Scene 3.2 — The Dream Within a Dream
In the quiet of night, beneath a sky that glowed with a gentle warmth, it felt as if the heavens themselves were breathing softly—casting down a comforting light. A light that touched the heart of a dreamer, a man caught in the tides of fate, who needed just enough strength to awaken and move forward again tomorrow.
A dream once lost now returned, quietly rebuilding itself. A hope once extinguished began to stir.
A life, ordinary and serene, now distant—yet still the only destination that truly mattered.
"A'kin, A'kin. Wake up, honey. The kids will be late for school."
A voice—familiar, tender, and deeply missed—echoed in Akira's ears.
He blinked his eyes open, groggy and confused, only to find someone he hadn't seen in what felt like forever—Mei.
But not the Mei of childhood memories. This Mei was grown, graceful, dressed in the style of a poised adult woman.
Still dazed, Akira rubbed his eyes and looked around.
He didn't recognize the room. And yet… everything about it felt familiar. So familiar, it was as if he'd woken up in this bed every day for the past twenty years.
Mei's gentle voice called out again.
"Are you okay? Is your head spinning a bit? I told you not to stay up too late working on that game code. But nooo, you wouldn't listen."
She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"There. That's your punishment—cheek-smacking, courtesy of my lips! Oh no, now you've got lipstick on you. Come on, go wash up before the kids are late."
Still in a daze, Akira found his body moving on its own. Like some kind of autopilot.
He walked to the bathroom.
There, he studied himself in the mirror.
No bruises. No battle scars from the lion of wrath, from Nakaria, from Zekhtau.
His body looked… softer. Older. The skin slightly roughened. A few silver strands peeked out from his hair.
He was a man in his midlife.
He quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and got dressed in the clothes Mei had laid out for him.
By then, she was no longer in the room.
She must've stepped out while he was in the bathroom.
He stepped out of the room and walked down the stairs. Though his body moved with familiar ease, his mind couldn't recall ever seeing this house before. As he reached the bottom, two children were already at the table eating breakfast. A young boy in elementary school and his little sister rushed over and hugged him tightly.
"Papa!"
He instinctively knelt down and hugged them back, the movement natural—habitual, even—but he didn't recognize their faces.
"These are… our kids? Mine and Mei's?"
Mei was at the kitchen counter, gently serving warm rice porridge, accompanied by a banana and a glass of milk with milk pudding. Akira joined the kids at the table, eating alongside them as they were already nearly finished.
Later, he drove a car he'd never seen before. And yet, his body knew it like the back of his hand, as if he'd been driving it every day for years. He followed a route he didn't consciously recognize, but his body navigated it with unshakable confidence—dropping Mei off at her workplace, then heading back home to continue coding a game.
That day, he attended a virtual meeting to discuss a game project called ALT Meta Online, speaking with Non, his longtime friend who had inherited the game company from his father. Despite having no memory of this project, Akira's body seemed to know exactly what to say and when to say it. He was able to hold the conversation with ease… even though none of this was in his mind.
During lunch, he took care of a few chores around the house—vacuuming, mopping, and hanging out the laundry he'd started earlier that morning. In the afternoon, he napped for a bit, watched a concert clip of his favorite idol group, then got back to work.
In the evening, he picked up the kids, took them to a nearby sports park. The kids played cheerfully—his son took to basketball, just as Akira himself had when he was younger, while his daughter loved table tennis and often practiced at home. And then drove to fetch Mei from work.
Later that night, Mei made dinner while Akira bathed the children. They gathered around the table as a family, shared the meal, helped with homework, and ended the day in laughter and playful chaos. A peaceful life. A simple life.
A life that felt… complete.
After the kids got sleepy and were tucked into bed, Mei and Akira lay down together in their own room, arms wrapped around each other.
"A'kin," Mei whispered softly, "let's go make merit this coming Buddhist day. And next Friday's the school sports day—I'll take the day off to go cheer the kids on."
Akira smiled warmly.
"Sure. They'll be so happy. Oh, maybe I'll invite Yue and the others to come watch too."
