Point of View: Christopher Roosevelt

  The streets were bustling. I was completely covered, yet I didn’t feel hot. It was night, and the merchants’ stalls illuminated the streets. I couldn’t smell the food being served. Puddles of water were scattered across the tiles, yet my shoes remained dry. I could see people moving and interacting with one another, but I couldn’t hear their conversations.

  This is obviously a dream…

  As I walked through the streets, I noticed a space forming between the people. Ahead, a black cat with pearl eyes, glowing like a galaxy, stared at me.

  "Morvain came to accompany me to this festival?" The voice coming from my mouth wasn’t mine.

  "Magnus, your powers exceed the limits of humanity. You continue to act without honor and ethics, abusing your position. I’m here to stop you." The cat’s deep voice echoed through the air, but the people around didn’t seem to notice its presence.

  "Stop me? You’re just a Dark Lord. What are you going to do? Blow out the candles and lanterns in this street?" The voice continued coming from my mouth. This was getting interesting. Could this be a memory from when Magnus was alive?

  A black sphere covered the cat, stretched upwards, thinned at the sides, and took on a humanoid shape. The dark color began to fade, revealing a man with black hair, dressed in something resembling a suit. His pearl eyes with stars remained the same. He took a few steps toward me, fists clenched.

  "Magnus, let’s go up there." Morvain pointed upwards while staring at me. Magnus began to laugh and floated into the air.

  A few feet above, I observed the city. Hundreds of thousands of people moved through the streets. It looked like a festival. I saw children running and playing among the adults, the elderly chatting while looking after the young, and adults dancing around a bonfire. Everyone seemed happy, enjoying themselves. My heart warmed.

  Morvain was a few meters ahead of us. He extended his hand toward me, and black thorns emerged from his feet, gathering in his hands. A small sphere began to form. Magnus started laughing.

  "Seriously? What a slow attack. Do you want me to wait for you?" Magnus seemed amused but didn’t make a single move. The sphere kept growing, and Morvain raised his arm above his head. A massive sphere of black thorns had formed. I didn’t feel worried.

  Then, the sphere exploded. The starlight went out, the city vanished, and darkness was all that remained.

  A sword tore through my back, and I collapsed forward. Morvain hovered above me. A hysterical laugh broke through the air. I was laughing.

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  "I’ll show you what power really is." Magnus laughed uncontrollably as he moved his arms and snapped his fingers. A cold, emotionless light covered the entire place. When the light disappeared, Morvain was no longer there. My body floated again. I turned to look at the city and…

  The entire city was gone. Every building, every tile, every person, child, elderly, even the insects. A crater.

  My heart raced. I opened my eyes, completely drenched in sweat, as if waking from a nightmare.

  "What the hell, Magnus? What’s your problem?" My breathing was heavy. I knew it was a dream, but it felt incredibly real.

  Point of View: Magnus Bridge

  ‘Ah, well, what you just had was a leak from my memories.’ I tried to calm the boy, who seemed completely panicked after witnessing my power.

  "Explain better, Magnus. Why did I just dream of one of your memories?" He seemed more impatient than scared. Apparently, the experience wasn’t fun. I wonder what kind of dream he had.

  ‘When I stole this body, our minds were merging, but the body wouldn’t hold up, and who knows what would have happened. Maybe we would have fallen into an eternal sleep. Moreover, our merged minds would mean death for both of us. So, I built a barrier separating our consciousnesses. But the barrier has leaks. Small drips, like from a roof.’ I explained as clearly as possible. He would probably understand.

  "Mr. Roosevelt, do you happen to have a mental illness?" Perucia was sitting on one of the beds in the room. The sunlight streamed through the window, making her hair shine like that of an angel. But in reality, she was a little menace.

  "A businessman can no longer talk to himself without being considered mentally ill?" Roosevelt retorted sharply as he got out of bed and put on his white silk shirt. He glanced sideways at Perucia.

  ‘You’re too used to speaking your thoughts out loud. That can be dangerous.’ I advised. Leaking unnecessary information could be risky, especially now that he accessed one of my memories.

  The three children went down to the lower floor.

  While having breakfast, Perucia made venomous comments, Seven was lethargic, and Roosevelt seemed to be thinking about a million things at once. The tavern was not very busy.

  "Today, we will have the necessary materials to produce gunpowder. We just need a scale and a safe place in case it explodes."

  "Explode?!" Seven asked anxiously. "What exactly is this thing called gunpowder?"

  "Yes, explode. Now, let’s get to work." Roosevelt stood up, indicating that the children should follow him. He opened the tavern door and took a deep breath.

  ‘I love the morning air, Magnus.’

  After some time walking through the streets, I noticed a strange group following us from afar…

  ‘Roosevelt, three heavily armed men are following us. I think they’ll approach us once we leave the city.’

  ‘Side characters looking for a beating.’ That was his response, which left me completely confused. Did he have a plan to deal with them?

  ‘Do you have a plan?’ I asked hastily. I needed to know what he was planning—I was curious.

  ‘Hand over everything we have.’ What a crappy plan! Seriously, he even made it seem like he was going to take those bandits down. ‘Think about it, Magnus. We’re almost completely out of money anyway, we don’t have much to lose, and today we’ll have our first merchandise.’ What he was saying made sense.

  ‘And what if it’s not enough to satisfy their greed?’ The question hung in the air, unanswered. I felt the anxiety—one that wasn’t mine—rise in my chest, and my heart began to race.