“And promise you’ll call every day,” Dallion’s mother said. “And if you can’t text.”

“I promise,” Dallion smiled.

Leaving for college felt more awkward than he imagined. It was bad enough that he felt anxious about the upcoming changes. His mother made things far more complicated, almost crying. His father had turned out the smartest of the lot, avoiding the entire goodbye scene under the pretext that he had to check the car.

“I’ll be in touch,” he said, avoiding looking her in the eyes. “I promise.”

“And if there are any problems with your room, your father and I will—”

“It’ll be alright, mom. I checked out the campus online and the reviews are fine.” Dallion lied. In truth, he had mostly checked pubs, shops, fast-food joints and everything else reachable from campus. “Don’t worry so much.”

An obligatory hug followed, after which Dallion went to his father's car for the long drive to the airport. Technically, there was no reason for it—he could easily have Ubered to the airport—but he thought that a drive with his father was the least he could do.

The drive was silent for the most part. After providing some basic advice, Dallion’s father remained quiet, turning on a collection of music songs. On his end, Dallion didn’t have much to say either, although he would have preferred a different selection of music. It was only after they had arrived and Dallion was grabbing his bags, when some more advice was offered.

“Don’t do anything too reckless.” Dallion’s father handed him the last backpack. “And careful with the drunks and other things.”

“I’ll try to remember.” Dallion smirked.

“It costs a lot to go where you’re going, so don’t mess up. Remember, there are things that can be fixed and others that can’t be.”

“I know.” Even now, Dallion felt he was being treated as a child. For the last two years, he had pretty much been on his own: he had his own priorities, friends, a part-time job… the only time he was home was to sleep. For his parents though, he appeared to be the same little child that needed help putting on a shirt.

“Be nice, but don’t trust too many people. And don’t expect too much. That way you won’t be disappointed.”

“Right.” That was a dark way of viewing the world. Then again, his father was a lawyer.

“Now, I don’t expect you to call every night, but every now and again it is expected. Also, it’s better than your mother calling you.”

No questions there. Dallion nodded.

“Good. If there’s anything you need from me, I prefer texts or mails.”

“Anything with a paper trail.” Dallion took his backpack. “Thanks dad. I’ll be fine.”

“I know. Take care, son.”

This was the first time in quite a while that Dallion’s father had addressed him in such fashion. However, the moment was barely noticed. Other priorities had taken hold, namely getting to the gate on time, then making his way to campus.

With school season approaching, even small airports were packed with more people than they could handle. Nothing was as “fun” as standing in line, waiting to get the baggage checked.

“Where’s the fast lane?” a loud female voice asked above all the chatter. Dallion, along with most of the people in the queue, turned around to see what was going on. “Or VIP treatment?”

The person in question was roughly Dallion’s age. Platinum blond and dressed in the latest designer clothes, she screamed “trust fund kid”. Dallion had no idea who her father was, but it was clear he had impressive amounts of money and clout, judging by the way she behaved. Still, Dallion had the strange feeling that he knew the girl from somewhere.

“Come along,” a platinum blond young man—probably her brother—said as he moved to the nearest airport information assistant. “I’ve got a first-class fast pass.” He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it. “Which way?”

The clerk was utterly confused. Knowing that the pair wouldn’t take no for an answer, she looked at the printout, then at the blonds.

“And you’re going to…?” she asked delicately with the politest smile she could muster.

“Nerosal university,” the girl said with a twist of her head as she stepped next to her brother. “We were just admitted there.”

Just great, Dallion thought. Of all the universities in the world, they got to pick this one. Spoilt rich kids were never easy to get along with. His only hope was that they wouldn’t be such a pain in the ass once there, or if they were that, they would have nothing to do with him.

It took less than a minute to get the pair sorted. Dallion, along with a lot of others, enviously watched from the queue as the blonds were escorted to a special entrance that bypassed the standing baggage check-in and security checks, probably to the first-class lounge. In Dallion’s case, it took considerably longer. Close to an hour later, he, too, was at the gate, scrolling through his phone as the airplane was fueled and loaded.

“It’s going to be a calm flight,” someone said. Dallion looked up to see a middle-aged gentleman dressed in a light green suit. It seemed quite expensive, even if it wasn’t a brand Dallion recognised. It was much more high class than any of his father’s suits, that was for sure.

“Seems so.” Dallion glanced at his phone to check the weather forecast. “Looks like clear skies all the way.”

“Indeed.” The man smiled. “And a full moon.”

The comment made Dallion forget his browsing and pay more attention to the man. He was clearly too well dressed for coach. A few decades ago, Dallion would have imagined him being the head of a bank or similar institution. At present, he seemed like someone’s butler… not that Dallion had ever seen one.

“Heading to university?” the man asked.

“Why yes. How did you know?”

“Your shirt,” the pan pointed.

Dallion looked down and saw the Nerosal U emblem all over his T-shirt. That was strange, he didn’t remember putting this shirt on.

“Right.” Must have skipped my mind, Dallion thought.

