"Let's get inside."

Proceeding through the gates without hindrance, they observed the guards bowing in deference, sparking curiosity among the youths. Their questioning glances toward Finn, who appeared remarkably relaxed, prompted him to address their unspoken inquiries.

"Are you all just going to keep staring at me, or are you going to ask me what's on your mind?" Finn spoke calmly, his tone now carrying a touch of superiority.

Who exactly are you?" Timothy asked, as he had his own guesses but couldn't be sure until Finn answered him.

"Oh, that... you will find out pretty soon."

They walked into the palace with Timothy and the rest busy looking at everything within. Inside, there was a huge golden statue of a man holding a massive battle axe and a shield.

"To you, we are devoted."

Finn, Elaine, and Ver bowed to the statue, then turned to look at Timothy and Jake, who stood there watching them pay their respects to the deity Zebha.

"You are not believers?" Finn asked.

"No, I'm not," Timothy answered. "I believe... but not in him," Jake added, startling Finn and the rest.

As they stood in the majestic hall, footsteps resounded, and the doors opened. Four men and two women dressed in royal clothing approached them. The men wore crowns, and the women wore tiaras. All of them had a slight resemblance to Finn. The men's clothing consisted of a coat, waistcoat, and breeches, also including a pair of silk stockings, a jabot, a linen shirt with decorative cuffs, and a cravat (a neckcloth), with the only difference being the color of their coats. The women wore beautiful gowns and many accessories; their earrings were made of a rare material.

"Greetings, elder brother." They all bowed in sync as if every action of theirs was rehearsed.

Finn only gave a slight nod before looking at the teenagers behind him.

"These are my siblings, but it seems like one of them is not around." 

"Elder brother, who are these fine young ones you've brought with you?" a man in a red coat asked.

"None of your business, Derrick. I do not answer to you," Finn replied.

"Forgive him, elder brother; it's just that we are all so curious," a man in a blue coat spoke.

"Derrick, Bernard, that's enough!" A middle-aged woman in a blue gown said as she descended the stairs. Finn seemed to resemble her a lot.

She looked at Finn with a smile before approaching him with a hug.

"Mother, how are you?" Finn spoke as he hugged his mother.

"I am fine, son," she said as she let him go before turning to look at Timothy and his two friends.

"Greetings, young ones. I am Queen Cassandra Zaloz."

"Greetings, noble Queen," they all said with a bow.

"I am Ver of House Potter," she said.

"I'm Jake, no family name," Jake bowed.

"Timothy, no family name," he bowed.

The queen looked at Timothy and Jake before speaking.

"You two resemble some of my old friends. Come, your father is waiting for you."

They all followed the queen up the stairs, while Timothy looked at Finn's back, seemingly proud that his guess about Finn's identity was spot on. They entered the throne room; it had three pillars and a curtain behind the throne that was on a huge platform with six steps and a red carpet. The throne had a round top, and on both sides of the seat were armrests, with a black dragon standing behind it, looking alive. On the throne sat a middle-aged man with short blonde hair and a scar on his left eye. He was wearing blue robes with a calm look on his face as he looked at them. This man was the king of Zebha and also the father of Finn.

"Greetings, father." Finn bowed his head, the grandeur of the throne room casting long shadows across the marble floor.

"Greetings, Lord Zaloz." The teens synchronized their bow, the hushed rustle of their clothing echoing in the regal chamber.

"You've returned once again, son. How long this time?" His father's smile illuminated the room, his deep voice echoing in the room. 

"I do not know, father. Perhaps a mere span of days or weeks," Finn responded with a light chuckle, the weight of responsibility momentarily lifted.

"You must cease evading your duties; you're the crown prince, my successor." The king's words carried a weighty seriousness.

Finn nodded, then launched into the account of his perilous journey. Shock flickered across Timothy's face, realizing the near-fatal encounter at their desert camp was concealed from him. Finn concluded the narrative, meeting his father's initially stormy gaze, now calmed.

"It seems like the prophesied war has already started. Alert the dragons; we will need their strength. You are dismissed." The command echoed, punctuating the urgency of the impending conflict.

They all bowed and left. Finn led them to the guest wing and assigned them different rooms next to each other. The guest rooms bore the same design, a huge bed with the finest quality of sheets and not much furniture. Finn addressed them quickly ,

"Clean up and rest; I'll have your food brought to you. Oh, and don't wander around the castle... if you have anything to say, save it for tomorrow." With that, he turned around and left.

They all proceeded to their assigned rooms. Later at night  Timothy laid in bed thinking about a single thing ,he  didn't care too much about Finn's problems nor were they of any interest to him. The only thing that was occupying his mind was that strange dream.

"It doesn't help thinking about it; it won't help with anything."

He though to himself before getting up from his bed and immersed himself with training his body

In the early hours of the morning, Timothy stirred on the floor, awakening with a headshake and a self-deprecating remark.

"I really need to stop passing out on the floor," he mused, contemplating the repeated patterns of his sleeping habits.

A visit to the bathroom took an unexpected turn when a maid servant entered, placing clean clothes on his bed. The refreshing shower was accompanied by the contemplation of the neatly arranged attire, consisting of a linen shirt and long black pants. A note was placed on top of the attire.

