It's the day of revelation. She agreed to meet him within a café not many know of. Deeming it a fresh change to his life, he got himself dressed as stylish but also casual as possible. Expecting a life of grandeur, he believed that he can cast that life of worries aside and finally live as if he was lucid dreaming.

"The day has come! I can finally live the life I want!", he thought as he got himself ready and packed his bag.

Now, the only issue would be dealing with his parents. Unauthorized leave on a saturday was strictly forbidden and would not only get him berated but also get his electronics taken away. However, he had to take the risk, he can't allow himself to lose even more oppurtunities.

"I'll deal with the potential beating later. Hell, maybe I can counter it and protect myself for once!"

Checking whether or not he has everything he needs, he's still unsure whether or not this is a good idea. His secret stash of cash was secured. His laptop and his phone are coming with him. A change of clothes are in his bag as well just in case something unexpected happens.

Still, he wondered whether or not she was just going to tell him that there was no way in hell that he ever coud be like her. He wondered whether or not these hopes are for naught. But he can't hesitate any longer! A chance at freedom is a chance he has to take.

"I have to go. Otherwise I'll just spend the rest of my life depressed. It may be some kind of fishy ordeal where I disappear or get harmed but I honestly don't care. I'm not letting this chance slip away!" His resolve roared and allowed him to set his plan in motion.

As he lieved within a two story house, he had to secure a way to get back in. Opting for the garbage container not far from home, he intends to use it as a means to get back inside. Sneakily, he jumps out and leaves his window open. Quickly, he beelined it towards the next station. Sprinting at top speed, he finally made it attracting the eyes of passerbys and people waiting for their train.

On his way to salvation, he couldn't help but think about the one gloomy individual he had met the day before. Bruised and scarred... He wondered what was wrong with the person he had just met. But he had to take his thoughts off these things to ensure he doesn't mess up in what he was trying to achieve.

"Elena... I wonder what type of person she is. She seems quite nice but I can't help but feel that there's something wrong," he thought as paranoia kicked in once again. "Maybe... No. Not yet. I can't think about these things now. Besides that she's the one that saved me! I should be grateful..."

Still, there was nothing he could do to drop his generally wary nature. His thoughts were out of control. So were his emotions. An inner struggle that was build up through years of abuse is bound to rise and present itself someday. Alpha does wonder sometimes whether or not those thoughts will be explosive and come out at the worst possible time.

As he neared the station he had to get off at, he was hesitating.

"Should I get off or should I stay seated?", ran through his head several times.

The train came to a halt and signaled people to leave on the right. People were stepping out with their baggage not looking back. Convincing himself to leave, he makes it out last second nearly tripping and falling into the crack between train and station.

"Just in time. Since we've come so far, I should just keep going."

Heading straight towards the café, he finally arrived at his destination. Somehwat sweaty, he hopes that it's not too noticeable. Realizing that he's about ten minutes early, he takes a stroll around the area. Even now he is thinking about escaping but he cannot as this chance won't present itself again. He just hopes that it can provide him with the things he dreams of.

The one he's aching to meet, Elena, was standing right in front of the café.

"Oh! You're here!", she yelled as a means to get his attention. This time, she was wearing a straw hat, a white sleeveless summer dress, beige sandals, and a beige belt bag that didn't fit a lot but just enough to hold money and a medium-sized phone.

Alpha, while awkward, tried to give off confidence and adjusted his posture. He waved at her as he's generally not very loud and cannot yell. Within his black cargo shorts with two chains attached to his hips creating two archs, he was sweating buckets. His checkered gray, black, and white shirt matched his cargo shorts. His white cap shielded him from the sun.

Impatient and excited to talk, Elena dragged him into the café. Though he didn't get a good look at it, it was an animal-themed one. The owners decided to adjust the café to the seasons. With it being summer, they went for the beach but also for elephants. With about twenty tables, most of them had a group seated at them. Heading straight for the counter despite there being a line of customers, Alpha started getting nervous.

