A scintillating red light flashed into existence as it grew larger and larger, carving its way into a new location. It spun faster and faster, forming the figures of Nightingale and the rest. It disappeared in an instant after throwing them out into a new location.

They stumbled and fell to the ground, feeling disoriented. The location that they had been transported to was dark and cold, most likely underground as there was no light reaching through. They let out a small groan, pushing themselves off from the ground, they ended up bumping into each other.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re touching?” cried Shuen in the dark as somebody had copped a feel of her hips.

“Ah! Sorry!” Telvinder apologised as he pulled his hands away, only to end up bumping into someone else.

“Oi, watch where you’re going!” Darren scolded him as Telvinder bumped into him.

“It’s too dark in here, I can’t even see where I’m going or who I’m even pushing!” replied Telvinder.

“Get your flashlight out,” Darren suggested Telvinder who immediately began searching his pockets for his torchlight.

It was a mess as the others had impatiently tried to regain their balance, but ended up causing more chaos against each other as Telvinder was pushed back and forth. He tried to his best to maintain his footing before falling, stumbling back on the ground.

“Ouch, that’s my foot!” Darren exclaimed in pain as Telvinder fell, his elbow hitting Darren’s foot as he shielded his face from the fall.

He quickly pulled himself up and started searching around for support as he was having trouble finding his footing.

“Hey, you’re pulling my hair!” Alicia cried as Telvinder mistakenly tugged her hair to bring himself up.

“Who’s touching my crotch!?” Pee Aun began angrily, only to stop abruptly and scream, stunning and silencing everyone.

“Um . . sorry.” Telvinder apologised with a low voice as he was too embarrassed by the others finding out that he had mistakenly searched the wrong pockets.

The others began shoving each other about as they were fighting for their footing within the dark.

“Would everyone just stay still!” Nightingale roared in order.

As the others were shocked and frightened by his sudden rage, he immediately reached for his pocket and lit his cigarette lighter up.

The sparkling light from the lighter brightened up the area as they found themselves in an empty dungeon. Searching around, there was only a single path that led towards a blocked-off-wall. The walls around had vines and roots sprouting from above, and the cobbled floor was covered in moss. The dungeon seemed to be centuries old and was preserved from collapsing by the supporting roots and veins.

Nightingale gathered his strength, pushing himself off the ground as he went ahead towards the blocked-off-wall.

“A similar spell,” he whispered and waved for the others to follow him.

They were welcomed by the bright sun as they exited the dungeon. Turning around, Nightingale saw that the entrance of the dungeon had been disappeared and in its place was a small ruined structure, covered away under a large forest tree. Taking a step back, he found himself standing at the edge of a large forest with trees that seemed to be centuries old.

“How would they even expect us to find the entrance, if it’s hidden this well?” Pee Aun exclaimed as the others turned around and saw that the dungeon they came out from had disappeared within a forest.

“Well the ones who placed such a spell, would not want people to easily stumble into it,” Nightingale replied.

“If they had hidden this place that well, what about the wall back in the chapel? It was not too well hidden, people might accidentally stumble through it.” Darren asked.

“No, not very likely. There are things that may or may not have been overlooked by people, and also, the reason why we were able to pass through that wall was that the magic had recognised me as a disciple of magic and gave me an authority in allowing us entry.”

“So, where are we now?” Alicia asked, looking around as she saw fields of grass that stretched far into the hills beyond the horizon.

“To be honest, I have no clue. But as a start, you could pull out your phones and check in with our location.” Nightingale suggested as the others quickly began rummaging through their pockets. Shuen was the first to do so as she had already started checking their location.

“Bosherston. . Wales.” She gasped in astonishment, lowering her smartphone as the others turned to look at Nightingale, waiting for him to give them their next move. Nightingale scratched his cheeks as he looked at the sun that was soon to be nearing the horizon.

“It’s getting late now. Find us an inn that’s nearest to our location, we’ll be spending the night there as we prepare for tomorrow’s journey.” Nightingale said as he extinguished his light by capping it, returning it into his pocket.

“There’s an inn nearby and it’ll only take a 10-minute walk to get there,” Shuen informed him.

