Shoooooot... This totally was an unintended gap in updates. I had this chapter typed up about two weeks ago, but got annoyed with the sequence of events and rewrote about two thirds of it. So yeah... D: And on top of that, I've been having major writer and drawing blocks, along with those "I don't want to do crap" moments. Here's a second short chapter, mostly because I epically fail at writing chapters that are over 5000 words long (that being when I'm LUCKY.)

To anyone who reviewed, I'm posting my thanks here. And if you are confused, I have one word for you - GOOD! It's meant to be a tad confusing, at least in the beginning. Although, a bit more will be explained soon... :D

So here we go, here we go, lets go again. Da-da, da-da-da~

~Fukachi no Rin

Lloyd had never found Iselia as deserted as it was at the moment. Usually the dirt roads were bustling with people of the small-populated town. But at the moment, it was empty, dark, arid. Lloyd shoved his hands in his pockets, consciously tucking his chin into the collar of his jacket.

He pushed open the door of the town's both botanist and scientist, Ozure. "Hello?" Lloyd called, his eyes scanning across the humid room. "Doc Oz? You around?"

Lloyd's heels clicked as his placed one hand protectively on the hilt of his sword. He took a breath, a strange odor hitting his nose. "D-Doc?"

Two beads flew in front of Lloyd's shoe, rolling freely on the ground. Suddenly, they combusted with a loud explosion, deep red flames shooting up. Lloyd yelped, his legs springing into action as he launched himself far back. His smooth landing made him wonder; Lloyd never had been able to leap back with such time in strength.

Two manically hands clapped. "What do you think, my boy?" The flames disappeared, and a dark haired man, his apparel covered with white dust, appeared from behind the door curtains. "Artificial fire! No sparks, no wood required, just a throw on the ground and BAM! You have flames." He looked soundly at the charred floor. "Unfortunately, the flames do not last that long, and are quite uncontrollable… If I could just get a decent source of energy…"

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Lloyd observed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Ozure grinned ear to ear.

"That's what the sticklers in Palmacosta Academy told me after I graduated. My experiments were too "ferocious" for them, and they kicked me out of the town, threatening to imprison me if they ever saw me near the gates again." He crossed his arms and nodded. "That's why I'm here, my boy. I came here because I needed to conduct my precious experiments! That and Iselia had need of a doctor, of a true scientist, and not some old geezer like Ivy." Ozure drew back his goggles from his eyes, snapping them tight over his hairline. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Doctor Ozure, you probably don't remember me. My name is-"

"Lloyd Irving." He stared at the red clad boy. "Fractured your leg when you fell off the school roof trying to sneak an army of frogs into Ivy's office approximately three years ago, and two year before that, you got a nasty gash across you shoulder when trying to protect your classmates from a wolf during a fieldtrip." He thought hard on the subject. "You were also brought here by a dwarf when you were a toddler, for a check up on your health. When I was taking your pulse, you bashed your head into my nose and broke it."

Lloyd rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, sorry about that."

"Accidents happen," he sighed, pushing aside various notebooks. "What seems to be your problem, Mr. Irving?"

"I… um…" Lloyd cast his gaze unto the ground. "I've been having these weird dreams, lately."

"Dreams. That and time seem to be the only mysteries man can never solve," Ozure sighed. "As a Doctor, I doubt I could help you. As a scientist, I might be able to."

"It's a dream of a girl," Lloyd finally admitted. Ozure chuckled, shaking his head.

"Has no one told you of the growing cycle? As you age, becoming attracted to woman becomes-"

"It's not like that!" Lloyd interrupted defensively. "I mean, in my dreams, she's always laughing. Running off. I mean, I was able to catch up to her today, when I fell asleep during class…"

"Did you get old Ivy mad?" Lloyd nodded. "Good. Go on."

"It's the same girl. Same blond hair, same white dress," Lloyd described. "But I've never seen her before! Each day, she becomes clearer, more solid. She was just a shadow, a week or so ago, but then she become something more. She moves! She has color! She laughs! And last time she…" Lloyd clenched a fist. "I felt her. Her hand touched mine, there was light and…"

Ozure rose an eyebrow. "And?"

"This… thing appeared on my hand." Lloyd lifted his left hand, the blue gem gleaming in the candle light. Ozure stood up, leaning over his desk to closer observe the object.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," Lloyd said. "All I know is that this thing-" He pinched the edges with the opposite hand. "-won't-" He tugged against the gem. "-come-" He tried twisting the gold mount, having no success. "-off!"

Ozure looked over the small stone, his eyes scanning precariously. "This stone…" he blinked once. "You say it just appeared straight from your dream?"

Lloyd nodded. "There was a blinding light," Lloyd explained. "And it just suddenly was… there."

