Morning came, but it didn't feel like morning. The light entering Neizo's room felt dull and lifeless, as if even the sun had lost its warmth. He hadn't slept, not even for a moment. His eyes were wide open the entire night, staring at the ceiling, afraid that if he closed them, even for a second, something would be there when he opened them again.
2:30 am… that time was still stuck in his head. The same night. Repeating. Or was it?
Neizo slowly sat up, his body heavy, his mind even heavier. His thoughts overlapped, breaking apart and forming again. "…This isn't normal…" His voice was dry. "I'm not… dreaming anymore…"
He looked around his room. Everything was normal. Too normal. The sofa, the chips, the remote, the slightly open curtain, the faint noise of traffic outside—everything looked exactly the same. But that was the problem. Everything was always the same, no matter what happened, no matter what he saw, no matter how real it felt. It all reset.
His fingers tightened. "…Something is wrong with reality itself…"
He stood up and walked toward the bathroom, avoiding the mirror at first. His eyes focused on the sink, the toothbrush, anything but his reflection. But eventually—he looked.
His face stared back at him. Pale. Eyes sunken. Exhausted.
Behind him—nothing.
He turned around quickly. Empty. Silence.
He exhaled slowly. "…Good…"
He washed his face and rushed out. The hallway was quiet. No sign of Mizimi. Her door was closed. Neizo stared at it for a few seconds. "…Was she even there yesterday…?"
A cold thought slipped into his mind.
No. Stop.
He walked away quickly and left the building.
The outside world looked normal. Students walking, shops open, people talking. Life moving forward like nothing was wrong. But Neizo couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him—not from one direction, but from everywhere.
By the time he reached college, his body felt drained. Each step was heavier than the last. He entered his class and sat down quietly. Students were chatting, laughing, complaining. Everything felt normal.
Too normal.
Then why does it feel so wrong?
His eyes moved across the room. Every face looked slightly off. Not physically, but something deeper, like they were just a little too still.
The door opened. Professor Yoshino walked in. The chatter stopped. He placed his books down and adjusted his glasses.
"Today's lecture will be different."
Neizo's heart skipped.
Different…
Professor Yoshino picked up chalk and turned to the board. "We will discuss higher-dimensional existence."
He drew a line. "One dimension." Then a square. "Two dimensions." Then a cube. "Three dimensions… our world."
His hand paused. Then he began drawing something strange. Lines intersecting unnaturally. Shapes folding into themselves. Angles that didn't make sense.
"This," he said slowly, "is an attempt to represent the fourth dimension."
Neizo stared at the board. The shapes felt wrong. Like they were moving.
"No human can fully comprehend a four-dimensional structure," Professor Yoshino continued. "Our minds are limited. But that does not mean it does not exist."
A chill ran down Neizo's spine.
"A two-dimensional being cannot perceive depth. If a three-dimensional object passes through its world, it will only see fragments. Slices of something larger."
Fragments…
A hand on his shoulder.
A woman in the bathtub.
Toshi appearing and disappearing.
"Now apply that to us," Professor Yoshino said. "If a four-dimensional being interacts with our world, we would not see its true form. Only portions."
Neizo's fingers trembled.
"Those portions may change. Shift. Adapt. They may take forms easier for us to understand."
Neizo's heartbeat started rising.
"They may appear as people."
No…
"Familiar faces."
Toshi.
"Strangers."
Mizimi.
"Or something that simply watches."
The lady in white.
Neizo's breathing became uneven.
"This is where it becomes dangerous," Professor Yoshino said, his tone lowering. "Because if such a being becomes aware that you can perceive it…"
Silence filled the room.
"…then the interaction is no longer one-sided."
Neizo froze.
"It may observe you more closely."
"You saw me too…"
"It may influence your perception."
The repeating night.
"It may distort your reality."
Neizo clenched his fists.
"And eventually… it may try to pull you into its own dimension."
Neizo stopped breathing.
"That dimension is often theorized as a state where the mind is most vulnerable…"
A faint smile appeared on Professor Yoshino's face.
"…the dream."
Neizo's eyes widened. The book. The entity.
"It feeds on awareness. Fear. Perception. And the more you see…"
The smile widened.
"…the closer you are."
Silence.
No one reacted.
Because this wasn't for them.
It was for him.
Neizo felt it clearly now. This lecture… was not normal.
Professor Yoshino turned back casually. "Class dismissed."
Just like that.
Students stood up, talking like nothing happened. Everything returned to normal.
But Neizo didn't move.
Then—
A whisper beside his ear. Cold. Close.
"You're the last."
Neizo turned instantly. No one.
But the board—
The shapes had changed.
They formed something.
A woman. Sitting. Hair covering her face.
Neizo stumbled back, his chair falling. A few students looked at him. "Are you okay?"
He didn't answer. His eyes were locked on the board.
But it was normal again.
Nothing there.
"This isn't hallucination…" he whispered. "This is real…"
He forced himself to move and walked out of the class. The hallway felt long. Too long. Empty.
At the far end—
She stood there.
A woman in a white dress. Hair covering her face. Not moving. Not breathing. Just standing.
Neizo froze. "…No…"
She tilted her head slightly. A faint smile formed.
"You saw me too."
Neizo turned and ran. His footsteps echoed loudly. But something was wrong. The corridor wasn't ending. No matter how fast he ran, the distance didn't change.
He turned—
She was closer.
Still not moving.
Still not walking.
But closer.
Impossible.
"No… no…!"
His vision blurred. His chest tightened.
Then everything went black.
—
Neizo opened his eyes.
He was back in class. Sitting normally. Students around him. Professor Yoshino teaching like nothing happened.
The board was clean.
No shapes.
No figure.
Nothing.
Neizo's hands trembled. "…What…?"
He looked around. Everything was normal again. Reset.
Slowly, he looked at Professor Yoshino.
Their eyes met.
And for a brief moment—
Professor Yoshino smiled. Wide. Unnatural.
And mouthed silently—
"You saw me."
Neizo's body went cold.
Now he understood.
This wasn't just hallucination.
Something was showing him.
Watching him.
And the moment he saw it—
He became part of it.