“Good, I’ll let you take charge in leading today.” Nightingale smiled.

He walked past her and went away from the group, heading back towards the dungeon’s entrance. He pulled out a tracker from within his coat. Activating it, he threw it into the forest where it fell and was hidden away in the tall grass. He was prepared with tools and devices that he requested from the organisation he retired from.

Nightingale took no chances for a risk of losing their lead in finding Avalon, as he had placed a tracker for them to easily find their way back. He saw that the others had already moved ahead as Shuen cheerfully led them on their path towards the inn. He pushed the strap of his bag up his shoulder before heading to join them.

He felt a strange gaze staring right at him from behind, as he was made quickly turning around to look.

There was nothing to see, as the forest seemed empty and was shadowed and had been darkened over by the clouds. The eerie feeling of a gaze disappeared at his glance.

“Strange, must’ve been my imagination.” He whispered to himself.

“Something wrong?” Darren called out for him from afar as Nightingale turned around and saw Darren staying back, waiting for him.

“No, nothing,” Nightingale replied as they went ahead to rejoin the rest.

It was nearing dusk when Nightingale and the others arrived outside of the inn’s entrance. The inn had the look of a cottage and it was built along the side of the road, not far from a large lake. Taking but a single glance at its sign, they went on ahead, entering through the inn’s door as a sound of a ringing bell greeted them in.

They were welcomed by the smell of fresh food as their bellies growled out of hunger. Nightingale proceeded towards the counter, followed by the rest. Looking around at the inn, there were plenty of tables that had been left unoccupied as there weren’t that many tourists in this time of the year. There were still customers inside as they laughed and chatted while enjoying their meal. The atmosphere within was warm and calming as the inn gave the vibe of being at back at home.

“Hah ha, welcome!” A middle-aged man greeted them from behind the counter. He had a great silver beard on his face with a bald top. His clothing was different from that of the other workers and it would seem that he was the innkeeper.

“Tourists, aye?” The innkeeper asked after peeking over Nightingale's shoulder and saw that the others behind him were Asian folks, except for the boy with frizzy hair wearing glasses.

“Mmmm . . . tis a lovely part of the country, Bosherston that is. Large lakes and grassy fields as far as the eye can see. I do love this place . . I really do.” He added with a smile as he began reminiscing, before shaking off the feeling and continued attending to his customers.

“So, what can I help ya with?”

“I’d like two rooms for seven people for the night. Dinner and breakfast too please.” Nightingale replied as he pulled out his wallet, ready to pay the amount on hand.

“Breakfast is included with the rooms, so it’s relatively free.” The innkeeper informed him.

“That’s great. How much is it?” Nightingale asked.

“Two rooms and dinner for the night; that would be 130 pounds.” The innkeeper replied and accepted the cash that Nightingale handed him. He gave him two sets of keys and directed them towards the stairs.

“Up the stairs and your rooms should be on the at the furthest end of the corridor. On the left, Room 7 and 8.” The innkeeper said with a smile as the other gave them their thanks, following Nightingale towards their rooms.

They settled their bags down in their room and immediately went downstairs for dinner.

“Come, join us for dinner.” Darren invited Nightingale but he was declined politely.

“Thanks, but I would like to sit this one out. I’m feeling sleepy and would love for some shut-eye.”

As Darren left the room, closing the door behind him, Nightingale took his long coat off and laid it down on the drawer near his bed. Lying down on his back on the soft mattress, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Night had fallen when Nightingale woke from his slumber. He saw the night sky through the windows and immediately got up from his bed. He had overslept. Reaching for his coat, he pulled his watch out from its pockets, it was 9 PM.

“Two and a half hours,” he whispered to himself before taking his clothes off and went for a shower.

Nightingale came out, looking refreshed, wearing new clothes and a towel around his neck. He dried his hair with the towel and tossed it into a basket for used towels. He went out of the room and headed downstairs. Walking away, he passed the others who hadn't noticed him and headed for the door.

Nightingale stopped as soon as he reached the door before turning around to take a glance at the others. A pleasant melody sounded through the inn, with the others smiling as they laughed with each other, with Telvinder blushing. It seemed as if they were making jokes about Telvinder again since he kept scowling and scolding them. But they did not falter and continued laughing on at him.

