Chapter 72: Sleep Is Becoming Dangerous [Volume 3 - 2]
The hallway was empty.
Dillan stood motionless, his hand hovering over the doorknob.
His pulse echoed inside his ears.
Three knocks.
He knew he had heard them.
Slow.
Gentle.
Almost... patient.
He swallowed.
"...Who’s there?"
Nothing answered.
Not even the sound of breathing.
The apartment felt unnaturally still.
Slowly, he unlocked the door.
The hinges creaked softly as it opened.
Darkness greeted him.
The hallway lights remained off.
Moonlight spilled through the living room window, painting pale silver lines across the floor.
Nobody.
He stepped outside anyway.
"...Hello?"
Silence.
He checked the kitchen.
Empty.
The living room.
Empty.
Bathroom.
Nothing.
Even the front door remained locked exactly as he had left it.
His fingers tightened.
"...I’m imagining things."
He wanted to believe it.
He truly wanted to.
Then...
A faint scent drifted through the hallway.
Flowers.
Fresh lilies.
His eyes narrowed.
That scent didn’t belong in the apartment.
He followed it.
Step by cautious step.
Until...
It disappeared.
As if it had never existed.
Morning came far too quickly.
Dillan hadn’t slept again.
The few minutes after the knocking incident were spent sitting against the wall beside his bedroom door with a kitchen knife resting across his lap.
He felt ridiculous.
Yet somehow...
Not ridiculous enough to put the knife away.
By eight o’clock...
He looked worse.
Even Dana paused the moment she saw him.
"...Dillan."
"...Morning."
"...No."
She walked closer.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"You look like you lost a fight."
"I probably would have."
She didn’t smile.
"You didn’t sleep."
He sighed.
"...Not really."
Dana frowned.
"You’ve had nightmares before."
"Not like these."
She waited.
He looked away.
"I keep hearing things."
"Hearing what?"
"...Knocking."
Silence.
Dana glanced toward his bedroom.
"...Someone knocking?"
He nodded.
"...Three times."
"Did you check?"
"I did."
"And?"
"...Nobody."
Dana crossed her arms.
"...You’re coming with me today."
He blinked.
"...Where?"
"The hospital."
"I don’t need a hospital."
"You look like you haven’t slept in a week."
"I’ve slept."
"You’ve passed out."
"...Different thing."
"It really isn’t."
The Guardian Network headquarters felt unusually lively.
Researchers hurried between rooms carrying stacks of reports.
Hunters prepared equipment for Gate patrols.
Large digital displays updated Gate activity across the country every few seconds.
Normally...
Dillan enjoyed the atmosphere.
Today...
Everything felt strangely distant.
Almost muffled.
As though reality itself had wrapped itself in thick cloth.
"You look terrible."
Commander Yuna Vale didn’t bother with greetings.
Dillan looked up from his chair.
"...Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Because mirrors apparently aren’t enough."
"...That’s fair."
She placed several documents on the table.
"You’ve made mistakes."
"...What?"
"These reports."
She tapped the papers.
"You wrote the same sentence three times."
Dillan frowned.
"...No I didn’t."
"You did."
He reached for the report.
His handwriting covered the page.
Everything looked normal...
Until the final paragraph.
The same sentence repeated three times.
Gate stability confirmed.
Gate stability confirmed.
Gate stability confirmed.
His expression stiffened.
"...I don’t remember writing that."
Yuna quietly watched him.
"...Neither do I."
Silence settled over the room.
She finally spoke.
"When was the last time you had a full night’s sleep?"
"..."
"Dillan."
"...Three days."
Her expression didn’t change.
But somehow...
It became colder.
Elsewhere...
Lyra stood alone beneath the open sky.
The breeze gently moved through her silver-white hair.
Her eyes remained fixed on nothing.
Or perhaps...
Something no one else could see.
She slowly raised one hand.
The air before her rippled.
Like invisible water.
A tiny fracture appeared.
Barely visible.
Gone an instant later.
Lyra frowned.
"...No..."
She whispered.
"...That’s impossible."
That evening...
Mira arrived carrying several tablets.
"I checked the security cameras."
Dillan looked up.
"...And?"
"Nothing."
"You sure?"
"I checked six times."
She placed the tablet on the table.
The hallway outside Dillan’s room appeared on screen.
11:48 PM.
11:59 PM.
12:08 AM.
No movement.
No shadows.
No visitors.
