if she had something on her mind. Was it unintentional or deliberate?
A hint.
I stayed still, but I couldn't face those brown eyes that were so good at reading. So I looked away, staring at the stool I had been sitting on earlier.
"I have an engagement with her." After a long time, this was all I could muster.
"Well. That's not very convincing," Theo said, mouth’s corner with an amused twist, "but congratulations anyway."
"I had no choice," I suddenly felt an impulse to explain, not knowing where this desire to be understood came from. "Four generations, the Fauchers have been intermarried with the Vidals, which is more beneficial than harmful in terms of bloodlines and future support from the vast database."
"That's tough." Theo pretended to make a crying face, shaking his head.
"Anyway," before the conversation veered off course, I quickly returned to the topic, "the likelihood of them having a mole is low. The wisest minds in all of Inoasis always weigh the pros and cons. I can't find a reason for them to betray us."
"Oh, wait, I have another idea."
"What—"
Theo sat up straight, as if he had just discovered some profound truth, and began to exaggerate his gestures dramatically. "What if they dig a tunnel underground in Inoasis, to bypass the barrier and get outside?"
"......" Wild guess, indeed.
I buried my face in my hands, silently soothing the urge to burst into laughter, struggling to contain my amusement.
"Come on, you're thinking of more reasons to refute my point again."
"Did anyone tell you that the barrier is a complete sphere?" I put my hands down, the suffocating weight from earlier topics dissipating as the ridiculousness of Theo's idea pulled me away.
"Of course not," Theo shrugged, conceding defeat.
"We've also checked," I watched as he leaned back against the wall again, deflated, "there are no anomalies or large spaces underground in Inoasis. It's completely solid crust."
Despite years of extensive reconnaissance and searches, we found no trace of where they might be hiding. Jacques, who disappeared from Inoasis without crossing the barrier, where could they be?
"Maybe they're all hiding in Sylvain's lil pocket, who knows," he chuckled dismissively. But I knew, he would never show mercy to the Jacques henchmen who took his daughters. Every time he fired during target practice, the resolute sound of each shot, bang, bang, bang, the loud explosions and the bullets tearing through the air echoed in the shooting range. Each bullet hated, and accurately nailed to the bullseye, hitting where the man’s head would be.
Since I knew him, every flip of his index fingers was an unspoken rage and anger from his heart.
"We'll find him." I said.
We must, without a doubt.
…………
Finally, Theo's eyelids became heavier, and shortly before midnight, he drifted off. At that moment, we were discussing some of Inoasis's policies and regulations that needed reform, or rather, just myself doing all the talking. He simply lay half-reclined on the bed, responding to me with a half-hearted interest, clearly not interested in the topic.
Outside, the snowstorm grew louder and louder, the howling wind weaving through every corner of the building, while Theo had already fallen asleep.
The device on my wrist displayed 11:03pm, and it was 13 degrees indoors, lower than the evening a few hours ago. I carefully covered Theo with that extra layer of thick cloth, leaving more space for him, after all, ordinary humans need more warmth. I lay down on my side with my back to him, my lower body also covered. Two adult males squeezed onto a single bed, the space was indeed limited, but it helped with insulation, which was a way for keeping the heat, I guess.
But I didn't actually need it. The new human didn't need it. I wonder, does my uniqueness distance me further from the identity of "human"? Violating nature, breaking the rules of life and death, yet we have not left Earth as promised by our ancestors, not welcomed by the Second World, either. We abandoned them centuries ago, afterall.
I recalled my mother's diary, the phrase "We will ultimately find ourselves ending in mutual destruction" burned into my memory. My dear, lovely mother, you were right. I want to put an end to all this, this unrealistic fantasy.
But, can I really?
The wind howled, but the thick blankets did their job. The temperature behind me fluctuating, hypnotised me, like the most soothing cradle. My consciousness was giving up, gradually drifting away...
