Chapter 7: Too Many Questions

Tonight was unusually quiet. Perhaps it was the colder weather—by midnight, even the street below Elias's apartment was hushed, the food stalls long since closed.

Elias opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. He remained in bed for a while, a vague unease prickling under his skin.

That sinking feeling was…shame.

He was in his twenties, yet he'd just spent the night in his dream world shouting some of his most embarrassing teenage secrets—dates he'd never admitted to anyone. And he'd done it in front of a lethal stranger named Cipher, all for the sake of opening a deposit box that still refused to budge.

"Ugh," Elias groaned. He rolled onto his side, letting the blanket envelope him more tightly, as if trying to hide from the memory. At least it was only a dream. By tomorrow, everything would reset, and no one would remember. Still, he felt the lingering heat of humiliation.

"Anyway," he mumbled, kicking off the covers and sitting up, "real life goes on."

No matter the drama unfolding in the dream, his daily grind in the real world took priority. He slipped into a comfortable set of clothes, then switched on his desk lamp. Time to finalize the new cat mascot he'd borrowed from his dream: Koko Cat.

***

Elias retrieved fresh paper and sketched from memory the details of Koko Cat—the plush he'd studied in the dream. The design was already simple and cute, so transferring it was easy enough. In under twenty minutes, he had fully realized front, side, and back views of the cheerful feline. From tail to shoes, he faithfully replicated the dream version, capturing every whimsical detail.

"Perfect," he murmured, wiping eraser dust off the desk. "I can turn this in tomorrow with no problem."

Glancing at the new drawings, Elias couldn't help but think of Claw—the cat-masked gangster who insisted Elias call him "Boss." Over the past couple of nights, Elias had pieced together the tangled revenge plot between Claw and the so-called password expert Cipher.

He grabbed another sheet of paper to outline the situation in the dream:

Claw's motive: His six-year-old daughter was murdered years ago, and he needs money—lots of it—to exact revenge on the killers.Cipher's motive: She wants access to the bank vault to open a deposit box labeled "Elias Crane," presumably to obtain something inside.Fake Team-Up: Cipher dupes Claw by claiming there's a fortune in the bank's vault. They use matching masks as a rendezvous signal, planning to rob the place together.Mutual Betrayals: Claw plans to kill everyone else to keep the loot. Cipher, knowing the vault is actually empty of cash, plans to kill Claw first—otherwise, once he sees there's no money, he'd never let her walk away alive.Outcome: Neither Claw nor Cipher gets what they want. Claw never obtains the wealth he needs, and Cipher can't crack the deposit box. They both lose.

Elias recapped it all and clicked his pen closed. These two played out their cat-and-mouse game every single dream. In a sense, they were like NPCs in a repeated video game script, trapped in the same storyline each night. Elias knew that, without his intervention, the scenario would reset over and over, always ending the same way.

"But," Elias thought, tapping the pen against his notepad, "I'm the only variable. The one wild card that can change things."

He'd long viewed his dream like a giant role-playing game. Everyone else had a set script—a storyline that repeated daily—while Elias was free to roam, experiment, break rules, and seek new endings. Typically, no puzzle was too tough; he could attempt it over and over without lasting consequence.

But this time…

"Feels like a higher level of difficulty." He sighed, switching to another sheet labeled:

Unresolved Mysteries

What's inside the deposit box?What exactly is the combination?Why does Cipher keep saving me? Her attitude is oddly contradictory.

He stared at those three bullet points.

The first two had no leads—he was hitting a wall with the code. The third question nagged him. Cipher claimed not to know him, yet she'd saved his life more than once. She hadn't tried to kill him at all.

"She doesn't act like a total stranger," Elias reasoned. "But I have no proof she knows me. She's oddly willing to humor my password guesses, though maybe that's just desperation."

His thoughts twisted in circles until they threatened to become a fully-fledged novel. With a loud yawn, Elias flicked off the lamp. "Time for sleep. Dream or not, I shouldn't obsess over every detail."

***

The conference room was abuzz with chatter as Elias laid out his refined Koko Cat designs. Within moments, his coworkers were gawking, jaws practically on the floor.

"This… Yesterday it was just a rough draft, and now we've got full three-view turnaround? The level of polish is insane—it looks production-ready!"

"Dude, that's what I'm saying," another chimed in. "It might look like he drew it overnight, but the intricacy is top-notch. Probably took him months of background work, right?"

"Seriously, it's adorable! I've never seen a cat mascot so perfect for a younger crowd. I said it yesterday—Elias's design has real potential. Once we apply color and final touches, it could rival Hello Kitty!"

"Speaking as a designer, the aesthetic is bold and fresh. No way customers can resist picking this up on a store shelf. Elias just soared to new heights!"

Normally, people toned down such excitement when Miranda Harrington—the company's founder—was in the room. She had a commanding presence that left everyone a bit starstruck. Today, dressed in head-to-toe black, she looked especially poised and formidable. But as she examined Elias's sketches, even she couldn't hide a pleased smile.

"This is excellent work, far beyond the concept I originally had in mind," Ms. Harrington said, addressing the group. "It's not just a solid mascot—it's an entire identity. Elias clearly poured serious effort into developing every detail."

She tapped a manicured finger on one of the drawings. "In fact, I'm starting to feel it'd be wasted just slapping it on packaging or ads. I've got bigger ideas for this cat brand."

The staff exchanged excited glances. Ms. Harrington then looked at Elias, her gaze warm with approval. "But first… let's give this adorable mascot a name. Elias, since you created it, why don't you do the honors?"

All eyes turned his way, and a few colleagues gave him discreet thumbs-up. Elias glanced at the big screen behind Ms. Harrington, which displayed the meeting title: "7th Discussion for the Rhine Brand Image".

"Well, since the new product line is called Rhine, let's just name the cat Rhine Cat."