Axel opened his eyes. He found himself lying in a grassy field on top of a hill. As he got up, he noticed an old man sitting beside him.
"Where am I?" Axel asked.
"You've finally woken up," the old man said, still staring into the distance below the hill.
Axel looked at him again. "What's happening?"
"Watch for yourself…" the old man replied.
Axel turned toward the valley below. Huge groups of people were fighting, not in any fair or honorable way, but like animals, clawing for survival.
"The war is still going on," Axel said with a heavy face. "Are you not going to intervene?"
"How could I?" The old man gave a faint smile. "I died a long time ago."
He finally turned to Axel. "And as for you, child… you don't yet have the strength to fight this kind of battle."
The man pointed at one lone figure on the battlefield. "Look at him. We know nothing about his past, nor the future he's fighting for.
The past, present, and future are all tied together by memory. Just like you, who will one day tell the story of what you've seen—these battlefields create history for others to build their future on."
Axel frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Our actions shape yo—"
Before the old man could finish, a massive fireball fell from the sky and crushed them both.
Axel snapped awake, drenched in sweat. He was lying on a couch. Across from him, Hector was snoring loudly, sprawled out like a monkey.
That dream again, he thought.
He stood up and stepped outside to breathe in some fresh air.
Outside, the old woman who cared for the orphans was hanging laundry in the morning breeze. She noticed him and smiled. "Good morning, Axel. You're up early."
He smiled back. "Not really used to sleeping on something comfortable like a couch or a bed, miss."
"Oh dear, well that's all in the past now. I registered you yesterday—we're officially family. Just call me Mama."
"Thank you, Mama. I'll be in your care," Axel replied.
"Good. Now help me with the laundry so I can cook breakfast. You're heading to the capital today, remember?"
After chores, everyone woke up and ate breakfast together. Then Axel, Hector, Elaine, and Gini prepared to leave for the capital city, Kenza.
Elaine had returned to the orphanage to pick up Gini, who was starting his first year at university. The children and Mama waved them off.
Less than an hour later, the four reached the city gates. Massive stone walls rose high above them, with a wide stream circling the city, full of fish and other water life. Crowds moved in and out nonstop.
As they entered, Axel's eyes widened at the tall buildings and wide streets. "Wow… everything is even bigger than I imagined!"
Hector chuckled, "Yeah yeah, everything's big. We get it."
"It seems your brain is the only thing that isn't," Elaine muttered, annoyed.
"What's wrong with women these days?" Hector shrugged. "Anyway, me and Axel are heading to the university. I need to report my mission and he will meet with the professor."
Elaine nodded. "Fine. We'll go to my place and wait for you there."
Everyone agreed. Gini gave them a thumbs up.
When Axel and Hector reached the university, Hector pointed him toward the professor's office while he was going to the mission department. "We'll meet there later," he said before walking off.
Axel wandered through the busy halls, noticing students in neat uniforms walking stiffly.
They walk like they've got something shoved up their asses, he thought with a smirk.
He carried the thought with him until he reached the professor's office. The door was slightly open and loud noises came from inside.
Axel pushed it open. The professor wasn't there. Instead, five men were ransacking the place, going through papers and belongings.
Three of them quickly surrounded him. "Who are you? What's your relation to the professor?"
"I'm new here," Axel answered carefully. "Helping him with a project. But… who are you guys?"
The men didn't respond. Instead, they blindfolded him and dragged him elsewhere.
Axel didn't resist, because fighting back would only blow his cover as an outsider.
Hours seemed to pass before he finally sat down in a room.
A man came inside the room and removed the blindfold. He started questioning him about Stokers Project. But Axel stayed silent.
If he gave nothing, they couldn't tie him to anything, he thought.
Eventually the man stood up and left.
Not long after, a tall man in a suit entered, a man with slicked-back hair and a good structured jawline.
Axel looked up, feeling unsure about this man's intentions
The man said "My name is Dean Walker. Professor Stoker has send me to represent you"
"Is that so? Axel asked. "I'm being held without any evidence."
The man smiled and started looking around in the room. He looked back at Axel and said, "They will try to listen in our conversation. It's is against the law, but they will do it anyway."
Axel looked suprised.
"However..." As a blue force field formed around the room.
"What's happening?" Axel asked worried.
"It's my power," the man said calmly. "It turnes this room soundproof, so nobody can hear our converstaion from the outside.
"So I can speak freely now?"
"Of course kid" he replied
"Then I want to meet the professor."
Dean smile disapeared "Unfortunaltely, you cannot. Professor Stoker is himself arrested because of his project."
"What kind of project? And why did I get involved?"
Dean shook his head. "I don't know why he needed your help. All I know is he was researching how and when the Belmon Empire would fall."
Axel was lost in thought.
Seeing the worry in his eyes, Dean reassured him.
"Relax. The professor had a plan for everything. And since you haven't helped him yet, they can't really pin any punishment on you."
Dean stood up and the blue barrier faded away. "Good luck, Axel. We'll meet again soon."
Soon after, guards dragged Axel into a huge hall. The layout was clear—it was a court.
At the front, five shadowy figures sat above the rest. All around him, people filled the seats and on the sides standing guards marked as Security.
Moments later, Professor Stoker was escorted in. As he walked past, he glanced at Axel and smiled.
Why is he smiling in this situation? Axel thought.
The room went silent as the professor stood before the five dark figures.
"Welcome, Professor Stoker," a booming voice echoed from one of the five dark figures.
"Your trial begins now."