An Uncanny Encounter

The fight ended and the crowd settled. The fire that Jayce has created due to his victory might not easily subside but he firmly planted his name into the hearts of everyone.

From now on, nobody will have the guts to dare question him again.

But his biggest challenge is yet to come...

***

Late that night, Jayce stopped at his treehouse.

It was a memoir of his childhood that spoke volumes to him, even at this age.

As he traced the barks of the tree, the patterns and lines of the maple tree mirrored his once hopeful and curious heart—suddenly becoming vivid.

He smiled. He had gone through ups and downs where it could match up to every brushstroke of life.

These fragments of memories were painted with colorful hues and pastel paints, with details and much refinement, but today, darkness had to envelop his entire being, draining, agonizing wrecking those fun childhood.

Additional life has been taken.

He had killed a person again...

The picturesque view of his past is now just a blur to his current life.

Jayce climbs the tree, its branches lean into the moonlit rays as if they were lovers in an eternal trance.

"Life must move on."

He cast away reminiscing those and just decided to sleep. Yet a few hours passed, Jayce found himself unable to sleep.

He goes to the nearby table where his bed is located, rummaging some scraps of papers. He had fifty books and three notebooks piled up. He decided to review his notes for his upcoming exam next week.

Jayce chuckled as he reads the texts written on it.

"Yeah... who would think that a boss like me still has to study?"

Time passed in a blink of an eye, Jayce unconsciously fell asleep.

Death of day when daybreak starts, a shadow creeps beyond the dark. An entity revealed itself. It had been lurking, observing Jayce for a while that this is the only time it approached Jayce.

A static sound reverberated inside the tree house's narrow room.

"I finally found you."

The entity says but to the person his words were directed at, it felt like a buzz or the wheezing of wind. Outside is heavily raining, and Jayce continued to sleep.

But as he slept, his brows knitted together.

Jayce appeared to be having a nightmare.

Until... gradually his expression softened.

"Haah!"

He awoke from his deep slumber as if disturbed by something.

"Tsk. I dreamt of it again."

'Who the heck is that woman? Why do I keep seeing those things?'

For the past weeks, Jayce has had a reoccurring dream. In his dream, the world looked starkly different.

A world where people could use magic. And he saw weird but unique creatures. Also, an image of a woman kept him wondering.

She is so beautiful, Jayce could not help but admit.

Jayce is living in a modern world where buildings have risen to reach the skies. It would have been common to dream things such as those if he is a kid.

But Jayce is already in high school! Although he is technically still a kid, one can say he is quite experienced compared to his other peers.

Apart from running his underworld business, he meddles in a society focused on developing science to the point that it has advanced to flying hoverboards.

He even thinks that in the future, he would have to recruit androids to guard his lair.

But to dream about a fire-breathing lizard?

'Definitely sounds like some sort of a child's dream.'

Then as if someone has heard him, a static voice called out to him.

"So in this life, your name is Jayce huh?"

Jayce looked around but found no one.

"What did I heard? Did someone spoke?"

He rubs his eyelids as he repeated to search for someone.

A couple of minutes came without a response, he then examined the windowpane mounted on the walls near his table.

Jayce concluded that he must have been hearing things. Perhaps, those are just hallucinations playing tricks to his mind, that he should probably get back to sleep.

But the static voice resounds once more.

"No, you are not hearing things... I am here. This is real."

Hearing the voice another time, Jayce eye's widened in surprise. He pinched his cheeks to confirm he is not dreaming.

"You! Who the fuck are you?"

Jayce feared what he could not see. It is only natural for humans to fear the unknown. He reflexively got into his fighting stance in haste, worried that this unseen presence might hurt him.

"Relax Jayce... I will not hurt you."

"Darn this stupid prank! Carlo! You better show yourself now or I would rip your skull out!"

Jayce thought that Carlo must be there sitting at the roof of his treehouse. Carlo is the only one who knows this location for he is one of Jayce's childhood friends.

"No, this is not Carlo. Could you please be still for a while? I am trying hard just to be able to communicate with you."

The static voice pleaded.

"Hmmm... By some chance, you are not a ghost right?"

Jayce thought about the big fatso he just killed in his dungeon a while ago, his hairs stood just by thinking of the possibility.

Despite the bravery he projects when he assumes the role of the boss, Jayce is secretly afraid of ghosts. It was often used by his parents when he is still a kid to scare the living hell out of him due to his defiant nature.

"Heh? You are afraid of ghosts? Hahaha," The static voice boisterously laughed as if to mock him.

"You can say I am just the same as a ghost," It affirmed what Jayce is afraid of and Jayce felt uncomfortable.

"...Flynn is that you? Are you here for revenge?" Jayce reluctantly asked, his knees are already trembling. If not for the pillow blocking the sight of his crotch, someone could see that some wet stains already appeared.

"Enough being scared! Show me how proud you are when you declared that you are the King of that Dungeon! Jeez! I can't even bear to look at you right now."

As if being scolded by his father, the static voice began reprimanding Jayce. Emphasizing how disappointed it is.

"I'll tell you who I am but first... tell me in detail what you dreamt of." The static voice demanded and a chilling breeze wrapped around Jayce.

All of a sudden, an indescribable prickling sensation nudges the fibers of Jayce's skin. What he first noticed is how unusually weak he felt.

"What have you done?!" Jayce screamed in terror, realizing that he is unable to move.

"Be still and do as I have told! I can not spare any more energy... If only I am not in a severe state, I could have just straight away entered your mind."

The static voice vibrated into a scowl, Jayce loosened his grip, and the pillow he has been holding fell to the wooden floor.

"You are not a man of your word! You said you won't hurt me!" Jayce complained as he struggled to break free.

"I did not. I merely bound you. Now quick! Tell it to me now." The voice urged.

"Alright, Kay` I'll tell you..."

That is how Jayce began to narrate a story from his dreams. It contained the visions of the past. Little did Jayce knew, this uncanny encounter will change the way he looked at the world forever...