A/N : The author would like to apologize for any potential trauma you may suffer. Not beta'd.
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When I woke up in a cold sweat, I found myself back in the underwater temple. The familiar sensation of confinement enveloped me, intensifying threefold. It was as though I were a butterfly stripped of its wings, confined within a suffocating bottle, awaiting its demise. As a reflex, I clasped my hands around my arms, seeking warmth and protection.

Only then did I remember that I was in God's presence. "I-I apologize, 'I stuttered, "I didn't mean to.."

"It's fine." I had a feeling that they knew something, but chose to not tell me. "I want you to remember this feeling."

There was no way I wouldn't. I couldn't shake off the memory. A new scar that hadn't been there before appeared on my neck, or rather reappeared.

"Why did you show me that?" I demanded, though I knew it would only lead to more questions.

"Me? No, that was you. It was—" It looked like they wanted to say something else.

Their hesitant response hinted at a deeper truth, left unspoken.

Once again, their words remained cryptic, leaving me with more questions than answers. "I..? Did... that?" I couldn't contain my suspiciousness.

I looked up, the water was still a mirror, except there was no battle to be seen in it. "Why is-" I got cut off before I could finish my sentence. "Stop asking, and listen." Their voice sounded irritated, and much less patient.

"The additional request, do you remember it?", they started.

"I-" The look the eyes gave me, made me shut my mouth, making it clear that it was a rhetorical question.

They continued, with an impatient voice. "I don't have much time, so just listen. What I need you to search for, is an object of great importance." In the mirror, an item I had never seen before came into view. It looked old, rusty, and similar to a sword.

"I need you to bring this key to me as soon as possible, or else—"

Now that I looked better at it, it indeed seemed like a key.

"Or else what?"

One again, they didn't answer the question. The floating mouth twitched, seemingly irritated, it almost made me think that God was humanlike. "You should get going now. I've put the location of the key inside the sword."

Before I realized what was going on, the temple had disappeared, and I floated around on the bottom of the lake. Oh this fucke- My fear of God reading my mind interrupted my thought process.

Struggling against the weight of my body and the sword in my hand, I fought my way to the surface with every ounce of strength left in me. Gasping for air, I collapsed, throwing the sword and myself on the grass, the burden of weight lifted from my weary body. I was exhausted. Thank goodness I left my armour behind.

When I pulled myself out of the water, the stars greeted me. I coughed and spit some water out. It tasted like the sea. I lay on the grass, allowing the warmth of the sun to dry my body as I gazed up at the sky.

"So I'm supposed to find a key, for reasons I don't know, on a location I don't know either, as soon as possible, or I don't know what happens. Great."

I took the sword I had gotten out of the temple and tried to figure out where the location could be. It didn't seem to be engraved into it. "Maybe..."

I channeled some of my magic into the sword, and the image of the location materialized in my head.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me."

The key's location was all too familiar. I sighed. "It looks like I'll be meeting her earlier than planned."

"Next destination, the castle of Haedevili."

I had wanted to stay away from her as long as possible, but it seemed like I didn't really have a choice now.

I snapped my fingers, and whispered an incantation. A small fire appeared, soothing my worn-out body. The comforting warmth lulled me into a drowsy state, easing the tension in my muscles. I closed my eyes and gave myself over to the night.

The darkness tightly hugged me, refusing to let go. My mind was plagued by haunting illusions throughout the night. Meeting Maura and seeing a past battle must have had a big impact on me.

In my dream, I visited my parents. I hadn't visited them after returning, too scared for what could possibly happen. My hands were tied together with a magic binder, making me unable to escape. Before me, my parents kneeled.

The tapping of heels parried with a high-pitched voice from behind me, conveyed a cold order. "Do away with them."

Tremors shook my voice. "No! Please spare them! They've done nothing wrong!"

When she stood next to me, I could see her hiding a smile behind her fan.

"You animal."I screamed with horror, trying to break out of the chains. "They are your subjects! You're supposed to protect them, not kill them!"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "They crossed my path, they deserve to, no, it's their duty to die."

"You-!!!" I finally managed to break free. My hands grabbed for her beautiful, slim neck. "Stop." That one word was enough to freeze me in place. As I was her knight, I was bound to her every command.

Immediately, I got restrained by the guards protecting her. She stepped towards me and lifted my chin with her fan. "Don't worry, you'll follow them soon, once you've outlived your usefulness."

"For now..." She pondered for a while. "Yes, for now," She took something out of her pocket; a small red pill.

"Open your mouth." I grit my teeth, refusing to obey. I stared at her with a burning hate. She chuckled. "Resistance is futile," she stated with a chilling voice.

She dropped the pill on the ground. "Lick it up." I lost all control over my body, and before I knew, the pill was in my mouth. When I tried to stand back up, she pushed me back on the ground with her heel on my back. "Swallow it.", she commanded.

People said that being a knight was something to take pride in, but the last remaining pride I had was completely shattered. I was nothing more than a dog.

The taste of the red pill lingered on my tongue as my memories faded into darkness, paving the way for another nightmare to start, a cycle that repeated for what felt like eternity.

This time, it was a dream on the battlefield. It was my first battle, when I had just joined Her Highness' Order of Knights; the Tarak. I remembered looking up to Audrina, our commander. Her red hair camouflaged between all the blood, yet she wasn't unnoticeable. Like her name suggested, she was filled with courage and strength. Her leadership led us to countless victories.

Our enemy, Misodleom, had once again declared war on our kingdom. Up till that time, we had won more than we had lost. But with their new King, the tides had changed.

Our side kept being pushed back. Ultimately, after many deaths, we won the battle. At the cost of our commander's life. Her noble sacrifice secured our triumph. Killed by Caelius, she took her last breath.

Hours blurred together, each dream more haunting than the last, until finally, the warm embrace of the morning sunlight pulled me from the abyss.

I couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but my clammy hands told me more than enough. I cleansed the sweat in the cool water of the lake. After I put my armour back on, I sheathed the white sword and secured it on my waist.

"Alright, let's get out of here." With newfound determination, I challenged the forest again.