Reinhard sighed within the memory, but his own fist clenched involuntarily.

Trembling started in his consciousness, thoughts he'd been vehemently trying to ignore and push away, forcing themselves forward.

He didn't want to think about the consequences or what-ifs that would follow if this expedition failed.

He didn't want to see his siblings' faces in his imagination. He didn't want to know their reaction or what they might say at his grave.

A thought slipped through despite his resistance, making him bite his lip hard enough to taste copper even in this memory-state. Did we mean so little to you, Rein?

The parallel to Dune's pain was too exact, too perfectly aligned. The question his siblings might ask mirrored what Dune had asked his parents' graves.

The anger, the sense of abandonment, the confusion about whether love had ever existed or if it had been conditional on something never properly understood.

Reinhard shook his head violently, trying to dispel the thoughts. "No, not now. I can't think about this now."

The scene shifted again, time flowing forward once more.

A forest clearing appeared, trees covering everything beyond the small space where a firepit was pushing back the darkness.

Eight figures sat around the campfire, wearing iron and golden armor that marked them as Beast Masters. The armor showed scratches, dents, and repairs that suggested extensive field experience.

Dune sat among them, his armor matching theirs but newer, suggesting recent acquisition or promotion.

Reinhard's attention catalogued the others.

A woman with auburn hair tied in a practical braid, her armor decorated with small engravings of flowers, Erza.

Based on the name that surfaced in Dune's recognition, and then a man with pale blond hair and a scar across his left cheek, his armor bearing blue cloth wrapped around the shoulder guards, Voyer.

Three more men, their names coming through Dune's thoughts. Garius with brown hair and blue eyes, Thane with black hair and eyes, and Corvin with red hair and green eyes.

Then two additional women, one with black hair cropped short and another with grey streaks despite apparent youth, Mira and Senna.

They were lightly talking and smiling at each other.

"What are your dreams? I think we are close enough to learn about it?" Garius asked the group at large.

Voyer spoke first while poking the fire with a stick. "I wanted to teach others. Not fighting… I mean helping them understand history, motivating them that there's a different path besides becoming a Beast Master."

He paused, vulnerability creeping into his tone. "I want to because I don't want more people thinking they have to do this. And also because… I just enjoy teaching."

Voyer then paused before he laughed, the sound carrying self-deprecation. "But I'm not talented at it. Whenever I help out with the older ladies, the kids and teenagers don't understand what I'm trying to say. I have become a bit of a laughing stock."

His expression fell. "So sometimes I wonder if I should just give up. The elders stopped inviting me over. Some of the kids I taught weren't attending anymore."

Silence stretched around the fire.

Erza leaned forward, the light showing her faint smile. "I don't think you should give up too easily. Instead of trying to teach the same way the elders do, why not try to teach in your own unique way that will help you connect to the kids?"

Voyer blinked in surprise. "My own way?"

Erza nodded with a giggle. "Remember how you helped us get used to navigating through the forest?"

Voyer's eyes widened slightly with recognition.

"You didn't tell us what to do but-" Erza continued.

"I showed you all," Voyer interjected, pieces connecting in his mind. "I took each of you and showed you the path through the forest one by one, then had you try it yourselves."

Erza chuckled, pleased he'd made the connection. "So you should try the same thing for the kids. Instead of trying to tell them, why not show them and guide them as you did for us? You don't need to take the same path as the Elders to teach. Or well, that's what I believe."

Voyer blinked before he began to laugh as he held his head, and then slowly nodded with a smile.

The others chuckle and cheer on Voyer, giving their own advice while teasing him about his crappy teaching of the kids.

Dune, on the other hand, eyes widened as Erza words had struck something deeper. You don't need to take the same path as others to reach the same goal? Is it really that easy?

He fell silent, but his mind raced.

Dune recalled how his father and mother had called the shining beacon in the city their Golden Age. The thing they took pride in, defended without hesitation, and praised above all else.

The monument they'd died protecting.

But maybe that beacon doesn't need to be my own Golden Age, Dune thought, the realization spreading through his consciousness like dawn breaking. Maybe something else can be something I take pride in and will defend without hesitation.

He looked toward the sky beyond the forest, stars visible through gaps in leaves. No one ever said a Golden Age had to be the same. After all, the other continents have their own versions of a Golden Age. T

hen doesn't that mean I can just find my own unique Golden Age and still feel the same way my parents felt? Still experience the emotions and thoughts that went through their minds as they gave it their all to defend the beacon when Phantasm Beasts invaded?

The thought gradually shifted into certainty, and Dune spoke it aloud, sharing it with the others.

The group perked up, expressions shifting as they realized the implications. Maybe their own Golden Ages would be the dreams they accomplished individually, but equally valid. Things they could share proudly with each other, different paths leading to similar fulfillment.

Dune laughed, and the sound carried genuine joy. Around him, the others joined in, their laughter mixing with crackling fire and night sounds.

They understood now.

They'd found their answer not in following predetermined paths but in forging their own.

Reinhard noted the pain and conflicting emotions hadn't disappeared in Dune. He still missed his parents, still questioned their choice, but understanding had grown alongside the grief. Not acceptance, perhaps, but something approaching a wish to move on.

He sighed but said nothing as the scene dissolved and reformed, time flowing forward through Dune's experiences.

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