"Hey, Elena! The other-", but he was cut short. Not knowing that the girl at the counter had anticipated them, he freaked out as she rushed to the counter. Two drinks served in palm-shaped containers were spicifically made for them. Though the customers regarded it as rude, they couldn't exactly speak out either.

Seating herself directly next to the counter with the desk being reserved for her, Alpha simply followed suit and did as she did. Placing the drink right in front of Alpha, she offered him the drink. Anxiously, he just did what she was expecting. Both taking a sip, they refreshed themself trying to live through the summer heat.

"That was awful! Want mine?"

"Really?" With his sweet tooth acting up, he couldn't help but take her seriously. She was joking at the time but allowed him to take her drink.

"You seem to really love these things. I guess you prefer sweet over bitter," she remarked as he sipped away.

"I do," he answered. "I guess you're aquainted with that girl at the counter, right?"

"I am. We're friends and I do help her out from time to time. This is why we can always walk up to the counter and get what we want."

Elena spent her time thinking as if there was something wrong. It made Alpha anxious as he would never just meet a stranger and go out to eat with them.

"What's your name again?"

"Oh, I guess I didn't tell you. It's Alpha."

"No! I should have asked you." Her rather nice and open personality were a blessing. Alpha finally is starting to let his guard down and rest his arms on the table with his chin.

"It's so hot out there. I really can't take the heat!"

"So you're not an outdoor person?", she wondered. Though she guessed right, he didn't want to admit it and fabricated the best excuse he could come up with.

"I'm just not a summer person. That's all."

"Then let's move to the mall. It's a lot more bearable there. Right at the entrance we can get ice cream."

Alpha nodded.

Not questioning that this was starting to turn into a hangout, he simply tagged along. Summer heat extinguished the need to be vigilant and ask questions. Though he still has becoming like her in mind, he tags along as if it were normal to just hang out with a person he had just met.

Standing in front of the mall, he realized something. He'd never really been here as the only friend he could spend time with was incredibly busy outside of school. He's also incapable of initiating anything.

"What's wrong?", she asked.

"Nothing. I just haven't been here before."

She wanted to take this oppurtunity to tease him but couldn't bring herself to. Instead she wanted to know why he wouldn't visit such a place many teens his age visit to just stroll around and hang out.

Before she could utter another word, he said, "I just don't like these crowded spaces. You keep rubbing on and off sweaty people that sometimes breathe down your neck when you're standing in line for something... It just kinda isn't my thing... I guess."

Strangely detailed but only halftrue. There's no need to go when you have no one to go with.

"Then let's head in. It's pretty boring anyway so you're not missing out on much."

Heading in, a long line of people getting ice cream blocked the way. Navigating around them they moved along while Alpha is being introduced to all these stores. Starting off with a bunch of restaurants. None of them catch his eye as the first is just a shop with pizza drowning in oil. The second one seems to be an asian restaurant but he's not a massive fan of those. The third restaurant seems rather bland. The only thing that stands out within it was the schnitzel roll.

"Is that really all there is to this mall? Seems kinda boring...", he said as they kept working.

"It's not about the stores. It's about spending time with your friends. They may be awful but the only place where teens don't get randomly kicked out or harassed for existing."

Though they didn't talk a lot, they did enjoy each others presence. It was oddly comforting despite the silence between them. Finally, after a short eternity of skimming through shops, something interests Alpha.

"Let's head in there."

"Sure."

A bookstore was something he took interest in not because of the books. Without thinking he suggested they go in but had to uphold an image of not being childish. His love for cartoons, comics, and manga nearly dragged his image down. Awkwardly, he breezed through books while glancing at the things he wanted to look at every once in a while. Elena caught his glances a couple of times and could tell that the comics were more interesting to him.

"Back there... Those are comics, right? Let's check those out!", Elena said.

Delighted yet playing it cool, Alpha mumbled, "Fine."

