While Matsu and the others are fast asleep in the Sukehiro Inn, a boy approaches the receptionist's desk…

"Hello…" He mumbles, his eyes droopy and his voice slurred. "I need...one room…"

The receptionist raises a brow, a look of concern on her face. "I'm sorry, what was that? Are you alright sir?"

"One...room…" He says again, his body starting to sway from side to side. "I need it for a couple of days…"

"I can't understand you, I'm sorry." The receptionist frowns. "Do you need me to take you to the White Dove headquarters? You don't look so well."

The boy lets out a sigh of exasperation. "Fine...I'll just get it myself."

He raises a hand towards the receptionist, who begins to look frightened. "This won't hurt...Sleep Magic: Dream Palm…"

Glittering purple smoke suddenly appears from his palm, enveloping the receptionist. As soon as it reaches her, her eyes close and she collapses to the ground, fast asleep.

The boy sighs once again, slowly walking behind the desk to grab a room key. Once it's acquired, he takes one last look at the receptionist.

"Sorry...but I need to sleep."

With that, he trudges up the stairs to go to his room.

As soon as he leaves, a flash of white suddenly fills the room. After it clears, two figures stand, watching intently as trudges up the stairs.

"Pretty impressive!" A tan boy states. "He made her fall asleep in one fell swoop!"

"I wonder what he's planning…" A blonde girl with a bird on her shoulder says, tapping a finger on her chin.

"Hehe, I'm sure it'll be fun!" The bird talks, not surprising the two figures in the slightest. "I wish we could play with them!"

"Now, now, Gev, you know we're only here to scout out him." The tan boy chastises, smirking. "Though, it would be pretty fun…"

The blonde girl rolls her eyes. "Oh, what am I going to do with you two?"

The tan boy grins, wrapping his arms around the girl. "I can name many things you could do with me, my love."

"Oh?" The girl giggles. "Do tell."

"Ew!" 'Gev' says. "Do not tell. Get a room!"

The boy and the girl let out a laugh.

"It's so hard to contain myself when I'm around you, my love, but Gev is right." The boy sighs. "I don't want to get into trouble with her if she finds out we're fooling around on a mission."

'Gev' flies onto the boy's shoulder. "Exactly! You'll have all the time in the world to…love each other once we finish watching those exams!"

The girl nods. "I agree. They start in the morning, and I can sense that he isn't awake at the moment. We'll just have to wait to see him at the exams."

'Gev' whistles. "I'm excited! For now, let's retire to a room and get some rest. Even spirits like me get tired after the long journey from Desedenia!"

The two humans nod and a flashing light fills the room; the trio disappearing after it clears…


In his room, the boy is sitting up in his bed, his eyes pried open by his fingers. "Come on, come on, come on! If I can stay awake I won't have to do this…" He is much more coherent and awake than before, but it appears to be fueled by anger than anything else.

After a couple more seconds of holding his eyelids open, he yawns, and his grip on his eyelids grows weak, his eyes beginning to close. As they do, he sighs, clearly exhausted.

"No use...I don't have a choice." He mumbles, his exhaustive tone returning.

He moves to lay down, situating himself comfortably on the bed. "Before I go to sleep...I think I'll have a practice run. Need to know how strong these mages are…"

He lifts an arm in the air. "Sleep Magic...Pleasant Dreams."

A blue-purple light shoots from his hand, spreading around the room. Then after a second, it quickly disperses, shooting out of the room completely.

The boy sighs once again, closing his eyes. "Finally...some sleep."

BREAK

Matsu is fast asleep. He's always enjoyed sleeping, since in his dreams he can actually see. It's a comfort that he does not take for granted: after all, he'll never be able to see in the real world, but at least he can wander the world of dreams with the vision he once had.

Matsu doesn't dream of anything especially ground-breaking. Usually just walking in the forest, or going for a swim in a lake. Very tranquil, calming experiences that ease his anxieties and allow him to experience the gift of sight.

There are of course times he experiences nightmares. Most of the time, it's about his past. He has a vague recollection of what his childhood was like, but some parts of it are muddled.

He remembers his accident that caused him to lose his sight, and his subsequent shunning from his village afterwards.

Ugly.

Disgusting.

Abomination.

These are some of the words Matsu has been called by his fellow townspeople. They used to say it with such hate, like being blind was the most despicable thing in the world.

Matsu knows why they were truly so upset, but it doesn't make it hurt any less…

As he sleeps, a purple light shines through into the room. Slowly inching towards his head, it at last envelops him, starting at his head and spreading throughout the rest of his body…

It slowly starts to dim until it completely disappears. But the effect has already been instilled…

"Matsu! Come on! It's time to wake up!"

