Dream

Up above the arena, still seated in the Blooming Rose, a group of young women watches the fight. As Rickard and Jakron are still talking, the girls discuss them in their private room on the fifth floor of the restaurant.

"Boys are so funny," laughs one of the women.

"Yes, but who do you think will win? Ella?" asked another woman.

"Normally I would easily say Rickard, but something about this new kid feels different. He doesn't seem fazed at all by Rickard's blustering," answers Ella as her dark eyes sparkle with mirth.

"I agree with Ella. This new kid is up to something," responds Sophia as she emotionally looks down at the arena below. As Sophia finishes talking Jakron and Rickard's arms collide.

............…

As the dust flies into the air, Jakron is forced to take a step back. Quickly recovering, Jakron uses the same foot to step forward closing the small distance between him and Rickard as he delivers a vicious punch to Rickard's stomach with his free hand.

Rickard, on the other hand, is completely flabbergasted. That hammer fist was about as powerful an attack as he can deliver and this newbie took it without a pause. As Rickard is still struggling with the notion that he isn't stronger than this newbie, a power force blast into his stomach lifting him slightly off his feet.

Staggering backward, Rickard forces back down his recently eaten meal that was trying to escape his stomach. Controlling himself Rickard leaps backward while raising his guard against another attack.

Not moving Jakron analyzes Rickard. That punch contained about eighty percent of his strength. While this was an okay result he was hoping for more. Of course, Jakron also doesn't know at this point that Rickard is at the late stage of the Initiated realm.

Rickard, on the other hand, is furious at himself. He currently only has around 300 points and losing one-third of them over a silly fight is frustrating. Madly thinking of how to win this Rickard begins to use his movement technique to create space between Jakron. Erratically flashing across the arena, Rickard gains back a little of his confidence.

Watching Rickard quickly moving around the arena, Jakron is surprised at the speed and agility of this fatty. While Jakron doesn't have a way to match Rickard's twitch-like movements, he does have instantaneous speed. Thinking about it, Jakron just needs to either get the fatty to attack him or force him into a corner then he can throw his ass out of the arena.

As Rickard finally feels comfortable again because of Jakron's current immobility. He begins to gather himself for a sneak attack when suddenly Jakron disappears and reappears in front of Rickard's path. Stunned, Rickard quickly moves back and tries to circle around Jakron again.

Jakron continues to zigzag back and forth in the arena slowly pushing Rickard into a corner. As Rickard realized what is going on he finally loses his patience launching a leg sweep to force Jakron either down or away giving him room to escape the corner.

Seeing the fatty sweeping towards like a meatball with a piece of spaghetti attached Jakron can barely keep a straight face. While Tyrion didn't have that much experience in fights Jack did. He was in the military and learned that simplicity is the best. Flashy moves will just take too much time. With Jakron's superior strength, he raises his leg and stomps with as much power as he can muster creating a large crater of about two meters to radiate out from him catching the spinning meatball in its radius.

The sinking ground disrupts Rickard's movement sending him spiraling to the ground. Losing sight of Jakron, Rickard's heart freezes as he feels and iron like hand clamp onto the back of his neck. "Lookie, lookie, I got a Hookie," Jakron whispers into Rickard's ear.

"Wha...What?" mutters Rickard as he can barely comprehend his circumstance.

Moving his powerful legs Jakron launches himself and the fatty into the air by about ten feet. "Fly away meatball," Jakron grunts as he flings Rickard out of the arena and cratering into the ground below.

"Holy shit," Jacob exclaims as he watches the end of the fight.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Hale yelled as he darted up to the arena in a flash. "I mean when to did the boom and then smash and finally kaboom!" Hale narrated while acting out an abridged version of Jakron's fight with Rickard.

"Well done brother," Derek congratulated me with a large smile plastered on his face.

"Seriously Bro, you have to spar with me every day. With you around I'll get stronger by leaps and bounds," Jacob said while walking toward Jakron.

"Me too," Derek quickly piped in "I need it the most."

"Don't forget about me. Having such a powerful brother is going to be fantastic," Hale laughed while jumping around everyone.

"Ok. Ok. Let's go I need to recover," Jakron says while feigning weakness.

With that Jakron and his newly found brothers head back to the dorm in high spirits.

