Drake and Frainer had been walking for a few hours now. The bustling Blue Coral City was long gone behind them, and the once asphalt road had become a trail of hard soil. The farthest they were from the city, the fewer people they saw. It had been about an hour now since they passed by anyone.

"Tutututu...?"

"Uhm?"

Frainer floated in front of Drake, it's three eyes rotating around, all with a questioning look on them. He made some incomprehensible sounds, but thanks to the Spirit Contract, Drake could sort of feel what he meant.

"Why are we leaving the city? Did you like it there?"

The ball of green mist shook intensely, to show it liked Drake more. He couldn't help but smile. Maybe it was the contract, but he couldn't help but think that everything the little guy did was cute.

"After my parents died, I stayed to finish university, as my mother wanted. However, I never really liked it. I couldn't withstand the city without them. Too many bad memories, you know? So, I decided I would walk around, like my father did when he was young. I know it's dangerous outside the city, but father trained me. He always said we never knew when we could be attacked, and that in this world, the strong rule."

"Tutu..."

"Afraid? No, I'm not. A little nervous, that's for sure. But I am more thrilled than anything. I never could stand still, even when I was younger."

What Drake didn't tell his partner was that he liked getting in danger. He liked the emotion, the adrenaline. That had gotten him into more than a few predicaments, but he didn't really care. Like his father said, this was a world where one had to do anything to survive.

Drake never had any illusions about the wilderness. He knew he could die, but the thought of putting his life on the line excited him. In fact, everyone who sought adventure in the wilderness alone, or without a large escort, liked to walk on a knife's edge.

Because of his temperament and his actions, Drake's father had taught him a lot of survival methods. He knew how to fish, how to hunt, how to orient himself with the sun and stars, and a lot more. He certainly also knew how to fight, with his body alone, or blades, and even fire weapons. Most of the people knew how to do that to a certain degree, because there was always the danger of the city being overrun by a stampede of wild Iferes, or attacked by bandits.

"What about you, Frainer? What can you do? We need to know each other well, if we are going to be partners."

The Ifere floated excitedly, making some noises. Them, it stopped in front of Drake, as if waiting for permission.

"Go ahead, you can use it on me."

The reason why he could be so confident about it was because the Spirit Contract would never let Frainer hurt him. So, if the thought of using one of his skills on Drake even crossed it's mind, it was because he wouldn't be harmed.

Suddenly, the three red eyes of Frainer all focused on Drake, forming a sort of triangle. Then, they started glowing with a purple light. Drake felt like he was being sucked in by those eyes.

One moment he was standing in the middle of the road, looking at his companion, and the next, he was in the middle of a dead forest. Sparse trees appeared here and there, all dead. Everything was grey, and there wasn't a single sound.

Seeing that, Drake knew the ability that Frainer had used was Dreamscape. As a spirit-type Ifere, Frainer had affinity with illusions, and that was the essence of Dreamscape. A skill that trapped it's foes in an illusionary realm, where they would roam for an eternity.

The skill was costly on it's user, though. And, while the enemy couldn't move or defend itself, the user also couldn't, otherwise Dreamscape would be canceled.

Without a warning, the grey land disappeared, and Drake found himself staring at Frainer again. The green ball of mist seemed to be tired, as it was somewhat smaller, and the shade of green was lighter. It couldn't be helped, after all, the Ifere was born just a few days ago.

"Wanna stop and eat something?"

As he said that, Drake sat on a rock by the side of the road, and opened his backpack. He had brought many things, since he knew he would be away from civilization for a long while. And so, he took out some strips of dried meat, and a bottle of water. It was only when he looked at all the human food that he realized he had no idea what Frainer ate. The Ifere didn't even see to have a mouth. Or a corporeal body, for what matters.

"Err... Do you want some?"

The Ifere floated closer to the food, before backing away. Through the contract, Drake could feel he didn't like it.

"What do you want? I will see if I can get it."

Frainer floated around for a few moments, before latching on to Drake's head. He started to feel tired, and his vision went dark, as he fell in a dreamless sleep.

...

When he woke up, Drake found that Frainer was still on his head, but the glow of his red eyes had dimmed, showing he was sleeping.

Looking at his phone, he saw that only half an hour had passed. It wasn't difficult to understand on what Frainer feed on. Dreams. Luckily, the Ifere was still young, so very little time was needed for it to eat.

For a moment, Drake thought about complaining about how dangerous it was to make him fall asleep in the middle of the road, but when he saw how peaceful Frainer looked, he couldn't bring himself to wake it up.

After packing everything, he started walking again. His objective was Falling Star City, which was about three days of walking from Blue Coral City. If he wanted, he could have used a Rootler or a motorbike, and arrived there in just a few hours, but then his adventure wouldn't make any sense.

With his eyes focused on the road ahead, Drake grinned wildly. For the first time since his mother died, he was truly excited for something.

---------------------------

"Are you sure he is the best choice?"

"You felt the same as me, my old friends. He has the heart to do what is necessary to protect our world."

"His heart isn't pure! He might end up on the wrong side, fighting against us!"

"A risk we will have to take. Amongst Iferes and humans, he is the best candidate. Our partners think the same."

"We trust your instincts, old friend. But it might be too soon to make a decision."

"We waited for a million generations. A few more years won't make a difference. Meanwhile, I will start testing him. Anyone disagrees?"

"We are all in this together, like we always were."

"So, let's wait and see. Maybe, our arduous mission is coming to an end. Prepare for war. You all know what needs to be done."