Dream of Bones and Black Oceans

Late into the midnight silence, Austin lay motionless in bed, the room dimly lit by the pale twin moons seeping through the slatted window. His sharp brows were furrowed, a thousand thoughts storming behind his closed eyes.

He didn't even know what was going on with him anymore.

The silence in his mind the absence of Olivia's voice had become deafening. Like a void gnawing at his soul.

He sat up, throat dry. With a sigh, he reached for the chipped glass beside the bed and took a long gulp of water, the coldness running down his throat offering brief clarity. Then, without a word, he lay back down. The thin blanket wrapped loosely around him as his breathing slowed… and his eyelids grew heavy.

But something stirred beneath the surface.

He didn't notice it—but if someone had been watching, they'd have seen it clearly.

His eyes, once glacial blue, had turned pitch-black. An unnatural void had swallowed their color completely.

A moment later, as he exhaled, faint traces of black energy seeped out from his chest—winding upward in eerie spirals, forming vague patterns in the air like ancient runes etched in smoke. They shimmered for a moment… then vanished.

Austin stirred under the blanket, unaware. His breathing deepened. His fingers twitched.

And then his consciousness slipped.

He didn't remember falling asleep. But suddenly, Austin found himself standing.

Not in his room. Not on Nexus Prime.

He was on a small island, its sand cold beneath his bare feet. The entire place was shrouded in thick mist, and surrounding the island in every direction was an endless black ocean—vast, still, and eerily quiet.

He blinked slowly in confusion. "A dream…?"

The realization came softly. Yet everything felt wrong. The air was too sharp, the sand too detailed, the silence too heavy.

It didn't feel like Nexus Prime.

It didn't even feel like a dream.

He glanced around, his breath fogging slightly. The wind didn't blow. The sky above him was clear—until a low rumble echoed from the heavens.

He looked up.

Black clouds churned above, rolling in unnaturally fast, swallowing the stars in seconds. Lightning streaked across the sky in jagged lines of white-blue fury, illuminating the entire dreamscape in ghostly flashes.

His heart skipped a beat. "What the hell is this place...?"

Still disoriented, he took a cautious step toward the ocean. He crouched, letting his fingers hover above the surface—expecting warmth, or coolness, or something. But it didn't feel like water at all.

It felt like nothingness.

Just then, the ocean rippled.

A deep, echoing thunder cracked across the island, followed by a nightmarish spectacle.

From both the clouded sky and the depths of the ocean, pale skeleton hands began to emerge.

"Dozens... no hundreds. Maybe even thousands." Austin muttered, his voice barely a whisper.

Clawed, bony fingers reached down from above like marionettes from some cursed puppet show, while more burst from beneath the waves—crawling, slithering, grasping the sand with bone-splitting sound.

"What... the actual fuck…?" Austin whispered, taking a step back, his pulse thudding.

The scene was pure horror. A sky of black clouds and lightning. An ocean boiling with death.

And an island slowly being swallowed by grasping skeletal limbs.

Yet he didn't scream. He didn't flinch. His body stiffened, his hands curling into fists, but his eyes remained steady. A cold sheen of sweat lined his temple.

"W-What kind of dream is this?" he muttered, his tone low but alert. "Am I losing my mind?"

Then, just as he took another step back he heard a whisper.

Soft. So distant it could've been the wind. But it was there. A familiar voice… fading in and out.

"A-Austin… Austin… Run. Before they reach—"

His breath caught in his throat. His heart skipped.

"Olivia?" he called out, voice cracking. "Is that you?! Say something! Anything!"

But the voice was gone.

Just the groaning of sand beneath the crawling bones.

Still, something in her voice—if it truly was hers ignited hope in his chest. A tiny flicker of light in this black, twisted dream.

With no time to think, Austin turned and bolted toward the center of the island, away from the shoreline.

He didn't know where he was going.

He didn't even know if he could escape.

But the skeletal hands didn't care. They didn't pause. Some were flying, others crawling, some even leaping from the ground with broken bones and twisted joints, their hollow sockets locked onto him like predators chasing prey.

"This isn't normal. This isn't a dream."

His mind screamed as he ran.

The air around him distorted, turning heavy and oppressive. His steps slowed, as if the ground itself were resisting him.

A chill crept down his spine. "Is this… a warning?"

His thoughts raced. "A memory? A vision? Or… something buried deep inside me?"

He clenched his jaw as thunder boomed above again. "No. I'm not going to die in a dream."

"Not before I found out why Olivia had gone silent."

He sprinted through the island with every ounce of strength he could muster. There were no weapons in his hands—only bare fists, aching lungs, and instinct screaming at him to run.

The skeletal hands came faster now.

They slithered, leapt, crawled, and spiraled like a white tsunami, erupting from the sea and sky alike. The air was filled with the crackling of unnatural thunder and the sickening sound of bones scraping against stone.

Austin's heart pounded like war drums, his breath ragged. "Just keep running…!"

But it was useless.

From every angle—above, below, behind, they swarmed like a tide of grasping nightmares.

He turned once more to flee, only to feel the cold, skeletal grip latch onto his ankle. Another hand clawed at his waist. Then his shoulder. Then dozens more.

They didn't just seize him they devoured him.

The world turned pitch black. But he didn't scream he didn't even struggle.

He simply vanished.

Austin's eyes flew open.

He was no longer on the island, he was back in his room.

Gasping. Soaked in sweat. Chest heaving as he sat upright on his old bed, sheets tangled beneath him like vines.

His breath trembled as he scanned the dark room. The faint glow of the twin moons peeked through the window, casting long shadows across the floor.

"Was that… a dream?" he muttered.

