My name is Basara Yuro. I'm a 20-year-old who does nothing but stay in my room, watch anime, read manga, and play games.
I have this so-called "power" that lets me control what happens in my dreams. I can even change myself into a female if I want to.
Meanwhile, my real life is nothing but misery. My only motivation to keep living is my dream world. I see that as my real life , and when I wake up, it feels like I'm stepping into a nightmare.
My normal day consists of eating, gaming, wasting time reading or watching anime until I can finally go to sleep again.
I haven't seen my friends in a long time. They're all busy with work or school. I have neither. I'm leeching off my parents, who are way too nice to me. Honestly, I don't deserve them.
Every week, I get a text from one of my friends, Hosoyama, asking if I want to meet up and chill. I always ignore him, because I feel like I don't deserve to waste his time. He has his own life , one I don't belong in.
Every day feels longer than the last, and I already sleep as long as I can. I can't fall asleep unless I'm exhausted, which sucks.
"Looks like it's 3 p.m. Time to go to bed."
As I jumped into bed, I thought, I wish I could sleep forever and never wake up.
Little did I know that my wish was about to come true.
Huh? It's really dark… What happened?
Where are my muscles, my harem, my magical powers?
What is going on here?!
Oh no… what is that?
I was staring at a huge monster with a giant mouth full of four rows of silver-white teeth.
"Basara, your wish has been granted."
"My wish?" I said, confused.
"Yes. You wished to sleep forever," the monster said, smiling.
"I… did wish that. But what happened to my dream world?"
"It was exchanged for your wish. You should be careful what you wish for, young one… because you just might get it. Now farewell, and good luck."
The monster evaporated into thin air.
Oh no. I'm in this hellhole of a world and I can't get out.
My dreams were the only thing that kept me going, but now they're gone.
I'm done with this. I hate this world even more than my original one.
I need to find a way to kill myself.
I could try breaking my neck, but I might just become disabled , even worse.
I need something sharp, but everything looks dull. Even the apples that should be red are gray. The tree trunks are almost black.
While I was looking around, I suddenly heard a roar in the distance.
What was that?! It came from behind that boulder,no, rock.
Should I check it out?
With a bit of luck, a big monster will eat me in one bite.
Whatever. I want to die anyway, so I might as well be fearless.
I walked up to the rock and peeked around it. A monster the size of a bear was eating something. As I tried to look closer, it growled:
"What do you want?! This is my food! Find your own!"
The bear-like monster suddenly turned toward me.
"Hey, you! Behind that boulder!"
"It's a rock!" I screamed back. I don't know why.
"A rock, whatever. I said go away. This is my food, and I don't share."
"Honestly, I was hoping to become food. If you're not full yet, are you interested in me?" I asked, spreading my arms wide.
"Hahaha! Why would I be interested in food when there's no hunt?"
"A hunt is that important?"
"Of course! What's the fun in eating something you didn't work for?"
"I mean… I can run, but I'm not fast."
"No, no. You're way too small and you have no meat. And your kind tastes disgusting."
"Disgusting?" I asked.
"Yes, you're that Yuman type, right?"
"Yuman?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?! Are you new here or something?" he said, annoyed.
"Yes. I just arrived a couple minutes ago."
"You what?!"
The monster suddenly bolted away, abandoning its food.
Then a loud sound echoed across the land , loud enough that my ears started bleeding. A huge black cloud approached fast. I felt chills run down my spine. Then everything went silent and dark as I went deaf and blind.
A horrible smell hit my nose , like pure death, rotting corpses, and metallic blood. I covered my nose but it didn't help.
Before I knew it, I was grabbed by a gigantic hand made entirely of bones.
I was staring into the face of an enormous skeleton, at least ten meters tall. Its eyes glowed red, cracks ran across its skull, and a large dark-purple gem pulsed in its chest.
"Welcome to Dreammare," the skeleton said in a deep voice. "I smelled a Yuman… but as I came closer, I smelled a Yokai. You."
"M-Me?"
"Yes. What's your name?"
"My name is Basara. Basara Yuro."
The skeleton burst out laughing.
"Don't fuck with me, Yuman. I knew Basara. He was the king of this world 5000 years ago. There's no way a weakling like you is the almighty Basara Yuro."
It leaned in closer.
"No lies. Not this time."
I didn't know what to say.
5000 years?
I was in my dream world yesterday. This makes no sense.
"I asked you something, Yuman! Answer me!" it roared.
"Or what? Are you going to kill me? Joke's on you , I was looking for a way to die anyway."
"Oh? A joker, huh? Do you even know what happens to people who die here? Let me tell you… dying is the least of your worries."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?!"
"Farewell, joker."
The skeleton stepped back, preparing to throw. Its bones rattled as it moved. Suddenly, I felt weightless.
He threw me at what felt like light speed.
The wind pressure crushed against me until my body could no longer take it, and I began falling. I fell for minutes , no, hours. It felt endless. Only dust and smoke surrounded me.
Eventually, I saw the ground rushing up toward me. I braced for impact as I crashed, forming a massive crater.
I felt nothing.
But then I looked at my body.
My legs and arms were twisted and crushed, bones sticking out. My ribs were shattered. One of my eyes was lying on the ground next to pink goop. When I touched my head, a huge chunk of skull and brain was missing.
I should've been in agony , but I felt no pain.
Then I remembered the skeleton's words:
"Dying is the least of your worries."
Suddenly, my body started healing itself. Bones regenerated. Flesh reformed. I was able to stand, though the air felt heavy.
I scanned the surroundings. Nothing but wasteland… and big black dots everywhere.
One of the dots moved.
My heart almost stopped. It had legs , it was coming straight toward me.
I tried running, but my body felt heavier than normal. I ran right into a cluster of sticky, woven lines.
Webs.
The black dots… they were spiders.
This was bad. Very bad.
I tried to escape, but the web was everywhere. Ten spiders were already crawling toward me.
I was doomed.
One spider jumped on me. I held its jaws apart to stop it from biting, but another one bit me, and my body instantly weakened.
Some time passed.
I woke up wrapped tightly in sticky threads , a cocoon.
I knew what spiders did to their prey.
They sucked them dry.
A horrible death.
I didn't want to die like this.
I thought about everyone , my parents, siblings, friends.
How I should've talked to them.
How I wasted everything.
But it was too late.