............…

"So what did you think Sophia?" One of the girls watching from their reclusive room on the fifth floor asked.

"He is impressive, but only won because of his brute strength. Still strength like that is impressive," Sophia commented with only a slight raise of her eyebrows.

"Yes, I agree. Impressive." Ella laughs as she watches Jakron and his roommates he back with a mysterious look in her eyes.

............…

Back in the room, Jakron retires to his room after having to almost beat away the excited Hale. Laying in his bed Jakron tries to finally analyze his memories of Tyrion and Jack. It is a weird thing to have someone else's memories and feel an intimate connection, but also at the same time feel disconnected.

Sleep gradually rolls over Jakron. While he feels that he is dreaming, Jakron floats in a starry sky. Slowly he drifts around the stars with some that are brighter and other's create a strangely familiar sensation.

While floating through this starry space Jakron tries to feel his body, but it isn't there. Instead, he seems to just be a formless blob of consciousness. Much like he would envision his soul. Trying to force this soul form to move is excruciatingly difficult. The space around him feels like molasses, resisting his every effort.

After a while Jakron gives up from exhaustion, then without willing, Jakron starts to drift closer to one of the stars. The closer he gets the stronger the tug on his very being, quickening the pace that he moves through this space.

Finally, after a long journey, Jakron arrives before the bright light. As the light engulfs his soul form, Jakron feels himself entering a new space with light and sound engulfing him. As Jakron's vision clears, he feels that he is in a cavern with different passages branching off in all directions. These different passages seem to connect to different images that are full of color and shapes. Most of these passages are small areas, but there is one main passage that leads to the largest area that has the most colors, shapes, and sounds that feel like they overshadow everything else. Curious but hesitant, Jakron wills himself towards one of the smaller passageways. As Jakron enters he feels that everything warp around him.

After the blink of the eye, Jakron feels himself in a body, but it isn't his body. Jakron can feel the body move and he can even feel thoughts flit into his consciousness filling him with little tidbits of knowledge related to the current situation.

This body belongs to Mekal, he is 22 years old and a farmer. His whole family for generations back have been farmers. Now Mekal is already married and has two kids, two older boys, and his wife is pregnant.

Sitting in his living room Mekal is waiting with bated breath. In another room here can hear grunts and moans as someone struggles with some laborious task. Another voice can be heard of someone talking calmly and giving directions.

Soon Mekal can hear the screams of a newborn child ring through his small house. Excitement and happiness rush through Mekal he jumps up and starts pacing around the door of his bedroom waiting on word from the midwife.

After what feels like an eternity to Mekal, the door opens and the midwife walks out holding a baby. Love fills Mekal's eyes as he gently reaches to take the baby from the midwife.

"It's a girl Mekal. Congratulations." The midwife says to him.

Taking the baby Mekal is overwhelmed with happiness. "She is beautiful. How is my wife?" Mekal asks with a hint of worry.

"She is doing good. Everything went smoothly," the midwife says comforting Mekal.

Jakron feels himself pulling back to the spacious cavern as the scene ends. That felt like a memory to Jakron just much more clear than anything he has ever experienced.

Thinking that Jakron proceeds through a few more of the smaller caverns and ends up experiencing some of Mekal's happiness moments when he has another child, the crops are unusually bountiful, and his first grandchild. Also, Jakron picks a few passageways that are filled with Mekal's saddest moments where his parents die, a drought wrecks the harvest, and the death of his second son to sickness.

These rollercoaster of emotions are strenuous in Jakron's soul. Everything that Mekal feels during these memories is reflected into Jakron's soul. This process feels like he is refining his soul to a certain extent.

Finally, Jakron decides to explore the largest passage. As Jakron enters everything feels brighter and more vivid. Before the memories had a certain washed-out feeling compared to this. Jakron quickly theorizes that this is what Mekal is experiencing in the present.

It is raining. Mekal is dazed, his head feels like it is cracked open. Running his hand gingerly over his head Mekal finds a spot that feels terrible. He can tell that his skin is split open where something smashed into his head right above his left ear.

Getting up from the muddy ground Mekal looks around. He is currently on the outskirts of his property. The fields around him are a mess. He can tell that someone trampled then by riding a horse through his fields. Seeing the fence that is in shambles and the single bladed ax that he was using to hammer some new post with, Mekal can slightly remember what he was doing.

