Chapter 3: The encounter

- "Where am I?" asked Darian.

Around him was a room with white walls he could not reach. In fact, not a single wall, floor, or ceiling was reachable for him. His gaze would only show him pure whiteness.

- "OHHH" he screamed.

He was only answered by a deafening silence. He was floating in the air; instead, he could not feel any physical contact other than the clothes on his skin. This made the young man frustrated to the highest degree. He wanted to see his mother, to know whether Ivan had gotten the gun in his pocket, and much more. But he would get almost no sensory response, no matter how much he moved or screamed.

- "What kind of torture is that? Why are you even doing this to me without asking anything first? Where is my family?" He asked.

Darian was helpless. After what seemed like many hours to him. He, who usually hides his emotions and preaches that a man should never cry, started crying. The loneliness and the ignorance he was forced into were too much for the young man to handle.

After another extended period, during which he accepted his fate. He started to dive into despair.

- "I beg you to kill me. Please. I cannot take this anymore." He said.

- "I am not going to kill you. You are safe here." Answered a soft voice coming from every direction.
- "Who are you?" Asked Darian.
- "My name is Hypernova."
- "Hypernova? Uhh... Where am I, and why did you kidnap us?"
- "I did not kidnap you, Darian. I did not kidnap anyone. We are in your dream." Answered the voice calmly.

Darian did not really know what to answer to that. He stayed in silence for a bit.

- "So, Darian, could you help me, please ?" Asked Hypernova.
- "Help you with what? If we are in my dream, you are just a projection of myself. Helping you probably means helping myself." Answered Darian coldly.

Hypernova laughed softly.

- "You seem to know a lot about dreams. I assure you that you can help me. I am not you, Darian. And, even if I can not appear before you this time, I want you to trust me."
- "Trust you with what? Can you stop your nonsense? I really want to wake up now."
- "Darian, I will be brief and clear." Said the voice in a colder voice than before. "A few hours ago. You found me lying unconscious in a field near your house. I was forced into that sleep, and I will not be able to wake up alone. I need your help. I beg you to help me."


Again, Darian could not find words to express his feelings for a few seconds.

- "What is wrong with me?" Asked the young man out loud.
- "Nothing is wrong with you. I am only traveling in your dreams to speak to you." Answered Hypernova.
- "I want to wake up." Said Darian.

The whole world he was in started shaking.

- "Wait! Darian, calm down. Stay with me for a bit. I have other things to explain." Said Hypernova trying to convince Darian.
- "I want to see my friend Ivan and my mother. I want to wake up." He repeated. He understood that his intent to wake up was slowly getting him out of his slumber.
- "Darian, I am not a projection of your mind. Do not trust the people you will meet today. And come back to me as soon as you can. I beg you." Replied Hypernova.

Darian slowly woke up on a bed in a small, ordinary room with a closed door. He apparently had a window facing south, and from the sun's position, he was either asleep for something like a few hours or a day and a few hours. His clothes had been changed to fancier ones. He was wearing a spotless white shirt made of a very soft fabric that the farm boy had never felt before, along with dark blue suit pants and shining white socks. After standing up, he understood that he was probably sleeping for more than a few hours. He sat for a time to recover from the emotions and get out of the sleep he was put in.

After a few minutes, he tried to open the door, and to his surprise, it opened. A man in a dark blue uniform with a white cape greeted him, surprised that Darian was awake:
- "Hello, dear guest. May I help you?"

The man was slightly taller than Darian and bulkier. He wore a well-trimmed short blond beard and long blond hair in a perfect ponytail. He had a face that would make you think of a kind school teacher. But, simultaneously, his body and aura made Darian understand that he was a fighter, probably a soldier. His presence somehow overwhelmed Darian, even without trying to impress. Darian answered:
- "Uhm, where are we?"
- "I am not allowed to answer this question." Replied the man, who was now confirmed to be a guard in the eyes of Darian.
- "Where is my family?" Questioned Darian.
- "They are in other rooms like this one, in this very building. I, myself, do not know where exactly. - However, I can tell my master that you have awoken, and you will have a meeting with him earlier than planned."

Darian thought the man was simply declaring the next steps of the day. So they stared at each other for a moment before the young man understood this was a proposition. He straightened himself and answered as politely as he could :

- "I would like to meet your master. Please."
- "Very well, then you may follow me." Said the guard.
- "What is your na-? How may I refer to you?" Asked Darian timidly.

The guard laughed softly, noticing that the boy was trying his best, and said:
- "You can refer to me as Edgar."

While walking, Darian noticed a weird shape on Edgar's back that made his long cape make funny motions. Edgar carried an X-shaped object with an extra vertical piece in the middle. The farm boy did not dare to ask anything. Also, Darian was absorbed by the sight of the beautiful pieces of furniture he was seeing. The mansion he was in was probably worth more than any money his brain could conceive. Works of art were on the walls every 5 meters, and the corridor was wide and abnormally long. The closed doors appeared to be brand new and without a single defect.