Arielle was seen giggling as they started exchanging jokes with one another. It seemed as if she finally overcame the weakness that held her back from interacting with others. She seemed delighted as her smile was bright and pleasant. She was happy, and so was Nightingale as he had managed to help out an old friend of his.

As he exited the inn, he was welcomed by the moonlight that shined down on him. Closing his eyes, he relished the gentle breeze blowing past him, from a nearby lake not far ahead.

It took only a couple minutes of walking to reach the lake. Satisfied with the spot, Nightingale slowly sat down on the grass. He glanced at the lake and saw the clear water near the horizon reflecting the crescent moon and the stream of stars that filled the sky.

"We're almost there," he whispered to himself in his relief.

Lying down on his back, he gazed at the stars that were dazzling in the night sky.

"We don't have this kind of view back at home."

He closed his eyes and began listening to the sounds of the wind and crickets chirping as they hopped around in the grass fields during the night. He started reminiscing about the memories of his past life, the days before the lightning. As he reminisced, he saw a memory he had no recollection of.

Nightingale saw a figure of himself thrusting a bloodied sword into the rubble on the ground as a female knight was left motionless on the ground before him.

He was in the aftermath of a battlefield as bodies of knights and soldiers were lying dead all about. Looking at the blood on his face, he saw the tears of grief falling from his cheeks, his teeth clenched hard. Sorrow and anger raged around in his piercing brown eyes.

His hands slowly slid down along the sharp ends of the blade before prostrating on the ground. He roared with an unrelenting rage that would match a monster, as he wept and wept on in pain.

“Give me another chance!” He screamed as he pleads into the sky for a God to save him from his sins. He slammed his face against the ground, prostrating himself.

“I'm sorry . .” He cried with his fingers started digging into the soil.

“I’m sss-sorry. . . I'm s-sorrry . .” Nightingale watched as he saw that figure of himself cry again and again until the world around disappeared.

From the corner of her eyes, Alicia noticed the door swooping shut, that leaving her pondering if Nightingale had gone out.

“Think I should go and wake Nightingale up so he could come join us for his dinner,” Darren said in tandem with Alicia’s thoughts as he was concerned about Nightingale. He stood up halfway from his chair before being stopped by Pee Aun.

“You probably should leave him to his beauty sleep. He’s probably exhausted from the magic he used today.” Pee Aun calmed his worries as Darren slowly returned to his seat.

“Don’t forget he probably had done a lot giving encouragement to the little missy here.” He nodded his head towards Arielle, who was in the midst of a conversation with Shuen. They both were interrupted by his words of mentioning Arielle as they both turned their attention towards them.

“He deserves that sleep. But it is odd how he managed to push her into being able to interact with us after years of her reclusiveness, ever since our good old friend died.” Pee Aun said as his cheery face slowly turned depressed on the mention of his old friend.

“It’s like he knows more about Arielle than we know about him. Must be a coincidence ain’t it?” Pee Aun added as the words dragged its way into Alicia’s thoughts.

“But how did he manage to get you to talk to him?” He asked Arielle.

“I don’t know. But he gave off a warm and familiar vibe like a mother. It made me feel relaxed and at home.” Arielle replied to him as she covered her flushing cheeks with her long sleeves.

Those very words had made Alicia came into realisation as she quickly rose from her seat and headed away from their table. The others piqued with curiosity as they watched her leave.

“Where’re you going?” Shuen sleepily called out for her in question.

“Out for a walk,” Alicia replied with a smile as she went out through the inn’s door.

Nightingale's eyes immediately opened as he forced himself free from the nightmare within his recollection of memories.

“What was that?” He whispered in confusion as he was confident enough to confirm that what he saw was not a memory of his.

“A vision?” He pondered before being alarmed as he felt a gaze staring again in his back.

He immediately turned around to look and saw Alicia standing not far from him. A gust of wind blew past them. She brushed the hair away from her face before her mouth opened.

“Nick.” She called out for his name again with a straight face as her eyes stared into his.

