Dive Into the Heart: Spirit of the Dragon

(How about having a double dive instead, Dragummy? )

...And he fell. His vision became more and more blurry until he couldn't see anything at all. However, that was not the end of it. He continued to fall for some strange reason. "Where... Where am I? What happened?" They had all vanished from sight: Max, Rubix, Erika... all of them. The only thing that the man knew was that he was falling... falling... and falling. He felt wet, yet able to breathe. He could smell the flowers and trees from his homeworld as well. What was going on? What could it mean?

Suddenly, he started to turn, his feet touching what seemed to be the ground. However, Mikael realized that this wasn't true as he opened his eyes. He was standing on an invisible, solid surface. However, before he could move, the invisible ground suddenly released hundreds of doves, stunning the man for a moment. He wasn't standing on an invisible surface after all; he was standing on an illuminated, stained-glass pillar, having a picture of himself surrounded by flames painted on it. There were nine circles surrounding him, each of them having a picture of someone he knew or someone he had yet to meet.

Mira, Fearon, Garnet and Rubix were painted at Mikael's left while Max, Erika, Drago and Victoria could be seen at his right. However, the ninth circle, located on top of the man's head, revealed the face of someone he did not know. She was female, a girl to be exact. She had blue and pink hair, her eyes matching the last color. Who could this person be?

The next thing that Mikael noticed was that Mira's and Erika's pictures had grayish shades and that their eyes were closed. Victoria's picture had a blue-ish tone while the unknown female's had reddish shades. He obviously didn't know the colors' meanings, but they seemed to be important.

After thinking about it for a few moments, Mikael stepped forward, knowing that there wasn't much that he could do at the moment. Suddenly, an unknown and mysterious voice made its entrance, its words reaching the man's ears. "Child of twilight, do not be afraid. Yes, you are looking for answers, and a door to them has opened. But, will you enter the door?" The fire user quickly turned around, looking for the voice's source. It all seemed like a dream, but it felt real. Looking up, the young man decided to reply. "What door? I can't see it. And where are we?"

A chuckle was heard from the darkness. Was someone testing him? "So many childish questions, so little time. There is much to do, child. But do not be afraid, you will not do this alone." Suddenly, a familiar energy entered the area. Mikael closed his eyes, trying to discover who owned it. "It's Drago..." Suddenly, he turned to Drago's circle, only to see that it was glowing. "However, there is much to do before you get to see your friend. Many choices to be made. You have been chosen to stop a rising threat."

As the voice finished speaking, three items appeared in front of Mikael. They were floating in the air, as if they were waiting to be chosen. "The sword, a warrior's weapon. Choosing this path will give you strength, physical potential and skills in leadership." The man glanced at the blade for a second before the voice continued. "The staff, the treasure of the mage. Choosing this item will open the path to the magical, the mystical and the unknown. The fire user nodded, before looking at the last weapon. It slightly surprised him, since it didn't look as strong as the other two. "A feather fan, the strategist's soul. Following this path will give you vitality, speed and wits. Choose wisely.."

He blinked looking at the items for a second. The sword represented courage, power and brawn; even though he was skilled in the arts of swordsmanship, he didn't fully rely on it. The fire user then looked at the staff; unexpected and lucky. Mikael was formidable with his fire magic, but when he ran out of mana it was useless. And last but not least, the feather fan. "Vitality, speed and wits..." he remembered, walking a bit toward it. Well, he could endure long battles, and his speed was hard to match. He also studied his opponents before battling them, intending to create a strategy to use against them. A soft sigh escaped his lips before Mikael nodded. The choice was clear; he proceeded to grab the feather fan.

"Good choice, young one. You will follow the path of the strategist. While you may be skilled in the arts of fire magic and swordsmanship, you will mainly rely on your speed and wits to strike successfully and quickly." Suddenly, the two remaining weapons disappeared, only to be replaced by four orbs. "Fire, Water, Wind and Earth. This shall be easy for you."

(Expect crappy post :/)

"Just like I thought." The voice said as the chosen fire orb soared over the area heading toward Mikael. Afterwards, the orange sphere seeped into his heart, marking it with the wild element. The young man sighed; he had chosen his battle style and element. Was there anything else? "Indeed, there is more young one. But we must make haste, time is running out." What the hell? Was that mysterious, deep and unknown voice reading his thoughts?

"More? What else do I have to choose?" Mikael asked, his gaze still focused on the mysterious girl's circle. Now that he thought about it, hers was bigger than the others. Could she be more important than the rest of his friends? "Oh yes, there are many decisions to take. Let's continue, the time for questions will come later."

Suddenly, a white door appeared in front of the man. It was not that big, but not regular sized either. It emitted all kinds of energies: light, dark, flora, wind... all of them. "Wha- What's in the other side of this door?" Mikael asked with curiosity.

"Well, why don't you find out? But I must warn you, do not lower your guard." As the voice said this, Mikael nodded and started to walk toward the door. After thinking for a few moments, he opened it, releasing a bright light. However, he attempted to ignore it and entered the white door... while the mysterious girl's circle started to glow.

As Mikael opened his eyes once more, he realized that he wasn't at the strange pillar anymore. The door had sent him to a strange, desert-like place. Of course, the heat could be felt, but Mikael's resistance to it made it almost undetectable to him. As his gaze scanned the area around him, he discovered that around him there were four paths, three suns and a moon.