Mei blinked in confusion.
"Yue? Who's that? A friend from your company?"
Akira's brows furrowed.
"You don't know Yue?"
They both sat up. Mei tilted her head playfully.
"Hmm… Is my charming husband out there scattering his charm again?" She folded her arms in mock offense. "Tsk. Do you know how hard I worked during school, A'kin? Meanwhile, you were so popular that all the juniors just stared at you with stars in their eyes!"
Akira's body responded before his mind could catch up.
"Oh please, Mei. You weren't exactly invisible either. Everyone called you the princess of the school. I had to keep a lookout for the boys constantly trying to flirt with you."
He leaned in, resting his hand gently on her cheek.
"Because my Mei… is brilliant, beautiful, kind, and sweet. Of course everyone fell for you."
Their eyes met. The moment deepened, tension building as Akira leaned closer—just about to kiss her like any doting husband would.
And then—
"Akira, why do you look like that? Are you trying to kiss your sword?"
The voice suddenly changed—it was no longer Mei's.
Akira blinked.
Why does she sound like… Draco?
Wait… Draco? Who—
Suddenly, Mei headbutted him.
Pain shot through his forehead, and as he reached up to rub it—
He realized he was holding the hilt of a sword.
He opened his eyes and found Draco standing there with a weirded-out expression.
"What the heck were you dreaming about, man? Yesterday it was nightmares, today it's… that? Were you having a dirty dream or something? Eugh. I'm going to shower. Got yelled at yesterday for stinking after training."
Akira sat up, bewildered, glancing around.
He was back in Keela's castle room. The very same place he'd gone to sleep the night before.
He chuckled quietly and covered his face with one hand.
"Heh… I'm starting to lose track of what's real and what's a dream. Honestly, sometimes… I wish all of this was the dream. So I could finally wake up and be with Mei again."
But the smile faded.
His lips pressed together in pain—almost as if holding back tears. But none came.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Mei… I miss you so damn much. I wonder how you're doing right now.
I just… I want to talk to you."
He let himself fall back onto the pillow, arm draped over his eyes.
"A war, huh…? If it's a war, there's no way this ends quickly. Honestly, I don't even want to get involved. I don't want to risk my life over this… but… Keela…"
He paused, the image of Keela surfacing in his mind. The ever-confident princess, always wearing that signature hand-covering-her-mouth pose. The one who smiled at everyone. The one whose cooking was second to none.
"But all of that… it's just a mask, isn't it?"
Beneath that mask, he imagined her pain. The weight she carried on her shoulders. The chains of bloodline binding her down. Hands that had to keep pushing forward, caught in the middle of all that hatred.
"How did she manage to survive all this…?"
Akira sat up and walked toward the window. Morning light bathed the beauty of Skyperion, and birds chirped cheerfully outside.
"All I've done is whine about wanting a normal dream… I really am selfish, huh? What kind of hero thinks only of himself like this…?"
"Keela… she's more of a true hero than I could ever be."
"Elina never hesitates. Always the first to throw up a barrier. Draco never gives up. Mirelle never stops learning. Osiris—she refuses to yield to the one who created her. Even Yue… she's small, fragile… and yet, she steps forward even when she's scared."
He closed his eyes.
"That kind of courage—courage in the face of fear—that's what real bravery is."
"Yue… you're more of a hero than I am."
He let out a deep sigh.
"…Man, I really wanna play a game right now. Shoot some hoops. Go back to playing the drums… even if Jin teased me every time. It'd still be worth it. Ugh… I miss you guys. You bunch of troublemakers."
He leaned on the windowsill, gazing out at the panorama before him.
His thoughts shifted again—today… today was the day.
The day he would meet one of the most powerful people on this entire continent.
One of the reasons why everyone around him was on edge.
"How am I supposed to survive the tornado that's about to strike…? How do I get all of us through this without anyone getting hurt…?"
He clenched his jaw.
"Because if even one of them gets hurt…
…I don't think I could forgive myself."