Seven was in the dreamscape again, only it wasn't suffocating in a sense of numbness anymore. The eternal void was now replaced by a scene of ash and blood. The silhouettes of bodies hanging from trees, hauntingly still. The smell of burnt flesh was acidic and stomach churning.
"Every action demands its equal reaction. Your choice has a consequence, one you can't outrun. Fight the design, then you shall fail as the flaw you insist on being." The voice was like an echo in a crystal glass. Clear, yet rapidly decaying.
"Designs change." Seven replied to the voice, his tone steady– unshaken. Unlike last time, his voice wasn't restricted by an airless, soundless space.
"Your fight is fruitless. Everything you want to protect will rot in the wake of your journey." The voice prophesied.
"Is this one of those Cosmic Certainties? Because I crushed the last one, this isn't any different. You say it'll rot, then I'll just prove that it'll blossom instead." Seven dismissed the voice's claim, asserting his own belief resolutely instead
"You pretend to be confident, but even you fear the future. Because you yourself made it unpredictable. A design would have ensured a guaranteed end, but yours isn't defined. The cosmos always fixes instability. And you– you're the instability." The voice laughed, not in humor, but in the delight of one who had seen the end, a dramatic irony.
"Instability? I like to see it as a rebellion long overdue. Not against the cosmos personally, just against higher orders in general. I'm quite tired of overlords ruling from up high." Seven spoke his thoughts, the cosmos, to him, was just another Silver City Corporation lording its rule over him.
"Rebellion only works when the system is imperfect. In this case, it's a flaw fighting baselessly against a system perfected." The voice gained a slightly agitated undertone, but with its absolute authority still abundant.
"Rebellion can ensue anytime it wants. Success is what defines the rebellion, not permission from a system. You speak as if the system is the only existing law, not realizing law is outweighed by will." Seven countered the cosmic being with morality. The atmosphere tightened, ash swirled upward as if breathed in, the bodies swayed in unison. The smell of decaying flesh intensified.
"YOU STILL REFUSE DESTINY? I CAN GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED! AND–YOU WON'T ACCEPT MY GRACE? My patience wanes mortal, you will fall… just as you did before." With that final outburst, its words carrying overwhelming power, caused Seven to wake with a cold startle. The hut was dark even with sunlight brightly shining outside. Dread lingered– proof of whatever cosmic entity had invaded the dream.
"Is this going to become a recurrence?" Seven sighed outwardly. His eyes flickered over to the window, the light becoming stronger than the shadows as the residual energy was overwritten. Siren slept peacefully in a freshly grown bed on the opposite side of the hut, darkness never reaching her, as if her presence was too precious to disturb.
The trial that was to be held today, was going to be in a different section of the deep forest. Someone named Theloseus was to be Seven's guide. From what Elvidia had described of him, was he would be familiar to Seven, and that he'd pick Seven up from the hut early in the morning.
As Seven swung out of the bed and proceeded to grab his robe, the heavy sound of hooves thudded up to the door and a loud huff of a horse snort announced it's presence as if with an urgent demand. Seven opened the door and stared directly into the face of the black Celestial Horse Beast.
"What the–? What are you doing here? You're free, you shouldn't stick around… what if they capture you?" Seven was shocked at first, and then paranoid second as he attempted to gently push the horse away while looking around. The horse shook it's head and neck, and looked Seven in the eye. It was only a look, yet it spoke volumes.
"Hah, no, you're right. Elves wouldn't even think to capture you. I've only had the privilege to be here for a week, and I still worry as if I'm surrounded by greed." Seven patted the horse in it's neck gently. The horse kneeled down, signaling for Seven to get on it's back.
"As much as If love to go for a ride, I am waiting on a man named Theloseus." Seven smiled at the horse, a ride around the village would set his mind at ease for sure, the shadows behind him had retreated as soon as the Celestial Beast had arrived. The horse grabbed the front of Seven's robes with its mouth and swung him up and onto it's back, standing quickly to increase the momentum and power of the lift.
"Whoa! Okay, that wasn't a suggestion, understood. Then let's go wherever you want to go my friend." Seven relaxed slightly, he had gone stuff with the sudden lift he had received. The horse took off, the force of the wind hit like a hard shove. Seven leaned against the horse and wrapped his arms around the neck of the beast and held on firmly but not roughly.
"Fuck sake! Did you get faster?" Seven shouted over the roar of the wind and through gritted teeth. The horse seemed to have a purpose, like wherever it had to go was the most urgent thing in existence. Within 10 minutes, Seven and the horse arrived in a grove, deep within the dense forest, leagues away from the elven village. The horse stopped and motioned for Seven to get off
"Oh, were you sent by Theloseus perhaps?" Seven slid off the Celestial's back with less than graceful motion, landing on the ground slightly buckled his knees. The horse shook it's head and trotted off into a cutout in a tree. What happened next, baffled Seven's mind, shaking the very foundation of his logic. The horse shrank and shifted into a man. His hair still the usual divine black, a sheen like moon light inside a dark cave.
His eyes were like emeralds, vibrantly green with a gem like polish. He was tall, horse ears on top of his head, his face was naturally elegant, not horse like, not human like, and not elven like. Just what Seven would assume a nature spirit should look like, pure elegance with no arrogance. He had a look of affection and excitement. Like a teacher ready to guide a student into a grand path of knowledge. He wore robes like Seven, only they were the color of a starlit lake. Midnight blue with a sheen of bright blue, shimmering like a layer of dim light.
"I apologize for the suddenness of our encounter. I can not speak when I am in my beast form. I am what many call, a Child of Mana. But that's only half of a truth. I am a Spirit that was given form. A Celestial is the closest this language gets to the truth. I am Theloseus, a child of Meewa." The man introduced himself properly, Seven stood in pure shocked disbelief. His mind could not find logic, only awe.
"Shocked huh? Well that is to be expected. Only other Children of Meewa know of each other. Now Elvidia and you know as well. Only, Elvidia had a much more splendid reaction haha! She looked as if her whole belief system shattered and claimed she needed time to process and had me fetch you personally." Theloseus laughed genuinely, a very normal laugh considering his prior form.
"Shocked? That's a major understatement. I just watched a horse become a dude. I'm far beyond 'shocked'. But, I'll adapt. The trial is the one for spirit right?" Seven shook his head and attempted to recover his composure.
"Oh the trial? Nah, you passed that awhile ago. Elvidia doesn't know, but Meewa does. No, my role is to be your mentor. I'll be teaching you, Mana Signatures." Theloseus dismissed the trial casually, as if the trial was unimportant and trivial