Chapter 148
The dreamscape began to twist again—this time not with violence, but with the echo of something deeper. Mydei raised a hand, and a portal of distorted, shifting color tore open behind him. Without a word, he stepped through, and the world around them changed.
Yuri and Firefly found themselves standing not on a battlefield, but in a grand castle courtyard beneath a crimson dusk. The air shimmered with unreality. Illusions? Memories? Dreams?
Yuri’s breath caught in his throat.
He knew this place.
The towering spires of the castle cast long shadows across the stone-paved yard. Banners bearing an ancient sigil fluttered in the breeze. In the center of the yard, two younger versions of Yuri and Mydei clashed wooden swords, laughing with every strike.
They were not warriors, not yet. Just brothers—by blood or by bond—training, playing, dreaming. Servants watched from a distance, smiling. Guards nodded in approval. A feast echoed faintly from inside the castle walls, and music drifted on the air.
Another memory bloomed. The kitchen.
Mydei was sneaking pastries, offering one to Yuri while the head cook shouted in mock anger. The two of them laughed so hard they fell behind the table, frosting smeared across their faces. They got caught, of course, and spent the rest of the day washing pans together, joking and competing to see who could make theirs shine the most.
Then the archives.
A younger Yuri poured over books, and Mydei, though bored, sat beside him, humming nonsense songs and occasionally whispering funny misreadings to distract him. And sometimes, he got quiet—genuinely curious—asking about ancient heroes and forgotten kings, and what made them fall. Yuri would answer with passion, and Mydei would listen, nodding slowly.
In the stables.