Where am I?
I found myself standing in the middle of an empty vast and ancient looking hall with no clue how I ended up here.
The surrounding structure resembles either a temple or castle. Every single wall is painted pure white with golden trims along its walls
What caught my attention are the overgrown pale vines sprouting along the castle walls and pillars.
Why are there vines? This palace doesn't seem that run down… Could it be intentional..?
The corridor has only one exit which leads to a garden filled with golden flowers of unknown species glowing as if it is crafted from starlight.
After hesitating for a while I decided to follow the path along the flower garden.
Inside the courtyard stood an illusory tree. Its leaves are golden and the color of the pale wood matched the vines from earlier. The nearby structures are neatly arranged as if the palace itself was built around the tree.
There is a human figure standing in front of the tree, a blonde haired woman wearing a priest's robe. She clasps her hand in a praying posture in front of the giant tree. Other than her, there are no signs of any other people in this space.
As I contemplate whether I should approach her or not, the lady turned around. Her blue eyes locked on to my location without searching the surrounding area. She seemed to have already noticed me or rather, she was anticipating my arrival.
If I were in a horror movie I would already be dead right now.
Instead of lunging at me, she just gave a gentle wave. Her hand movements seem to have magical powers as all the flowers bloomed following her hand motions. While softly saying.
"As much as I would like to have a chat with you, I can't at the moment."
As she spoke, a gentle breeze carries her voice towards me. Despite being a considerable distance away from her I could hear her words clearly.
"Still, I apologize for what will soon happen to you."
Her voice carried a tone of guilt.
The next moment, I heard a loud noise rang in my ears which caused my surroundings to become distorted. The loud, unpleasant noise filled my ears, drowning out the words of the woman.
What I could barely make out at the end was…
"Please… the…."
"My…"
Ring.. Ring..
I jolted up in my bedroom before the woman could finish her sentence. Source of the loud ringing noise from earlier turns out to be someone calling my phone.
What was that just now… a dream? It feels so realistic… Oh- right, I should pick up the phone first.
It was a call from my E-sports team manager, Tachibana-san.
As soon as I picked up the phone I heard a furious shout.
"Hoshina where in the world are you?"
"Good morning Tachibana-san why are you calling so early?"
"What do you mean early? You are going to be late for the tournament!" Tachibana-san angrily replied.
Late..? That can't be. This is still early in the morning…
My confusion turned into shock the moment I saw the time in my phone screen.
10:38 am…
"It is already this late?" I was momentarily in a daze when Tachibana-san shouted through the phone.
"Get over here right now Hoshina!"
"I'm so sorry ~~~"
I quickly changed then went to greet mom before heading out ignoring breakfast all together.
"Good luck on your competition Satoru"
"Thanks mom"
I made a mad dash towards the event venue, praying that I would make it in time for the final match.
For some reason, the dream I had earlier is still clear in my mind unlike how I would usually forget it the moment I woke up. But this isn't the time to care about it.
After all, today is my special day.