Heading straight off to manga and comics, Elena stopped in her tracks for just a short second as if something was amiss.

"Is something wrong?", Alpha asked.

"Nope. It's nothing."

As soon as they get to Alpha's destination, he was beaming with joy. Though he didn't show a lot of it, Elena could see it within his eyes.

"You seem to really these," she commented.

"Yeah. But it takes forever for them to be translated, licensed or even available in any shape or form. A lot of it boils down to pirating these things since the wait simply isn't worth it."

Going on a long rant about licensing and piracy, Elena, despite dozing off in the middle of it, tried to look interested. However, she had to intervene to free herself from his long rant.

"It's kinda getting late. Can we check out one of those shopes over there before we leave."

Alpha grew self aware of his long obnoxious rant and simply nodded following suit.

"I often don't have the time to go shopping especially because I've been on a tight budget the past few months, but... I finally get to spend it in here!", she announced as they walked in.

"How much time do you want to spend in here?", Alpha wondered.

"Probably an hour or maybe even two? We have to get something nice for you, don't we?"

"For me? But I don't have enough money for shopping here," Alpha stated. Elena didn't care as she implied she'd pay for the both of them.

"Don't worry. I'll pay for it all."

"But why? It's not like-"

"I told you that there's nothing to worry about. Besides that, you spent the entire day with me despite not really knowing me. I guess a little reward is appropriate."

Excited and even a little skittish, he held onto his shirt. Elena dragged him towards the men's section to get her hands on whatever she can. Though Alpha wasn't the most colorful person, she still picked a bunch of colorful things trying to change his look a little.

"Isn't that a little too... vibrant?", he asked her. "I'm not the most colorful person."

"It'll be fine. Why not change it up every once in a while. It'll do you some good!"

She wasn't going to budge which is why Alpha just did as he said. However, before any outfit could be put on, their shopping trip came to an abrupt end.

Her mood was sullied and her facial expressions changed.

"It's a Demon, the monster you just met yesterday. You can stay here. I'll take care of it before-"

Alpha couldn't just stay behind. He wanted to know more about these things. "I'll come with you," he said. "I want to watch."

"Okay," she said as she dragged him towards the counter. "Hold on as if your life depends on it as soon as I tell you to!"

Paying with her card, they rushed out of the store with several bags in Alpha's hands. With her ability to weave threads out of thin air, she attaches them to Alpha's clothes while sewing the bags shut.

"Hold on!", she said as she ran into an alley. Sealing off the exits with several threads mimicking the walls, it seems as if there had never been an alley. Her clothes transformed into the things she was wearing yesterday when fighting the other Demon.

Jumping into the air, Alpha held onto her ankle. The world around them contorted into an entirely new one. Going from red shades of the setting sun with a couple of clouds to a clear blue sky confused Alpha. Yellow ribbons wrapped around the hand Alpha used to hold onto her ankle. Finally, the Demon presented itself.

It was just one book on top of a podium. That podium floated within the skies while attached to several clothing lines that lead to nowhere. On them were black shirts and skirts with just a few white splatters of paint on them. As if they were out to dry, the white splatters turned into hands as big as those of a grown man. Going straight for Alpha, they started stripping him off his clothes before Elena could intervene as she hyperfocused on the main target. Just like before, as Alpha's chest laid bare as they pulled down his cargo shorts, Elena sliced the Demon with just a few threads.

Now falling back down instead of floating midair, they land within the alley. Alpha collapses onto the ground while Elena lands gracefully going back to her casual wear.

"I'm sorry. I tend to hyperfocus on the Demon itself instead of paying attention to its minions."

Alpha pulled his shorts back up and buttoned up his shirt while blushing. "Minions?", he asked as he pretended as if it wasn't trying to strip him and do whatever it had in mind.

"It's just as the name suggests. They serve Demons acting as ‘‘Soldiers’’. So you could refer to them as Soldiers as well."

