The entire afternoon was spent with the girl summarising the events of "Baetyl," about how the gods departed Earth and have been unable to witness progress since, and about how the gods wished to recreate it but were at odds about it. Through all of this, he was more focused on the strength of this world's reality.

  He kept pinching the back of his leg to wake himself up from this semi-realistic dream without getting the attention of the woman, but all that he had been doing was hurting himself. Unable to get a sense of reality, he got lost in thought.

  "Is something bothering you, sir?"

  He looked towards the woman, who stopped talking and had all focused on him. Suddenly waking up from the thoughts, he reorganised his mind.

  "Well...it's just that everything doesn't feel...real."

  Confused, the woman looked at him, puzzled and unsure.

  "Sir, are you finding this world 'hard to believe in?'"

  "Yes, something like that."

  "If you would like, I could do something to prove reality."

  Getting surrounded by the thoughts of possibilities, he was scrolling through them to find one that could undoubtedly prove this world real. A sudden 'ding' rang inside his mind, finally having the perfect test.

  "Then could you punch me around my chest?" He pointed near his chest as he mustered some strength to stand up. "But make sure that it's not too—"

  Before finishing his words, a blunt pain came over his chest, gradually pushing inwards towards his lungs, cutting his breath short. The velocity lunged him backward, causing him to crash into the wall behind him, covering his vision with the dust particles of the dented wall. His head started to ring, and his ears staggered. He felt as if he would faint. He heard a muffled sound nearby calling out.

  "Sir, are you all right?"

  Looking up, the woman's head was bent close to him, observing his vitals. She continuously kept tapping the side of his face, gradually guiding his senses back to control, but the comfort of his closed eyes grew stronger until he couldn't resist any further, and then everything went dark.

  * * *

  Light sprayed through his eyelids, waking him from death. Slowly opening his eyes, he realised that he was lying face up in a white-lit space, no different than the one that he saw after his death. He got his back upright and was sitting face-to-face with a man who has no source of identity. Conveniently, they were sitting on soft cotton pillows that were pced just for the two of them. Sipping a hot, steaming tea, the man was unaware of his presence. He looked around the area, and other than them, he found nothing but the infinite stretch of nd. This pce was simir to the dream with the orb, but the scenery and air were oddly different in a way.

  The man suddenly put down his hot tea and looked at his visitor. To the visitor's shock, the face of the man was covered by a bck fog, preventing him from seeing it. Despite the interference, the man seemed to be well aware of his environment.

  "How's your body?" asked the motionless face. The visitor was unsure about his question, so he replied in,

  "It's...umm...well, I guess. Except for the fact I got unched hard into a wall. Because of that, I feel sore around my chest."

  But this didn't seem to satisfy him, as he saw through his confusion.

  "No, no, no. I was referring to your new body. How is it?"

  Hart was confused by his statement, but the sheer mention of his body jolted the fullest attention towards the body that was under his nose. Then, to his surprise, a mirror conjured from thin air when the man snapped his finger. The mirror showed Hart a reflection of a man in his early adulthood, with a strong, tall, neat body. This man wasn't just any ordinary person; it was Hart's younger self. However, Hart didn't see a copy or an illusion. The reflection was real, and Hart could feel it. He had become younger.

  The face showed dark brown eyes, straight shoulders, fine smooth skin, semi-thick eyebrows, dark hair with a small gradient of brown to it, and a nose that suits all of it. Nothing too unrecognisable from Hart's old body, aside from the lighter tone of colour of his eye and hair. But above all, the body of the man in the mirror was noticeably fitter. Nothing too big, but quite an improvement from the previous state.

  Even though it's supposed to be a shock, Hart's thinking maintained a cool tone because half of him expected this to be a dream with the other half being barely bothered by the change. The mirror gradually faded away, revealing the man who'd been sitting on the other side. The man remained seated, staring at Hart, no different at all.

  "So what's the answer to my question?" The man asked.

  "Honestly, I don't know what to say." Hart responded.

  "Why?"

  "My mind is half expecting this to be a dream, so everything here feels fake."

  "Understandable, since I did request a sudden audience with you after your unfortunate death."

  "Wait, that was you?"

  "Oh? Getting down to earth, are we?"

  "Like there's any Earth to be at." Hart thought, rolling his eyes, "So, why did you 'request' me?" Hart asked the bearded, faceless man.

  "To simply put it, this world needs a leader for its survival. This leader must be decisive, just, and wise to tip the bance of this war."

  "War? A leader? I'm sorry, but I think you picked the wrong person for this job."

  "That's hardly possible. Besides, you're a direct retive to the Old Ones, so I believe you can manage this."

  "If you can get me from one pce to the other, why can you not do it yourself?"

  "Why? Because I have justifiable reasons for not being able to do so. Obviously, I can't tell you anything about it right now, but in time, I will be more open and free to talk about it.""That's kind of dumb... Umm... You said something about 'The Old Ones'? Who or what are they?"

  The man brushed the question aside as a whole, pretending not to hear it. "Never mind that. The important thing now is that we should get an understanding of your situation."

  Nodding gently, Hart leaned back and rexed his posture. It was a bit annoying why this man was beating around the bush so often. Though, there's no need to rush it all. Hart took a deep breath to absorb the situation, having accumuted a lot of steam inside him since the morning.

  "So, I believe you are acquainted with Nephilia?" The man asked.

  "Nephilia?"

  "The guardian angel who will stand by your side. Did you not meet her?"

  "Oh, yes, I did, but I never really asked her name. To be honest, I was too focused on the environment I was in."

  "I don't bme you. The shock of 'rebirth' would prevent a person from acting professionally. That aside, what are you pnning to do?"

  "I'm sorry?"

  "What are your pns for Baetyl? Do you have any particur idea of what to do?"

  "Not really; I just woke up and barely had any time to see around the pce."

  "Well then, I guess this conversation can't go any further before you get to know your environment, so I'll just send you back."

  The man got up and turned away.

  "Wait!"

  Stopping in his tracks, the man turned his head and gazed at Hart.

  "Who are you? And what do you want me to do?"

  "My name isn't popur, but you can call me Arma. As for you, I just want you to help others and live your life. While you live, do not judge the world with one eye; judge it with many; if not, you will be treated the same."

  Just like that, he walked into the white mist and disappeared. Soon after, the marble-white ground started to shrivel up in the space that was between the man and Hart, absorbing it into a dark abyss. The ground subdivided into square ptes, falling one by one to the void, and it dragged the rest of the world into it. Hart tried his best to not fall, but as the ground picked up pace and the abyss grew wider, Hart fell down as the st fine ste of white floor pting disappeared under his legs, resulting in him falling into the unknown and knocking out of his vision for the third time until now.

  * * *

  Opening his eyes, Hart woke up from the same bed from before, but it was now nighttime, and not a sound could be heard. He must've been out for a good amount of time. The luminescence of the moon pushed through the curtains and covered a fraction of the room.

  Hart got up, barely getting to his feet, moved in front of the window, and pulled open the curtains. That was the moment he finally saw the beauty of this world. Behind the window was the gleaming light of the countryside buildings, the shine of the city further out, the essence of the universe in the night sky dispying the glitter of the stars, and the vast open green nd housing the enchantment of life. He saw what life's path was. The ever-ending possibilities that could be out there.