Perchance To Dream

Morning.

Just as the sky lit up, while the whole of Zin-Azshari was still hidden in the darkness before dawn.

Zin-Azshari, the gem of the elven empire.

*Flash!*

A young lowborn elf reacted instinctively jumped from his bed and put his clothes on in a single breath. At this time, most of the disciples and even some of the servants still slept.

This young boy appeared to be around 13 to 14 years of age with a slim body and a childish face. He wasn't particularly handsome compared to the normal standards, but he was still good-looking. Especially his eyes, they were clear and full of spirit.

"Just a bit longer and I can finally obtain the next rank, then I'll have all those other disciples shut up."

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This youngster's name was ɭ̸̙̙̘͚̟̯̲̹͔̮̯̃̓̓́͌̀̄̈́͊̒͊͝๏̶̡̢͎̫̺̭͍͍̺͔͉͉̔̂г̶̗̭̼̺̩͔̍̒̂̿̊͂̄̅̄̉͘̕͠є̵͎̜͇̼͈͍͍͙̯̖̾̽ק̶̙̮̻̠̜̺̖̦̦̰̮̈̐̎͆͜͝ђ̵̡̛͖̂̈́̿̊͆̌͛̍̉͐̚͜͝͠͠є̴̛͙̲́͋̋̈́͐̈́̎̚̕̕͝ย̴̢̺̖͕̅ร̷̻̬̙̝̖͈̺̹̜̔͒͛̑̍̓͑̀͠.

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Half a year ago, he came from his home village to Zin-Azshari by relying on his superb performance. He was considered a genius for his age and was the first to be accepted as a disciple in the Nar'thalas Academy, renowned for their magical teachings. From then on, he left his normal life and stepped into the path of magic.

At that time, every old person in his village praised him for his talent, saying his future could not be measured. His mother, especially, had high hopes for him.

However, only he knew how much more effort he put in compared to his peers, allowing him to be considered a genius.

That perspective changed after realizing that he was just another frog at the bottom of a well.

In terms of population, his village had around 100 people, with only 7-8 people in his age group. At the academy, there were tens of thousands of people and they controlled large portions of land, mines, and resources. Compared to his village, the comparison is over 100 times larger!!!

He was unfortunately considered to be one of the lowest ranks as there were many youths his age similar to his skills. There were even some who were talented and have achieved ranks higher than him. And according to rumors, some of the youths from renowned highborn families and backgrounds have achieved adept mastery in their class.

Confronted with this reality, he started to realize that he was nothing compared to them. He was innocently ignorant and small in comparison. From then on, he became more and more desperate and put more effort into his training after feeling despair.

He made an oath: that he would take a spot at the top of the academy. Especially since his mother gained some fame and respect after he was accepted.

This elevated class in society was supposed to be the beginning of their changed life but now he only felt ashamed because of his performance. He might also disappoint those of the older generation in his village who helped support his family since his father died before he was born.

After completing his daily routine and studies, the child returned to his home.

"I am back."

A gentle and calm woman walked out. It was his mother.

"Son, come quick and have some food!" The woman knew her son's daily habits as she brought out some food from the kitchen with a caring look on her face. Every time he came home, he was able to feel the warmth and love from her.

"Thanks, mom… this tastes good!" He mumbled through his mouth which was full of food. When they ate, they both said nothing, as if there was something heavy on their minds.

"Mother, what are you…" he saw that his mother had a solemn expression and looked as if she had something to say.

She sighed before saying, "Son, not long ago, the academy sent some people over with a letter."

"The academy sent someone?" The child didn't understand. Only on rare occasions would they send a letter to their disciples.

She had a solemn expression and answered, "The academy made some new rules. If a disciple is unable to achieve the 2nd rank at the end of the year, they will have some privileges revoked. If, before the age of fifteen, they cannot reach the 3rd rank, they will be expelled."

"WHAT?!"

The child's heart sank and his face changed dramatically.

The privileges to resources and study materials was a chance to turn into a dragon from a fish for disciples. If they lost these, it was considered the same as being thrown away! And the rule made his heart cold.

"No, no, this cannot be…" the child's voice was soft, and both his hands clenched together. He and his mother wouldn't have the face to be sent back to the village and return to poverty. Without the support, they would have no future to live a decent life.

"This rule is only set towards the lowborn disciples." His mother had a look of dissatisfaction on her face.