The flow of time was detaching from me. I stayed in comfortable darkness, and I couldn't feel my own entity, floating lightly in nothingness. I vaguely felt that I was descending—not a sudden fall, but as if there were hands, gently supporting the tiny me, gently, like a mother putting down a sleeping baby…
Mother, is that you? I silently wondered, receiving no response. The comforting force continued to soothe, gently cradling my consciousness. I couldn't open my eyes, but I unexpectedly felt at ease, gently placed on comfortable ground by those gentle hands.
Wait, ground?
The sensation of solidity rushed back to my skin as I moved my fingers and felt the soil, tiny leaves tickling my arm. Slowly opening my eyes, I blinked against the light to see the scene before me.
Not far away stood a very large, peculiar tree. The trunk was crystalline emerald, and from the sturdy roots spiralling up to the main branches, there were golden breezes flowing slowly upwards like rivers, disintegrating at the branches' forks to lighten up the glowing leaves.
I sat up quickly, reaching for my wrist device to call out. The device was gone.
Panicked, I checked my body, the same shirt and pants, the same leather shoes, even the texture was familiar.
Took a deep breath, I looked around, all I could see was endless white space. And around the tree, including the ground I stood on, colourful flowers were blooming everywhere, spreading a beautiful spring into the endless void. I looked down at the small flowers, of all different shapes, their petals gently shaking in the wind that seemed to come from nowhere. Some very tiny petals were lifted by the breeze, floating in the air and turning into ethereal luminances, gradually disappearing with the wind. The beauty of the scene left me speechless, the fear left my mind and I calmed down.
At least I was safe.
I stepped forward, the flowers rustling under my leather shoes, shushing. I didn't know where I was, my device was nowhere to be found, but the light from the huge tree guided me, luring me to approach it, to keep searching for answers.
I took another step, and then another.
As my eyes gradually adjusted to the light, I saw a lake — surrounding the tree, the water emitted an extremely familiar, glowing lilac, calmly flowing around the roots in a clockwise direction.
I raised my gaze, the leaves I had just seen were not leaves at all, but thousands of stunning starlights. The verdant emerald branches were like static, magnificent arms, gently cradling the sparkling glows. Further up, unable to see the end of the canopy, the vast sky was filled with billions of stars or lights or jewels, stretching endlessly.
This scene was unbelievably beautiful, no, it couldn't possibly appear in the real world, where... where am I?
The lilac lake reflected the starlight, the blinding colour so familiar that it made me wonder, but now was not the time to think about it. What was I doing just now? I just... was in bed, Theo was behind me, I—am I dreaming?
"Theo?" I called, not knowing why I did this. Turning around to face the void, finding no one, as expected. I exhaled heavily in this quiet realm, feeling relieved. Since it's a dream—
"It is a name befitting him, don't you think?"
Theo's voice came from behind, under the tree, its strong, strange echo stirring dormant souls, heralding the blossoming of spring.
A celestial call from everywhere of this realm.
I turned to face him, realising that I was at least 20 meters away from the tree, where he stood beneath it, arms crossed and bathed in starlight with an unreadable expression. Yet, his voice had reached and resounded deeply within me, each syllable echoing throughout the whole realm. As his words faded, the petals and leaves danced, fairy lights drifting with the wind, while starlight shimmered and merged into the lake.
Every detail of this dream feels terrifyingly real. The voice, his voice—
Theo was dressed in a forest green robe, revealing half of his arms and chest, fitting his casual style. But, his next move was unusual enough—he lifted his barefoot, stepping onto the lake's surface, creating ripples and small splashes on the water, but he did not sink.
He was floating. Moved gracefully, his steps stirring the reflected starlights underneath.
When he came closer, I could see his face lacking his usual playfulness, his iconic smirk gone, replaced by a genuine soft smile. His irises were an unusual, sparkling gold, the same gleaming gold as the strange flow within the trunk behind him. I just knew— this person was not Theo. Not the one I knew for years.
