Nightmare

The night breeze carried a free breez.Kael and Anrika walked side by side along the glowing skywalk.

"That was… incredible," Kael said, glancing over at her. "I still don't feel like I'm in the real world."

Anrika smiled, a soft glow from the nearby lamp panels reflecting in her emerald eyes. "You'll get used to it. But I'm glad you enjoyed today. You needed something like this."

He nodded, his voice quieter. "Yeah… I think I did."

They stood silently in front of his temporary apartment complex. A sleek silver structure with translucent walls and glowing vines that moved slowly, as if breathing.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow," she said. "We'll start combat simulations—something light to ease you into the real stuff."

Kael chuckled and nodded. He need to learn fight, because he need to fight against aliens, the current lifestyle wasn't free.

"Get some rest. You'll need it."

"Thanks, Anrika," he said.

"It's my duty. If there is anything you need, give me a call," She said and turned and walked away, her red hair bouncing with each graceful step. Kael stood there for a few more seconds before stepping inside.

---

The room was dim and quiet. The ceiling gently glowed, adjusting its brightness to simulate moonlight. Kael lay on the bed, hands behind his head, staring at the sleek, curved ceiling above.

But sleep didn't come.

He tossed. Turned. Counted artificial stars projected onto the walls. His mind wouldn't rest. Images of the day. The skyrail, the neon lights, the strange market food, Anrika's laugh kept playing in his head.

Eventually, with a sigh, he sat up.

"Screw it. I'll just get some water."

He rubbed his eyes and reached for the nightstand.

But something was wrong.

His hand touched nothing.

No table.

No glass of water.

No soft surface beneath him. The bed… was gone.

He blinked, and the world around him shimmered.

He was no longer in his room.

Instead, he found himself standing or floating? in a soft blue space, like the bottom of a clear ocean. He couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet, and the light around him wavered like liquid.

Confused, Kael looked around, only to freeze as a shape emerged in front of him.

A woman.

No, something more than a woman.

She was breathtaking.

She floated slowly toward him, as if gliding through water. Her skin was pale like porcelain, almost glowing. Long, black hair flowed behind her, sticking in strands to her shoulders and chest. Her eyes were large, deep, and luminous.

She wore a clinging white dress that reached her ankles, but the wet fabric hugged her curves like a second skin. The dress dipped low at her chest, revealing the soft swell of her upper breasts. Water clung to her skin, making her glisten.

Kael's breath caught in his throat. He couldn't move, couldn't speak. His eyes were locked on her, on the shimmer of her wet skin, the soft curve of her chest, the way her dress clung to every detail of her body.

She moved closer.

Closer.

Her hand reached out and touched his shoulder.

It was cool. Delicate.

Kael was still in a daze, his gaze dropping involuntarily to her chest, wondering, Could he see her nipple…?

But something was wrong.

He tried to speak. To move. To breathe.

And then—

Pain.

Water surged into his nose. His lungs screamed. He was drowning.

He flailed instinctively, bubbles escaping his mouth.

Underwater.

He was underwater.

Panic exploded in his chest.

Suddenly, a powerful hand grabbed his shoulder, from behind and yanked him upward. He broke through the surface, gasping for air, coughing violently.

But just as he thought he was safe...

He felt something clutch his ankle.

He looked down.

The woman, the same woman was beneath the surface, her long black hair floating around her like ink in water.

Her grip was iron.

Kael kicked, trying to break free but then her hair moved, revealing her face.

He froze.

Her skin, once flawless, was now blackened and charred, as if burned beyond recognition. Her cheeks were hollow, her nose gone. Her lips had melted away, revealing an unnatural, skeletal grin sharp white teeth grinning through ruined flesh.

Her once-beautiful eyes were now milky and dead.

Kael screamed.

Or tried to.

But water filled his mouth once again.

The last thing he saw before everything faded to black was that monstrous face pulling him downward, deeper and deeper into the dark.