"Each of these paths leads to a different place, meaning that each journey would be different. As you can see, the path located toward the northwest leads to a sunny area, while the northeastern one will take you to one where the light is fading. The southeastern path will lead you to a place completely in darkness while the one located at the southwest will eventually take you to a rising sun."

What to choose, what to choose... Each path had its own destiny. One was covered in light while the other had embraced the darkness. The other two were balanced, almost identical. The difference? One was about to vanish while the other was about to rise. The Path of Light, the sun's heat. The Path of Darkness, the shadow's kingdom. The Path of Twilight, the fading star. And the Path of Dawn, a hero's Awakening. Even though Mikael disliked darkness, a balance was required to keep the world's existence.

The choice was clear; he wasn't ready to fade just yet. "I choose this path... the Way to the Dawn." The young man said loudly as he positioned himself in front of the path, ready to start walking. "You are a clever one, Firey Soul. The Path of Dawn, the journey of the rising hero. You use your balanced skills for the good of your people, taking both Light and Darkness as allies. However, doing this will bring you many problems, including betrayals and difficult choices. Are you sure this is the one you want?"

"I am." And he started walking... walking through the long path, looking for the rising sun. Mikael eventually reached the end of the path: a circle. "Now, only a few things remain before you go with your friend. You must answer several questions; however they will not be asked by me..." Suddenly, five people appeared before him: Max, Fearon, Garnet, Maverick and Erika. Maverick... he didn't appear in the pillar. But why? He was a friend... Suddenly, all five started talking, each asking a question.

"What's your best quality?"
"What's your worst fear?"
"Why did you follow this path?"
"Why did you choose fire?"
"Besides wits, speed and endurance, what's your strongest power?"

He walked toward Max first as the question repeated itself in his mind. What was his best quality? He could fight well, good enough to save his life. He could create strategies rather quickly and use them with skill as well. However, his strategies could fail if he didn't have the necessary supplies, and he had a hard time killing others (obviously excluding Heartless and Nobodies). Empathy... maybe compassion? Both could be a weakness and a strength as well. "M-my ability to feel compassion for others, my ability to put myself in the other person's place." Suddenly, the water manipulator's figure disappeared, leaving four other questions to answer.

Now, what did he fear the most? Having Fearon ask the question was quite ironic, to be honest. There were two things that he feared: darkness and the possibility of losing his friends. As he thought about this, Mikael wondered how his friend was doing; he hadn't seen him in a while. "Losing my friends, that would hurt and weaken me." The fire user replied before turning to the next person, Garnet, knowing that Fearon was about to vanish. Now, why had he followed the path to dawn? The answer was quite simple actually. "Its the way of the rising hero. I don't wish to vanish yet, as I have a destiny to fulfill. I have many people to aid." The man stated as he looked at her. Garnet... he had helped her some time ago. She was probably fine, Zidane wouldn't leave her alone.

Now, Mikael turned toward the bone manipulator. Something was not right about him... something had changed. He didn't know how he knew... he just did. His aura felt troubled. However, he had to answer the question first. Another simple one. "I identify myself with it. It is wild and hard to master, it can be used for protection or destruction. It is a beautiful element indeed." And at last, there was Erika, the gunslinger and her question. His strongest power after endurance, speed and wits? That was a hard one. He hadn't really thought about it, but it was true. Could he, without all of those three qualities, be defenseless and weak? "I... I really don't-" Suddenly, the answer came to his mind. "My friends... my friends are my power." It was true. His friends has protected him when he was weak. And at last, the girl vanished, only to be replaced by the mysterious voice.

"Very good, young one. Now, your path won't be an easy one, so you must keep your eyes open for any threats. It will begin at night, where you will meet an innocent but deadly maiden. She will become important, so you must not let her go when the time to part comes. After a while, you will reach the area of Twilight, were you will see both known and unknown faces. A man will then aid you in your travels, and together you will form a resistance against a growing threat. Many challenges will make themselves known afterward, including one at dawn, where you will be forced to choose between love and life. But don't be afraid... destiny will not leave you alone."

And before Mikael could ask or reply, the land around him started to shatter and disappear, making him fall... fall... and fall. "Now, it is time that you meet your friend."

((Short :S))

Falling through darkness, not having ground to touch, Mikael thought about the choices he had made. They had all seemed so easy to take... but would making them effective be such an easy task? Probably not; saying it is easy, but doing it isn't. The man opened his eyes, looking for a place to land. Suddenly, he spotted a blue and red platform, and quickly decided to land there. He felt like he was swimming through the darkness, but he wasn't drowning. Mikael slowly headed toward the illuminated pillar, spotting a human figure standing there. The aura was extremely familiar.

"Drago..." And he swam faster, approaching the platform until he could touch it. Turning, he touched the ground with his feet, landing some feet behind the girl. "Nice pillar."

Mikael looked at the girl for some moments, examinating her as she spoke. Could it be really happening? Could both of their dreams be... connected? Could she be in his dream? Could he be in her dream? Everything was confusing... so confusing. "I... I really don't know." He looked around, glancing at his surroundings. Darkness seemed to surround them... but at the same time it seemed like water to him. Dark Water? The thought looked ridiculous and foolish to him, but he was going to go with that.

"I think we're asleep... either our dreams are connected, or someone is on the other's dream."

Thinking for a couple of moments, Mikael remember where his body was in the "real world". "Can you remember where you were when you fell asleep or passed out? I was at Olympus Coliseum."