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Description
It was early morning, if you could call the dim glow of the Dark Realm’s dying sun “morning.” The trio had taken quite a detour to get away from the swarm of Soul Collectors. However, it was impossible to avoid all of them, and they had taken down quite a few in the past few days. They divided the night into three watch shifts, and May had taken the previous night’s third shift. Weiss crawled out from underneath his blanket, got up, and stretched his arms above his head. May greeted him cheerfully, and the two of them ate a small breakfast. They would have to finish their journey soon: they were nearly out of supplies. They ate in silence, out of both the tedium of their new lives, and the fear of something hostile hearing them.
Midway through the day’s travel, they took a short break. Weiss used the time to examine the small box Anemonae had given him before they left. It was a metal cube, engraved with softly glowing turquoise patterns. Upon closer inspection, he found that the cube could be manipulated, realigning the patterns. He twisted and turned the cube, with May and Manfred watching curiously. Eventually, the once-random pattern turned into a regular spiral around the cube. At the very instant he finished the puzzle, there was a flash of blue light, and he blacked out.
“Hey, kid! Wake up! We don’t have all day here, you know.” Weiss was pulled up off of the ground by a tall man with bright blue hair. “We’ve got lots to do,” the man said energetically, “And you’ve got lots to learn. The name’s Zephyr. I’m a friend of Anemonae’s. She asked me to teach you some stuff so you don’t get killed out there. Uh, you’re Weiss, right?”
Weiss nodded, dazed. He looked around: he had been moved to somewhere that managed to be even bleaker than where he had come from. The ground was nothing but barren rock, the sky was a sheet of grey, and a harsh wind blew so hard that Weiss had trouble standing still. The man who called himself Zephyr didn’t seem to mind at all, in fact, he stood grinning into the wind. “Great,” Weiss moaned. “Why do I have to get all the weirdos?”
Zephyr raised an eyebrow at Weiss. “Weirdo? Me? Well, think whatever you want about me, but you might want to check this out first.” He pointed to a dead tree off in the distance. “See that?”
“Uh… yeah, it’s a tree.”
“Don’t blink,” Zephyr said with a grin. He flicked his wrist, waving his hand in the direction of the tree. There was a loud crack, and the tree fell, cut cleanly in half.
Weiss stared at the tree on the ground. “Uh… wow.”
“Now, you can ignore me if you want, or you can listen to me.”
“You can teach me to do that?”
“If Anemonae’s right about you, then yeah. She sees some sort of potential in you, kid.” He paused, thinking. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we see if she’s right? There’s really no way to learn this without actually doing it.” He picked up a stick and tossed it at Weiss, who caught it in the air. “It’s easier if you’ve got something to channel energy through…” Weiss had a confused expression on his face. He had no idea what Zephyr was talking about. “Sorry I’m not the best teacher. Just try it, kid! Xiris is the easiest spell in the book, if you’ll pardon the cliché! Try to imagine a blade of air coming off of the end of your stick, there. Just put all of your concentration into that thought, and do it!”
Weiss tried several times, but he was unable to do anything except make a swishing sound. Goaded on by Zephyr, he tried over and over until his arm was sore.
Zephyr rubbed his forehead. “This isn’t working.” His face lit up. “Oh, I know! Lots of times, it doesn’t work unless you really need it to.”
There was a brief silence.  “So?” Weiss asked.
Zephyr just laughed, and then dashed at him with another stick, attacking him. Weiss was no match for him, just barely blocking a few of Zephyr’s rapid attacks and getting hit by the rest of them. “Stop that!” he cried. “How is beating the snot out of me supposed to help at all?”
“If you hit me with Xiris, I’ll stop,” Zephyr said in a sing-song voice. “All you need is a little inspiration, right?”
The two of them went at it for quite a while, Zephyr continuously on the offensive and Weiss just barely hanging on. Zephyr prepared to strike a particularly powerful blow, and Weiss saw an opening. He focused as hard as he could on “channeling energy” through the stick, as his opponent had put it. He swung the stick at him, missing by about a foot. Nonetheless, Zephyr flinched backwards, rubbing the side of his face.
“Hey, kid… you did it. You nicked me pretty good!” He turned to face Weiss, revealing his face. There was a slightly bleeding scratch on his cheek, just below his eye. He sat down, signaling for Weiss to do the same. “Keep practicing that, kid. If you keep getting into scraps like the ones with those Museum Curators, you’ll find that it’s really useful.” The two took a minute to catch their breaths, then Zephyr spoke up again. “Anemonae’s really got a lot of trust in you, you know?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. She really admires you, for some reason.”
“How do you know her, anyway?”
Zephyr looked blankly off into the distance. “We were pretty good friends quite a while ago. Some pretty crazy stuff happened, and we were pretty much the center of all of it. Actually… don’t tell her I said so, but I think she’s gone a bit off her nut recently. She’s been alone for… a long time, and it’s starting to take its toll on her. Nice girl, though. Don’t be afraid to ask her for help if you need it. She’ll do whatever she can, I’m sure.”
“And what about you?”
“I guess I’ll be right here, if you need me. Not sure what you’d want from me, but you know… I’ll be around. You should probably be getting back. Your friends are probably getting worried about you.”
“Well, they shouldn’t be. It’s been… what, like, an hour?”
“Well…”
“What?”
“You’re technically dreaming, Weiss.”
He stood up. “What?!”
“ You know how dreams only seem to last for a few minutes, yet you’ve been sleeping all night?”
“Yeah…”
“Imagine how long you’ve been out if the dream seems to last an hour. I’d guess maybe a couple of days.”
“Seriously?”
“Uh-huh.” Zephyr waved at Weiss. “See you around, kid. Good luck.” He snapped his fingers.

