With a sharp clang, the spear flew from the hands of the man before him, traced an arc through the air, and plunged into the ground.
As the last man fell, Bona looked around. Behind him lay a road paved with corpses.
Ahead of him, a great gate wrought from silver had appeared at some point, gleaming strangely beneath an unknown light.
This dream again.
Bona walked over and pushed the gate open.
With a heavy creak, he entered a vast, silent space, his reflection mirrored on the smooth floor.
In the distance, a woman clad in sheer, snow-white fabric sat upon a rock, her eyes closed, as though waiting for something.
An inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up within him. Bona frowned and tightened his grip on his silver sword.
In an instant, the only sounds left in that pure-white space were his approaching footsteps and the drip of blood running down his blade onto the floor.
Bona stopped a short distance before her, frowning as he stared intently at the mysterious woman.
"Who are you?"
The woman raised her head slightly and looked at Bona.
The moment he saw her eyes, Bona felt his heart tremble.
"My child, I think you already know the answer."
The resonance from the depths of his soul made Bona understand everything at once. He stared at her in disbelief, even his sword hand wavering.
But Bona immediately furrowed his brow and tightened his grip on his sword.
"Tell me who you are!"
Yet she gave him a kindly smile, her eyes, the same color as Bona's, filled with boundless warmth.
"You may call me 'Mother,' as the others do, my child."
A sonic boom rang out as the air split, and Bona effortlessly cleaved her figure apart.
He looked back, but there