-Mari-

Darkness consumed her field vision, which was strange… The only times that Mari ever experienced such an unusual lack of light were those rare times that she actually fell asleep. But that couldn’t possibly be the case, right? Mari? Sleeping? Ha. As if she would be caught doing such an appalling act when she still had umpteen course assignments and projects due. However, a voice resounded throughout her mind, startling the poor girl. Mari’s eyes snapped open immediately as she sat straight up. Dazed and confused, Mari brought her right hand to her head and closed her eyes. She felt as if she was spinning. What was going on? Since when did she fall asleep? Why couldn’t she remember falling asleep? Her mind was racing at a mile per minute. Panicking a bit internally, Mari took a deep breath and released it slowly in hopes of calming her rattled nerves. Wiggling her fingers and toes, she first tested to see if any part of her body was injured. Luckily, she seemed to be functioning fine; nothing seemed to be broken or aching. The only real problem at the moment was the notable gap in her memories. Frustrated, Mari balled her hands into fists. Only then did she take notice of the cool earth beneath her left hand. Even more perplexed now, Mari slowly removed her right hand from her face and opened her eyes. Lying in a spot of barren earth, Mari cautiously lifted her gaze to take in the rest of her surroundings.

Mari caught her breath as she analyzed her new setting. Everything seemed so foreign yet familiar. After a few moments though, Mari was able to place the odd feeling with its source. mountain plateau oddly resembled the exact same one from her recurring dreams. Did this mean that this was all just another dream? A really realistic dream? The girl readjusted her glasses and turned her head both to her left and her right. The only difference between this dream and her previous ones was that all of the people for the all-nighter get-together happened to be here too. This was a totally possible occurrence, though. It was a known fact that the mind incorporates objects, people, and ideals from your memories into your dreams; especially when you are sleep-deprived.

The glasses wearing girl only had a few minutes to contemplate such theories in her head, as suddenly one of the skulls began to speak. The skull commanded the attention of everyone in the group and introduced itself. One by one, the skulls that had been lying conspicuously around the edges of the plateau followed suit until finally the largest spoke. Its voice radiated with power and literally shook the world, causing Mari to clutch the ground as if her life depended on it. The poor girl was completely scarred. How could a dream be so real? Halfway listening to the remaining message spoken by the dragon spirits, Mari managed to pick up only the key details and instructions as she tried to organize her rampant thoughts.

As if she were in a trance, Mari rose from her spot moments after the conclusion of the skulls’ instructions and made her way over to the rack of eggs and weapons. Finding herself standing in front of a translucent egg with churning purple wisps, she subconsciously started to reach out to touch the egg. However, just before touching the egg’s cool surface, she caught herself. Mari hesitated for a moment. What was she doing? The girl stared at the egg intently for a few moments. There was something intriguing about it that the girl could not quite place. It was as if the egg was calling out to her, but that was impossible, right? Even if this was all just a dream. Still, Mari decided to reach out and graciously pick up the egg as she had no justifying reason not to. Clutching the egg gingerly in her hand, Mari moved to select her weapon. Searching for something simple and easy to wield, the girl’s eyes fell upon a sheen sword with its black sheath lain pristinely on the rack. Choosing the katana as her weapon, she made her way back to the center of the plateau as she looked around for familiar faces of close friends.