Weiss woke up with a start. It was a cloudy night, and a fire crackled next to him. Manfred sat on a stump on the other side of the fire, looking into the forest.
“Hey,” Weiss said as he sat up. “What’s up?”
Manfred whirled around. “You’re awake! Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. That box puzzle thing put me to sleep and made me dream about this guy named Zephyr who taught me this air… thing.” Weiss scratched his head, trying to get his thoughts straight. What he had just said, he thought, made no sense at all. “Never mind. Is there something bothering you, Manfred? You look a little out of sorts.”
Manfred sighed, a forlorn look on his face. “Yeah, actually. Something big happened while you were out. I woke up yesterday morning, after May’s watch shift… and she was gone. I waited for a couple of hours, and… she didn’t come back.”
Weiss got to his feet. “What? No! Where did she go? Why didn’t you look for her?”
“I didn’t want to leave you alone! Just that morning, I had to fight off three Soul Collectors!”
“But May could be in even greater danger!”
Manfred shook his head. “No…”
“What do you mean, ‘No?’”
“A raven came by the camp later that afternoon. It didn’t attack… it just gave me two letters, one for me, and one for you. I’ve already read mine…” He dug around in his pocket, and got out a black envelope with Weiss’s name written on the front in silver ink. “Here’s yours.”  Weiss took the letter, opened and unfolded it, and started to read.

Dear Weiss,
Last night, Samaiel came to me, and told me the truth. He informed me that I am the reincarnation of his true love, from hundreds of years ago. She was taken from him and killed, and he lived without her for so long… and now he’s found me. I know he’s telling the truth. I can feel it. I am sorry that things couldn’t possibly work out between us, but you can’t cheat destiny. That’s what he says. I wish you the best of luck, and hope that you will forgive me for no longer accompanying you on your journey.
Goodbye,
May Rose

Weiss dropped the letter and fell to his knees, flooded with emotion. He threw the letter into the fire and watched it burn, tears falling down his face.  He switched places with Manfred, letting him sleep while he took over the watch, thoughts of sadness, anger, and regret racing through his head as he stared into the darkness of the night.

