"Dreams are not always dreams… sometimes they are memories that refuse to stay buried."
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Kento sat alone. The last light of the day was gone from the window, leaving only the cold purple of the night. The quiet felt heavier than the shouting. It felt like the room was filled with lead.
Slowly, Kento pressed his hand against his ribs.
Thump. Thump.
It was warmth. It was a steady, rhythmic pulse beneath his skin. But it was too slow, too deep. It wasn't his heartbeat.
He had finally gotten what he wanted. He had his silence. But as the shadows stretched across the walls like long, dark fingers, loneliness wrapped around him tighter than any chain.
The night became cool, but the air felt thick, like a storm was coming that no one could see.
At Tamiko's house, warm yellow lights glowed through the kitchen windows. The smell of steamed rice and vegetables filled the air, heavy and comforting. Tamiko stood near the counter in her night clothes — loose pajamas with a soft panda pattern and an oversized shirt. Her hair was tied back into a single ponytail, neat but a little messy at the edges.
She carefully lifted a woven basket filled with rice balls, holding it with both hands as if it were something fragile.
"Careful, dear," her grandmother said, pointing with her chin. "Put it near the back shelf. Not too close to the wall."
"Yes, Grandma," Tamiko replied softly.
She walked slowly, her slippers making faint sounds against the floor, and placed the basket exactly where her grandmother told her to. When she turned back, her grandmother was watching her with a proud smile. Old hands reached out and patted Tamiko's shoulders, firm but loving.
"You're a good girl," her grandmother said. ""You care for this old woman too much. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Tamiko smiled, her eyes curving gently. "I like helping," she said. Her grandmother chuckled. "Have you eaten anything?"
Tamiko forced a small, sweet smile. "Yes, Grandma. Don't worry about me."
"Good. Then go to sleep soon," her grandmother insisted, smiling back. "You have to wake up early for school tomorrow."
"I'll go right after I finish this last basket," Tamiko promised.
But as her grandmother turned away, Tamiko's smile vanished. She picked up a wooden tray, but her hands felt heavy. Her mind went back to Kento's room—to the way he had screamed, and the way his skin had glowed with that cold, silver light.
She walked toward the open window. The moon was high and pale, looking like a blind eye watching the world. A sudden gust of cold air rushed into the kitchen, catching her hair and blowing it across her face.
Tamiko shivered. She looked at the moon and squeezed her eyes shut, whispering a silent prayer that everything would just go back to being normal.
Across the city, in a room that felt like a different world, the air was freezing.
An air conditioner hummed steadily, filling the large, modern bedroom with a mechanical chill. Hori lay in her bed, tucked deeply under a thick, expensive blanket. She wore a silk nightgown, her breathing slow and peaceful as she slept. A thin sliver of moonlight leaned across the floor, reaching for her face.
Suddenly, the light vanished..
A tall figure stood by the window. He moved without a sound, reaching out to pull the heavy curtains closed, cutting off the world outside. He wore a long, white medical coat over his clothes, his posture stiff and formal.
This was Dr. Kaneki Nagachika. He didn't move; he simply stood in the dark, watching his daughter sleep with eyes that were deep and full of a strange, heavy sadness.
"I am worried about her, Kaneki."
A woman's voice came from the shadows near the door. Mrs. Nagachika—known to the world as the famous Mari Tokisaki—stepped forward. She was elegant even in the dim light, her features sharp and beautiful, but her face was tight with a hidden fear.
The doctor did not turn around. He kept his gaze on Hori. "We have to keep an eye on her," he said, his voice a low whisper. "We cannot let the same thing happen to Hori. We must prevent it, no matter what."
His wife stood beside him, her hand trembling slightly as she looked at her daughter. She didn't ask what 'it' was. She only nodded slowly, her silence confirming that they were both guarding a secret that was starting to wake up.
In a much smaller, crowded apartment, the heat of the city felt trapped.
A ceiling fan spun overhead and making a rhythmic click-click-click sound. Shiyi sat on the floor, wearing an oversized T-shirt and shorts.
She was sweating, her hair messy and tied up in a quick bun. Her bangs stuck to her forehead as she moved, carefully checking the books in her younger brother's backpack.
