"You are what remains of a possibility that never came true."
— The Dreamborn
The hallway behind the door was alive.
Not metaphorically. Literally.
The walls breathed.
Veins pulsed beneath the stone.
And Kai could feel it — this wasn't just a passage…
It was a memory trying to force itself into existence.
"This isn't Labyrinth," Lira whispered.
"And it's not Waking Realm either."
Kai nodded.
"It's something in-between."
A liminal space.
A scar between realities.
The hallway ended in a circular chamber.
Soft grass underfoot.
A stone bench in the middle.
And sitting on it…
A girl. Barefoot.
Wearing a sundress that flickered between colors.
Smiling like she'd been waiting forever.
Her eyes…
Were exactly like Kai's.
"Hi, Dad."
Kai froze.
The word hit him like a truck.
"I'm sorry—what?"
The girl tilted her head, curious.
"Oh. Right. You haven't met me yet."
"Technically, you won't. But I existed. For one night. In a dream you never remembered."
"My name's Rei."
Lira reached for her weapon instinctively.
"Kai, this might be a trap."
"Or a trick from the Archivist—"
"She's not lying," Kai said, slowly.
Because deep in his gut…
He remembered her.
Not as a person.
Not a moment.
Just…
A feeling.
Warmth.
Rei stood.
She walked over and touched Kai's hand.
"I was born in a timeline where you escaped the Labyrinth."
"You met someone. Fell in love. Started over."
"But that world collapsed. Because you reset it."
"To come back here."
Kai's heart pounded.
"Why would I do that?"
She smiled sadly.
"Because someone told you that if you didn't… everyone else would die."
The walls of the chamber shimmered.
Kai saw visions swirl around them:
A small house in a green field.
A woman humming a lullaby.
Kai holding a child — Rei — beneath a sunset.
Then—
A countdown.
A decision.
Reset Confirmed.
The dream shattered.
Kai stumbled back, eyes wide.
"I killed you."
Rei shook her head gently.
"You chose a world over a daughter."
"I don't blame you."
"But the Labyrinth… it never forgets the choices we unmake."
Suddenly, a sharp buzzing in Kai's mind.
[New Threat Detected]
[Dream Guild: Veilstriders — Pursuit Protocol Initiated]
Target: Echowanderer Kai
Status: Top Priority Fugitive
A tear opened in the chamber.
Five figures stepped out, wearing black-and-gold dream armor.
Their leader's eyes gleamed with artificial clarity.
"Kai. Pathless. You're charged with Chrono-Corruption and Memory Theft."
"Surrender or be Reflected."
Lira stepped in front of Kai.
"We don't have time for this."
Rei raised her hand.
"Let me help."
"Just once, before I vanish."
Her Dreambind activated.
Dreamborn: Timeless Echo
Skill: Resonant Shelter — Creates a temporary bubble of unreal time, freezing pursuers for 7 seconds.
The room cracked under the pressure of the temporal field.
"Run!" she cried.
Kai hesitated.
"Will I ever see you again?"
Rei smiled softly.
"I'm always with you."
"Even if I was never real."
They ran.
The world behind them dissolved — a timeline erased for the second time.
And behind them…
Rei stood until the last second.
Smiling.
Even as her form flickered into light and mist.
☁️ INTERLUDE: "Archivist's Note — File: Rei"
"Dreamborns are echoes of discarded futures."
"They are immune to rules, and fragile to remembrance."
"Never trust one. But never forget them either."
— The Archivist
🌀 Back in Waking Realm – That Night
Kai and Lira sat silently in a ruined rooftop garden.
"She looked like you," Lira finally said.
"She felt like you."
Kai didn't answer.
He just opened his system interface again.
And this time…
A new stat appeared.
[Phantom Bond: Rei]
Effect: Unknown
Description: "A bond with someone who never was. Strengthens when remembered."
Suddenly, Lira tensed.
"We have company."
From the mist emerged a figure.
Cloaked in white.
Long silver hair.
And a mask shaped like a tear-stained moon.
"Echowanderer," they spoke.
"The Gods of Dream are watching now."
"And you've just made your first move."