Nothing.
Mira folded her arms.
"The cameras recorded absolutely nothing."
Dillan’s stomach tightened.
"...I heard knocking."
"I know."
"You think I’m lying?"
"No."
She answered immediately.
"I think you heard something."
"...But?"
"...I don’t think the cameras can."
That sentence lingered in the room.
That night...
Dillan made a decision.
He wasn’t going to sleep.
Not tonight.
He placed a notebook beside his bed.
Opened it.
And wrote.
My name is Dillan Ruren.
Today is Thursday.
I am awake.
If I fall asleep...
He hesitated.
Then finished the sentence.
Remember this room is real.
He closed the notebook.
Placed a pen beside it.
Then leaned back against the wall.
He wouldn’t lose.
Not to a dream.
Hours passed.
Midnight became one.
One became two.
His eyelids grew heavier.
His breathing slowed.
His thoughts drifted.
"No..."
He rubbed his eyes.
"...Stay awake..."
The notebook slipped from his lap.
His head tilted sideways.
Darkness quietly swallowed him.
This time...
He wasn’t standing.
He was sitting.
A wooden swing moved gently beneath an ancient oak tree.
The sky glowed orange with sunset.
Children laughed somewhere nearby.
Everything felt...
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Across from him...
Someone sat on another swing.
A young girl.
Her feet lightly brushed the grass.
She hummed a melody.
"...Who are you?"
She stopped humming.
"...You really don’t remember."
Her voice sounded disappointed.
Not angry.
Just...
Heartbroken.
"...Should I?"
She laughed softly.
"...It’s okay."
She slowly stood.
"...I’ll help you remember."
She took one step.
Then another.
Her face remained hidden behind strands of crimson hair.
Only her eyes were visible.
They glowed.
Softly.
Beautifully.
Filled with endless affection.
She reached toward him.
"I missed you..."
Suddenly—
Every swing in the park began moving by itself.
One.
Then ten.
Then hundreds.
Children’s laughter twisted into something distorted.
The sky darkened.
The oak tree bled from its bark.
The girl’s smile widened ever so slightly.
"I’ve been waiting..."
Blue windows erupted across Dillan’s vision.
[WARNING.]
[Oneiric Malformation Progression Confirmed.]
[External Consciousness Synchronization... 3%]
[Host Neural Stability Declining.]
Dillan tried to stand.
He couldn’t move.
The girl continued walking.
Slowly.
Patiently.
As though she already knew...
He had nowhere left to run.
"...Who are you?"
Dillan’s voice barely escaped his lips.
The girl didn’t answer.
She simply kept walking.
One step.
Another.
The old swing behind her continued moving on its own.
Creeeak...
Creeeak...
Creeeak...
The sound echoed across the abandoned playground.
Every swing had begun moving now.
Hundreds of chains scraped against rusted metal.
Yet...
There wasn’t a single child left.
Only empty swings.
Moving.
Waiting.
The girl stopped several meters away.
Her crimson hair concealed most of her face.
Only her glowing eyes watched him.
They weren’t filled with hatred.
They weren’t filled with madness.
They were...
Overflowing with love.
So much love...
That Dillan felt afraid.
"...Do I know you?"
Silence.
"...Please..."
His throat tightened.
"...Who are you?"
She slowly tilted her head.
"...You forgot."
Her voice was soft.
Almost fragile.
Like someone trying very hard not to cry.
"...That’s okay."
She smiled.
"I’ll make you remember."
The moment those words left her lips...
Every swing stopped.
Absolute silence consumed the playground.
Then...
The chains snapped.
Thousands of broken chains flew into the sky like silver rain.
The ground beneath Dillan’s feet cracked open.
Dark crimson liquid seeped through the fractures.
Blood.
The smell struck him instantly.
Fresh.
Warm.
His breathing became uneven.
"No..."
The girl took another step.
"I’ve missed you..."
Blue windows exploded before his eyes.
[WARNING.]
[Oneiric Malformation Progression: 6%]
[Unknown Consciousness Detected.]
[Separating Host Consciousness...]
[Failure.]
"What..."
Dillan reached toward the notifications.
They shattered like glass.
One became ten.
Ten became hundreds.
Every warning duplicated itself until the entire sky was covered in blue windows.
The dream was breaking.
No...
Something was breaking the dream.
The girl frowned.
For the first time...
She looked disappointed.
"...Don’t interfere."