But something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

He felt a burning sensation on his chest.

He pulled off his shirt with shaking hands—and froze.

There, seared into his skin like ghostly brands, were faint white handprints many of them, each clawlike, skeletal, and cold to the touch. They pulsed with an eerie chill.

Austin's voice cracked. "H-How…?"

His mind reeled. This wasn't just a dream.

It had left a mark.

Suddenly, a strange vibration bloomed from his core. He looked down, eyes wide.

His Void Genesis Core once silent, dead, unresponsive was now beating softly within him. Like a second heart with pale black energy flickered around it, subtle but unmistakable.

A low thrum echoed through his bones, and he felt it. Something had changed.

Far beyond Nexus Prime, somewhere amidst swirling galaxies and shattered stars…

Three figures stood atop a floating obsidian monolith, veiled in cosmic fog.

One opened his ancient eyes, pupils shaped like swirling galaxies. "A Void Genesis has begun to stir…"

The second, her form cloaked in shimmering starlight tensed. "Impossible. It should've perished long ago."

The third remained silent, before finally whispering, "Send envoys. We must investigate immediately. before it grows beyond control."

Their gazes turned toward the distant Universe.

—

A low, almost imperceptible whisper echoed through his mind.."So… you're finally awakening, Austin?"

His breath hitched. The voice it was faint, yet unmistakable. Familiar and alive.

He froze.

"…Olivia?" he asked cautiously, suspicion threading his tone.

A beat of silence passed… then a familiar, lilting giggle answered back, playful voice hummed in reply, laced with that same old smugness.

"Mhm~ who else would it be? What's with that dumb expression?"

His vision blurred just slightly. But then his expression turned cold and guarded. He clenched his fists and hissed under his breath.

"Who told you to come back?" he muttered coldly. "I didn't ask for you. Just vanish again."

He turned away from the air as if trying to ignore the voice inside him, trying to protect himself from something he didn't want to admit.

But Olivia just laughed. That same annoying, mocking, completely unbothered laughter that used to echo in his mind constantly.

"Ara~ so cold. I didn't know you had a tsundere side Mr. Austin Veyne."

Her voice was filled with amusement, but beneath that teasing tone… there was something else. Something warm.

"You missed me. Didn't you?"

Austin didn't reply. His fists trembled slightly, not from anger but from a storm of emotion even he didn't understand.

Then after a long moment, he exhaled quietly and said almost lazily "Don't flatter yourself."

But even he knew the edge in his voice had dulled.

And Olivia? She caught it too.

"Oh?" she purred in amusement. "You're softening~"

"In your dreams," he muttered. "Tch. Still annoying as ever."

He lowered his gaze. The handprints on his chest still glowed faintly, like scars from another world. His Void Genesis Core beat faintly in his chest now alive, pulsing with a rhythm he hadn't felt in months.

Austin barely had time to process the nightmare he just woke from or the fact that Olivia's voice was finally back, when someone knocked on his door.

Knock. Knock.

He groaned, dragging his stiff body out of bed. His hair stuck out in all directions, and his eyes were half-lidded with irritation.

Morning sunlight poured in through the twin suns. The warmth did little to ease his foul mood. "Who the hell knocks this early?"

He opened the door. And saw two boys stood outside, both around his age, but clearly more muscular and battle-worn. One of them raised a brow with a mocking smile.

"Peach Hunter.. Ahem!" the first boy caught himself and cleared his throat. "Austin. Lady Lyra asked for you to join the hunt. You're being summoned to the main hall. Everyone's already gathered."

Austin's eyelid twitched. "That damn lunatic woman... what the hell does she want now?"

He thought he'd whispered, but clearly not quiet enough.

One of the boys snorted in amusement. "You'd better not say that in front of her. She might chop off your head next time instead of letting you poke her."

The other one smirked. "Or worse, feed you to a beast while she watches."

Austin clicked his tongue, but kept quiet.

They walked through the Zenlife Shelter grounds. The air buzzed with activity. Young warriors, both male and female, gathered on the training field. Some wore armor, others carried sleek weapons glowing with faint energy. Many looked older, more seasoned… stronger.

Austin scanned the crowd silently. "So this is the real power of the shelter... They can summon all these people with a single word."

They passed through block after block until they arrived at a large blackstone door etched with glowing patterns. The two boys stopped and knocked twice.

"Lady Lyra," one of them called respectfully. "We've brought Austin."

A light, commanding voice replied from within.

"Come in."

The boys exchanged a knowing look and stepped aside, signaling Austin to go in alone.

Austin took a deep breath and walked inside.

The room wasn't extravagant, but the pressure inside was suffocating.

Nine people sat around a long obsidian table, each one carrying a presence that could crush ordinary newcomers. These weren't instructors or leaders. They were peerless elites—the kind of people others didn't dare provoke.

Austin recognized a few immediately.

Lyra Ashveil, graceful and cold, sipping tea without a hint of emotion.

Garry Voss, arms folded, expression unreadable, though his eyes narrowed slightly the moment Austin stepped in.

Kaizen Virelith, relaxed in his seat with a slight smirk, always watching, always calculating.

Beside him sat Daisy, flipping a small knife between her fingers, clearly bored but still deadly.

And the remaining five unfamiliar figures radiated a similar aura of terrifying composure. One of them—a black-haired man with a jagged scar running down his neck cast a fleeting, curious glance in Austin's direction.

"None of them are above each other…" Austin noted. "But every one of them could kill me in seconds."

He froze instinctively by the door.

Lyra raised a brow. "Why are you standing like a statue?"

Austin stepped forward, jaw tight but eyes steady. "Why did you summon me, Lyra?"