Fear strikes him as he grabs his ax and takes off running to his house. The reading is pouring and Mekal can barely see as he sprints towards his house. As he makes it into his yard he can see the candlelight flickering in the house along with some shadows. Hearing some neighing Mekal sees that there are horses he doesn't recognize tied to up in his shed sheltering from the rain. As he almost makes it to the house he trips over something on the ground and drops his ax.

Patting the ground looking for his ax, he feels the thing he tripped on. Getting closer Mekal can see that it is his youngest son Will.

"Will! Get up what are you doing laundry in the rain" Mekal deliriously cries.

When Will doesn't respond Mekal tries to pull him up by grabbing his torso when he feels something terribly wrong. There is a large cut in Will's chest. As Mekal feels the cut and Will's cold body the reality of the situation sinks in.

"NOOO!" Mekal screams as he quickly finds his ax and rushes into his house.

Smashing through the door Mekal can see his daughter laying on the table with her clothes askew and blood everywhere. A man is currently faced away from Mekal warming himself with the fire. Startled, the man turns to see Mekal bury the ax into his face.

"Darius what the hell is going on out there," another man says as walks out of Mekal's bedroom. "Shit!" He yells as he sees Mekal ripping the ax from Darius's head. Quickly he draws his short sword to fight against the raging Mekal.

With adrenaline-fueled strength, Mekal slams his ax into the other man's chest uncaring of the blow he takes to his left shoulder. Mekal's rage-filled blow has blasted the other man onto the floor shattering a nearby chair.

Mekal watches the man take his last breath as he tries to pull the ax from the man's demolished ribcage. As Mekal struggles with the stuck ax, he feels something painful slide into his back. His strength leaves him as he falls to his knees and is then kicked in the back.

"Son of a bitch. I thought that dumbass killed you when he bashed you on the head," Mekal heard from behind him. Slowly Mekal forces himself to roll over. Mekal can see a rough looking man holding a blood-covered short sword looking around in disgust, but Mekal's vision is filled with the sight of his wife's bloody corpse laying on his bed.

Laboriously, Mekal stands. His body is quickly getting weaker and his every breath harder to breathe. He can feel the blood filling his lungs from the sword wound from his back.

"Still not dead huh," the man admires Mekal's persistence, "you're one tough bastard, but it ends now."

With a quick rush, the man thrust his short sword into Mekal's chest and pinning him against the wall. Mekal can't even move anymore. His body is unresponsive and even his vision is failing him.

"Ahhh this feels nice doesn't hit. Outside of this damn rain, it has been a great day," the vicious man says as he watches the light fade from Mekal's eyes.

Mekal is unable to do anything his body is dying and all he can see are his killer's eyes in front of him. Grief is wrecking him as the hopelessness caves in his world

"No. I won't allow things to end like this," a powerful voice echoes through Mekal's consciousness.

Suddenly strength that isn't his own fills his body. The light in his eyes sparks with a raging fire.

"What the hell," Mekal's killer mumbles.

Shooting forward Mekal's now powerful arms grab the man's head and start to squeeze.

"Die" a simple but powerful voice exits Mekal's mouth.

"NOOO!" The man barely gets the words out of his mouth before he hears a crushing sickening sound and then everything is dark.

Before Mekal's eyes, he sees the man's head squashed like a grape. Blood and brains are covering Mekal's unfeeling hands.

"I'm sorry," a tired voice rings in Mekal's head.

"No thank you," Mekal responses as he passes away from this world.

Inside of Mekal's now dead and disappearing soul, Jakron's soul form is trembling. The powerful emotions and feeling were overwhelming. Jakron forcefully taking over Mekal's body in his dying moments was exhausting. He feels like he is going to pass out at any moment. As the feeling of weakness grows stronger a weird energy starts to seep into his soul form.

Taking in his surroundings Jakron can feel part of Mekal's fading soul merging with his own strengthening him. The weak feeling that was threatening to send him into unconsciousness quickly fades.

As Jakron finds himself back in the space filled with stars he is surprised at everything that has happened. Still recovering Jakron feels himself fade from this space.