Deciding that it's not that late yet, she realizes that the Demon had a temporary effect on the skies. It cleared as it changed from sunset to summer evening. Still bright and sunny.

"Let's head to my apartment. We can talk without being interrupted or having to fear about others listening in there. There's also someone I want you to meet and you're probably starving by now, right?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I guess we can grab a bite-"

"Nah. I'll cook something or order food back home. That way we'll waste less money and time."

Elena's appartment was rather big for someone as young as her living alone. Alpha wondered how she could afford to live here. They arrived. So had the pizza. Someone must have picked it up and paid for it. But no one was in sight. Nothing indicated that anyone else lived here. No belongings... no footsteps to be heard... Nothing. Her kitchen was small and only housed enough space for Elena to cook up a meal or store kitchen ware. Two bedrooms on the right and both a shower and a standard toilet on the left made for a decent apartment.

"Eat up," Elena said. "After this I'll have a somewhat lengthy explanation of things."

Alpha nodded as he gobbled up half a pizza. It took a while for Elena to finish her half which is why she offered him another piece. Gobbling up the last piece of pizza, he nearly choked on it as Elena watched slightly amused by his ability to devour food the way he does.

"Well... Now that we're all done, we can get to work."

Now that he's finished his pizza, he took his time to look around a little. A couch, a sofa, a glass table with magazines on top, a massive closet, and a TV randomly placed into the living room proved that Elena had no sense of interior design. Especially with the amount of clashing colors in this room, Alpha found it rather... odd.

One of the bedrooms opened as a creature walked out. Walking on all fours, it looked like a cat squirrel hybrid. With the flaps of flying squirrel and a relatively massive fluffy tail, it looked rather gorgeous. Small fluffy claws as feat and gills around its neck, Alpha couldn't tell what exactly it was supposed to be. A black ring of fur from which black lines reaching down its limbs and tail emerged was on its back. Pure white with black halos around its cone-shaped ears and the base of its tail... everything about it was odd.

Alpha had no words to spare but could not utter a word as it started talking through telepathy with a voice that was neither male or female.

"We're Zs, beings that can help you-"

"She's called Prometheia! Normal Zs usually have colors of gold instead of black marking her as the black sheep of the-"

"Hey!", Prometheia yelled. Her voice changed into that of a young girl's. Her neutral demeanor turned into a more aggressive one after being interrupted by Elena.

"Can you not interrupt me?", she asked rather sarcastically.

Elena nodded.

"Well... Anyway I'm Z. We're supposed to-" Once again Elena interfered by coughing loudly.

"I'm Prometheia," Prometheia said with a rather strained voice. Though she still talked through telepathy, it felt a lot more like she was directly talking to Alpha. "I AM supposed to help you become a Dream Catcher like Elena. And I WILL help you after Elena has given you a short explanation."

Elena grinned. "Well thank you. I'll take over from here."

Prometheia disappeared within the bedroom she came from and somehow closed the door behind her. Alpha couldn't help but be curious and wonder what she's doing within that room. However, upon opening the door, she was gone.

"Quite a curious one, aren't you?", Elena asked.

"I'm sorry. This was just weird... I guess."

Elena was intrigued by his lack of reaction and wondered what was behind it. "You still were surprisingly quiet. How come?"

"I guess... I've met two ‘‘Demons’’ by now. And I also have...", he said as he pulled out the key he hid beneath his shirt. "...this thing!"

"Oh! That's a divine key! Where'd you get that?", she exclaimed.

"A divine key?"

"Oh right... Forget about that. Let's just start from the beginning."

Upon uttering her last words, space distorted as threads unveiled a world made by her own hands. A massive whirlwind closed in on them blinding him in the process. After it cleared, he simply had to rub his eyes to find himself within a new world.

He could hear the ocean waves but before he could open his eyes, Elena put her hands on them to surprise him.

"Take off your shoes and socks and let me guide you."

"Huh? But-"

"Just do it!"

