When I come to, I find myself surrounded by a familiar sky. Usually, such beautiful sight would let my mind be at ease, however, in this particular case, the first emotion that shakes my heart is fear. I am falling at an extremely fast pace, and my mind cannot afford to waste a moment to come up with a reason why my life suddenly has been put at risk. All I can do is try to grab a hold of that sky in a futile attempt to save my life. But it is useless, not even when I am this close to it, not even when I am literally submerged in it, can I claim it. It's only natural. From the very beginning, it was forged to represent freedom. [color=00aeef][i]"Ah... Hah..."[/i][/color] The presence of a mighty creature makes itself known. I can tell with just a single glance that its existence is something that is beyond human understanding. It looks like a dragon wrapped up in chains, but that's not what my very being registers it as. After all, had it been an actual dragon, I would have felt fascination, above all. However, even though it has yet to make an actual effort to scare me, all that those black wings seem to inspire is... Terror. [color=00aeef][i]"..."[/i][/color] Embracing my helplessness, I let it do as it wishes and communicate with me. Contrary to its monstrous visage, the words it utters do nothing but assure my own safety. The actual meaning behind them is hard to grasp, however, the firm conviction behind them convinces me that they cannot be anything but the absolute truth. ---What follows cannot be called anything but a trial. The 'dragon' asks me how far I am willing to go for my selfish dreams, whether I am willing to step on the corpses of others to achieve them or whether I can sacrifice my ideal for someone else's well-being. I guess it would be normal to feel intimidated by the weight behind that question, but... For some reason, I can only feel my blood boil. [color=00aeef][i]"I do not believe bonds to be burden. On the contrary, I would have never gotten this far without them."[/i][/color] Mother and father. ... And my crew. Even if in the end I was left behind, I don't hold anything against them. [color=00aeef][i]"Should I ever think that way, I am sure one of them will hit me. Our bonds are not something that can be looked down on. It cannot be untied."[/i][/color] I make a picture of them in my head. Before I know it, I am sharing my sincere thoughts with the 'dragon'. [color=00aeef][i]"But... Should we have to walk our separate ways... I'd like it to be on good terms... So we can all feel satisfied."[/i][/color] The supreme being listens intently. Not once does it try to interrupt me or defy my logic. I instinctively understand that it is not its purpose to do so. That said, once I allow silence to return to the skies, it mercilessly breaks it with another question, one more confusing than the last. I guess what it wants to know if I am willing to become some sort of hero, or rather, a tragic hero, a martyr, seeing as it mentions that 'I've failed before my real journey has even begun'. To be honest, I do not really know what to answer to that. Unlike the last question, this one actually manages to leave me speechless. I am not trying to conceal anything, and I do not feel confident enough to defy its logic. I just... [color=00aeef][i]"I... Don't know."[/i][/color] But it won't be satisfied with just that. Before I can recover, it delivers another blow in the form of a third question. What is the force that drives me? What is the strength that will keep me moving forward even when tragedy may be inevitable? To that... [color=00aeef][i]"I want to leave a mark, a proof that I've lived my life to the fullest."[/i][/color] Just like mother and father have. And, more than anything, I want someone to find that 'proof'. So that, maybe, that person will feel the same as I. In response, the beast does not merely acknowledge me, it breaks free from its bindings and unleashes a binding flash of light, intense enough to cover the entire sky. Ah, this is bad, at this rate, I will... ------- [color=00aeef] [i]"Hnng..."[/i][/color] When I open my eyes once more, I am welcomed by the foul smell and dark surroundings of my cell, located at the inescapable prison, Ziggurat. For me to have such a fantastical dream, sleep deprivation must have really gotten the better of me. But I guess it was par for the course... After all, we've been working on a plan to finally find freedom. I am not the kind of person who would spend all my chips on a reckless plan with little chances of success, especially if the cost for failure is most likely [i]death[/i], but I have reached the conclusion that my demise will be inevitable if I continue to wait here, arms crossed. A fair amount of inmates mistook me for a Harvin -even when I share my cell with an actual Harvin!- and before I knew it, I was part of a scheme to break out of Ziggurat. I would have liked to plan things more carefully, but time is not something we can stop. Today's the chance of a lifetime and we cannot afford to let it go to waste. ---It cannot be helped, today we might have to fight for our lives. Gilvan is the one to make the first move. With a body of a child and my magic unavailable, there isn't really much I can do, so I decide to observe instead. Assuming the plan worked and the cell was unlocked by the force behind the impact, it would be reckless to simply run outside. It is likely the guard will notice the sudden noise and make a 180 degree turn to check. In that case, we have a higher chance to neutralize him the moment he gets close to the cell. Granted, should he fail to register what's going on, we also know what we have to do...