She wasn’t looking at Dillan.
She was looking...
At the System.
Every notification froze.
The playground disappeared.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Dillan woke with a violent gasp.
His entire body shot upright.
His blanket had fallen onto the floor.
His breathing came in ragged bursts.
The digital clock beside his bed glowed.
2:41 A.M.
Only twenty-three minutes had passed.
"...Impossible..."
He covered his face with both hands.
His entire body shook.
The dream.
He remembered every second.
Unlike the previous nights...
Nothing had faded.
Her voice.
Her smile.
Her eyes.
Especially...
Those eyes.
He climbed out of bed.
His legs felt weak.
He stumbled into the bathroom.
Turned on the light.
Looked into the mirror.
Nothing unusual.
Just himself.
"...You’re losing it."
He splashed cold water across his face.
When he looked back up...
Words appeared on the mirror.
Written in condensation.
I FOUND YOU.
His pupils shrank.
He stepped backward so suddenly that his shoulder slammed into the wall.
"No..."
He blinked.
The words vanished.
Only droplets of water slowly slid down the glass.
Nothing else.
His breathing refused to slow.
Morning wasn’t any kinder.
The dark circles beneath Dillan’s eyes had become impossible to ignore.
Even his normally calm expression looked strained.
He sat at the dining table, absentmindedly stirring coffee that had already gone cold.
"...Dillan."
He looked up.
Sera stood beside him.
She gently rested the back of her hand against his forehead.
"...You don’t have a fever."
"I’m glad."
"You still don’t look well."
"I didn’t sleep much."
"You haven’t slept much."
She corrected him quietly.
"...For days."
He laughed weakly.
"I’ll survive."
"...Will you?"
That question lingered.
He didn’t answer.
Because...
For the first time...
He wasn’t sure.
Across the room...
Mira quietly watched him.
She didn’t say anything.
Instead...
She opened her tablet.
Security footage.
Again.
She replayed the previous night’s recordings.
11:00 P.M.
11:30.
12:00.
2:41.
Nothing.
No movement.
No shadows.
No visitors.
Then...
The screen distorted.
Static covered the hallway camera.
Exactly three seconds.
When the picture returned...
Everything looked normal.
Mira frowned.
She replayed it.
Again.
Three seconds.
Static.
"...That’s strange."
She enlarged the frame immediately before the distortion.
Nothing.
Immediately after.
Nothing.
She leaned closer.
"...Wait..."
There.
For less than a frame.
A silhouette stood outside Dillan’s bedroom door.
Too blurry to identify.
Gone immediately afterward.
"...Who..."
She froze.
The timestamp hadn’t changed.
According to the recording...
No time had passed.
As if the figure...
Had never existed.
Elsewhere...
Lyra stood alone beneath the night sky.
The wind carried an unfamiliar scent.
Flowers.
Lilies.
She slowly closed her eyes.
The invisible Resonance Field surrounding Dillan expanded outward.
Gentle.
Steady.
Beautiful.
Yet tonight...
Something brushed against it.
Not forcefully.
Almost...
Lovingly.
Lyra’s eyes opened.
"...Who are you...?"
No answer came.
Only a faint ripple passed through the field before disappearing into the darkness.
For the first time since arriving on Earth...
A chill ran down Lyra’s spine.
That evening...
Dillan sat alone inside his room.
The notebook still rested beside his bed.
He picked it up.
Opened it.
His handwriting covered the first page.
My name is Dillan Ruren.
Today is Thursday.
This room is real.
He slowly turned the page.
Blank.
Another.
Blank.
Another.
His fingers stopped moving.
Near the bottom of the final page...
A single sentence had appeared.
Written in elegant handwriting.
Handwriting that wasn’t his.
Sleep well.
I’ll see you tonight.
The notebook slipped from his hands.
It landed on the floor with a dull thud.
Dillan stared at the page.
His face slowly lost all color.
"...No..."
His whisper barely reached the empty room.
"...Who’s doing this...?"
Far away...
Beyond the boundaries of the Guardian Network...
Beyond the edge of the Resonance Field...
A young woman stood beneath the glow of a lonely streetlamp.
She held a small photograph in both hands.
A photograph of two smiling children taken many years ago.
Her thumb gently brushed across the boy’s face.
Her glowing crimson eyes softened.
A peaceful smile bloomed across her lips.
"...You’re getting closer..."
She pressed the photograph against her chest.
"...Just a little longer."