Chapter 1: The Dream That Didn't End
The cold buzz of the campus hallway lights hummed overhead. Ramii walked slowly, slouched, his black hoodie drawn over his head despite the dry afternoon heat. His footsteps echoed, hollow and disconnected—like he didn't belong here. Not anymore.
It was his first year in high school, but at 19, he was older than most of his classmates, a result of time lost to... things he didn't talk about. He rented a small apartment alone, far from any family, not that he mentioned them to anyone. They were a closed chapter—or maybe one he never had the courage to open.
The world outside felt blurry. His classes were noise. The faces were static. Even the sky seemed muted.
Ramii walked home, earbuds in, listening to a podcast about lucid dreaming—his new obsession. Something about dreams fascinated him, probably because of that recurring nightmare.
In the dream, he was always being chased—black figures in long, tattered cloaks, their faces shrouded in smoke. They hunted him endlessly, until he slipped, every time, falling from a cliff into darkness. He'd wake up just as he hit the bottom. Every. Single. Time.
But something had changed. The dream was happening more often now. More vivid. More real. Too real.
As he crossed the underpass by the old rail station, he saw someone blocking his way.
A man—homeless maybe—filthy, with wild eyes and fingernails caked in dirt. He stood unsteady, then lunged at Ramii without warning.
"What the hell?!" Ramii stumbled back, but the man grabbed his hoodie, yanking him close.
"DON'T FALL ASLEEP!" the man screamed, spit flying. His eyes were mad with fear. "They're coming! THEY'RE COMING!"
Ramii tried to push him off, but the man clutched at his throat, shaking him violently.
"They'll EAT YOU if you dream too deep! Stay awake! Stay—"
Ramii kicked him hard in the shin. The man yelped and let go. Ramii ran, heart hammering.
By the time he got to his apartment, his hands were trembling. He slammed the door behind him, breathing hard. He locked it, bolted it, then slumped to the floor.
"What the hell was that..." he muttered.
That night, he didn't bother with dinner. He lay in bed, podcast still playing. The episode was about shared dreams. Dream traps. Worlds that captured you.
His eyelids grew heavy. His chest felt heavier.
The last thing he heard was the podcaster's voice: "And if you dream too deep... you might not wake up at all."
---
Then, the fall.
But this time, it didn't end with a scream and waking up to the sound of the morning train.
This time, he kept falling.
He opened his eyes—expecting to be in bed. But instead, he was lying in a wide, open field.
The grass was soft. The wind warm. But the sky... it wasn't normal.
Galaxies shimmered above him like they were close. Close enough to touch. Purple nebulas swirled above ruined stone pillars. On one horizon, the broken remains of an ancient Roman structure leaned toward the stars. On the other, an old Japanese temple stood silent among twisted trees.
Ramii stood up slowly.
"What the... where am I?"
He turned—then froze.
A train. Screaming through the field at impossible speed. Toward him.
It wasn't on tracks. It floated, twisted like metal writhing in pain.
The same train from his dreams.
Before he could move—it hit him.
The world snapped to black.
---
Voices. Echoes.
"GO! JON, YOU'RE FIRST!"
"BRADLEY, COVER LEFT! MARC, WAKE HIM!"
A slap.
"Marc, get up! JUMP! It's your turn!"
Ramii opened his eyes.
Helicopters buzzed overhead. He was dressed in black armor, gear strapped to his chest. He looked at his hands—they weren't his. Or maybe they were?
People were running, falling, jumping from the edges of a metal cliff into a glowing vortex.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" he yelled.
A soldier—maybe his squadmate—grabbed him.
"You're up! MOVE!"
He didn't move.
Then—Ramii looked up.
The sky had torn open. Horrors spilled out—floating black creatures with spines of smoke and eyes like red stars. They descended on the helicopters, devouring them midair. One of them saw Ramii.
Its cloak—the same as the ones in his dreams.
He turned to run—when the black fog closed in.
But before it could reach him, something yanked him upward—a hatch, or a door in midair.
He was pulled in by a stranger—a figure cloaked in a swirling white robe. They dove into a portal—a spiral of light.
The fog tried to follow.
But it was too late.
Silence.
Stars.
The wind was gentle again.
Ramii lay on soft grass. Above him, the galaxy swirled peacefully. No monsters. No helicopters. Just stars.
The man who saved him stood nearby, watching the horizon.
"You were almost a meal," he said. His voice calm. Tired.
Ramii sat up slowly. "What… what is this place?"
The man didn't answer.
"Who are you?"
The man exhaled and said, "You're one of us now… but it's time for you to sleep."
Ramii blinked.
The world blurred.
And then—
He opened his eyes.
In his bed.
Sweating. Trembling. The podcast still playing.
Outside, the train passed by.
Just like every morning.
But nothing felt normal anymore.
End of Chapter 1