"Kaito," she called out, her voice tired. "Did you finish your math homework?"
Kaito, sitting at a small desk messy with papers, shook his head. "There are a few problems I don't understand, Sis. They're too hard."
Shiyi let out a soft sigh and wiped the sweat from her brow. She stood up. "It's okay. Show me what's wrong."
As she walked toward him, she felt that strange, cold pulse behind her ear again. It was faint, like a tiny insect trapped under her skin, but it made her stomach ache.
She looked at her brother's innocent face and tried to focus on the numbers on the page.
_DREAMSCAPE_
The sky was a dark wound that never healed.
In this lost world of Aterna, a woman knelt upon a floor of shattered glass. Her hair was silver, glowing like a dead star in the deep night. She covered her face with her hands and wept.
"Uuuh... aaaa... why... why?" she wailed. Her crying was not a human sound—it was a high-pitched scream. "It hurts... it all hurts... hihihi... hahahaha!" The weeping turned into a sudden, shivering laugh that tore the air apart. Heavy chains of ancient iron were locked around her arms, pulling her down into the Black Obelisk.
Suddenly, a warrior ran across the broken ground. He held a sword that shined with a cold, divine light.
"THE CYCLE ENDS!" he shouted. His voice was like the crashing of mountains. "BLOOD FOR THE HEAVENS! DEATH FOR THE WITCH!"
He charged, his blade high and ready to kill. The silver-haired woman did not move. She kept her eyes closed as if she were praying to a silent god. But the moment the sword touched her shadow, the crying stopped.
Silence fell over the Aeterna.
She opened her eyes—hollow holes of endless night. She lifted her head and smiled a wide, wicked smile. Black liquid, thick as ink and cold as ice, poured from her eyes and mouth. The warrior froze, his heart stopping in his chest.
In a heartbeat, the air turned red.
The warrior's own sword turned around in mid-air and pierced itself through his chest. "GAK... UGH... NO..." A choking sound came from his throat as blood filled his lungs. "It... cannot... be..." He fell to the ground with a heavy thud, his warm blood steaming on the cold glass.
Across the horizon, a sea of fire and steel broke out. A great army of thousands fought monsters that looked like walking nightmares. The monsters let out ear-piercing shrieks.
"SREEEE! RAAAAAARGH!" They tore through the lines of men.
"HOLD THE LINE!" a warrior screamed before a shadow swallowed him. "FOR THE DAWN! DON'T LET THEM—AAARGH!" The air was filled with the sound of bones snapping and the desperate prayers of men being eaten alive. "GODS SAVE US! MERCY! MERCY!"
The silver-haired woman stood up. The chains around her arms turned into black mist. She looked at the slaughter, her voice echoing like a cold wind through the ruins of time.
"The stars are falling," she said. "The blood of the weak shall feed the new dawn. None shall escape the night."
Then, the world of Aeterna broke into a thousand pieces of glass.
SNAP.
Shido sat up in his bed so fast he almost fell out. He was panting heavily, his breath coming in short, shaky gasps. "Hah... hah... hah..."
The room was dark, but the curtains were open. A pale moonlight fell across his face, making his messy blue hair look silver. His blue eyes were wide with terror. He looked like he was still seeing the blood and the silver-haired woman.
He was drenched in sweat. His thin white T-shirt was stuck to his back. The sheets were tangled around his legs like the chains from his nightmare and his heart was beating like a drum inside his chest.
'Again,' he thought, wiping his forehead with a shaking hand. 'That same nightmare. That same woman.'
He sat there in the quiet room, trying to forget the smell of blood but the woman's wicked smile was still clear in his mind.
'What is happening to me?'
He got out of bed, his legs feeling weak and shaky. He walked to the window and pushed it open with a rough hand. The cold night air hit his face, but he didn't move. He stared at the quiet street outside.
"Damn it!" Shido shouted, his voice low and angry. "That crazy silver-haired bitch... why won't she stay out of my head?"
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SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
"But right now, even stuffed toys are scaring the life out of me."
"Oh, great. The ghost of the grumpy brother returns,"
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— With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