The next thing I knew, I was in a field of golden rice. I wasn't wearing any clothes.
"!"
Somehow, although it was startling, I didn't feel too embarrassed. I didn't see any other people around at first—but I thought, as though in a dream, that it wasn't a problem even if other people saw me naked.
Besides, I didn't look naked the way I usually do. I was smooth. Like a doll.
Yeah. This has to be a dream. There's nowhere in Levianta that looks like this, and I know I was just in the Levia-Behemo Temple a few moments ago.
I thought as much even when I saw someone else coming towards me, dressed in humble clothes that were a make I didn't recognize.
"!" He was coming closer. "Excuse me..." I took steps back.
"Look." He held out a hand, and in a flash of light I saw him summon a long rod-like object. A spring onion, like some of the ones Kiril had to refresh every so often. Was he a mage? A dream based mage for my surreal rice field dream?
With the green onion, the man took another step forward and I took a step back. He seemed somewhat suspicious, with long black hair tied loosely in the back and dark angry eyes. "I'm looking..."
"Take it."
He was close enough now that I could see for sure that he had a very stern expression on his face. I was a little frightened. All the same, I also had the feeling that I've seen this mage before.
But as to where, I didn't have any idea.
"...What am I supposed to do with it?" I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest and looking down at my bare feet.
"Just take it."
"No, thank you."
As I looked up, his stern face became even sterner and I felt even more afraid. He came forward until there wasn't much distance between us and put the spring onion right in my face, so that I'd have to take it if I wanted to see anything. Taking a step back didn't occur to me until I already had it in my hands.
"Look, I'm sick of this. Held is sick of this. Even those two, who keep losing and achieving freedom, are getting sick of it. Well, or so I'd assume..."
Did he say Held?
What is he even talking about?
"If you want things to change, and to get out of this boring repetition, then use this spring onion when you next wake up. A friend of mine will call for you, and everything will be explained," said the mage with the harsh face.
This dream was…starting to feel like it was more than a dream. With that, I was starting to feel chills run up my spine and I held the spring onion tighter in my hands. "Who are you?" I mumbled.
He paused. "I am...a sorcerer, who specializes in time."
A sorcerer specializing in time?
Still, I was hesitant to trust him. Especially if he's not just a mage for me to talk to in my dream. I took a step back. "I don't want to be associated with anyone who's an associate of Held," I said.
"I'm not an associate of Held," he said. "...I was just making an expression before."
"I somehow doubt this is true."
To this, he sighed and looked off behind me; when I turned, I didn't see anything there except for more rice fields. Then he began to speak, although it was quiet and to himself. "I take the time to bring you here myself and I get brought up short because of this?"
My stomach suddenly felt cold. "What do you mean you brought me here? This is a dream isn't it?"
He laughed, but his smile didn't reach his eyes, "Is that what you think this is?"
"...If it's not, where am I? And...what did you do with my clothes? And where's Irina? We came into the temple together...!"
Brief memories were coming back to me as I held that spring onion...
In front of me, the sorcerer specializing in "time" was looking at me, "I'm sure that if you think about it, you'll remember why you're here."
That's right. I had memories...
Memories of falling to the ground and my body growing cold.
Memories I didn't like.
But, that wasn't the only memory I had. And that was what didn't make sense, what made me want to just forget about it altogether.
I looked back up at him and saw his eyes staring straight through me. I started to tremble all over.
And then the rice field began to melt away. While that was happening, I watched the mage sigh again. His face suddenly looked incredibly exhausted, and I fell away from him in the next moment.
Slowly, I fell far from the rice fields and everything turned white.
I held on tight to the spring onion.