He did as she said and let himself be guided towards the waves. Slowly but surely, he adjusted to the wet sand and felt water grace his feet. Turning him around, she finally let go and showed him what she was hiding. Before him was a beach stretching out to a flower field. At the center of this massive flower field was a massive bonsai tree that towered over everything except for the mountains even further back. It was a marvelous view as the breeze made it even more wonderful.

Awestruck, he didn't know what to say.

"Amazing right?"

"Yeah... Where is this place?", he asked still awestruck.

"This is a domain. Both Dream Catchers and Demons can draw them out but everything with a soul can create these wonderful spaces," she said. "Dream Catchers and Demons are in constant conflict with each other. Despite being two sides of the same coin, they can't get along causing unnecessary conflicts that lead to death and destruction."

"Then why do you fight them?", Alpha asked.

"Because most are uncontrollable. Spreading disease, negative emotions, and fatigue as they promote wrath, they grow stronger and even more influential. Their origin is unknown and their level of intelligence is questionable. However, I do believe that there's more to them that lies unconfirmed."

Alpha couldn't tell what exactly she was getting at with “unconfirmed”, “unknown”, and “questionable”. He followed everything else she was stating.

"Dream Catchers exist solely to bring balance and defeat all Demons. Using four of the five fundamental elements, they take them down and allow society to live on unaware of the “biggest evils” of the world."

Obviously showing her own forms of “bias” while explaining everything he needs to know for now, she itches towards skipping a few things she deems unnecessary.

"Listen carefully and never forget this! There are five fundamental elements: light magic; dark magic; spiritual power; natural power; and physical power. Each of these interact with each other differently. Light magic is the element of energy while dark magic is the opposite. Acting as “plus” and “minus”, they cancel each other out mysteriously vanishing. Spiritual power is the essence that makes up your soul. With this power you can inufse your body to harden it for protection and overpower others in willpower potentially knocking them out. Physical power stands for fauna while natural power stands for flora. Together they create everything from diseases to all life within the universe. These elements aren't as simple as they seem and grasping what they are becomes easier as you make progress controlling them."

Motioning at his “divine key”, she asked him to take it off. Handing it to her, she let go as if she burned herself. It was then that Prometheia showed up behind Elena.

"Oh? So only one wielder at the time?", Prometheia asked the two.

With Elena somehow suffering from her skin melting as it burned off, Alpha was horrified at her condition looking away trying to hold the contents of his stomach in. Simply detaching her hand as if it was sewn on, she stomps it out allowing it to disappear as she reknits another hand.

"How did you... What did you just do?", Alpha asked in shock as he slowly backed off the thing that was just around his neck.

"You'll reach that stage some day. This is just a basic ability you too will have in the future... At least if you survive long enough."

"Survive long enough?"

"If you want to become a Dream Catcher, you'll have to deal with the fact that it comes with death. Sometimes it's a comerade. Sometimes it's a friend. Just once is it you. You may make it a month and be killed by a Demon or whatever may have an issue with you that can be solved through violence. It's not rewarding and often traumatizing. You'll be a changed person... potentially a shell of the person you are now."

The mood was rather dark and sullen.

"Do you still want to become a Dream Catcher? I can make you forget all this if you-"

However Alpha wouldn't take that. He loudly asks, "But that isn't guaranteed, right?"

"I guess not. I've been doing this for five years and I've lost-"

"Then it's worth it!", he declares. "A chance at helping others is a chance I cannot allow to slip out of my hands!" All enthusiastic, he saw a new reason to live, a way to potentially better his life, and a way to be the hero he's seen in shows and dreamed of.

Elena was shocked by his willingness to put his life on the line but gently smiled as she nodded at Prometheia.

"For now, I can only give you this ring. I hope we can get this phase over with as quickly as possible!", Promethieia says as a white light flows towards his ring finger. Solidifying in form of a white ring, it becomes a magical item that's invisible.

"Come back tomorrow! I'll tell you more about other things and help you use this ring to its full extent!"