-Some time in the past-

A man closed his eyes. Though he could not see his surroundings, he was very sure that he's now in something like a white void.. a vacuum. He felt his body lighter. A strange feeling, as if he was floating midair. All he could hear was silence. Not even his own breathing. Was this death?

A flash of memory came to his mind. A scene about war.

"Did I.. did I die in the war?" he asked himself in heart. "What has happened in the past? Ah... right.. I remember it now. I have been shot in the chest, then... fell from a three-storey building. And then... then what?"

The man slowly drifted off again, losing track of time. Until finally, his senses returned to him in full force. He was still closing his eyes but now he could hear the sounds from all around him clearly. These voices... people talking in a lively manner, and many noises that he didn't recognize. He noticed he was no longer floating, but standing on firm ground. Wherever he was.

As he opened his eyes further, he discovered he had somehow worn a set of clothes and even a pair of boots. Military style. Nice and suited his taste.

He frowned, didn't know where it was. Everything's unfamiliar. He stood in the middle of a town that was unknown to him.

The only thing he could recall was... the day he had been shot. But only that. Why the hell was he in the middle of the war? He didn't remember. He even didn't remember his name!

But what made the situation more odd, all the people weren't able to see him! The people just walked through his body!

"What?" he was surprised.
He looked down to his hand. He noticed that his body was solid and not transparent but why did people walk through him as if he was a ghost? And he couldn't interact with anyone either.

"Am I a ghost now?" he asked to himself, thinking hard.

"Now... what should I call you, then?" a woman's voice from behind startled him.

He turned around. He found himself looking at a short woman whose face resembled his own. She wore a pair of glasses perched high on her nose. She held a book under one arm. Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Dryad," she said with a smile.

"Y... you can see me?" He stammered in surprise. This was so weird!

"Of course I can!" the lady chuckled slightly.

"Then why can't other people see me?" The man was confused.

"Of course they can't!" Dryad answered with a smile.

The man frowned. "Okay... hold a second, let me figure out what happened here..."

"Well, perhaps it's because you are figments of my imagination," she smiled gently.

"Pardon?" the man squinted his eyes. "I don't understand.

"I also don't understand why you appear right before me so suddenly. But, since I realized that you are invisible to others except for me, I assumed that maybe you are just my other imaginary friends...or something of the sort," Dryad said.

"Other imaginary friends?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Yes! You were never real to other people. But... think about it, how could you only be real to me? That's why when you appeared, I knew you're just some part of my mind playing tricks again," she spoke again.

He chuckled anxiously, unsure how to react. Moreover, he laughed to himself because all these things confused him. And also, this woman is.. weird, he thought.

"Anyway... back to the topic. What should I call you, then... hm...," Dryad pondered, her gaze locked below to the cobblestone streets of the town. Then she snapped her fingers, "Ah! Brilliant!"

"What?" the man tilted his head.

"Brilliant. I will call you 'Brilliant' from now on!" she giggled.

"Brilliant, huh? That's not even a name! What made you think of that?" he said puzzled.

She shrugged her shoulders lightly and smiled. "It seems fitting for you. Looking at your appearance and expression, you look like a very high intelligent person."

"Huh? Thanks?" he replied, still baffled.

And that was the day they met. He let her call him whatever she wished. He has followed her since. But not all the time. There was something that he could not control.

Sometimes, he was stuck again in a void, unable to move nor open his eyes. Other times, he woke up in a place where Dryad was.

As the days passed, the man -now named Brilliant- began to accept the possibility that he might be used to someone who died in a war, then continue his new journey as... as what? Not a ghost, nor a spirit. Then what?

"Perhaps.. I am now a Guardian sent to this girl?" Brilliant thought to himself. Yes. He nodded. "Guardian" sounded more logical than "fragment of imagination" like Dryad said. He didn't agree with her idea. Well... whatever it was, then so be it...

He didn't mind. After all, he didn't remember his name nor his previous life. He accepted the new life as "Brilliant"
_________________________________________

- Now. Back to his present time-

Now Brilliant lost track of time. Again. He was trapped in subconsciousness, somewhere far away. But he could feel that he was lying in something comfortable rather than floating in midair. He could hear his surroundings. His eyes fluttered as he tried to move his body but couldn't, as if something was preventing him from moving or even opening his eyes. He felt the pain all over him.

What was this strange feeling? He knew that something was wrong with him. He tried to speak out loud, hoping that someone would hear him. But nothing came out from his mouth except a weak moan. His ears perked up and he listened carefully. The sound of a deep voice seemed to be talking alone to himself. That person --whoever he was, complained about how he was now old and tired as a military Surgeon. Though in a deep slumber, Brilliant could listen to all of the old man's complaints. But soon, his mind was in a daze.

"Where am I? Why can't I get up? Why is it hard to open my eyes?" all these questions racing through his head, "Where is Dryad?"

As his wish to see that short woman increased, he managed to crack his eyelids. Like always, he could not control where he would wake up. He slowly opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of destruction! He looked around, trying to figure out what happened.

"Is this... a library?" he whispered.
There's a huge room with books and papers scattered everywhere. It was filled with broken furniture here and there. A whole bunch of smashed statues, vases and paintings laid on the floor too.

"Dryad?" Brilliant called out again, a little louder, "are you here?!"

Then, his eyes caught the sight of a familiar figure lying down there. Brilliant's eyes widened, he immediately ran to Dryad's side, trying to wake her up.

"Hey! Dryad? Can you hear me? Are you okay?!" Brilliant said while crouching down beside her.

He also noticed that someone was lying unconscious near Dryad. It was Haze, whom he didn't know. He carefully looked at the person, trying to see if he was still alive or not.

"Who's this person?" Brilliant frowned then shifted his attention back to Dryad again.
"What happened.. I was supposed to be her Guardian, right? But.. but why do I appear when it's too late now?" he muttered to himself.

He then noticed something in Dryad's hand. It was a strange thick book which was still open. He frowned and muttered the strange words written on it,

"Fenna kalliso un dorna, en drakk a sillein"
"Huh? What a strange language."

Then suddenly, a light glowed from between the pages, lighting up the entire room instantly. The power that released from that strange book was so immense and strong that his whole body slightly trembled, but he managed to keep his consciousness. The light blinded him for a moment, but there was a strange feeling as if he had been dragged into another dimension.