'Change into those and wait for me.'

Timothy, intrigued and somewhat puzzled, complied with the directive, changing into the clothes he sat on his bed waiting. As he settled into the anticipation of what was to come, a knock echoed through the room. Finn, the mysterious manhe had met just days ago, stood at the door with a friendly gaze.

"MayI come in?" Finn inquired, his demeanor suggesting an air of friendship. 

Timothy, poised to assert his right within this castle, refrained from the expected retort of "this is your home after all." Instead, he silently moved aside, welcoming Finn into the space.

"I'll be blunt with you, Timothy. You are not the first Mesa I've met, and surely you are not the last, but out of all your people I've ever come across, you are the only one that hasn't tried to kill me." Finn laughed at Timothy's confused gaze.

"I know you don't trust me. I don't expect you to, since we only met two days ago. But I only wish to extend an invitationof friendship,  I know this may all seem weird now, but I feel like it was destiny that led to our paths crossing. I see something in you—something primordial, something ancient. But it seems to be slumbering, and I want to help you on your journey," Finn spoke, his words weighingin on Timothy like a hammer on a nail.

"You already have my respect, my Lord, so I can accept your offer of flriendship," Timothy spoke with a bow after a few minutes of arranging his scrambled thoughts. 

"Great, and you can stop calling me my Lord. That's not how friends treat each other. The others are already waiting for us."

They both went to the garden and found Jake, Elaine, and Ver seated at a table filled with food. Jake and Ver's eyes lit up upon noticing Timothy approaching.

"You surely do love your sleep, huh, river pal?" Jake laughed.

"Spare me your nonsense today, shall you?" Timothy responded, with Ver only shaking her head at the two hopeless fools.

They all ate their breakfast peacefully. After eating, a maid servant came out and cleared the dishes off the table, leaving all of them to focus on Finn.

"Before I begin, if anyone of you feels like they don't want to be involved in all of this, you are free to leave," Finn spoke, but fortunately, no one left.

"Very well then. Remember the story I told you on our way here from your home city?"

"Yes, the one about dragons and whatnot?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, that one. It's all true. Everything I told you on that carriage was true," Finn spoke.

"So, you're saying the enlightened existed in history, and those creatures attacked human settlements periodically?" Jake widened his eyes and so did ver who also had her mouth agape in shock , but Timothy wasn't overly surprised.

"In reality, the enlightened still exist, but it's been a very long time since anyone  has ever met or heard from any one of the two. Our world is governed by Konquerors—humans with supernatural abilities obtained by nourishing the soul with the breath of the universe, known as mana. Once your soul reaches a certain point, it births a soul seed, turning you into a soul seed Konqueror, unlocking an element you're most attuned to within your elemental soul. The mind soul takes time to nourish, but once it is, you'll enjoy its benefits. Both Elaine and I are Konquerors," Finn explained, releasing a bit of his aura, startling everyone.

"Wait, wait. You mentioned the soul, elemental soul, and mind soul. What do you mean? How many souls do we have?" Ver asked hurriedly.

"You're confusing the kids. Let me simplify it for you; Our body is the vessel that holds the soul. The soul is the link between our bodies and spirits, embodying characteristics of both. Our spirits are our true beings residing in a higher plane. By synchronizing all three and achieving the rumored TRINITY, we can ascend to Godhood and become our true selves," Elaine paused, looking at them before continuing.

"The soul, or precisely the body of souls, consists of 3 parts:

1st is the astral body or more precisely the wandering soul. This is the main soul, our consciousness. We use the wandering soul for astral traveling, or studying/practicing in our dreamscapes.

2nd is the mind soul. The mind soul focuses on our ability to think and see. A Konqueror's mind has to be vast and sharp, or else they would not be able to bear the effects of becoming a Konqueror. The mind soul also blesses us with the ability to perceive the supernatural. Everything that is happening around us that can't be perceived by the regular human eye can be seen by a Konqueror. This ability is called spirit vision and is accessible to every Konqueror. However, there are certain types of Konquerors who are blessed with supernatural visual prowess labeled runic eyes. These eyes all have different abilities and functions, but most people who have those types of eyes are diviners or oracles whose eyes can see into the future.

3rd is the elemental soul, which holds the element we are attuned with. But some people's souls can hold more than one element. There are also other rumored souls like the shadow soul, devil soul, and angel soul. The devil soul and angel soul are rumored to be the result of the first step in the path of the divine. Those who unlock a devil soul are the ones who would have fallen into the void during their ascension. But that is a story for another day," Elaine finished speaking, and she could see the curiosity of the teenagers reaching its peak.

Ver raised her hand and asked " What is a dreamscape?" 

Elaine smiled at the girl before answering, "  A dreamscape is a landscape all Konquerors can create with the strangeness or mystery characteristics of a dream , but it is not a dream.You can shape your dreamscape into anything you desire , the only limit in there is your imagination . But you can only create a dreamscape when you have nurtured your soul seed into a soul sappling. "

They all tried to digest what they had just heard, but it was hard, especially for Ver. Everything they had just revealed to them was just like the stuff of legend , but unlike legends these two could actually back up their claims. 

"Beware of the void. It calls, and if you are weak, you will fall," Elaine spoke , her voice laced with traces of fear and sadness..