Second Dream

Elias's thoughts flickered like dying embers as his soul was pulled into the abyss.

The sensation of falling, endless, directionless, surrounded him.

A voice, distant but familiar, whispered as if its void between stars.

"How many times will you cycle through before you understand…. Bastard Son Of Fate?"

Then, nothing.

A stillness so absolute it felt like grave itself.

Until…..

[Second Dream Initiating…..]

A sharp intake of breath.

Elias bolted upright in a bed he didn't recognize, heart pounding in his chest as though it were trying to tear itself free. Sweat clung to his skin, his body aching as if he'd run for miles.

The room was simple.

Wooden walls. A single window letting in pale dawn light.

The sound of rain pattering against the roof above.

A notification appeared before his eyes:

[Welcome to the Second Dream.]

[You are now 14 years old.]

[Location: Dreamers Academy, Southern Wing Dormitories]

This time, the system greeted him to a Dream, unlike the First Dream where he was greeted by a mysterious shadow-like figure.

"Second Dream? What… what even are dreams? Are they just cycles like what... who… who said it again?"

The penalty for death in the First Dream had stripped away the final 48 hours of his last life. And now, those lost moments clawed at the edges of his mind, just out of reach.

Elias frowned. His voice cracked from disuse.

"What happened to the first one? What was I doing before this?"

An ache settled in his chest, as he tried to recall. Faces, names, a girl's voice, a dying light. But when he reached for them, the memories slipped through his grasp like water.

[Punishment for death: Partial memory loss. Last 48 hours erased]

The message flickered and vanished.

Elias pressed a palm to his face.

"I…. Died?"

Indeed, he did die during his meeting with the 2 strange men.

"I don't remember dying, last thing I remember was entering a ruined city with…. A girl."

It seemed he had already forgotten about the girl

"Wait.. who was the girl again..?"

Another notification appeared:

[New Objective: Survive The Dream.]

[Failure Condition: Death.]

[Penalty: Memory Erasure.]

"Ah, I remember it, I remember it all so clearly."

"This is my third life."

Thought he couldn't remember how his second life had ended, the lingering weight in his chest told him it hadn't gone well.

Another message flickered before him:

[Dreamers Academy Orientation: Begins in 30 minutes.]

[Report to Assembly Hall, Eastern Wing.]

Elias scoffed. He took a slow breath, steadying the storm inside his head.

"Fine."

He murmured, standing.

"Lets see what this life has in store."

But even as he moved, he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt weighing him down, almost as if he had broken an oath.

There was a reason he attended to this academy, it was for someone but he couldn't remember who he attended for.

Elias shook his head and pushed the door open.

A long, dimly lit corridor stretched before him. The walls were the same aged wood as his dorm, lined with unmarked doors.

The Southern Wing Dormitories.

He stepped out, the floorboards creaking beneath his weight. There were no other students in sight. The world felt half-asleep, caught between night and day.

He exhaled.

Elias had no idea why he attended to this academy, he didn't know what he wanted to do here, he didn't even know what this place was.

As Elias rounded the next corner, the silence finally broke.

Footsteps.

Voices.

At first, it felt unreal, but then the corridor ahead opened into a larger hallway, where groups of students moved in a small cluster. Boys and girls around his age, dressed in dark uniforms.

Some spoke in hushed tones, others laughed too loudly.

In the crowd there was one girl who stood out, it seemed no one wanted to talk to her or want to be near her.

Elias looked at her silky black hair and mesmerizing green eyes with a bamboozled expression.

"How could anybody not want to talk to a beauty like her!"

It wasnt long before Elias realized the laughter and the conversations quickly transformed into silence, they all started at Elias. Even the girl that stood out.

Elias hadn't realized he said it out loud until it was too late.

Dozens of eyes fixated on him. Some with amusements, other with disbelief, and a few with thinly veiled hostility.

Elias felt cold sweat trace down the side of his face.

Shit…..

The girl with the black hair tilted her head slightly, her emerald eyes narrowing.

A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.

She stood proudly.

"Well," she spoke, her voice smooth and clear like a knife sliding through silk.

"Atleast one of you has decent taste."

Laughter passed through the crowd. The students stepped back from Elias and the girl, as if unwilling to be close to him, or her.

One of the students in the crowd suddenly yelled.

"Look! Another loser to help the weirdo girl out with loneliness!"

The crowd bursted out to laughter.

The student who said it looked like a typical handsome main character you would see in fantasy manhwas.

He had fluffy blonde hair with blue eyes and he was also pretty tall, definetely taller than Elias.

Elias looked at the girl, with a flustered expression.

Its funny how Elias is falling in love with every girl he sees.

However, the girl was staring at Elias with…. Rather a scary expression, her eyes were dead staring at Elias's eyes while her smile was unbroken.

The girl spoke softly.

"I've finally found you… what is you're name?"

His voice caught in his throat.

"I…. I am Elias, Elias Troum."

He said, cursing himself for the slightest waver in his voice.

For a second, as soon as the name was spoken the smile on her face widened while her eyes remained the same.

Then it was gone.

"Elias," she repeated with a strange look of pity in her face.

"As reckless as ever."

Elias's brows furrowed.

"What?"

But before she could answer, a sharp chime rang through the hall, followed by a new notification.

[Dreamers Academy Orientation: 10 minutes remaining.]

The students began shuffling away, their amusement fading, some glancing back at Elias and the girl like they'd seen something they shouldn't have.

The blonde pretty-boy scoffed, brushing past Elias with a glare.

"Watch yourself, peasant. That one's cursed,"

He muttered before striding off.

The girl didn't seem to care

She stepped closer to Elias, leaning in, her voice so low no one else could hear.

"I've waited a long time for this, Elias. Don't die before we get to talk properly."

Then she turned, walking down the hall toward the assembly hall, her hair like ink in the dim light.

Elias stood there, rooted, heart pounding.

Who….. who was she?

And why did it feel like if I let her go I'd lose something more important than his life?

He exhaled sharply.

"Fuck it," Elias muttered.

And followed after her.