Description
It was early morning, if you could call the dim glow of the Dark Realm’s dying sun “morning.” The trio had taken quite a detour to get away from the swarm of Soul Collectors. However, it was impossible to avoid all of them, and they had taken down quite a few in the past few days. They divided the night into three watch shifts, and May had taken the previous night’s third shift. Weiss crawled out from underneath his blanket, got up, and stretched his arms above his head. May greeted him cheerfully, and the two of them ate a small breakfast. They would have to finish their journey soon: they were nearly out of supplies. They ate in silence, out of both the tedium of their new lives, and the fear of something hostile hearing them.
Midway through the day’s travel, they took a short break. Weiss used the time to examine the small box Anemonae had given him before they left. It was a metal cube, engraved with softly glowing turquoise patterns. Upon closer inspection, he found that the cube could be manipulated, realigning the patterns. He twisted and turned the cube, with May and Manfred watching curiously. Eventually, the once-random pattern turned into a regular spiral around the cube. At the very instant he finished the puzzle, there was a flash of blue light, and he blacked out.
“Hey, kid! Wake up! We don’t have all day here, you know.” Weiss was pulled up off of the ground by a tall man with bright blue hair. “We’ve got lots to do,” the man said energetically, “And you’ve got lots to learn. The name’s Zephyr. I’m a friend of Anemonae’s. She asked me to teach you some stuff so you don’t get killed out there. Uh, you’re Weiss, right?”
Weiss nodded, dazed. He looked around: he had been moved to somewhere that managed to be even bleaker than where he had come from. The ground was nothing but barren rock, the sky was a sheet of grey, and a harsh wind blew so hard that Weiss had trouble standing still. The man who called himself Zephyr didn’t seem to mind at all, in fact, he stood grinning into the wind. “Great,” Weiss moaned. “Why do I have to get all the weirdos?”
Zephyr raised an eyebrow at Weiss. “Weirdo? Me? Well, think whatever you want about me, but you might want to check this out first.” He pointed to a dead tree off in the distance. “See that?”
“Uh… yeah, it’s a tree.”
“Don’t blink,” Zephyr said with a grin. He flicked his wrist, waving his hand in the direction of the tree. There was a loud crack, and the tree fell, cut cleanly in half.
Weiss stared at the tree on the ground. “Uh… wow.”
“Now, you can ignore me if you want, or you can listen to me.”
“You can teach me to do that?”
“If Anemonae’s right about you, then yeah. She sees some sort of potential in you, kid.” He paused, thinking. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we see if she’s right? There’s really no way to learn this without actually doing it.” He picked up a stick and tossed it at Weiss, who caught it in the air. “It’s easier if you’ve got something to channel energy through…” Weiss had a confused expression on his face. He had no idea what Zephyr was talking about. “Sorry I’m not the best teacher. Just try it, kid! Xiris is the easiest spell in the book, if you’ll pardon the cliché! Try to imagine a blade of air coming off of the end of your stick, there. Just put all of your concentration into that thought, and do it!”
Weiss tried several times, but he was unable to do anything except make a swishing sound. Goaded on by Zephyr, he tried over and over until his arm was sore.
Zephyr rubbed his forehead. “This isn’t working.” His face lit up. “Oh, I know! Lots of times, it doesn’t work unless you really need it to.”
There was a brief silence.  “So?” Weiss asked.
Zephyr just laughed, and then dashed at him with another stick, attacking him. Weiss was no match for him, just barely blocking a few of Zephyr’s rapid attacks and getting hit by the rest of them. “Stop that!” he cried. “How is beating the snot out of me supposed to help at all?”
“If you hit me with Xiris, I’ll stop,” Zephyr said in a sing-song voice. “All you need is a little inspiration, right?”
The two of them went at it for quite a while, Zephyr continuously on the offensive and Weiss just barely hanging on. Zephyr prepared to strike a particularly powerful blow, and Weiss saw an opening. He focused as hard as he could on “channeling energy” through the stick, as his opponent had put it. He swung the stick at him, missing by about a foot. Nonetheless, Zephyr flinched backwards, rubbing the side of his face.
“Hey, kid… you did it. You nicked me pretty good!” He turned to face Weiss, revealing his face. There was a slightly bleeding scratch on his cheek, just below his eye. He sat down, signaling for Weiss to do the same. “Keep practicing that, kid. If you keep getting into scraps like the ones with those Museum Curators, you’ll find that it’s really useful.” The two took a minute to catch their breaths, then Zephyr spoke up again. “Anemonae’s really got a lot of trust in you, you know?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. She really admires you, for some reason.”
“How do you know her, anyway?”
Zephyr looked blankly off into the distance. “We were pretty good friends quite a while ago. Some pretty crazy stuff happened, and we were pretty much the center of all of it. Actually… don’t tell her I said so, but I think she’s gone a bit off her nut recently. She’s been alone for… a long time, and it’s starting to take its toll on her. Nice girl, though. Don’t be afraid to ask her for help if you need it. She’ll do whatever she can, I’m sure.”
“And what about you?”
“I guess I’ll be right here, if you need me. Not sure what you’d want from me, but you know… I’ll be around. You should probably be getting back. Your friends are probably getting worried about you.”
“Well, they shouldn’t be. It’s been… what, like, an hour?”
“Well…”
“What?”
“You’re technically dreaming, Weiss.”
He stood up. “What?!”
“ You know how dreams only seem to last for a few minutes, yet you’ve been sleeping all night?”
“Yeah…”
“Imagine how long you’ve been out if the dream seems to last an hour. I’d guess maybe a couple of days.”
“Seriously?”
“Uh-huh.” Zephyr waved at Weiss. “See you around, kid. Good luck.” He snapped his fingers.

