Chapter 14: Breaking the Cycle

By around 9 p.m., the gala had wound down.

Elias returned home, carefully removed his new suit, and freshened up in the bathroom. Then he sat at the small desk in his bedroom, replaying the evening's events in his mind.

Tonight's banquet had expanded his horizons in ways he hadn't expected.

It amazed him how, although everyone lived in the same city—one as massive and diverse as New York—it felt as though they inhabited completely different worlds. For people like Chase Rivers or the other prominent attendees, dropping millions of dollars on a whim was as effortless as handing out play-money tokens. Their lifestyles seemed like fairy tales, each a prince or princess in gilded realms.

Strangely enough, it felt more unreal than the actual dreamscape Elias visited every night.

Elias let his gaze drift to the two pieces of paper on his desk. These were the same sheets on which he'd once jotted down notes about Claw and Cipher, analyzing their backstories and motivations.

One sheet, detailed the cause-and-effect behind Claw's quest for revenge and Cipher's determination to open that deposit box.

Another sheet, titled "Unresolved Mysteries," had three bullet points Elias found pressing:

What's inside that safety deposit box?What is the deposit box's password?Why does Cipher keep saving me? Her attitude toward me is strange and contradictory.

What's Inside?

For the first question, he had no leads. Even though this dream presumably belonged to him, Elias couldn't guess what in his mind would require such serious secrecy—enough to be locked in a bank vault.

Clearly, from Cipher's fervor, that box held something very important to her. But what could it be? If Elias's own subconscious made this scenario, surely the box's contents existed within his sphere of knowledge—or so the logic of his dream usually went.

The second question—the deposit box combination—was equally perplexing. Passwords either worked or didn't. In previous nights, Elias had tried every date or number string he could think of, all in vain.

He'd run through a wide range of year-month-day combos: birthdays, anniversaries, significant events in both real life and the dream. He'd even used the dream's surreal future date, 2624/08/28, tried reversing or scrambling them with 0042, the time he woke every night—nothing.

If the box was truly "his," how could he possibly not know the code?

But among the three enigmas, the third one seized his attention the most.

Why does Cipher keep saving me?

She'd shot Claw without hesitation, but never turned her gun on Elias. By all logic, Elias was just as culpable in their bank-blasting escapades—yet she spared him, repeatedly. Her manner bordered on familiar, if not friendly.

And that was the only question that might have an actual lead.

Because the answer lay solely with Cipher herself—she knew why she'd rescued him, but refused to tell him unless he helped her crack the deposit box.

Elias tapped the pen against his chin. If he searched his memories thoroughly, something about Cipher's voice tugged at him. It had a clear, musical ring, spiced with an undercurrent of steely resolve. Where had he heard that voice outside the dream?

He found himself stuck, unable to recall a specific time or place.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence," he thought. "Plenty of people have similar voices."

Still, it nagged at him. This "déjà vu" might be more than mere coincidence.

At any rate, Cipher wasn't going to divulge anything unless he helped her open the box. And that was impossible for Elias as long as the password remained a mystery. They were locked in a dead-end cycle: no password, no truth.

Unless… he changed the rules entirely.

"I need to break this stalemate," Elias murmured.

He recognized that reasoning or negotiation wouldn't budge Cipher—she was too clever and too capable in a fight. If she thought Elias wasn't useful for opening the box, she'd drop him in a heartbeat.

So, maybe a less direct approach was needed.

Form an alliance with Claw.

Yes, that was the idea forming in Elias's mind:

Approach Claw again, but this time reveal Cipher's deception about "money" in the vault.Earn Claw's trust by proving they share a common cause—both have been fooled by Cipher at some point.Then partner up and ambush Cipher at the vault—overpower her and force her to talk.

"I can't do it alone," Elias reasoned, spinning the pen rapidly between his fingers. "But with Claw, it's two-on-one. That should be enough to restrain her."

He didn't want to harm Cipher; he just wanted an answer. After he heard why she'd been saving him, he'd let her go. Let them both walk away if that was how it turned out.

The more Elias considered it, the more feasible it seemed.

A glance at the clock: 9:45 p.m.

Typically, Elias encountered Claw around 10:00 in the dream. If he fell asleep quickly, he could still make it just in time.

He flicked the desk lamp off and crawled into bed, settling under the covers.

"Let's do this," he whispered, closing his eyes.

***

Whoosh!

Once again, the hot summer breeze enveloped him. Elias opened his eyes, finding himself in that ever-repeating city square he'd known most of his life—though set in the year 2624.

The giant digital billboard overhead displayed 21:54. He needed to act fast—Claw usually arrived around ten.

Elias spotted two little boys "fighting" nearby with plastic hero masks, just as they always did. They yelled "Ultra flying kick!" and "Ultra elbow smash!" as they tussled, eventually dropping their masks in the scuffle.

It brought back fond memories. When Elias was a child, these dream kids had seemed invincible. But as Elias "grew up," they stayed locked in the same eternal cycle, day after day. Sometimes it reminded him how he alone got older in this dream—everyone else was stuck.

They drifted farther off, leaving their masks behind.

"Key item acquired," Elias murmured, scooping up the hero mask. "Let's go."