"What is this place?"
Zane asked, studying the vibrant Roman soldier.
He needed to understand the situation before figuring out where he was. The sequence of events felt surreal—traveling to this realm, fainting for unknown reasons (though he had his suspicions), waking in dream-like Ashburn with Mia surprisingly present. Then reality had fractured, depositing him in this strange realm far from dream Ashburn, standing within a green dome alongside these peculiar human-like beings.
The dome seemed to trap them all. When Zane touched its surface, his hands passed through like they had with Mia— yet the colorful beings claimed they were confined.
The blue-headed inhabitants had explained that he'd emerged from a "dream bubble," presumably one of the colorful spheres he'd glimpsed upon first entering this realm.
The Roman soldier contemplated for about a minute before responding with measured deference.
"Great ancestor, this is a dream shard, a remnant of an exhausted dream bubble."
"Hmm...interesting...So, what exactly is a dream bubble?" Zane was now visibly curious.
"Forgive my inadequate explanation, honored one. A dream bubble is where we gentlets harvest memories."
The answer didn't provide much information but at least now, Zane knew that these strange beings were called gentlets.
Though, Zane didn't know what exactly the gentlet meant by harvesting memory.
"How do you harvest memories?"
Zane now wondered how a memory can be harvested. Maybe the 'memory' the Roman soldier mentioned was different from what Zane understood.
"A memory can be harvested by...by entering a dream bubble where you can harvest memories in dream events, great ancestor."
The gentlet's voice grew hesitant, as if admitting his people's limitations before such a powerful being.
Understanding now descended upon Zane. This world had more to it than he imagined. Zane also wondered why there was light in this place, when before he fainted the sun disappeared. Zane had initially thought what he saw was tied to his beliefs. He now understood he was partially correct.
Zane could remember what the sun felt like but his memory of the sun was now blurry. It felt as if the memory of the sun had been ripped from his brain. Even memory of the sun back on Earth now felt blurry like he could hardly remember it.
Zane wasn't always a fan of staring at the sun nor cared about it really, not unless it was winter or summer. But he usually had it ingrained deeply in his mind. Now he could only remember what a sun was contextually but when he tried to visualize it in his mind, the image appeared blurry like he'd only ever seen it once and forgotten about it.
Does this have something to do with the dream bubble? Or is it the fake sun I saw earlier?
Zane wondered as he contemplated what the Roman gentlet had mentioned about dream bubbles.
But I hadn't entered a dream bubble before, matter of fact they appeared to be far from where I was standing. I can also tell that I was outside a dream bubble because this multicolored oceanic ground is similar to what I saw before fainting.
Zane's mind was now filled with more questions than answers. How did the dream bubble make him see Ashburn and Mia? Zane was sure it wasn't from his memory, he had been to the Monroe family mansion before, but Zane was sure he had never been to the balcony where Mia was sitting. Zane had only ever been to the mansion once.
How did I end up in the bubble?
Zane asked himself. It was strange that he fainted and instead of dying from suffocation, he ended up in a dream bubble. Zane already knew the gentlets didn't know. After all, the Roman soldier had called him a powerful ancestor just because he appeared from the dream bubble, he didn't seem to know anything.
"Why did you call me ancestor earlier?"
Zane asked. This question had been bugging him for a while now. The Roman soldier that had been staring at him for a while was surprised by the sudden question. He'd been watching Zane, who had been quiet the whole time with the other gentlets.
The gentlet immediately dropped to one knee, his luminous eyes wide with what appeared to be panic at being directly addressed. The others followed suit, their colorful forms bowing low while their leader remained standing but visibly nervous.
"Forgive me, great ancestor, if my words were presumptuous. You have similar appearance with ancestors in the dream bubbles, although we have never been blessed with one appearing outside a bubble. Also ancestors never communicate with us directly, unlike you. They are always doing strange repeated actions in the dream bubbles."
