Days passed quickly at the Academy.
Csendez followed a strict routine. She met with Uituba every morning before spending the rest of her free time in the library. Lately, she has returned to studying history.
The books from her family's library had mostly focused on the rise and achievements of the phoenix race. They rarely mentioned the events themselves, much less their consequences.
Csendez wanted something different. She wanted to know about every major conflict. Every war. Every battlefield. Her motivation wasn't simply the desire for knowledge.
She wanted to give names and dates to the fragments that appeared in her dreams. She had started calling them 'memory fragments' because of something that had happened when she was little.
One day, she had seen a scene in one of her dreams that she later recognized in a painting hanging on a wall. The painting depicted a battlefield on an icy planet called Tuian.
Csendez had seen that exact place in her dream. She had seen the battlefield. She had seen the events taking place there. The memory had been short and fragmented, but she had recognized the location immediately.
After that, she tried to learn more about the battle. Perhaps, if she could identify the event, she could eventually understand whose memories she was seeing. Unfortunately, that had been the end of what she could accomplish at the time.
She couldn't ask her family and expect honest answers. The books available to her were difficult to understand, and even when she managed to read them, most of them presented history from a single perspective.
Now, things were different. The Academy's library contained information from far more sources. That didn't mean she could trust everything she found.
If anything, the more she learned, the more carefully she needed to filter it.
In only a few days, she had already encountered a story so complicated that understanding it properly would probably require another book just to explain the context.
And then Csendez noticed something strange. The history classes were focused entirely on the current era. Nothing was being taught about what had happened before it.
Why? She couldn't understand it.
While Csendez buried herself in history, Anka continued working hard aboard the cursed ship. Neither of them experienced the strange dream-possession again. Still, every night, both girls secretly hoped it would happen.
Eventually, the final day of the week arrived. Csendez lay in her bed, staring quietly at the ceiling. Tomorrow would be the last day before the Academy officially began.
If my calculations are correct...today should be the last day aboard that cursed ship.
With that thought in mind, Csendez finally closed her eyes.
And fell asleep.
The next moment she was somewhere else.
Hmm... I'm inside that human's body again.
Finally…
Her surroundings immediately caught her attention.
This place… A theater? A play?
She couldn't control the body, so her field of vision was limited. Still, understanding the situation wasn't particularly difficult.
In front of her stood two familiar figures. The dragon and the elf. Her classmates.
They were talking about the latest event aboard the ship and, more specifically, the performance that was about to begin.
"I never would have guessed they would allow a legendary interpretation to be performed on stage..." Tenin looked genuinely surprised.
A brochure rested in his hand, apparently containing information about the play and its performers.
"This is really unexpected. The captain of this ship must be incredibly brave to openly support something like this." After saying that Fahim looked down from the balcony toward the figures gathered below. His eyes moved across the audience, studying their reactions.
"Some of these guests must be furious." Tenin followed his gaze and laughed.
"Furious isn't the only reaction. Some of them look confused. After all, this legend was never exactly something that was openly broadcast. There must be entire races and generations that have never heard this myth even once." The dragon nodded. Then, without warning, he turned his attention toward the human servant standing behind them.
Anka immediately stepped forward and lowered her head respectfully.
"Master, how can I help you?"
This is so strange. I hate hearing my own voice used to please someone else.
"Do humans know about Mane, the myth of creation?"
Anka hesitated.
"He's asking whether humans as a race know about this... or whether I personally know about it?"
[He may simply be asking you personally. Remember, dragons rarely address someone outside their trusted circle as an individual.]
"Oh... right."
"So he's asking me."
Mane...? I've never heard of it. Is it a legend about the beginning of the universe?
"I'm sorry, Master. I've never heard of it."
The dragon returned his attention to the stage below. Anka stepped back and remained silent.
"Is this legend really that important?"
"Why would the captain's decision to perform it be considered such a big deal?"
A legend... A silver one, perhaps?
That could explain their reaction. But I heard silver legends aren't supposed to be shown in public.
[Anka, we haven't covered enough information for you to understand this yet.]
[It's a strange concept from a human perspective, but in this universe, legends can possess both power and danger.]
So this really is a silver legend?
"What does it mean for a legend to be dangerous? And how can a legend have power?"
[I'll explain later. For now, just remember that legends are not treated like ordinary stories.]
Anka's curiosity only grew.
A story that can actually be dangerous...? I never knew about this…
"This universe keeps getting stranger."
The curtains began to move. The performance was about to begin.