"Mother, it is okay. I will train even harder and reach the next rank before the end of the school year." He said while clenching his teeth but he could not hide his trembling anxiety.

His mother shook her head before saying, "There are still two months left of the school year and you need to register a month earlier to take the exam. To break through to the next rank in a month's time is no easy feat."

His eyes dimmed as he fell into darkness.

If there were 2 months left, and he doubled his efforts, there was a 20-30 percent chance of success. To breakthrough in a month, however, he didn't have any confidence at all!

Silence filled the air for a long time until his mother wiped the corner of her eyes as she spoke softly, "Son, it doesn't matter if you fail. You still made me proud." She slowly approached the child and embraced him in her arms before she continued, "The most that will happen to us is that we'll still have each other even if we return to the village."

Return to the village?

"No!"

He withdrew furiously and shook his head, "I am not going back to the village to lead that impoverished life!"

He once swore an oath. To perform well to earn a spot in the high ranks of society so he could own his own land that would support their lives. His heart yearned towards the archmage rank and the land that lies near the capital of the elven empire.

The child restrained himself from crying, screamed, and ran out of the house.

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"ɭ̸̙̙̘͚̟̯̲̹͔̮̯̃̓̓́͌̀̄̈́͊̒͊͝๏̶̡̢͎̫̺̭͍͍̺͔͉͉̔̂г̶̗̭̼̺̩͔̍̒̂̿̊͂̄̅̄̉͘̕͠є̵͎̜͇̼͈͍͍͙̯̖̾̽, don't be stubborn!" His mother called out.

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*BOOM!*

Suddenly, thunder and lightning howled in the sky as it started raining outside. The child kept the despair in his heart, howled back at the sky, and rain into the rain. At this time, the lightning shone everywhere, making his face light up.

"Oh no!"

He realized that this storm was unlike anything he experienced as he felt a pressure bearing towards him and so, he looked up in shock at what he saw. From birth, he had never seen such lightning closely packed together like a spider's web. At that short moment, the lightning above seemed to be powerful enough to cause space to crack.

*Sheeeeeeewwwwww!*

Emerald streak came from outer space. It passed through the lightning and caused beautiful ripples to appear that seemed like a dream. It was impossible to imagine what that "streak" was, it was even able to ignore the power of lightning. Suddenly, one of these streaks changed trajectory and slowed its descent as it landed nearby. There was no sound of impact as the world suddenly went dead silent and returned to a sunny sky once more.

With great curiosity, the child followed the direction of where this phenomenon touched down only to find a shimmering mask that almost made it seem like it had life, giving off a thumping sound as it "stared" at him in the eyes.

One would assume that it portrayed death as it was carved to shape a skull of a demonic creature. Or was a skull of a creature used for this material, who can say? What is seen now, however, is how the mask seemed to thump in sync with his own heart, giving him a familiar feeling. As if he felt some kind of summoning.

"This is… is this mask alive?" He held his breath, ready for any signs of danger. However, before he could move, several voices were suddenly heard from behind.