Wait! From what this gentlet describes ancestors, it matches what Mia was doing in the dream bubble. She was just looking through her binoculars in the same fashion in a loop. Then Mia must be an ancestor.
Things weren't adding up, how could Mia be an ancestor when Zane was sure she was still in Ashburn? Also how did she appear in the dream bubble.
There has to be a big misunderstanding.
Zane thought as he constructed the next question in his mind.
"Why do you call the people in the dream bubbles your ancestors?"
Zane asked, he had to understand, even if it was just a little bit.
"From murals back in Eryndor, there are depictions of your noble kind creating Eryndor and blessing us with existence, great ancestor."
Zane was genuinely surprised, gaining the information that humans created these beings was a shocking revelation.
No wonder they look like humans. But how did humans even get here and create these beings. Wait! Is it possible that there was someone with a skill similar to mine in history.
As this shocking revelation dawned upon Zane, he realized that there was still a lot of things he didn't know. Zane had always thought himself as all-knowing.
Turns out the world still has so much to offer than I expected.
Zane also understood that this world wasn't as it seemed. There was something gnawing at the back of his head telling him that something was missing. Zane could only accept the information he'd acquired with suspicion. He didn't know if what the gentlets were saying was accurate.
Zane didn't ask anymore questions, he already knew the weight of his current predicament.
Since I can't get out of this realm now, I can only go with these people to this so called 'Eryndor'. I can try figuring out how to increase my stats for skill absorption and also conduct trading there. I don't really know much of this world, maybe these gentlets can help me. After all, I don't want to find myself in a dream bubble again. Not until I understand what they truly are.
Zane thought as he contemplated his situation. He had already figured out what he was going to do in the meantime.
"Why did you tell me you are trapped? Can't you just pass through the barrier like I just did?"
Zane asked while moving towards the barrier. He passed his hands through the barrier while looking at the Roman soldier questioningly.
"We cannot pass through the barrier as you do, mighty ancestor. We are all Tier 0 warriors and don't possess as much power as you. Please, great ancestor, if it pleases you, help us get out of this cage."
The Roman soldier replied, grief was written on his face.
"Wait...wait, what is a Tier 0 warrior?"
Zane asked, his face brightening up. He had come across interesting information. He couldn't let it pass him by. The 4 other hunters were watching their conversation silently, they didn't utter a single sound, they just stood there looking at Zane and their leader.
"A Tier 0 warrior is a gentlet that has started refining their dream crystal, but hasn't yet evolved the level of their crystal, great ancestor."
The Roman soldier grasped the cloth on his chest and revealed a glowing prism white crystal that was embedded in his colored chest. The chest was clear as glass and contained an array of colors moving slowly around the area. The crystal was located where a human heart was located in the body.
He pointed at the crystal and let Zane observe for a while. He then pulled the white clothing back concealing the chest.
"Are there any other Rankings apart from Tier 0?"
Zane inquired, this information was way too juicy to stop there. He had encountered what possibly was something out of the ordinary, how could he just stop there?
"Yes, there are other tiers, great ancestor. It ranges from Tier 1 warrior to Tier 7 sages. The council elders are all Tier 7 sages and are the most powerful gentlets in Eryndor, though surely nothing compared to your divine nature."
He said, a pleasant smile plastered on his crystal blue head.
Zane didn't want to ask anymore questions. He already knew what he needed to know, these hunters were only Tier 0. The information they had couldn't be that substantial, he now wanted to go to Eryndor. In Eryndor, he could acquire more information. He could also learn why the connection strand he traveled with had become stronger.
"Can you try touching the barrier?"
Zane asked the Roman soldier, he needed to understand why the gentlets couldn't get out while he could.
The Roman soldier moved towards the barrier and placed his hands on it. The other hunters who had been looking at Zane weirdly the entire time, diverted their attention to their leader.
The Roman soldier's hand landed on the barrier softly. It didn't pass through like Zane's hand. To the gentlet, the barrier was like a rock solid wall. Zane didn't know how he was going to help them.