Toshio woke to the sound of silence.
The kind that presses against your ears until your own heartbeat feels deafening.
His room was exactly as it had been the night before — the curtains drawn, the faint scent of Airi's perfume still lingering in the air. But the bed beside him was empty, cold, and the pendant she'd left behind sat motionless on the pillow.
He reached for it with trembling fingers.
It pulsed faintly, a dull red glow beating in rhythm with his heart.
"Dreamwalker… awaken."
The words still burned in his mind. He didn't understand them — but the whisper had felt too real to be a dream.
He clutched the pendant. "If this is some kind of trick, Ren… I swear—"
But before he could finish, the pendant vibrated sharply, sending a surge of warmth through his palm. The world around him warped — his desk, walls, and bookshelves stretching like ripples across water. His breath caught.
When the distortion settled, he was no longer in his room.
He stood in a vast, silent void filled with drifting fragments — shards of light and memory floating in the air like broken glass.
And in the distance, a faint outline of a girl.
Airi.
He ran toward her, shouting her name. "Airi! It's me!"
But the closer he got, the farther she seemed to drift — as if the space itself refused to let them meet.
Then, a familiar voice echoed from behind him.
"You're getting closer."
He spun around.
Standing a few meters away was Ren — or at least, what was left of him. His body flickered with light, parts of his face glitching like a broken hologram.
Toshio froze. "You're… still here?"
Ren smiled faintly. "Not really. What you're seeing is an echo — a trace of me left behind in the Dreamscape."
"The Dreamscape…" Toshio muttered. "That's what this place is?"
Ren nodded. "And it's collapsing. The seal that once kept the dream and reality apart was broken the moment Airi's pendant split. That's why you're here. Because you can walk between both worlds now."
Toshio's grip tightened around the pendant. "Then tell me how to bring her back."
Ren's expression darkened. "You can't bring her back yet. Every Dreamwalker has to take the Oath before they can cross freely. Without it, the Dream will consume your body — and your soul."
"Oath?"
Ren raised his hand, and the void around them began to shift — forming ancient symbols that glowed in crimson light.
"The Oath of the Dreamwalker binds you to the Dream and the Real. You will carry both — and be torn by both."
"Once taken, you can never wake normally again."
"You will no longer dream — you will be the dream."
Toshio hesitated, his mind racing.
To never wake again…
But then he saw Airi — still drifting further away, her outline flickering like a dying flame.
He clenched his fists. "I don't care what it takes. I'll find her."
Ren's broken smile returned. "Then speak the words."
A crimson circle appeared at Toshio's feet, spinning with intricate runes.
"Swear upon your waking self, Toshio Shinji."
"That you will protect the Dream, even as it consumes you."
"That you will carry its burden, even when your reality breaks."
"And that you will never turn away from its call."
The words rose unbidden to Toshio's lips, his voice trembling as he repeated them.
"I swear upon my waking self… that I will walk between dream and reality. That I will protect her — and the Dream she lives within."
The circle erupted in red and gold light, surrounding him. His heart pounded violently — his body burning, his vision fracturing into fragments of thousands of dreams overlapping.
For a moment, he saw every version of himself — in every possible world.
A soldier. A scholar. A broken man. A god.
And through them all, one thing never changed — Airi.
Always reaching for him.
When the light faded, he collapsed to his knees, gasping. The pendant in his hand had transformed — its dull crimson shimmer now alive with twin colors: red and gold, pulsing in perfect sync.
Ren's voice softened. "You've done it. You're bound now. A Dreamwalker."
Toshio rose slowly, the realization sinking in. "So this is my curse now."
Ren chuckled faintly. "Or your gift. Depends on what you do with it."
He turned, looking toward the horizon where the fragments of the Dreamscape began to break apart. "The Dream bleeds into your world because it seeks balance. Find the source, and you'll find Airi."
"But where do I start?"
Ren looked back one last time. "Follow the echoes. They'll lead you."
Then his form began to fade completely.
"Wait—Ren! What happens if I fail?"
Ren's final smile lingered. "Then you'll never wake again."
And with that, he was gone.
Toshio opened his eyes.
He was back in his room — drenched in sweat, chest heaving.
But something was different.
The world felt different.
When he blinked, faint outlines of dreamlight shimmered at the edge of everything — colors and shapes invisible to the waking eye. He could see the Dream bleeding through.
He turned toward the mirror, and for a split second, saw another version of himself — standing still, eyes glowing faintly gold.
"You've crossed the threshold," the reflection whispered.
"Now you must survive it."
The next morning, Toshio walked to school like a ghost among the living. The air shimmered faintly; whispers brushed his ears, fragments of dreams from every passing stranger.
He could hear them all.
Every hope. Every fear. Every echo.
It was overwhelming.
He stumbled into an alley, clutching his head. "Make it stop—"
A hand touched his shoulder.
He turned — and froze.
It was Airi.
Or at least, her dream-self.
Her golden eyes shone faintly, her expression calm but distant. "You shouldn't be here," she said softly. "Not yet."
Toshio's breath caught. "Airi… I found you."
She smiled sadly. "No. You found a fragment of me. The real me is still trapped beyond the Rift."
He reached for her hand — and his fingers passed through her like smoke.
"Toshio," she whispered, "the longer you stay between worlds, the more it will take from you. Don't lose your humanity."
He looked at her, desperate. "Then tell me how to save you!"
Her voice echoed faintly.
"Find the Sleeper's Gate. It lies beneath the city's heart. There, you'll find the truth of the Dreamwalker."
Her image began to fade.
"And Toshio…"
"Don't let the Shadows remember your name."
Then she vanished — leaving behind a faint crimson glow that sank into his chest.
Toshio stood there, breathing heavily.For the first time, he understood the gravity of what he'd done.
He wasn't just chasing dreams anymore.
He was walking between them — and each step risked tearing reality apart.
Still, he whispered to himself:
"Airi… I'll find the Gate. Even if I have to lose myself to do it."
[Quest Updated: Find the Sleeper's Gate – New Skill Acquired: Dreamwalk (Lv. 1)]