Twenty-year-old Freyja opened her big, round, golden eyes, and found herself amidst glowing trees and tall gra.s.ses. The scenery was quite different from the world she knows. She was just sleeping on her soft bed some nights ago, working on difficult homework her college professors left her with. Her heart pounded, not in fear nor panic, but in excitement. Then it settled down as the cold breeze carrying a nostalgic scent blew onto her face. She smiled.

This was not the first time she woke up to this scenario, the first one being many years ago, as a naïve thirteen-year-old girl.

Freyja looked down on her chest and there she saw a familiar medallion hanging around her neck. She traced the wing crest design with her fingers, felt the three gems embedded on it. She took a deep breath and sighed in relief.

"Kirin," She called, shifting her gaze to the pale, silver-haired man lying unconscious beside her. She gently touched his cheek and slowly inched her face towards his. Touching his forehead with hers, she closed her eyes, feeling his soft, warm breath. "I"m home."

~ o 0 o ~

Freyja stood up and looked around. The trees, the scent of the air, everything looked and felt exactly the same as it was seven years ago. She could almost see her naïve thirteen-year-old self, running around terrified when she first found herself in a strange new world. Revelations after revelations came upon her fragile mind and heart. She discovered she is not human, that she is the ruling monarch of a faraway kingdom called Celestia that resides in yet another dimension. She discovered that there exist hundreds of "worlds" which can only be traversed through the power of her kind, the Celestials. But no matter how terrifying life was, she found the courage to find her future through her best friend, Kirin. He saved her life countless of times, and even when they were apart for the past six years, it is still his face and name that gave her the courage to keep moving.

Back then, she also met Alaric and Keon, friends whom she treated as brothers. But then, she was "killed" by their enemy, Kirin"s father. The memory of his sword pierced right through her heart is still fresh. She was sure she"d die, but a mysterious being from underwater saved her and transported her back to her previous world instead.

Then, she woke up, as if everything that happened in Kirin"s world was just a dream.

For many years in that world, she felt helpless. The memories of her beloved friends and Celestia were still in her mind, but she has absolutely no power to do something about it. She felt all alone, in a familiar yet, alien world. She"s fought with herself and worked her hardest for the slightest chance to return to Kirin"s side. And it all paid off. For at this very moment, she"s back to the world she considered her true home, to where Kirin is.

Then, as she reminisced her past days, the silver haired man, aged twenty-five, finally regained his consciousness. He looked at her with his sparkling emerald eyes that never failed to enchant her. He squeezed the girl"s hand tight, and she did the same. Together, they walked through the vast forest until a familiar tower lit a bright smile on Freyja"s face.

"THAT"S RUNERICH TOWER!" Freyja exclaimed, running, pulling Kirin towards the direction of a stone tower with over a hundred floors.

~ o 0 o ~