Internal Conflicts!

Isalda handed him the sword. "The sword is complete, Oscar."

It's been a month or so, since the AMHC testing.

"It feels so... empty though, right?"

Oscar held the long sword, pulling it out of its scabbard. It was finely decorated.

The blade was long (even for a longsword) and rigid, with the hilt curved to protect the wielder's thumb, and increase grip.

"I know, it feels empty. That's because if you want it to be as good as you described it, it must be enchanted by an elementally attuned mana stone."

"..."

"We have no such things in Anore. So, your best luck is going to the Kingdom of Jaercy!"

(The Kingdom of Jaercy is roughly Southern France)

"Wouldn't that cause a problem? If a government official suddenly-"

"Government official? Oscar, you're a soldier. You hang around royals, but that doesn't mean you're a government official."

"Oh..."

"But either way, I've got a disguise for you. Black hair dye, and black contacts. Your new name is gonna be William Avolo."

"William... Avolo. Got it."

. . . 

. .

.

(Julian)

For some reason, I found myself stuck in my head, again.

Is something happening outside?

Ah, no matter.

It wasn't my house this time. It was still a familiar scenery.

A grassy plain, with a single tree in the middle. 

I could see Grey Julian lying against the tall tree.

The look on his face was so peaceful. So solemn.

"I'm here again."

"I know."

"Ah, right."

Could talking to myself be so boring?

"Where's the third one?"

"The third one?"

"You know who I'm talking about. The one that was sleeping before."

"Oh. He's in the hole next to me."

Grey Julian... Gulian pointed to a dug-up grave next to him. For some odd reason, I didn't notice it.

He continued speaking. "I saw a spot with no grass, and before I knew it, I started digging with my bare hands."

"Weird."

The wind blew. I could see every individual blade of grass move with the wind. I could almost feel it, too. At the edge of my conscious.

"Kapow!" I could hear yelling from the dug hole.

"What... the?" Gulian and I yelled out.

(---)

Gulian and Julian stared at the figure, slowly crawling out of the grave.

"It's... us!" Julian yelled out.

"This is really confusing for my head. What should we call him?" Gulian yelled out but in a questioning tone.

"My name is... Emperor Ailas!"

Gulian replied blankly. "I'll just call him Ailas." 

Julian agreed "Right."

While Julian and Gulian were dressed normally, Ailas was equipped with a white fur cloak, or rather, cape. On his head, rested a golden crown.

"He does look pretty cool though," Gulian noted.

"Ah, that doesn't matter. Why the hell am I here?" Julian complained.

"I'm surprised none of you guys have figured this out yet. So I really am the smartest."

Ailas laughed out loud, while Gulian and Julian looked at him, awkwardly. They were judging him silently. 

"... Are you gonna tell us?" Gulian asked.

"A mental attack has been placed on us. Someone's trying to attack our body."

"So... how are we supposed to get out of here?"

"We?" Julian interjected. "The only people that need to get out of here are me and Gulian. Ailas, you can stay here."

Ailas laughed.

"What's so funny? I wholeheartedly agree with Julian."

"Of course you do! You're benefiting from it."

"You came out of nowhere, Ailas! And you've been sleeping for so long-"

"Well, now I'm awake! Listen! Gulian is the mana for this body. Julian, I... guess you're the smartest. And I'm the strength!"

"I don't like the way you said that about me being the smartest... What do you mean by strength? We all inhabit the same body, no?"

"Right. But I'm the only one that can access the strength hidden in our muscles!"

"Ah, bullshit!" Gulian interrupted.

"What do you mean, bullshit? Every time Julian shows any kind of strength, that's me waking up a little bit!"

"..."

It was silent for an unusual amount of time.

Gulian finally broke the silence. "Okay! Let's settle this with a set of contests! To see who is fit-" 

"Screw that!" Ailas yelled. "If there's an attack against us, who knows how much time we have left? We can't waste any time at all!"

"Ailas is right. We need to figure out who's getting out of here."

"We're not figuring it out. It's gonna be me. I was simply stalling time to figure out how to get out of here."

A crack in the air formed.