“Learning is the greatest reward,” the man in green said. “Some say it’s the greatest treasure. Like everything else, though, the important thing is to keep a steady pace. Burning out helps no one.”

“You can say that again. You in academia?”

“You could say that.” The man looked at his wristwatch. “Normally, I don’t get involved, but every now and again they call me to explain a thing or two.” For a split second, his eyes glowed green.

Normally, this was the moment when a person would jump back or even scream in astonishment as something supernatural was taking place. Dallion, however, only looked on as if it were nothing much. What was more, he still couldn’t kick the feeling that all this seemed terribly familiar.

“In this case I’m here to help you, Dallion,” the man said.

“I don’t understand…”

Suddenly, a distant memory appeared in Dallion’s mind. It was more a realization than a memory. Slowly, he looked around, only to see that the entire room around him was empty. The passengers, the cleaning staff, even airport security, had vanished.

“I’m in a dream,” Dallion said, turning back to the man. His appearance had changed as well. No longer middle-aged, he now looked like someone in his late twenties, bronze skinned and dressed in a loose green traveler’s outfit.

“A dream within a trial within a realm.” The other nodded.

“You’re the hidden moon.”

“No. I’m just one of the moons that chose to take a step back. Seeing you, I decided to intervene.”

“Because of the trial?”

“Because I think you deserve a chance.”

The Moon turned to his left. As he did, Dallion noticed that the walls that surrounded them were gone, revealing a field with a view of the night sky. There was a single full moon there, and it was green.

“It’s no secret that you failed your trial,” the Moon continued. “You’ll have to find the reason on your own, but suffice it to say that you weren’t ready for that challenge.”

“And you’ll tell me what I need to do to overcome it?” Dallion said in hope.

“No. A failed challenge is a failed challenge. In a day, you’ll have to try again and continue doing so until you break through your current limitations. I’m here for something else. I’ve noticed that you have a tendency to prefer draws or surrenders to defeating your enemies.”

Dallion had no idea whether that would be considered good or bad, so he nodded.

“That’s precisely why I’ll offer you a boon. If you agree, you’ll jump two levels and potentially pass the gate you so much want to. Note, that I’m not saying that you’ll pass, or that it’ll help you against your real-world battle even if you do. The only thing I’m offering is a chance.”

“Two levels just like that?” Suspicion crept into Dallion’s mind.

“In exchange I’d make a request.” The Moon smiled. “It’s not the first time you’ve had such an offer. The well guardian in your village did something similar. He surrendered, allowing you to achieve victory while only asking one thing in return. In my case, the request will be a lot more difficult.”

Clearly, there were strings attached, but even so, the deal sounded too good to be true. Of all the things that could have happened, having a moon intervene was unusual, to say the least.

“I’m not a Star, if that’s your concern. Although if I were, I’d probably say the exact same thing. You’re free to refuse and return to your rather uneventful dream.” The Moon turned around. “An airport? Given the wonders you’ve seen and can imagine, you could do so much better.”

If Nil were here, the first thing Dallion would do was ask him for advice. Alas, even echoes had no place in a dream… even if Gloria and Veil had somehow managed to find their way here.

“Do I get to hear the request before I decide?” Dallion asked.

“Of course. Provided you survive your upcoming fight, I’d like you to find a dragonlet in the wild and bring it to me.”

“Dragonlet?” Dallion blinked.

“You just need to take it to an awakening shrine. I’ll handle things from there.”

“I don’t even know what that is…” But I’ll have to find out, he said to himself. “What’s the time limit?”

“There’s no time limit, just as there wasn’t to the promise you made the well. However, if your commitment falters, I'll know.”

“And what happens then?”

Vines in the form of green chains emerged from the ground and wrapped themselves round Dallion before he could say a word. He could feel the thorns pierce his skin through his clothes.

“If your commitment falters, you’ll lose all you have gained,” The Moon said, as one of the vines pierced Dallion’s chest. The pain was momentary, like a sharp prick in the heart. “Remember, I have your heart in my grasp now, and I’ll know what your intentions are, just as I’ll be able to punish you.”

The rest of the chain-vines loosened, letting Dallion drop to the ground. Now he had witnessed first hand exactly what the Moons represented—inspiring, powerful, and extremely terrifying. No wonder no one dared break their rules—the Moons themselves didn’t allow it, and punishment was swift.

“Don’t let that worry you, though. I have faith in you.”

You have received a boon from Felygn.

You have broken through your 2 barriers

Your current level has increased to 20.

Choose 2 focuses that will serve you best.

“With that, I suppose it’s time for you to pass through the gate,” the Moon said. “I can give you the grand tour, but I think both of us would prefer the experience be short and sweet instead.”

A stone altar emerged from the ground.

“Your thoughts?” the deity asked in the fashion that suggested that anything other than agreement would cause issues.

“Yes.” Dallion cautiously stood up. “Short is good.”

A large circular window emerged above the altar. As much as Dallion tried to look through it, but all that he could see were clouds.

“One simple question, one simple choice,” Felygn said. “Do you want to remain where you are, or continue on, regardless of the changes you’ll go through.”