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"̸̧̬͈͖̜̫̗̒̆̂͋̑̈̃͜K̷̨̢̧̛̛͇̜̭̝̬̱̯̈̈́̃͑̾̓͗e̴̠̒̅͐̍͛́́̚͜k̴̞͍̙̫͔̪͔̖̗͊̐̅̀̈́̓̓̉͑͑̀͘̚͠,̸̡̛͓̰̖̰̂͂͊̈͐̇̅̓͝͝ ̵̛̛̜͈͖̅̓̓̀̅͐̀̌̈́͒͘̕k̴͕̻̦̬̙̍̄͗̈́e̶̳̫͈̅̇̃͗̕̕k̸͇͍̙̞̙̻̣͙͔̦͖̰͆̏͒̿̍̀̾͝,̵̜͉̱̌͐͐̐̈̚͝͠ͅ ̸̨̨̮̱̰̰͇͇̜̝͚̽͜ͅͅk̷̡̨̛̝̰͍̘̺͖̲̼̄̈́̿͗͗̿̋̽̆̾̕͘͠ę̴͈́͒̃ͅk̵͍̮̦̜͋!̸̧̡̡̘̰̪̞͔̲̦͌̉̑̎̀̋̍ ̵̡͔͇̺̙̃͋̌͒̓̈͑̅̕̕͠Ṭ̸͖̇͗̔͐̂̅́̌̿̏͑̒͜͝h̶̛͈̲͓͎̙͔̦̱͕͇̔̾̆̈̄͊̃͛͝͠Ṙ̷̪̳͉̰̎̔̔͌̀͋̈̅̚o̵͎͂̅̍̌̄̿̄̈͆̽̚Ủ̸̝͓͖̗͍̙̣̣̙̥̔͜͝Ĝ̶̡̡͓͙̮͖͈̤͓̯̘͕͝ḩ̶͇̻̹͉̯̯͔͎͎̠̰̌̓̀͒̇́̅̚͠ͅ ̴̢̨̣͕̼͔͚̟̠̥̐́̓̚Y̷̲͖̺̌͆͑̈́O̴͖͖̖͉͎̖̩̺͇͓̊͑̅͒͌͐̀͘͠ȕ̶̡͚̺̰̻̪̖̥̟̦̠̭̋́̂͌,̸͙̘͉̫̼̪̟͔̒̀̀̈͗ ̵͉̼̗̰͇̬͆̎͊͐̏w̸̛̙̫̗͖͎̳̤̖̫̜̳͔̍͐́̔̏͛̚E̴̹͖̊́̽͘ ̸̢̱̩̐̽̀̃̕͜͜a̸̟͈̓̍͌̒̉̄̀͊̂͛̎͜Ȓ̵̝͔͔̹̱̭͕́̊͐̆͛̕̕͝͠ȩ̸̢̫͈̤͓̮̺̼̻̳͎̉̈́̆̿̈́̀̊ ̵̨̧̢͚̠̬͚̾͆̎́̅͜͝R̶̤͎̣͔̘̫̟͙̟̱̭̟̀͜͝E̸͇̻̅̾̈́̈́͜b̴̨̥̫̠͎͕̰͉͇͊̓̍̓̈̋̐́̈́́͜ͅo̵̧̨̜̦͂̃̈́̋͠R̴̰̩͕̹͙͋̐N̵̛̹̟̈́̋͒͗̒̈́̈́̌̀͋̇͝͝.̷̝̘͋̈́̏̔̓̅͊̓̒̓̾͝"̸̡̲̜͖̻̇̈́̄͜ ̴̨̡̼͈̮̈́

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*Swish!*

The life-like mask before him turned into an afterimage as it shot into his face.

"AGGHHHHH! MY EYES!!!" the child screamed and fainted.

Before he fainted, he only had one thought. "I'm screwed, I've been blinded!"

Not knowing how much time had passed, he started to regain his consciousness, but he was unable to feel his body. The only sensation he felt was the pain coming from his eyes.

The child turned cold and suddenly remembered what happened. Before he fainted, the weird mask suddenly attached itself to his face and blinded him. When he remembered what recently happened to him, he had the urge to cry.

*Badum! Badum! Badum!*

There was a sound similar to that of a heartbeat giving off that familiar and kindred feeling, resonation from the eyes that were punctured. And at that moment, his consciousness merged with his eyes.

*Boom!*

His brain suddenly shook and his consciousness went into a pitch-black dimension.

"This place is…"

The sudden event made his body go numb, his hair turned black, and thunder rang in his ears nonstop. He had fear for the unknown and seeing such a weird place was completely outside of his knowledge only heightened this feeling. His consciousness was attracted by the faint green light given off from the center of the pitch-black place.

That faint green light seemed so mysterious and infinitely deep. It slowly spun, as if it had survived from ancient times till now, giving people both a feeling of eternity. The child was fully captivated and mesmerized that he could not look away. Not until the sky turned old and a mysterious voice spoke.