Now standing in front, Th… No, this guy with the exact same face of Theo, his face carried a smile, skin bore vine-like golden patterns as if etched since birth. He is far too polite, movement reserved and gracefully masked. "Francis, it's a pleasure to meet you." He tilted his head slightly, beaming, without any other movement.
"You're not Theo." I stepped back, on guard.
"Ah, does that matter?" He gazed at me steadily, as if observing a petulant child. Lines of an upturned smile at the corner of his golden eyes, sincere but made me cringed a little. "He matters to you, doesn't he? From my understanding of humans."
"He's my best friend." I replied without hesitation.
"I see. Good for you." His smile took on a hint of sadness, and in an instant, the melancholy vanished, replaced by a harmonious warmth on his face. "Ah, should I introduce myself? I am Lord Rumatevkafvah, the Gardener of Merulrie." He bowed slightly.
Never heard any of these before, I didn't know what to say or ask, still wary, feeling that everything was wrong. Fake. He sensed my doubts but only smiled, not calling me out.
"It's sick, you see. Look at that branch," he gestured for me to follow his gaze. Following his line of sight, one of the branches on the emerald tree emitted an unusually dark aura. Squinting to see more clearly in the glimmering light, I noticed that the starlight on that branch was sparse, its glow dimmer than the others, making this sickly part stand out against the backdrop of the starry leaves. But earlier, I hadn't noticed it at all; it had been well hidden by the healthy starlights while my eyes were still adjusting to the rays. Apart from the dark aura on the branch, which made it unmistakably the one he had mentioned, another strange phenomenon caught my attention.
It was partially decayed, slowly eroded by a black parasitic disease. The once vibrant emerald branch had turned into burning dark amber, silently crumbling, shattering... Yet, on this barely clinging branch, two glowing buds were growing?
"The black parasite is draining its nutrients and energy. You are the key to healing it, Francis," the strange man beside me continued. I didn't pay much attention to his words because those two small buds were clearly planted there by something or someone else. Compared to another bud already blooming with shimmering sky blue petals, the bud I was staring at had only leaves; brown healthy leaves gently swaying in the wind.
Hmm, a very peculiar dream, I'm utterly impressed. I silently pondered, what shapes these subconscious thoughts in my mind?
"......Mr. Ruma…?" I turned to him, "You are the gardener here, I believe you can heal it." To play along, I even gave a friendly, encouraging smile. "Besides, can't we just saw off the corroded branch? Wouldn't that solve it?" For a literal gemstone plant so vast that its top end was unreachable, this tiny sacrifice seemed trivial.
"Every leaf, every branch, has a life force flowing, growing, or decaying," Rumatevkafvah said gently, his voice echoing throughout the space. "We couldn't just take them away."
I snorted, feeling intrigued. Where would this dream lead me, what inspiration would it bring?
"I see. So what have you done to help it? And what does this have to do with me?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Strictly speaking," he turned away from me, crossing his arms and sighing, "it is you human who caused this blight. I cannot remove it entirely, nor can I change its growth trajectory; that would go against the wills of All-knowing. We have done what we could."
"We…? Sir, let's not even discuss where an emerald ore this large can be obtained from, none of the leaves in my reality are made of starlight," I kindly explained to this fancier Theo who appeared in my dream, playing the role of a gardener who taking care of a massive gemstone and stars. I should tell the real Theo once I'm awake.
He chuckled, a gentle but rich laughter that made all the plants bow, more fluorescence scattered, rising into the air. Some formed tiny whirlwinds around me, drifting past my hair strands, and I caught a stronger floral scent.
It might be a dream without logic, but it was still remarkably beautiful.
"Perhaps," the man's golden eyes met mine, a smile playing on his familiar features adorned with golden tattoos, "you should ask your brother, Francis."
The wind tousled his hair, and the swirling air currents around me became more intense, more numerous. The glow of the fluorescence became stronger, and I closed my eyes, immediately losing control of my body and consciousness, being pulled out of this dream.
I didn't even have time to tell him, I am an only child, I have no siblings.
(tbc)