Matsu awakens to Atlas standing over him with hands on his hips. "C'mon bud, what's taking you so long to wake up? You're usually more of an early bird than me but I've already been up and at it for a solid half hour!"

Matsu slowly stands up out of bed with the help of Atlas. He feels strange, but doesn't know why. "...I overslept. No big deal." He says to Atlas.

Atlas sighs but smiles. "You're right, I've slept late plenty of times. But c'mon, we really do need to get moving. Get dressed and meet us in the living room. Our escort should be here soon!"

Matus nods in response as Atlas walks out of the room. He approaches his dresser, picking up his bandages.

"...Sorry, Atlas...I should've put these on before you came in…"

Atlas and Aurora are inside Aurora's room. Aurora is getting ready for the day while Atlas lays down on her bed, eyes closed.

"I hope you're not trying to fall back asleep, Atlas." Aurora frowns, brushing her hair. "You've only been up for an hour."

Atlas whines, turning over on his side. "It's not my fault! I could barely sleep last night. I'm not sure why, but a big part of it definitely came from worrying about what we're going to do with Matsu. Zora's going to see him and it's going to bring up all sorts of questions!"

"I know, I know," Aurora sighs. She sets down her hairbrush and turns to her brother. "I may have a solution."

Atlas opens his eyes and raises a brow. "Oh?"

Aurora walks over to her bedside table, grabbing her book of souls. "I think I have a friend who can help us out."

Atlas smirks. "Oh really? Little Miss Priss using magic to hurt the innocent? I never thought I'd see the day!"

Aurora glares at Atlas, throwing her book at him. "Hey I never said I was going to hurt Zora! I'm just going to...change something. That'll help him 'remember' Matsu."

Atlas laughs, throwing the book back at her (to which she catches it with ease). "Well sis, let's see what you can do!"


In the living room, the remaining occupants of the room are lazing around on the couch.

Pollo is eating a plate of pot-potatoes, sitting next to a very annoyed Admetus.

"Is it just me, or do those triplets all seem to be so...strange?" Pollo asks with a mouthful of potatoes.

"Chew. With. Your. Mouth. Closed." Admetus whispers under his breath, trying to stay calm.

"I mean, one is a nice guy with spiky teeth, one is a cold chick who refuses to be my friend, and the other is a blind boy who barely says anything!" Pollo continues. "It's just such a strange trio!"

"You're one to talk." Aim smirks. "You're quite strange yourself, Mr. Maniwa."

"Huh? I'm strange?" He repeats, tilting his head.

"Yes, you are." Aim nods. "You're beyond idiotic and yet you think you're good enough to become a Sorcerer Soldier."

"Aim!" Sherry gasps. "That wasn't very nice…"

Pollo just chuckles, shrugging it off. "Oh I know. All of you think I'm some dumb idiot orphan, but I promise I'm so much more! I'll show you all what I'm capable of during the exams, and that's a promise!"

"I think any orphan is capable of anything!" Glynis cutely smiles. "Well, except for having parents."

"I can't wait to see everyones magic at the exams." Joel smiles, changing the subject. "We haven't really discussed it yet, huh?"

"No, we haven't!" Ru says with a shocked look of realization. "Ooo, this will certainly be extremely interesting."

"I hope I don't hurt you all." Jasper smiles sadly. "That's the part I'm the most nervous for…"

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Joel shakes his head. "I mean, it's an exam proctored by the government themselves, they shouldn't let anything happen to us...right?"

Aim chuckles. "They're training us to be Sorcerer Soldiers, who get hurt on the daily. Why wouldn't they let us get hurt?"

"A little pain never hurt anyone but a bitch." Admetus smirked. "All you losers are going to be destroyed by me and Glynis."

"'Me and Glynis'?" Ru repeats. "What makes you think you'll be able to, uh, 'destroy' us together?"

Admetus shrugs. "I may or may not be privy to information you little flies aren't."

Sherry put a finger on her chin. "How did you get that? Even I haven't heard anything about how the exam will work."

Glynis smiles, putting a hand on her heart. "The Captain of the Amber Owl squads is an acquaintance of the Court Wizard of the Heart Kingdom! Admetus and I overheard a conversation they were having via a Communication Magic Tool and heard how they were going to do the first round! Apparently we'll be in duos-"

"GLYNIS!" Admetus bonks Glynis on the head. "YOU TALK WAY TOO MUCH!"

Glynis giggles as Admetus hits here. "Oops! Tee-hee!"

"Duos huh…" Aim repeats. "So we'll have to choose our own partner…"

"I call Ru!" Jasper says enthusiastically putting his arm around the boy. "The two of us have been thick as thieves since the very beginning!"

Ru smiles. "Of course! The two of us will be absolutely unstoppable against everyone else!" He cheers.