Weiss woke up with a start. It was a cloudy night, and a fire crackled next to him. Manfred sat on a stump on the other side of the fire, looking into the forest.
“Hey,” Weiss said as he sat up. “What’s up?”
Manfred whirled around. “You’re awake! Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. That box puzzle thing put me to sleep and made me dream about this guy named Zephyr who taught me this air… thing.” Weiss scratched his head, trying to get his thoughts straight. What he had just said, he thought, made no sense at all. “Never mind. Is there something bothering you, Manfred? You look a little out of sorts.”
Manfred sighed, a forlorn look on his face. “Yeah, actually. Something big happened while you were out. I woke up yesterday morning, after May’s watch shift… and she was gone. I waited for a couple of hours, and… she didn’t come back.”
Weiss got to his feet. “What? No! Where did she go? Why didn’t you look for her?”
“I didn’t want to leave you alone! Just that morning, I had to fight off three Soul Collectors!”
“But May could be in even greater danger!”
Manfred shook his head. “No…”
“What do you mean, ‘No?’”
“A raven came by the camp later that afternoon. It didn’t attack… it just gave me two letters, one for me, and one for you. I’ve already read mine…” He dug around in his pocket, and got out a black envelope with Weiss’s name written on the front in silver ink. “Here’s yours.”  Weiss took the letter, opened and unfolded it, and started to read.

Dear Weiss,
Last night, Samaiel came to me, and told me the truth. He informed me that I am the reincarnation of his true love, from hundreds of years ago. She was taken from him and killed, and he lived without her for so long… and now he’s found me. I know he’s telling the truth. I can feel it. I am sorry that things couldn’t possibly work out between us, but you can’t cheat destiny. That’s what he says. I wish you the best of luck, and hope that you will forgive me for no longer accompanying you on your journey.
Goodbye,
May Rose

Weiss dropped the letter and fell to his knees, flooded with emotion. He threw the letter into the fire and watched it burn, tears falling down his face.  He switched places with Manfred, letting him sleep while he took over the watch, thoughts of sadness, anger, and regret racing through his head as he stared into the darkness of the night.