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Ṭ̶̨̢̡̩̘̭̹͍͕̭̳͂͌̀̍̃͒́̇̾̕ḩ̷͎͍̆̀̅͊̐̒̉̂̀͂͘e̶̯͕̻͕̟̦̠̩̞̟͊͗ ̴̻̮͎͚̥̼̹̤̙̍̄͑̊͗͑̈̐̚͠S̵̛̯̗̞̩͙̯̬̩̙͓͓͕̀̉́̄͋̂̀̊ͅḛ̷̙͍̑̎̑̋̌̈͑́͘̚r̶̨̔̑̌́̓̑̽͆͒̀̾̒͘ṕ̷̲̆̊͋̾̅͌͋ͅȅ̴̜͚͈̻̜̠̲̇̓̑̎͠n̵̢͈͆t̶̡̲̲̲̜͚̼̭̹̺̥̱͉̐̏̓͗̃ ̸̡̨͇̹̠̟͙̮̘͚̙̮̱́͒̀̏̅̄͜c̷̨̛͖͉͈̫̬̘̘͇̈́͑̌͑̃͐͋̕̚͜ͅơ̷̛͈̑̉̈̊͋͊͊͆ņ̷̡̖͕͕̲͓̩̪̝͈̿͋͗̃́̊̈̚͜͠s̷̬̦̬͖͙͓͈͒ủ̶̙̼̘̠̹̖̏͊̾͛̈́̑͆́m̶̙̯͆̋̽̕͠e̶̛̟̋̂̌͂̌͗̄̄͑̈́̓͗̈s̷̢͔̱̥̰̘̯̗̲̎̂̒̌͆̀͌̄̑̇͠ ̸̺̱̪̗͇̈̊̃͑͠į̸̧̮͖̫̳̖͇̜̗̥͙͊̏̑̀̾͠t̸͉͉̃̒̓̔̿̾̐́͌͗̈́̚š̶̟̲̪̼͖̞̹̮͖͇̿̔́͂͝͝ ̴̜͖̪̞̹͖̫͎̳̗̓̐͆̌͌̇͆̌̑̑̚͠ṫ̴͇̟͕̙̉͠a̶̡̡̩̮͇͎̖͔̘̗̭͊͒̆̈͌̋̓͘ͅi̴͚̦͕̙̠̻͉̿͆̓͒̈́͘ļ̵̨̜͙̮̜̤̹͖̻̝̬̉́̅̎̽̄̌͂͐̀͠,̷̲̽̈́̄͊͝ ̸̞̜̙̜̏̓̑̊̉́̾̉̄̕͝͝ͅs̸̻̗͚̞̥̠̟̠͐̈́͜͜ͅi̵̛̞̐̈́́̅͗̕ẋ̶̡̪͙̲̤͒͗͛͝ ̴̻̞͕͕̐͊̒̃̏̕̚ś̴̤͛̍͝ẗ̷̨̛̘̯̟̟̘͇́̋͐̔̄̓̎̄̈́̏͗̕ę̵̳̰̦͍͙̹̉́͒͠p̷̛̞̯̱̋̐̒̾͗͠s̴̨͎̼̙̈ ̵̟̈́̆͒̎̈ä̶̛͕̟̣̦̖̹͙̲̹̼̰̞̩́̽͂͌͛̈̾̎̀̕͜͝͝͝n̶͕̩͙͍̟̹͙̜̟͋̌̓̈́͐̏͂̃́̽͛͝d̸̘̦̱̣̗̪̺̜̳̺̈́̏̐̀̌̀̆̾̾͑̈́͝ ̵̨̛͎͈͈͎͓̬͇̠̫̖̖̃̈́͗̈́̌͊̿͂͜t̷͎͊́͜h̸͉̼̲͂̾̈́̀ȩ̴̧̧̞͖̱̯̞͖̪̿͌̿̈͑̃̋̏̀͛͑͠͠ ̶͔̊D̷̡̧͙͚̗͈̫̰̥̟͓͇̘̒̓̐̿̈́̊̀̃͐͘͠͝ͅŗ̸͍̦̹͉̖̦̟̹̈́̔̑a̸̧̻̖͈͙̲̜̲̠͉̺͛̓̈́̈́̇̔̾́̄̑̈́̕̕ͅͅg̷̤͉̖̰̅̐͐̾͆̋͋̒͌̇͘o̶̯̻̗̯̜̓̐ň̵̨̢̨̫̮͙̞̘̹͔̜̥̩̕ͅ ̵͍̙͎̤͍̤̭̫͚̝̙͙̒̿̈̉͋̌͗͗͗̑f̸̨̛̖͚̯̘̼͊̃͘ä̴̛̱́̄̅̂ļ̷̦̯̫̼̦̻̘̽̂̆͝l̵̢̼͓̜̭̮̱͙͓̩̔͒̈́͌͆̉̈́̒̈́̚͘̚͝ͅŝ̶̨̧̞͎̥̰̞̩̏̉͆̓̓̉̅͛́͊̐͋͝…̴̡̧͕͍̞̭̜̩͉̻̞̀̒͑͊͂̚͝"̶̱̻͖̙͍̓̆̿͌̽͂̐͐̎̽̚̚

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The sigh that came with the words seemed ancient and sad, it reverberated within the pitch-black area, as if it also came from a separate dimension. As if it came from space itself.