After walking for a few minutes, Edgar stopped in front of a door on their right. He asked Darian to wait for him and knocked on the door before entering without waiting for an answer. After a moment, he returned and signaled to Darian that he could enter.

The room was vast and empty. The ceiling was very high, probably the size of two or three handball fields. Three other people dressed like Edgar were on the sides of the room, two on the right and one on the left. Everything felt very far away for Darian, but at the same time, it felt like the slightest sound could be heard through all this space. At the other end of the room, some stairs led to an empty throne. The throne was made out of wood only and looked more like an antique decoration than an actual place for a king.


- "So, where is your master?" Asked Darian.
- "Wait in silence." Answered coldly, one of the men dressed like Edgar.
- "It is fine. He's a guest." Said Edgar.

Darian was clenching his fists, and his patience started running thin. But before he could speak again, a door opened in the furthermost right corner of the room. Entered shortly after, an old man with only a left arm and a girl in her early twenties dressed in a dark blue and red dress.

First, the old man was almost bald and had a proud mustache. His uniform was definitely that of a warrior, but it also inspired wealth and authority. His old but well-conserved body could be guessed through this dark blue sleeveless top. This top was definitely made for him, as his right shoulder was covered in fabric with no signs of patching. A light green pattern representing a dragon's head was visible on his chest. He was carrying a sword in his belt on the left. This man, without a doubt, had the presence of a king.

Second, the girl was tall and thin. Her hair was wet, as if she was just out of the shower. It had a light brown color with some golden hair here and there. She had big watery green eyes and a nose more significant than average, making her face unique and recognizable. Her dress was in two parts, a top, and a long skirt. The top was very similar to the old man's, sleeveless and of excellent design. The dress had the exact same dragon's head as the old man's top but in a blood-red color.

The girl was a beauty, but Darian did not spend much time looking at her since a few seconds after their appearance, the 4 men looked at the ground and put their right knees down. This event distracted Darian, who did not know how to act.

When he raised his head again to look at the two new persons, his dark eyes met with the old man's dark blue eyes. This moment will forever stay engraved in Darian's mind and body. He felt the overwhelming difference between them. Darian needed help explaining what he experienced precisely. But each and every cell of his body was confident of a fact: "I have to kneel. Otherwise, I will die". The boy kneeled immediately.

As he looked at the ground, somewhat against his will, Darian heard the footsteps slowly approaching. He was very nervous, time was prolonged, and these seconds felt like an eternity.

The old man and the girl stopped 10 meters away from Darian and Edgar. And the old man asked:
- "Did you do anything to wake him up, son of Charles?"
- "Nothing, master." Answered Edgar.
- "Good. You can all raise your heads," said the old man. He then added in a deeper voice: "For the second time, do not call me like this in the presence of the young lady anymore - Edgar - There won't be a third time."
- "I beg your forgiveness, lord commander." Edgar answered in a trembling voice.
- "Do not worry so much, Edgar. Everything is fine." Said the young woman with a calm and firm voice.

Darian felt entirely out of this interaction, even out of those people's world. With all his courage, he did not dare interrupt the small scene in front of him. The three other men came closer to the interaction between Darian and the two new people without blocking any visual contact.

The pressure was now bearable for Darian. The old man and the young lady turned to him smoothly.

- "My name is Richard the second Pendragon. What is yours, young man ?"

Edgar and the men present were shocked by so much familiarity with a mere boy.

- "My name is Darian."

Richard smiled softly.

- "What is the name of your father, Darian?"
- "My father's name is Konstantin."
- "So, in your culture, you would be referred to as Darian Konstantinovic. Am I mistaken?" Asked Richard with the same soft and familiar tone.

Choosing the last name of someone this way was something traditional where Darian comes from. But this was not Darian's last name. Darian was scared of saying something negative to the old man.

- "Yes, this is one of the possible last names I could have. But, on paper, my last name is Nowak." Answered Darian.

Two guards almost started moving toward Darian, but they were stopped by the gazes of Edgar and Richard.

- "Bring us some chairs. Instead of being dumb." Ordered Richard

The 4 men dressed in dark blue ran together, sending their capes flying, and entered a room. Darian noticed that only Edgar was armed under his cape. The others had no apparent weapon.

- "Where is my family ?" Asked Darian, looking the old man straight in the eyes.
- "They are in a safe place. Let's sit and discuss." As he said, the 4 men returned with 4 chairs and one small table.

Darian was told to sit at one end of the rectangular table. In front of him, there was the ever-silent but very focused young lady. At his right and his left sat, respectively, Richard and Edgar.

- "Tell us about what you saw yesterday, Darian." Said the lady in a cold voice.