“I beg your pardon?” Nightingale replied to her call with a surprised and puzzled look, stunned by the name she called out for.

Alicia hesitated a bit, before clenching her fists hard as she mustered the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing her mind recently.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” She finally managed to ask him.

“Who?” He asked her, as his thoughts had been fully redirected from questioning the vision towards her call of suspicion.

“Nick Ohmsford.” She said his full name that sent chills into his spine. A name that he will never forget.

“Yes, indeed I am,” Nightingale replied, at last, facing her with his courage. Prepared for the anger she might have in store for him.

To his surprise, he saw her standing stunned, with tears trickling down her cheeks.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Alice?” He finally said with the brightest smile he had given in years for their fated reunion under the crescent moon.

Alicia was left stuttering as she was still slowly accepting his words. Wiping her tears away, she ran towards him, still unable to hold back her tears. She clung onto the front of his shirt and continued sobbing in tears.

“N-Niiiccck.” She called out his name as she started digging her head into his chest. “I misshed you sho mwuch.” She tried to say in her tears.

Nightingale was left surprised as she clung onto him, pulling his shirt as she cried. It reminded him of the time when he was crying in her place, but now their roles were switched as he hugged her back. He closed his eyes, listening to her cry. He rubbed the back of her head, giving her the comfort she needed.

“I missed you too.” He replied with a cooing voice in her ear, as she clung onto him tighter than ever. They were both seen hugging each other by the lake as none of them had shown signs of letting go.

"W-why did you leave?" She said in her tears.

"Did you know not how much pain I felt watching you throw away your life?"

"Why . . . why did you leave?"

"I'm sorry, but can't help myself from saving a life." He answered at last.

"And that is what I hate about you." She lied as she continued crying.

A couple of minutes later, Alicia pushed herself away from clinging too much onto him. She held onto his arms as she stared into his face giving him a smile.

“You look different.” She stated.

Nightingale was overwhelmed by her dazzling smile. Her tears were glittering as they trickled off her cheeks and her face was shining beautifully in the moonlight.

“Yes, yes I do.” He returned with a smile of his own.

"More handsome I hope." He sneered.

"Nope, not all." She shot him down with a straight face.

“I knew it wouldn’t be long before someone discovered my identity, but I never expected that you would.” He said as he let go of her arms and sat back down onto the grass.

She sat down next to him as she gave him a pouting face.

“Of course, I would be able to find you out. We had been close friends, long before we met them.” She said, staring into his face that was gazing into the horizon.

Nightingale felt a familiar warm feeling building within him as a smile drew on his face.

“It’s been a long time since then.” He agreed as he started reminiscing about the time when they were together.

“So tell me, what happened? How are you still alive?” Alicia asked him, tugging his sleeve to grab his attention.

“It’s complicated. But let’s just say, I was given a second chance for a whole new life of adventure.” He replied with a thrill in his voice.

Alicia’s face flushed red as she remembered telling him about her purpose in joining in their journey.

“Um, would you mind if you forget about all that I had said previously about you in the plane.” She pleaded, her face filled with embarrassment.

He gave a mocking smile, and a small chuckle before replying, “Of course— I wouldn’t. I’d never forget those sweet words you said about me, and oh! Such a heartwarming promise you made—”

"— I'm sorry." He apologised with both his hands clapped in the air as soon as she gave him a sharp glare of her anger.

He had always been weak to her scoldings when he was young, always being lectured and scolded by her for getting into fights. She was like a big sister to him.

“So what about the others? Shouldn’t we let them know of your return?” She asked.

“No.” Nightingale shook his head in disagreement.

“There are things that are best left forgotten, and I am one of ‘em. Our real adventure begins tomorrow, and I wouldn’t want to start any needless drama.” He said, staring back into the lake.

He felt her head resting on his shoulder with her arms about him.

“Alicia?” He asked in question as he turned his head to look.

“Hush now, just let me savour this moment.” She hushed him with a reply, as she buried her in his back. He wasn't able to turn around, but he instinctively knew that she was crying.

He turned his gaze back towards the lake and stared into this beautiful moment, this memory he would never forget.