Tai ran after the golem as he felt a strong anger begin to overtake him. His pursuit led him to a bright room that was unlike the rest of the cave.
Its walls were carefully sculpted and made a pristine white, and the room was filled with fine linen clothes that shielded different items behind their veils.
A sound resonated in Tai's ears as he heard a hammer strike steel. He moved to search for the sound, only to see the golem striking at his sword with a hammer.
"What are you doing to my father's sword?"
Tai dashed forward and leapt, preparing to land a kick to the golem's head, but with one swift movement, he suddenly found his leg caught by the golem, which tossed him back, sending him flying into one of the walls.
He lifted his head and groaned as the pain of the impact made his entire body ache.
The golem raised the sword that had now become a long, single-edged sword. The sword was wide, and the hilt now had a giant sun fixed on it with a picture of a dragon on it.
The blade also had different symbols now inscribed in it, with their faded family crest barely visible on the blade's surface.
Tai gritted his teeth. How dare this creature taint the only thing his dad had left behind for him? He rose from the ground and summoned Hal's dagger to his side, a resolve to kill this beast, igniting the flames of his heart.
The golem lifted the sword and stared at it with an appreciation as if proud of the atrocity it had just committed.
"Are you now ready to be crafted into the perfect weapon just like how I did with this blade?"
Tai moved forward and readied his sword against the golem that stared at him for a while as if waiting for an answer from him, but he was not feeling generous enough to give it one; instead, his actions and the dagger in his hands would do the talking.
The golem seemed to notice this as something similar to a sigh left its lips; it readied itself and took a battle stance worthy of a great sword man.
"I see, then come now, strike me down and claim this sword, but know this, until this newly forged sword is in your hands, it will do all it can to slaughter you"
Tai was not in the mood to listen, and so, without a bit of hesitation, he rushed in to face the golem.
Tai's sword met that of the golem, and the clash of the two blades sent out ringing sounds that rang out through the cave, telling the story of their battle.
Tai's rage grew ever more potent as their fight went on, but even with his best efforts, the golem parried all his strikes.
Even with his ability that allowed him to see the weaknesses of his opponents could not detect a single weak spot in the creature's attack.
"But how can this be? My ability has never failed me before, so why now?"
"It is because you are but a fool who has only faced fools and has not yet had the chance to deal with a clever foe, so you have never known that your ability has not let you down, but you have let it down and, in the process, let down your father"
The words struck Tai deep, and before he could realise, the golem's punch was flying towards him with the aim of crushing any organ at the sight of impact.
He moved to block with the dagger, but was still thrown away by the sheer force vested in the blade, crushing him into the wall and causing him to black out.
"Hey Tai…. Tai…come on, you little brat, wake up, the sun is already out"
Tai opened his eyes and saw a man with dark blue hair and eyes. The man smiled down at him as his consciousness slowly made its way back to him
"Dad, is that you?"
The man's face twisted in confusion as he gently stroked his hair
"Of course, it's me who else did you expect a monster, anyway, hurry, your mother has prepared something really nice for us, and I can't wait"
Tai got up and examined his surroundings as his father turned around and left the room. He found the nearest mirror and saw a younger version of himself manifesting in the reflection
"So have I finally died, and is this the way death has chosen to embrace me?"
He got out of bed and made his way downstairs, and saw a woman with light purple hair and eyes. She was setting up the table with a gentle smile on her face.
Tai had little memory of his mother since she died when he was a kid, due to a deadly illness. According to the brief memories he has and what he has seen in this dream so far, his mother only had a year left to live.
Nevertheless, he went down the stairs and sat where he remembered the young him sitting each time they had a meal.
His mother quickly put everything on the table before patting Tai on the head.
"Good morning, sleepy head, I made your favourite, so eat up while the food is still hot"
The three of them sat down at the table and enjoyed their meal, and when it was done, his mother cleared the table as his dad stepped out of the house and left him seated at the table.
He could not get the golem's words out of his mind, and the more he thought about them, the more they injured his will.
A warm touch came from above and brushed through his hair, going back and forth with enough energy to make his head sway and inflict him with dizziness.
He looked up to see the cause, only to see his mother, who proceeded to grab him and embrace him tightly, causing him to almost suffocate in her chest.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
The woman looked down at him with a jolly smile and touched his nose
"Well, you looked sad, so Mummy decided to cheer you up with a big hug"
Was his mother this warm? He couldn't remember, but if these memories are his own, then why couldn't he remember her warmth as clearly as he should
"So tell me what's wrong, little Tai"
Was it safe to open up, or maybe it was some sort of an illusion cast on him by that golem
He felt compelled to answer as his mother embraced him again, but this time the hug was a soft and calm one that brought him a sort of calm state of mind.
"I feel like I've failed everyone I know, and I don't know what to do"
Tears began to roll out of his eyes as he thought of how pathetic he must be looking. If Hal or even Lyrrah caught wind of this, they would never let him live it down
"Uhhh, and who have you failed, I hope you don't mean me, for you can never fail me, you little dumpling"
She rubbed her cheeks against his, making Tai uncomfortable but also not inclined to resist. He shook his head as he said
"No, it's not you I've failed, me and dad"
His mom seemed surprised by her son's words as she carefully placed her hand on his head.
"And why do you say that, dear Tai?"
"Because I have failed my ability and in doing so I failed my father, and I let his sword be damaged and altered by a wield golem"
The mother's eyes widened
"How, that was a crazy dream"