Chapter 71: Don’t fall Asleep[Volume 3 - 1]
Sleep had become something Dillan feared.
Not because of nightmares.
Because the nightmares were beginning to feel more real than his waking life.
For the past three nights, he had woken at exactly the same time.
3:17 A.M.
The first night, he dismissed it as stress.
The second, exhaustion.
By the third...
Even he had stopped believing the coincidence.
Tonight was no different.
...
His body jolted upright before his mind had even caught up.
A violent gasp tore from his throat.
His heartbeat pounded so hard against his ribs that every breath hurt.
For several long seconds, he couldn’t remember where he was.
Darkness.
A familiar ceiling.
The faint glow of moonlight slipping through the curtains.
His bedroom.
"...Again..."
His voice barely escaped his lips.
Cold sweat soaked his shirt.
His hands were trembling.
Almost instinctively, they reached for his neck.
His fingers searched frantically.
Skin.
Warmth.
A pulse.
Still there.
He closed his eyes.
"...It wasn’t real."
It couldn’t have been.
Yet he could still feel it.
The sensation of cold steel sliding across his throat.
The impossible weightlessness as his head separated from his body.
The warmth of someone cradling him afterward.
As though...
Death itself had been gentle.
A soft blue notification materialized before him.
[Sleep Cycle Interrupted.]
[Abnormal Neural Activity Detected.]
[Oneiric Malformation Suspected.]
[Cause: Unknown.]
Dillan stared at the floating window.
"...Oneiric..."
The unfamiliar word lingered in his thoughts.
Since awakening Devour, the System occasionally displayed information it couldn’t explain.
This...
felt different.
It wasn’t identifying a monster.
Or an ability.
It was warning him.
He dismissed the notification with a wave of his hand.
Probably another error.
The System had been acting strangely ever since his first Gate.
There was no reason to panic over one more mysterious message.
...
At least...
That was what he kept telling himself.
He walked into the bathroom.
The fluorescent light flickered once before illuminating the small room.
His reflection stared back at him.
Messy black hair.
Dark circles beneath exhausted eyes.
Skin several shades paler than it had been only a week ago.
He looked...
Older.
Not physically.
Mentally.
As if every nightmare had stolen a little more sleep than he realized.
He leaned over the sink and splashed cold water across his face.
The icy sensation pulled him back to reality.
Slowly, he lifted his head.
Something smiled behind him.
His breathing stopped.
Standing in the mirror...
Just beyond his shoulder...
Was the silhouette of a young woman.
Long dark-red hair.
White dress.
Hands folded politely before her.
Her face remained hidden beneath strands of hair...
Except for her eyes.
They glowed.
Not violently.
Not monstrously.
Soft crimson.
Warm.
Filled with an affection so overwhelming that it felt wrong.
She looked at him...
Like he was the most precious thing in existence.
Dillan spun around.
Nothing.
The bathroom was empty.
Only silence answered him.
His breathing became uneven.
"...Get a grip."
He rubbed both hands over his face.
"Lack of sleep."
That had to be it.
People hallucinated when they were exhausted.
He’d read about it before.
When he looked into the mirror again...
Only his own reflection remained.
Morning arrived.
Technically.
He never truly went back to sleep.
Coffee became breakfast.
The second cup replaced the first before it had gone cold.
Even caffeine couldn’t erase the heaviness behind his eyes.
It wasn’t simple exhaustion anymore.
It felt...
Like someone had reached inside his mind and refused to let go.
"Dillan."
He looked up.
Dana stood beside the kitchen counter, studying him.
Her expression shifted almost immediately.
"...You look horrible."
He forced a small smile.
"I’ve looked worse."
"No."
She crossed her arms.
"You haven’t."
Silence lingered between them.
"You didn’t sleep."
"I slept."
"Liar."
"...A little."
"Dillan."
"I’m fine."
She didn’t answer immediately.
Dana had known him for years.
Long enough to recognize every fake smile.
Long enough to know exactly how stubborn he could be.
"...You’re a terrible liar."
He laughed quietly.
"...I’ve heard that before."
"You should start believing it."
Before the conversation could continue, footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Sera entered carrying two steaming mugs.
Without asking, she placed one in front of Dillan.
"You need this."
"...Thanks."
Their fingers brushed for less than a second.
Reality broke.
The mug disappeared.
His hands were suddenly covered in blood.
A girl’s soft laughter echoed beside his ear.
"I finally found you."
Dillan recoiled.
The mug slipped from his grasp.
It shattered against the floor.
Coffee splashed across the tiles.
Everyone froze.
Silence filled the room.
Sera blinked.
"...Dillan?"
His breathing quickened.
Blood.
No...
Coffee.
Only coffee.
He stared at the broken pieces scattered across the floor.
"...Sorry."
His voice sounded distant.
"My hand slipped."
No one believed that explanation.
Sera slowly knelt to gather the broken porcelain.
"...Leave it."
He crouched beside her.
"I’ll clean it."
Their eyes met.
For the briefest instant...
Her violet eyes became crimson.
Glowing.
Overflowing with impossible affection.
"I love you..."
He stumbled backward.
The vision vanished.
Sera looked genuinely confused.
"...Are you alright?"
"...Yeah."
He answered too quickly.
"I’m just tired."
Across the dining room...
Lyra hadn’t spoken a single word.
She quietly watched Dillan.
Her silver eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
As though she could hear a voice...
No one else could.
That night...
Dillan refused to sleep.
He watched television until midnight.
Read Gate reports.
Reorganized files.
Opened and closed his status panel more times than he could count.
Anything...
To avoid closing his eyes.
Because every time he did...
She was waiting.
Eventually...
His body surrendered.
His head rested against the pillow.
Darkness claimed him almost instantly.
Warm sunlight.
A gentle breeze.
An endless field of white flowers stretching beneath a brilliant blue sky.
Children laughed somewhere in the distance.
The air smelled strangely familiar.
Peaceful.
"...Hello?"
No answer.
Only footsteps.
Soft.
Slow.
A little girl stood several meters away.
Her back faced him.
Long dark-red hair swayed gently in the wind.
She wore a simple white dress.
"...Who are you?"
She giggled.
Then quietly spoke.
"...You found me once."
"...Now..."
She slowly began turning toward him.
"...It’s my turn to find you."
Just before her face became visible...
Every flower in the field turned crimson.
The sky split apart.
Blood rained from above.
[WARNING.]
[Oneiric Malformation Progression Detected.]
[Host Consciousness Destabilizing.]
Dillan’s eyes snapped open.
His heart hammered violently against his chest.
The digital clock beside his bed glowed.
12:08 A.M.
He had been asleep...
For less than eight minutes.
Then...
...
...
...
Knock.
A soft sound echoed from the other side of his bedroom door.
Dillan froze.
Another knock.
Gentle.
Almost polite.
Then...
A third.
He slowly turned toward the door.
His mouth had gone dry.
"...Who’s there?"
Silence.
No footsteps.
No answer.
Only the unbearable stillness of the apartment.
His trembling hand reached for the doorknob.
And for reasons he couldn’t explain...
Every instinct in his body screamed at him...
Don’t open it.