Chapter 1: The Dream.

"While moving through the tunnel, I noticed that its walls were made of some strange stone, maybe even precious. Every 50 meters, there were passages on the left and right sides, but the anticipation led me straight ahead. At times, I saw shadows standing by these passages, and when my gaze fell on them, they would disappear.

The illumination of the tunnel, or rather, the cave, was purple with shades of red, giving the place an eerie atmosphere. Torches with violet flames were hung along the length of the cave, as if someone carefully measured the distance between them before placing them.

They lit up as I approached them. In some places, I could hear water dripping from the ceiling, which, combined with my footsteps, made this place even more dreadful, filling my heart with anxiety like never before.

It seemed like I had been walking through this tunnel for an eternity, and it never seemed to end. The view remained the same, even the cracks in the walls were alike.

It created the impression that I returned to the beginning each time, as if it was an endless loop.

With each step, my anxiety grew, and when it felt like it would never end, voices echoed in the confined cave.

Strangely, I couldn't turn into any of the passages, although I seemed to want to, or at least it felt that way.

I kept walking and walking, and the tunnel never seemed to end, making the feeling of trepidation increasingly unbearable.

It started to transform into a state of madness, as if this place wanted to drive me insane, but a strange feeling persisted, a feeling that maybe all of this wasn't real?

Perhaps it was just a strange dream...

I didn't know; I had never experienced such vivid dreams. The more I walked, the more I felt like I needed to understand something or do something; I couldn't just aimlessly move forward.

When I tried to infuse mana into my eyes to enhance my vision and see into the distance of the corridor, nothing happened.

Mana did not respond, which made me panic even more.

I tried again and again, but nothing worked. I couldn't amplify my legs to walk faster, enhance my vision to notice anything, or even heighten my perception.

Then, after hundreds of attempts, something changed. I don't know what exactly, but it was disturbing. And then I heard a voice.

"Understand!"

The voice told me to comprehend, but what was I supposed to understand?

Then the voice appeared again.

"Understand!"

I tried to grasp it, but I couldn't. I attempted to understand again and again, but the madness of the situation prevented me from thinking clearly.

Then, I had a realization, and I remembered the words from the legend:

"Sun, cave, dragon, and fire, violet flames burn at the bottom of the sea, death and life, mana and..."

No one knew the last words of this legend or ancient verse.

But for some reason, they resounded so clearly in my mind. Then I repeated them again and again, and suddenly, I began to see that I was approaching the end of the cave.

I stepped into an enormous hall with high walls, at least 12 meters in height.

It seemed as if nature itself had created this room; crystals illuminated with violet and blue hues were everywhere, and golden dust floated around as if someone had dispersed gold throughout the entire room.

At the end of this room, I saw a crypt. Entering the crypt, there was a coffin inside. The coffin appeared to be made of crystal, and inside it lay a man. His hair was silver and long, flowing like a breeze, just like his clothes.

Then, for some reason, I thought that I had to repeat this verse aloud, and I did.

Then the coffin split open, and the man opened his eyes. His eyes burned with violet fire, instilling fear and awe.

He approached me and touched my forehead.

A flash of pain surged from where he touched, spreading through my entire body.

And I opened my eyes. I was breathing heavily, and cold sweat covered my back, dripping from my forehead onto my cheeks. It was a dream, just a dream.

But what did it mean? I had never thought that a dream could be so real.

Even now, as I woke up, the unease I felt in the dream didn't dissipate.

I got up from the bed and went to the window. Looking outside, I saw only the moon and its beautiful light, illuminating the dark square next to where I had stayed.

I don't think I can sleep again; it's time to set out. The sooner I reach Filegard, the sooner I can find her.

I packed my things and left the hotel, winking goodbye to the hotel employee, who was extremely beautiful and clearly didn't belong in such a place.

I set off on my journey."