"I've seen this before…" Ozure turned his body, disappearing behind the curtains dividing his cabin. Sighing, Lloyd lifted his hand, the tips of his fingers pressing against the outside of the gem. It glowed slightly, through the dimness of the candlelit room. "Ah." Ozure appeared from behind the living quarters. "Here it is. Lloyd, you are familiar of the legends, correct?"

"Sorta," Lloyd responded as Ozure opened the ancient pages. He dusted away particles residing over the characters, symbols Lloyd never had seen. "What's that?"

"Ancient Angelic," Ozure responded. "It's what the legends are written in. The times of the ancient people, where said "magic" was forever at play."

Lloyd was confused. "What?"

"Magic was said to be used with mana millenniums back," Ozure explained, flipping page after page. "The magic was said to come from a comet, Derris Khralen, when the elves originally landed in the vast land. Magic, mana… All you have to know is that it's nonexistent…" He stopped on a page, pointing at an aged picture. "There, that's what you have."

Lloyd squinted at the drawing, identical to the object on his hand. "What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"According to the legends, it was a stone meant to enhance the dormant abilities of a person." He drew his finger across a single phrase. "Exsphere."

Lloyd stared at the blue gem. "What does it mean?"

Ozure closed the book. "Nothing. It means you are trying to outwit a grown man into your childish fantasies, with lies and biased." His brows furrowed over his glaring eyes. "Who put you up to this charade, hm? I'm sure it was Ivy – that old bloke would just love to make me look like a total buffoon!"

"W-what? Doc, I'm not lying!"

"Of course you're not. Fairy tales are real! Angels exist! There is mana all around us!" Ozure grimaced, his hands coiling into solid fists. "Get out of here, now!" he ordered, pointing at the door. "Before I throw you out myself!"

Lloyd sucked in a breath, his expression shocked. And before he could be thrown out, he turned around, trudging out of the cabin.

[o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o]

The blaring sun beat onto the sands, sparing not an ounce of its full strength. Obelisks towered over a stone pedestal, which a large slab of rock laid at the top of the structure.

A dry desert breeze passed over the empty land, throwing Lloyd's hair in the other direction. Lloyd winced at the oncoming sand, shielding his eyes with his forearm. "S-sand?"

A giggle reached his ears once more, innocent and clear over the distorted wind. "H-hello?" Lloyd called out, turning to the stone pedestal. She stood there, her back facing him. She had linked her arms in front of her, and the white dress she wore swayed in the gentle breeze.

"Y-you!" Lloyd spoke, his voice shocked. He ran up further, over each stair before he reached the top. He stopped, a statue behind the girl that had perplexed his dreams onward for the past few weeks. "Please, look at me. Talk to me."

Lloyd reached for her shoulder, his palm laying flat against the white fabric of her dress. "Please."

He tugged her slightly, rotating her body slightly. She began turning herself, but as she did, Lloyd found himself being buried in a sunburst of light. Before he knew it, he was staring into incredible streams of light, not seeing anything past her shoulders.

She took his hand, cradling his wrist in her palm and pressing her index finger against his glove. She drew carefully, precisely. "You're…. Spelling them out?" She continued to guide his words, her hand freezing, the end of the first phrase. "Not… yet? What do you mean not yet?"

She began to draw again on his palm, the second phrase. "T-r-i-e-t R-u-i-n-s? Triet Ruins? What's the Trie-"

She took her hands away, and gestured around them with her arms. Lloyd grasped at the landmark, at the temple, his mind racing. "We're… at the Triet Ruins?" Lloyd lowered himself to his knees, staring at the stone brick beneath his feet. "Sand…" he whispered, lifting individual grains to fly off into the wind. "Desert… That mean's-"

Lloyd's eyes snapped open, his torso bolting upward. A sheen of sweat covered his body, and deep gasps ripped from his chest. The dreams ran through his mind once more, the dots connected smoothly in his head. Grabbing the black tank, he pulled on his shirt and stepped out of bed.

The gold mount, as well as the blue gem had remained fair into their places since their first appearance earlier that day. It bothered him, that he had obtained an object by means that were impossible. Magic… Something that should've died off millenniums ago… He couldn't believe that any of it was real.

And yet, there was the proof, smack in front of his face. The vivid dreams, the places, the senses, the gem…. They all pointed to reality in this 'dream' of his. Lloyd rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the growing headache.

Lloyd looked over to his small workbench. On it was a leather satchel, large enough to carry any essentials that he would need. He had left it empty before he left to sleep, believing that he had been resolved. But at the moment, he knew he didn't stand anywhere truly, only on a very steep edge.

