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Dawn had found himself at….. that place again. On a hill overlooking the ruins of the kingdom he once swore on his life to defend. No matter how many times he tried to run from his past, his memories always pulled him back there, as if he still had something to resolve. He didn’t know it was Time or Astral’s fault.
When he let his eyes adjust, ready to face his fears again, he found the ruins looked so much different than when he had last stepped foot there. The dilapidated buildings that dotted the scarred land were no longer rusting with the stains of unspeakable magic, and were instead bleached white like the bones of an ancient beast. And the once dead and barren land had started to bloom again, veins of green spreading their fingers across the ground.
And there were lilies. So many lilies. White ones.
Lilies love forgotten places.
Dawn sighed. Seeing his home like this gave him some feeling of closure, but would he ever be able to find peace?
He stabbed his sword into the ground and laid down on the hill. It was steep enough that he could still see everything below him. It felt like a dream almost. He absentmindedly plucked one of the lilies and twirled it around in his hand, until a thin layer of iridescent crystal grew over the flower, preserving it forever.
He didn’t mean to do that. But it almost felt good, like he was supposed to. He decided to keep the crystalized flower, and then held it to his breastplate, causing his soul gem underneath the armor to hum in resonance with it.
Dawn lay there half awake for a very long time, with no one to keep him company but a flower and the thrum of his own magic. Eventually he finally drifted into sleep, and had a pleasant dream for once.