Mongre_l

In the year 2110, lucid dreaming isn’t just an escape—it’s power. The world has changed since the discovery that dreams can shape reality, leading to the fall of governments and the rise of three factions, each with their own agenda.

Orion, a student at Zenith Academy, thought his dreams were nothing more than restless nights—until he wakes up with wounds that shouldn’t exist. As strange visions persist and a mysterious old woman warns him of what’s to come, he finds himself drawn deeper into a hidden war fought beyond the limits of the waking world.

With his friends by his side—Neil, the tech genius; Rin, the conspiracy enthusiast; and Cassandra, obsessed with lucid dreaming—Orion begins to unlock abilities that defy logic. But power always comes at a price, and in a world where dreamers can alter reality, the difference between an ally and an enemy is as thin as the veil between sleep and wakefulness.

When a faction finally takes notice of him, Orion must decide: will he embrace the lucid world, or lose himself in it forever?

Lucid Paradox

Orion glanced at his phone screen again.

The unknown number had sent it earlier, but he had ignored it. Now, as he lay on his bed, he wondered who would send something like that. Maybe a prank? Maybe someone from school? Either way, he wasn't going to let it bother him.

His mind wandered back to last night. For the first time in a while, he had slept without dreaming. No strange places, no weird messages, nothing. Just sleep. And that, in itself, felt strange.

Ever since that first experience with Neil's machine, his dreams had been vivid—sometimes eerie, sometimes confusing, but never empty. So why now?

Maybe the machine had affected him in some way before. Maybe it had triggered something.

There was only one way to be sure.

Orion turned to Neil, who was sitting at his desk, tinkering with some device.

Neil didn't look up. "What do you want?"

"I want you to hook me up to the machine again."

Now Neil looked up, frowning. "Seriously?"

"Last night, I didn't dream at all," Orion explained. "And that's never happened before. I just want to see if the machine makes a difference."

Neil leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "So let me get this straight. You want me to plug your brain into a machine that already messed with you once, just to check if nothing happens?"

Neil gave him a blank stare. "You're an idiot."

Orion shrugged. "Maybe. But are you gonna help or not?"

Neil groaned. "Fine. But if something weird happens, I'm pulling the plug immediately."

Plugging In

A few minutes later, Orion was lying on his bed, hooked up to the machine. Electrodes were placed on his temples, and the small earplugs—an older model of Lucid Nexus' standard dream stabilizers—were in place.

Neil stood by the device, checking the readings. "Everything looks normal. If you feel anything weird, you wake up immediately, got it?"

Neil sighed. "Alright. Initiating sleep induction in three... two... one..."

A soft hum filled the air, and Orion felt his body grow heavy. His mind drifted, his breathing slowed, and before he knew it—

He was standing in the middle of a quiet street.

The sky was bright blue, the pavement stretched out ahead of him, and everything looked... ordinary.

No flickering lights. No strange distortions. No eerie feeling creeping up his spine.

He started walking, listening to the sound of his footsteps. There were no distant figures watching him, no unsettling whispers.

For the first time in weeks, he was having a dream that wasn't trying to tell him something.

He reached a park—a simple one with trees, a bench, and a soft breeze flowing through.

Orion sat down on the bench and closed his eyes.

Maybe Neil had been right. Maybe the first time was just a fluke.

Maybe there was nothing to worry about.

Back to Reality

Orion woke up to Neil snapping his fingers in front of his face.

Orion blinked a few times, adjusting back to reality. "Yeah... I think so."

Neil raised an eyebrow. "So? What happened?"

Orion sat up, stretching. "Nothing."

Neil frowned. "You made me go through all that setup just so you could take a regular nap?"

"Hey, I needed to check," Orion said. "And now we know. Whatever happened before, it wasn't the machine."

Neil yawned. "Great. Now I can sleep without worrying that you'll go brain-dead in the middle of the night."

He started turning off the equipment as Orion reached for his phone.

The text from earlier crossed his mind again.

This week has been weird, huh?

Either way, he wasn't going to stress about it now.

He locked his phone and lay back down.

Normalcy