Bitter and Sweet Birthday

Xion had no idea when he had fallen asleep.

Despite having been held at knifepoint earlier, his dreams were light and absurdly sweet, as if his subconscious chose to drown the stress in sugar.

In his dream, a table stretched endlessly before him, laden with pancakes drizzled in golden syrup and floating crepes overflowing with whipped cream and melted chocolate.

He grabbed a pancake and tore off a piece with relish. His grin widened at the perfectly balanced sweetness. He hummed in delight, savoring the taste that danced on his tongue like pure bliss.

With eagerness, he extended his hand toward the crepes. But the crepe burst.

No, not burst. It disappeared.

The entire dream table folded in on itself, vanishing like morning mist. Meanwhile, red fog descended around him and a blaring alarm screamed in his ears.

"Alert! Alert! A thief has been found!"