Lloyd Irving flashed his eyes to the window, his gaze meeting the full moon. He reached for his spare clothing, and his pouch of Gald, throwing them into his bag. Next, he pulled on his jacket, followed by the clipping of his suspenders and pulling on of his boots. Now all I need is… Lloyd turned around, grabbing his sword from the side of his bed. Lloyd stopped, drawing the sword partly from his blade. "No… way…"

[o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o]

"Doc!" Lloyd banged his fists hard against the door. Rain pounded onto the earth, damping Lloyd's hair. "I need to talk to you! Doc!"

The door was unbolted, the heavy metal being removed, and a tired Ozure opened the door. "Lloyd…" he sighed, rubbing the edges of his eyes. "Have you any idea what time it is? I sure do not, but it is early! What are you doing here? No, forget it, get out of my sight. I don't want to hear-"

"If you don't want to hear, then maybe you'll eyes will do all the listening!" Lloyd responded, his voice with an edge. Ozure clamped his jaw shut, crossing his arms over his chest. Grabbing the hilt of his swords, Lloyd descended the steps, his feet firm in the mud. He drew out his swords, calling deep into the power lying in him.

The gem on his hand glowed a brilliant blue, the only luminosity visible in the storm. The light spilled into his blades, growing, spreading around the teenager. Lloyd crossed his blades, taking in a deep breath.

"Demon Fang!"

The energy pulsed, releasing itself from the point of Lloyd's blade. It cut deep into the Earth, traveling destructively, until it collided with a Great Oak tree. The tree collapsed, defeated, the fall echoing through the land.

Lloyd let out a breath, his arms dropping back to his side. He rotated his body, the rain saturating his hair. "I had another dream!" he yelled over the storm, his voice angered. "I saw her again! I tried getting her to talk, but she didn't! She just wrote on my hand "not yet" and "Triet Ruins!" Lloyd's eyes hardened. "I know you think I'm lying about this entire thing, but… I woke up able to do... to do that! If that isn't magic then… Then… I don't freaking know!"

Ivy drew in another breath, his mind trying to recover over the shock. "Lloyd… did you just say… Triet… Ruins?"

"Yeah! What about it?"

Ozure stared back at the boy, his expression softened. "Come inside, Lloyd. I'll explain."

Lloyd followed the man into his cabin, sheathing his swords in the process. "Here," Ozure offered, putting in front of the boy a towel. Lloyd took it in his hands, ruffling his damp hair in the cloth. His entire satchel had been drenched as well, and Lloyd knew that wouldn't be good for the journey.

"Let me get something straight, before I speak," Ozure started, the ancient text hitting the table once more. "I do not believe in magic. Actually, I was go as far to say I do not think magic does exist in any means, even if the legends preach on mana and such!"

"I understand," Lloyd responded simply.

"Good." Ozure opened the book, flipping through the pages. "The place you mentioned, Triet Ruins, was supposedly a monument of sorts the Angels left before the departed on Derris Kharlen. It is said that if you go there, the "mana" levels will be escalated, the same as the mana levels that had been on the comet itself."

"Mana…" Lloyd repeated, his thoughts muddled. "Is it possible… This woman who is appearing in my dreams has been using magic, mana, in order to speak to me?"

Ozure shook his head. "Very unlikely, considering such foolishness does not exist."

"...Doc, where is this Triet Ruins?"

Ozure rose an eyebrow. "Why do you ask, my boy?"

"I can't explain it..." Lloyd stated, his tone confused. "But I think she wants me to go there. That girl. She showed it to me for a reason, I think."

"If she were using mana, then leading you to a place of concentrated mana..." Ozure muttered under his breath, not looking Lloyd in the eye. He placed a rolled up parchment on the desk. "Take this – it is a map I used when I traveled. It should help you in your own journey, to find the Triet Ruins."

Lloyd didn't pick up the map – instead, he just stared. "Doc Oz, I got an offer for you."

Ozure looked interested. "What is it?"

"Come with me, to the Triet Ruins. If you come with me, I'll prove to you that magic does exist."

Ozure's eyes glazed over, his mind traveling into deeper thoughts. "An interesting idea…" he stated. "Why should I come?"

"You may not act like it, but you're not entirely sure if magic exists. You want proof; you want the answer," Lloyd replied. "As a scientist, you have to find the answer to the big question. And if you come, then you might find out the answer."

Ozure crossed his arms, his eyebrows furrowing. His head cocked to the side, as his eyes looked up to the ceiling. "Okay then," Ozure nodded. "We're leaving at dawn, I suppose? Well then, I better pack!" Ozure stepped behind the counter, his face darkening. "It looks like Iselia is going to lose its best doctor, for a short term."

Alright, just getting this out here, Ozure is indeed an OC, but a very purposeful OC. There is going to be a reason behind his existence, other than the fact the authoress needed some loony for Lloyd to confide in. And... that's pretty much it. Hopefully, an update is to come soon in the future. :D