I’m in a strange land.. of dreams?

I’m inside of a field full of flowers, lit by the night sky, with its countless stars shining brightly. It’s beautiful, but I have no idea why I am here. Is this maybe only a dream? But it is so lucid… I guess I should explore here?

I start to hop through the field, basking in its glowy brilliance and beauty. Hopping and hopping I go, just observing, watching. The night sky, littered with so many stars, is starting to get brighter and brighter, It is very noticeable, even, as the flowers start to glow, slowly becoming more and more like the stars above.

I stop when the brightness is too much to handle, and I cover my face with my wings. It is way too bright... Why is my dream like this? Is it trying to blind me?

I take my wing off my face, opening my eyes as far as I could, trying to see what lay behind the brilliance. My eyes burnedeyes feel like they were burneding, but I stare anyway. That was when I sawee it. A falling star makes its way in the sky, falling towards the ground, close to where I am. I stare at the falling star, trying to peek at exactly what it is. It seems to be made out of a glowing substance..? No, it seems to be made out of a star.. a literal falling star.. that is falling close to me...

I try to distance myself from the place it will most probably fall, but as if it was watching me, it changes directions and gets faster and faster.

It reaches me in the blink of an eye, and the entire world shatters.

…

argh... I feel horrible... I open my eyes, seeing that I’m still in the burnt tree. I remember that strange dream, immediately looking at the sky again. Why.. What is that shape moving in the sky?! I look closely at the object, and sure enough, it's the same as my dream. What.

I start to shake and panic. What even is happening anymore? I can’t even fight a star! Is it going to just strike me like that? No, wait, why is it even going to strike me? what. I stare at the falling star.. it changes direction, falling exactly in my direction.

… am I going to die?

...No, no, I can’t give up like that.

I run, trying to get away from the star. hopping and hopping through the forest, in a mindless run. I stop, breathless, and look at the sky again. The star is not falling in my direction again.. but it seems that it sped up. It's almost striking the ground, now.

I wait, still catching my breath, as I watch the falling star strike the ground. A thunderous noise comes from that direction, with a blinding flash and shaking. The whole forest awakes at the shaking, noise and light that It shows, birds taking flight, beasts roaring towards the thing that made them awaken.

I focus on the site where the star fell. It formed into a crater, with flames around it, and molten stone.

Wow.. good thing I ran away... if that had hit me... I shiver at the thought. I’d have died instantly... I know that I can’t revive yet, somehow, but even then, it might not be enough...

The forest calms down after a while, birds and beasts quieting, down, everything going back to its usual appearance and state. I wonder.. why did that star change directions for me? even in my dream… Why did I have a dream like that? So many questions.. and I possibly have the answers close to me...

I decide to approach the fallen star. I hop through the forest, thinking while I do so. Hopping is starting to get tiring... maybe I should try flying soon? Maybe. I’ll see it another time, now...

I look at the site where the star fell. Charred trees, fragments of glass, molten stone and earth, is what greets my vision, while in the middle of the crater was a strange object. It was completely black as if it was shallowing light itself, having countless little specks of light inside its formless form.

What even is this... As I watch the object, it suddenly changes, mimicking my form, but with black feathers with glowing specks within them. What.

It looks at me, staring. I start to get worried and start preparing for a fight, if it comes to that. I set my body alight, staring at the object without blinking. It just stares at me, with its eyeless face. Time stretches, and when it finally moves, it is too fast for me to see it. It slams into me, my flames reacting immediately to the action, trying to burn it, but it avoids it completely, continuing to strike me without stopping.

I try to do something to it, to strike, burn, or something! But I simply can’t, it is way too fast… Its strikes get even more vicious, with its faux-flames making an appearance, burning me, cowering my flames. I stare at it with wonder and pain. It is using my small moves to destroy me!

It stops eventually, my body battered and scorched. It suddenly lunges at me again, and I try to do something to impede it, and something happens. It turns into a black smoke with little lights inside of it, after hitting my body.

I just stare at the smoke with visible confusion. What the fu- The smoke starts to approach my flame, and it seemingly fuses with it. I feel, more than see, that [Phoenix Heart] activated, and I know that I'm not ok. This being is trying to take over my body, and for whatever reason, it counts as a poison or toxin to my ability. The ability is trying to cleanse me, but it is way too strong for an Infant Phoenix, like me, to handle.

All the while this is happening... I only feel pain. Like my soul was being ripped out of my body. Pain! So much pain! MInd numbing pain spreads through my entire being. What the fu*k is this happening! The form! That thing?!?!

I know what is happening to my body right now. The form is trying to possess me, but I won’t give it the satisfaction, no...

I focus on my heart, and start to manually control the warmth. I focus everything on the ability, for it to cleanse and extinguish the being trying to possess me. I feel that I’m gaining ground, both the combination of the battlefield being my body, and my skills affecting it start to overwhelm it.

I scream inside my numbing mind. Go away! I scream.

The form is losing faster and faster.. when suddenly, It all ends. It gives way, losing all of its strength. I won! haha... HAHAHA- It gave up... and it is giving its essence to me? What... I can’t refuse because it is already on my body... what-

Its essence is absorbed by my flames, as I feel my whole being expand. Did I just level up..? More than once?

My flames absorb the form, and it completely disappears. I feel the change immediately. It feels that my whole being changed, and I became aware of something that I didn’t simply couldn’t think about. Essences. What I absorbed was an essence.. and it gave me an affinity.

I don’t know how I know it, but I just do. Was it the essence? Or the new affinity?

My body changes, and so do my flames. They resemble more of the form now, but incomplete, somehow.

I check what the system has to say,

-

Starlit essence absorbed.

Stellar affinity obtained as a second main affinity.

-

Stellar.. that is my... second main affinity? And there is more still?

-

Max level reached. Evolution is now possible.

[Meditation I] learned

[Mana resistance I] learned

[Pain resistance I] learned

-

Max level? What is the max level?

-

Level: 10 (+)

-

Level 10.. and that plus sign is related to the evolution, I'd say?

Nothing more..? Ok. No better place than here to evolve, I think. Nothing will approach this for some time, so I’ll be pretty safe.. probably.

I open my status again. noticing that I have free stats points.. that I hadn’t used. Should I use the now..? No, not now, I don’t know what they do exactly. For another day, then.

I focus on the plus sign on the side of my level, and another blue screen greets me.

-

Evolution initiated.

Choose one of the following races:

[Starlit Infant Phoenix - E]

[Child Phoenix - D]

-

I stare at the screen. The first one is related to the essence, while the second is the normal line for phoenixes. And… that letter after the race names, it is a rank, isn’t it? I don’t have any clue on how they work… So I won’t think too deeply about them.

I click on the first option, and I start to feel sleepy. Aye, thought so.

Evolution, here we go..!

My body falls in a deep sleep.

---

The ground rumbles, disturbing an ancient place.

In the center of it lies a flickering orb. It shines brightly, after being disabled for centuries, it finally awakens.

The dungeon known as ‘Anemoi’s Curse’ is active once again.