Sherry blushes. "I don't know who'd I pick to be my partner...I wouldn't want to let them down, that's for sure."

Pollo grins pointing to himself. "I can be your partner, princess! I won't let a thing happen to you, fingers crossed."

"Oh, um, ok." Sherry awkwardly smiles. "I look forward to working with you!"

"Always so professional, Lady Sherry." Joel compliments. "I still can't believe we're able to be in the same vicinity as a whole princess! And your bodyguards aren't even with you."

Sherry nods. "I sent them back to the Clover Kingdom. Father wanted me to keep them around but I just can't - it looks way too gaudy being followed around by bodyguards everywhere. I know I'm a princess and everything but that's a status I gained in the Clover Kingdom - here we're in the Ace Kingdom. Please consider me your equal, we're all in the same situation after all."

"Well I'm a princess everywhere so I don't think it applies to me." Glynis smiles cutely, twirling a piece of hair. Admetus hits her in the head.

"Well said, Sherry." Aim nods. "I think here we can drop formalities. We may be of different social standings but at the end of the day we are all trying to be the same thing - Sorcerer Soldiers."

"I'm glad you guys see it like that," Ru says happily. "There are those who certainly do not think like that. I'm sure we will meet some of them at the exams."

"Don't pay them any mind." Jasper advises. "The nobles and royalty who look down on others have nothing better to do with their lives and take out their frustrations on those who they see as lesser than them. Believe me, it may be difficult, but in my best opinion the best thing to do is to simply ignore them! That will frustrate them more than engaging in idle chatter with them will."

"I have to disagree," Pollo grins. "I'll make them my friends no matter what! Even the most stubborn noble will learn to love my absolutely infectious personality!" He proudly says, pointing a finger at himself.

"No."

Aurora and Atlas appear walking down the hallway, Atlas waving with a smile while an annoyed Aurora shakes her head at Pollo's comment.

"Oh come on…" Pollo groans. "What do you have to shoot me down every time, man…"

"I believe our escort should be arriving shortly." Aurora addresses the group, ignoring Pollo. "Let's all prepare to leave for the day."

Everyone nods, standing up from their spots in the living room and going to the front door.

"Where's Matsu?" Sherry asks.

"Still getting ready." Atlas answers with a slight blush. "It, um, takes him a while cause...you know. But he refuses to get help from anyone. Wants to do it all himself."

"Poor guy." Joel sighs. "I know he's really learned to adapt to his condition and everything but it still tugs at my heartstrings to think of all the difficulties he has to face everyday."

"He struggles with things that the rest of us take for granted." Ru sighs. "I only wish there was a way we could make things easier for him."

"You can make things easier by treating me like normal..." Matsu says while approaching the group, having successfully gotten ready. "I don't want to be treated any differently just for being blind."

"Ah, just like Sherry's wish to not be treated any differently for being a princess!" Ru gasps. "You two really are two peas in a pod."

Matsu and Sherry look at each other, the latter's face turning a deep dark red.

"I don't see it." Matsu shrugs.

"You don't see anything!" Glynis smiles.

Knock, knock

Everyone jumps, turning to the door.

"That must be them." Aurora nervously gulps, slowly walking to the door.

"I wonder who it'll be..." Joel remarks.

"What if it's the queen?" Jasper eagerly suggests.

"I sincerely doubt that the queen herself would come to greet a random group of wannabe Sorcerer Soldiers…" Aim deadpans, facepalming.

"It better be someone from the Heart Kingdom, I'm already tired of all these Ace Kingdom weirdos." Admetus huffs.

"Well it can't be my cousin because she's dead!" Glynis giggles.

Sherry stays quiet, staring at the door but stealing glances at Matsu every couple of seconds.

Atlas is probably the only one who doesn't care about the door person's identity, instead staring at his hand, remembering its words from last night…

"Here, I'll open it." Matsu pushes past Aurora, grasping the door knob, and swinging it open.

What was on the other side of the door was nothing that anyone could ever prepare for.

"AAAHHH!"

They scream, as a huge swarm of flies enters the room, flying right towards them with a violent demeanor…


The Curse of Immortality

Dream a Little Dream

END


A/N: I am so sorry for how long this chapter took and how short it was! This serves as a little filler/bridge chapter between the ending of our first arc and the start of our second one. Many future important characters were introduced and we got some relationship building with our beginning cast of characters.

As we move into the second arc with the exams we will meet a whole bunch of new characters, so get ready! We'll say goodbye to some of the beginning cast temporarily but I promise they'll be back before you know it. One of the hardest parts with this story is the amount of characters but I'm determined to do well and give every character the love they deserve!

ALSO yes filler chapters will not have the little intro at the beginning or an Ace Clips segment :ChefFrank: