In a Dream

What met his eyes was an ancient stone altar covered in moss, with the traces of time etched deep into its surface. At the top of the altar, a beautiful figure stood looking down at him.

Starlight looked up, only to find that the figure's face was shrouded in a hazy mist, making it impossible to see her true appearance.

“You’ve come. I didn’t expect this day to arrive so soon,” the figure said softly. Her voice was beautiful and ethereal, as if drifting from a great distance.

The voice sounded incredibly familiar to Starlight, but no matter how hard he tried to recall it, he couldn't remember who she was.

“You were waiting for me? But who are you? ...Huh?”

Starlight climbed the ancient stone steps, keeping his eyes on the figure atop the altar. He noticed that as he drew closer, the mist surrounding her seemed to dissipate bit by bit.

The moment he stepped onto the top of the altar, the mist vanished completely. A young girl was watching him with lively blue eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Moen...? How could you... No, you’re not Moen... Who are you?”

Upon seeing the girl's face clearly, Starlight instinctively called out Moen's name. However, he quickly realized that although the girl before him had the exact same appearance and attire as Moen, she was definitely not the person he knew.

Her hair was a pale green, like the new leaves of early spring, and her voice was entirely different, carrying an ethereal and distant quality.

“So, in your eyes, this is what I look like right now? Hmm... Not bad. I’m quite satisfied!” The girl didn’t answer his question directly. Instead, she looked down at her outfit and chuckled softly with a hint of playfulness.

“So where exactly is this? And why did you bring me here?”

Starlight carefully observed the girl’s expressions and movements. Finding no hostility, he lowered his guard and asked curiously.

“What do you think? What kind of place could this be?” The girl didn't give a straight answer, tossing the question back at him.

“Is this my dream? Or...?” Starlight answered keenly.

Hearing Starlight's response, the green-haired “Moen” showed a satisfied smile. She skipped forward lightly, stopping right in front of Starlight, and tilted her head up to look him in the eye.

“Very good. You’ve guessed it almost perfectly. As expected of my... hmm... destined enemy of the Godslayer.” Her tone was teasing, yet it carried a deeper meaning.

At this moment, the two were very close—so close that Starlight could clearly feel the faint fragrance and warmth radiating from her.

Her breath brushed lightly against his cheek, making his heart race involuntarily. He instinctively took half a step back, his voice tinged with a trace of fluster. “Then... what is it you want to do?”

The girl saw his embarrassment and didn't press closer. Instead, she spun around gracefully, her skirt fluttering in the breeze.

She tilted her head and said with a beaming smile, “Didn’t you say this is your dream? Then wouldn't what I want to do just be your own thoughts?”

Starlight nodded thoughtfully. He then closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and began to chant silently in his heart.

“If this is a dream... change the location.”

However, when he opened his eyes again, the scenery before him remained unchanged.

“Hahahaha!” The girl let out a string of silvery laughter, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Were you trying to change the environment? Unfortunately, for now, you aren't capable of that!”

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore. After all, I don’t have much time left. You’d better listen carefully.”

The girl tucked away her playful smile, and her expression turned serious. She looked straight into Starlight’s eyes and said word by word, “Regarding that prophecy you heard, it is something that will definitely happen!”

“But how do you know? Who are you!” Starlight pressed urgently.

Before his words could even finish, the surrounding environment suddenly underwent a violent change.

The tree hollow they were in began to shake violently. Dust and broken wood fragments tumbled from above as if a massive earthquake had suddenly struck. Even the stone altar beneath his feet began to show signs of collapsing.

Starlight instinctively steadied himself and looked up at the girl, only to find her figure becoming increasingly blurry, as if she might dissipate at any moment within this crumbling space.

“Stop! Stop it!”

Starlight repeated the thought in his mind over and over, trying to seize control of the space. However, the massive tremors showed no sign of stopping; instead, they only grew more violent.

This was supposed to be his dream. He should have been able to stabilize the entire space as easily as he had created the flowers.

“Leave quickly! This tree hollow is about to collapse!”

After several failed attempts, Starlight didn't have time to think. He grabbed the girl’s fair, soft wrist and turned to lead her away from the disintegrating space.

However, the moment he gripped her wrist, a strange sensation came from his palm—it wasn't the texture of human skin at all, but felt like he was holding a rough rope.

He whipped his head back and discovered that the person he was leading was no longer the girl who looked like Moen, but a thick, dark green vine.

At the same time, the black elemental mark on his wrist suddenly flickered with a strange light, emitting a faint yet piercing glow.

Before Starlight could make sense of the situation, the vine connecting to the top of the cavern began to wither rapidly. The dark green surface lost its vitality before his eyes, turning grey and brittle.

What shocked him even more was that the moss and branches clinging to the altar also lost their color, turning into a deathly greyish-white, as if all the life in this space was being ruthlessly drained away by some force.

“Go back. As expected, a space generated by external force will be affected by it. It seems this meeting can only end here.”

A faint thought entered Starlight’s mind through the vine; it was the girl's voice. Her tone carried a hint of regret.

“Will we have a chance to meet again?! What will happen with that prophecy!”

Starlight shouted out in distress, but before his words could finish, it felt as though someone had given him a hard shove, and he plummeted from the high altar.

“We will, Starlight. You must remember... do not flee from destiny. The prophecy has already be...” The girl’s voice grew weaker and weaker until it finally vanished into the air.

Starlight fell uncontrollably. The world around him rapidly lost its color, finally turning into a mess of black and white lines, like a torn painting.

...

“Ah!!”

After falling for an unknown amount of time, Starlight bolted upright in bed, panting heavily with cold sweat drenching his forehead.

He sat there blankly for several seconds before realizing he was sitting on the soft leaf bed. Faint morning light spilled into the room through the window. In the next bed, Po Kong was still curled up, sleeping soundly.