The night was very loud and busy in the village.
While Albert slept soundly, he dreamt again.
He saw a vast and empty world and felt like he was in the sky with no end.
The only light he saw came from a human-like figure.
He felt no sense of hearing, nor could he feel any part of his body.
Only his mind existed.
Then he heard a voice in his head from the figure—
a woman's voice, echoing inside his mind.
"Please save...
Save, save, save, save me..."
The words echoed in his head.
Then he woke up, still feeling as if his dream was real—
as if his body was being put back together from being cut into pieces,
because before that he couldn't feel anything.
His head rested on the old dusty table.
He coughed
and sighed.
"Oho, oho...
What a dusty pillow..."
he muttered, even though it wasn't a pillow.
"That being... she must be the Guardian of Nature the book of Victor Quasinto spoke about.
She wanted to be saved.
Her body...
is the artifacts."
he said.
He walked out the door, and when he turned right,
he was shocked to see a human body covered in mossy clothes and roots.
He quickly ducked and tried to clean it, to see if it was really a body.
When he finished, he saw a man with long hair.
The man's face looked sad, but he was asleep.
"Who the heck is he?"
Albert wondered for a moment.
"Could he be...
Victor?" he questioned.
"Hey...
Hey...
Sleeping ugly!!!"
he shouted at the man he suspected was Victor Quasinto.
"If he really is the author of that book,
then he'll be very helpful in confirming if the task I got in my dream is true," he thought.
He stepped closer, embarrassed that he had called a lying man ugly without knowing who he really was.
Albert tried to wake him by pushing his body, but he didn't wake up.
Albert remembered how Lessa used to pinch the side of his stomach to wake him when they were children.
He decided to try it on the man, apologizing as he did.
"Sorry, man, but I need to know who you are."
The sleeping man suddenly opened his eyes in shock.
He swiftly leapt like a feather into the air.
Albert raised his head, impressed.
The man landed smoothly.
His clothes were tangled with tiny roots and colored with green moss.
He walked toward Albert cautiously, his foot ready to strike Albert's face.
"Woah, woah...
Easy, dude," Albert said.
But as soon as he got close, the man's leg shot toward Albert's face.
Albert barely dodged it—
but collapsed to the ground, as if all his strength had been drained from him.
"What?
What just happened?
I thought I dodged him...
but it's like I was hit by many kicks at once.
He's so fast...
Faster than Madam Merry!!!"
Albert thought in shock.
"Young man, are you a hero?"
the man asked, his expression dark.
Albert surrendered and cried out,
explaining everything he had gone through.
He told the man his only hope to redeem himself was by reviving Lessa through fulfilling the deal with the being in his dream.
The man believed Albert's words.
He could sense that Albert carried an artifact, and this eased his suspicion.
"This young man is not a hero," the man thought,
"but he's still alive after taking a strike from me.
Even if he dodged, my kicks would drain his strength and life force."
After that, they spoke for a while.
Albert then confirmed the man was indeed Victor Quasinto.
They went inside the Golden Tree and spoke about the Guardian of Nature.
"Young man, may I confirm something before I tell you about her?"
Victor asked, staring at him suspiciously.
"Did I hear you call me ugly?"
Albert avoided his gaze at first,
but then admitted it shamelessly.
"Yep. I called you ugly."
"Explain why," Victor demanded.
Albert thought he was about to be kicked,
but still explained.
"Umm... I read your book and found out how ugly you are.
Instead of returning to your king and your first lover,
you stayed here selfishly.
What I mean by 'ugly' isn't your looks,
but your selfish and disgusting actions.
I'm sorry—I don't understand your motives or your reasons for loving that Guardian.
I'm not judging you...
just telling you how I see you as a fellow man."
Albert sat on the old chair while Victor stood in silence.
Finally, Victor spoke.
"The Guardian of Nature...
She is the most gorgeous and beautiful woman I have ever met.
Back to your case—
there's no doubt she appeared in your dream.
The artifacts are part of her.
Each piece has its own functions and effects on its wielder.
Some wielders have already discovered that these artifacts are tied to their lives."
Albert asked,
"What do you mean tied to their lives?"
"Simply put," Victor explained,
"all of her artifacts connect to the wielder's soul.
I once met a wielder here not long ago—he's called the Wielder of Death.
His artifact is a black knife."
Albert's hands clenched.
He remembered the knife that killed Lessa.
"That knife... it's also black, and when I... I stabbed it into Lessa..."
he thought in despair.
"Tell me more about that wielder. I'm begging you!!" he pleaded.
"I don't know why you're interested in that weakling," Victor said,
"but his artifact is unique.
It can kill anyone instantly with a single slice—
and the most dangerous thing is its teleportation ability.
Of course, I was able to defeat him and drive him out of this forest.
Now, back to the main topic—"
Albert interrupted.
"I also have an artifact, but it's mysterious.
I don't know how to use it.
Do you know anything about it?
Can you teach me?"
Victor replied,
"I know—I know...
Your artifact is part of her soul.
Its function is to deliver her regret and show her greatest dream—
most likely, to restore her body.
But I haven't finished explaining the connection between the artifact and its wielder.
There are rules you must never break.
Each artifact has different rules.
Some rules are deadly—like if you leave the artifact more than five meters away, you die.
But others can be beneficial."
He lay down on the floor and groaned.
"Aaahhhh... My mouth is getting dry!"
After a moment, he continued.
"In short, young man,
you must find out your artifact's rules—
so it will follow you."
Albert asked,
"Okay... then is it true that if I collect all her parts, she can be revived and fulfill her promise?"
Victor chuckled.
"As I said, your artifact is just a memory—
a piece of her last thoughts in life.
It's impossible. I'm sorry."
Victor bowed his head.
"What? So all the struggles I went through to escape from the village were in vain?"
Albert thought.
"That's not true!!! Nooooo!!!"
he shouted.
Albert collapsed, dust rising from the ground.
He knelt and cried.
"Lessa!!!!!
I'm so sorry!!!!
Why?!
Why do I always lose every shred of hope I have?!
Just one!!!
Please...."
His voice broke, sobbing in pure sadness.
His hands trembled.
His vision blurred.
"That doctor...
He's hiding something from me.
This is the last thing I must know—
who ordered him to kill the chief.
Possibly he's the Wielder of Death Victor mentioned earlier."
Albert thought.
He stood, with nothing left in his heart but this one purpose.
Victor warned him,
"Young man, don't—"
But Albert ignored him.
Victor clenched his teeth as he watched Albert walk back toward the village.
Albert's mind was filled only with grief and anger.
He thought of the doctor who framed him.
He felt no hesitation.
He walked quickly.
He didn't know what else to do—
only to act on instinct.
Nothing else mattered.
He didn't notice the paper glowing blue above him,
smoke-like energy flowing out.
Written upon it were the words:
[Soul System Rules Introduction]
The following rules are absolute, and any violation will be considered an act of abandoning the system.
Such an act will bring absolute punishment, which cannot be undone by any means, natural or unnatural.
• The holder cannot create a spell that opposes the type of soul it exchanges with.
• The holder may ask any questions related to the system.
• Every soul exchange cannot...