What A Dream Wants

"Why here?" Olivia asked, floating on her cloud.

Steven found it quite hard to answer, as he was falling from the sky.

Crater #1 meet Crater #2.

"You guys could have helped me!" Steven g.r.o.a.n.e.d.

"Hmm... if you can't even fly, why should we help you?" Olivia smirked.

Lukas was also trying to stifle his laughter. Floating in the air, he slowly hovered down.

"Sorry Steven, you fell too suddenly," Lukas said, trying to mediate the situation.

"If my fall was sudden, then your reflexes must have gotten slower," Steven quipped disdainfully.

Lukas could only chuckle nervously.

"Blaming others for your fall," Olivia smirked, jumping off her cloud.

Crater #1 and #2 meet Crater #3.

"What. A. Loser!" She proclaimed, flipping her hair.

Steven does not like when Olivia flips her hair.

"Steven... no offense, but don't blame others if you can't fly. I did tell you not cultivating in the real world would be detrimental in this world." Lukas told him honestly. "Other people would easily be able to fly in this world."

"I wasn't even listening back then. Plus, there's no need to tell me that. Actually... I started cultivating today!" Steven proclaimed happily.

Olivia clapped sarcastically.

Steven does not like when Olivia claps sarcastically.

Lukas coughed.

"Anyway, Steven, you still haven't answered my question," Olivia complained.

"Okay, wait a second." Steven pouted.

Steven closed his eyes. Suddenly his brown hair lost its slight brick tint and slowly took on a hint of purple. He opened his eyes, revealing a stormy coldness that wouldn't normally be seen from Steven... except maybe towards Olivia.

A moment later, the coldness in his eyes was dispelled by the warm sunlight, and he seemed normal again.

"Oh, my," Olivia faintly covered her mouth in mock surprise. "Do you have fun acting cool?"

Steven grimaced, "Oh, shove it."

"Wow, so rude," Olivia grumbled. "Why are we here? You still haven't told us."

"Just follow me for now." And not bothering to wait for a response, he turned around and walked ahead.

. . .

Two men were guarding the gate of the village.

"Mr. Estevan, you came back." The man guarding the gate boomed. "Who are they?"

"Hughes, these are my friends. That's Olivia, that's Lukas. Olivia, Lukas, meet Mr. Walter and Mr. Hughes." Steven pointed.

His friends greeted Hughes and Walter.

"Can you permit them entry into the village?" Steven asked.

"Sure," Hughes replied back. "You don't even have to ask. We usually just play Poker. Nobody comes here. I don't even know why we have guards since everyone has moved away." He and Walter opened the gates for them.

They walked in.

"I need you to check something for me," Steven told Lukas softly.

Arriving at an ordinary cottage, Steven knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A kid's voice rang clear. "If you're a stranger, please go away!"

"Estevan," Steven replied curtly.

Immediately the door swung open.

The boy, with sniffles, ran up to Steven, crying, and saying stuff like:

"Why did you leave me?"

"I thought you would be gone forever."

And "Please don't leave me again!"

The boy got all his snot on Steven's clean pants.

Olivia and Lukas stared at Steven questionably.

"I've only known him for one day..." Steven replied. Then, he peered down at the little guy who was getting his tears and mucus all over him. "Can you let go?"

"Oh right," Max said. "Sorry." He let go of Steven and wiped his hand on the wall.

"Hello, my name is Olivia and that's Lukas." She told the little boy.

She beamed at the child with a beautiful smile.

Max looked at Olivia's face. 'Scary...' He thought to himself.

"Call me big sister." She then shamelessly proclaimed how she was a good friend of Estevan.

"Your name is... Olivia? I'll call you Olive!" Max decided. He was very good at picking nicknames. That reminded him. What would be a good nickname for Estevan? How about S-

"DO NOT CALL ME OLIVE!"

"Wahhh! This old hag is scary!" Max cried out as he ducked behind Steven, shivering with fear.

Steven smirked.

Olivia glared.

Steven coughed, before turning around to Lukas.

"Lukas, the reason why I came to this village, was because I sensed a short burst of strange aura near this village."

"What kind of aura?"

"I'm not sure," Steven replied. "But, can you check if this child has any peculiar aura surrounding him?"

Lukas grabbed Max's palm and sent a flurry of qi into him.

"Don't touch me!" Max said, struggling. "Stranger danger! Stranger danger! Stranger danger!"

Lukas released him.

"Wahh!" Max cried out, hiding behind Steven.

"If I'm not wrong, he has one of the special constitutions. It's still dormant inside of him."

"Which one?" Olivia asked.

"XingGuang ZhiMeng. Starlight Dream Constitution." Lukas proclaimed.

"It's dangerous for those with no connection to royalty to possess a dream constitution." Steven frowned. "How could these villagers have something so coveted?"

Olivia murmured something softly. The cogs in her head already started whirling around trying to solve this weird conundrum.

"Indeed, it's best if none of them know." Lukas sighed. "Although, most have forgotten that the one who had this constitution first was not of royalty. He established himself as one, with his nobleness and honor."

"Sadly, that's not the nobles we have today. Anyways, can we accept him as a disciple?" Olivia asked.

"We have to ask him and his parents," Steven answered.

"Let's wait here then," Lukas suggested.