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This happened another day. Sometime after the day where he wandered without purpose, and coming back with a strange wooden helmet.

It was a day like usual. Training at the morning, caring for the horses at the evening, reading at the night.

But at that night, he had another dream. Or was it a vision?

He walks alone, in the middle of a valley. It was night time, and strong wind blowing all over him.

A faint fragrance. He looked around and finds there's many, many, so many small flowers blooming at the ground. White flowers with bell-shaped petals.

Where is this? Is this...beyond the mountain range? There wasn't even one trace of Taint.

He looked at the sky. There are countless stars on it---definite proof that there has not been any Horseman around.

"...hmm?"

As he woken up, the memories of that dream slowly vanishes. Was it just a dream?

But what if that 'dream' is not a dream, but rather another vision?

There was something beyond the mountains. That's probably the message behind the dream.

"Okay. Let's do this."

And so, again Rei departed for a journey.

Step 2: The Winding Forest.

The skies has darkened...or is it the dense forest blocking sunlight? At least there isn't any fog like before...

-wait. What's this smell? It's...

*sniff sniff* Flowers? No, it's something more savory than that-
*sniff sniff* Hmm, fruit? Not really...
*snifffffffffff*

"PRUNESSSS!" He howled in triumph as he somehow found a cluster of prune trees. There's already some fruit fallen to the ground, which he picked up. As fresh prunes can cause indigestion and poisoning when eaten too much he just stashed them away.

His face loosened imagining how DELISHIIOUS will the dried prunes tastes like.

Humming while skipping, Rei exited the forest.

Step 4: The Mountain Summit.

The winding road continues up, up and up. But somehow he didn't feel fatigued.

As he were entranced by something. The vision.
Of hundred of thousands of flowers blooming, swaying. Of white petals scattering to the four winds.

Of a world free from Taint.

But nope. That dream is a wish far off the truth of this world.

As he exited the tunnel, there was nothing welcoming him. only a vast nothingness. A land barren of everything. Not even a single speck of dirt capable of supporting life has been spared by the Taint; all's left is just solid rocks.

"...ha." He spat in disgust against himself, falling to his knees.
A dream far too good to be true is not different than a delusion.

"-s**t. Just...what am I expecting?" The dry air bit into his eye, causing tear to fall. Or was it not because of that?

"-ngh!" The sudden gust blows into his eye some speck of dust, causing him to cringe. As he rubbed the eye, his hand knocked off the eyepatch---

"Eh?"

And there it is. The valley filled with the white flowers. "Huh? But..."
He opened his other eye. The barren land overlaps with the lush green field.

"What's...this?" His head's spinning because the mismatch between his eyes. His Tainted eye can see the valley, but his other eye can't?

Something fluttered at the corners of his right eye. A sheet of cloth? No, it's a...cloak?

He walked to the item in question. Because the double vision made his head spins, he covered the Tainted eye with eyepatch again.

It was a pure white piece of woven mantle. It seems there's some kind of pattern woven at the surface...it was embroidery of those white flowers.

"Could it be?" He opened the eyepatch and looked at the cloth once again. The pattern suddenly burst into colors of lush green and pearly white. Yep, this proven it.

His Tainted eye can see another version of the world around him. But why?

But first, he must get back to the Castle.