"Who's there!?"

His consciousness swayed and his whole body turned cold in fright. He surveyed the area but could not see anyone. The voice seemed to come from an ancient space itself.

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T̷̡͎͍̓h̵̠̩͊e̶̢̟̳̋r̸̨͙͙̉͑e̷͉͕̜̐͛ ̷̞̲̈̐͠i̸͍̒s̴͇̯̙̃̏ ̵̠̂̈́͌͜a̴̘͍̱̐͋͑ ̵͙̳̍͘̕ş̷̡̲̓o̸̥̔̓͛ủ̸̦̆͊l̴̛̬͊̑ ̵̝̂͆i̸̤̱̿̔n̴̪̈͑̎ ̶̫̝͇̈̈́̏t̷̟̀́̂h̶͍̉́͆e̷͕̞̯͂͝ ̶̨̒͆͛͜ų̷̣͆n̸͇̭̤͂̈́i̷͙͔̫͛͗v̵̹͐ê̶̪̞̼̔r̴͉̈͘s̶̗̥̄̚̕ḙ̴̘́͠ ̵͈̣͆͆t̴̢͕̠̑͌͐h̴̳̀a̷̯͛̒t̸͇̂͂͘ ̸͙̳̦̀̀i̸͔͌s̸̳̎̔͘ ̶̼̚i̶͚̤͕̇̾̽n̵̎̌̅ͅ ̴̫̜͝s̵̬̈́̃y̴̻͘n̶̰̹̋̓c̷̨̨̝̐̍͂ ̴̗̗͈̊̈́ẁ̵͙̍͊i̸͍͙̓͒t̶͕͔́́͌h̶̰̖̲́͆̏ ̸̦̈́͊̕m̶̡̡̗̊͝ỉ̶̪͠n̸̮̉̚̚ẽ̷̺̤͈?̵̱̹͉͌͑͠ ̷̘͇̐I̷̩͎̬͌̈́s̷͎̙̅̒ ̵̟̭̓̈́͑͜ẗ̵̼̯̩́ẖ̷̹͕̔̐i̴̧̠̓̌͜s̶̳͒͂ͅ ̶̹̐d̴͍̩̤̄é̵̝͎̒̚s̶̛̖̦̾t̶̫̗̍ī̴ͅṇ̴͒̎ÿ̷̥͉̳́?̴͈̿̓"̵̜͑̒ ̴̼̍̎̽͜

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The mysterious voice said to itself.

"Who's there sneaking around!?" The child attempted to suppress his fears as he shouted.

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"̴T̴o̴ ̴c̴o̵n̶t̴i̴n̴u̸e̴ ̵m̴y̷ ̸b̷l̶o̶o̷d̶l̸i̶n̵e̶,̸ ̸y̴o̴u̶ ̷w̷i̵l̵l̵ ̷s̶e̸e̸ ̴e̷v̴e̷r̶y̵t̸h̷i̶n̴g̸,̴ ̷u̷n̴d̴e̴r̴s̴t̶a̷n̶d̸ ̷e̸v̸e̴r̷y̴o̸n̴e̶.̶ ̷Y̵o̷u̴ ̵l̷u̵c̷k̸y̵ ̷y̸o̵u̸n̸g̷s̸t̸e̸r̶,̸ ̴d̴o̸ ̸n̶o̶t̷ ̴d̴i̸s̵a̸p̵p̵o̸i̴n̸t̴ ̵m̵e̵.̵"̶

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The pitch-black area suddenly poured out an ancient consciousness showing visions of the Cosmic War. He drew a long breath, but before he could ponder on what he experienced, a painful feeling returned from his eyes once more.

***

From within his room, the burning light came through his window, awakening him from his slumber.

"Ahhhhh… my eyes!"

He screamed and clutched his eyes as they burned with pain. Flashes of obscure scenes were projected into his mind combined with their emotional attachments to each of them. Like a reader skimming through a book, while having its entire contents thrown at their face, the speed of the information was being drilled into his entire being.

Yet, how one experiences time is all based on perspective. What was a lifetime for him, was only a matter of a few seconds in reality. At this time, he suddenly woke back up finding himself laying on his bed in his room. Realizing the present time, what he just experienced was something akin to a dream, or memory, as his head was swarming with an indescribable sensation.

What he realized were two things: No longer was he in the body of a mortal nor demon, but something in between. With a new name and identity.

Zevrad Stargazer.