(Part 1).
The night was painted in silver. The moon hung low over the quiet rooftops of their neighborhood, spilling its light across Toshio's window. He hadn't been able to sleep for hours. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw it—the same flash of golden fire, Aika's trembling hands, the voice that whispered through her body.
"The goddess remembers… and she will take back what is hers."
Those words had carved themselves into his mind like a curse.
Toshio sat up, running a hand through his golden hair. His reflection in the glass looked older than eighteen—eyes hollow with worry, lips pressed tight. He'd fought shadows, faced fear, but nothing terrified him like the thought of losing Aika.
Outside, he saw movement. A figure in a soft white dress stood in the yard next door, hair catching the moonlight like strands of silver.
"Aika…"
He didn't even realize he was moving until he was halfway down the stairs, barefoot, his heart pounding against his ribs.
The night air was cool, carrying the faint scent of jasmine. When he reached the fence between their houses, she turned.
Her eyes met his—gentle, distant, glowing faintly under the moon.
"Couldn't sleep again?" she asked softly.
He tried to smile, but his throat tightened. "You too, huh?"
Aika nodded, folding her arms against the breeze. "Every time I close my eyes… I hear them again. Whispers. A voice that sounds like mine, but not me."
Toshio stepped closer. "It's her, isn't it? The Dream Goddess."
Aika's lips trembled. "Maybe. Or maybe… it's something worse."
He wanted to pull her close, to tell her that she wasn't alone—but something in her eyes stopped him. It wasn't fear. It was guilt.
"Hey," he said quietly. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. Together."
Aika looked down at her hands, the moonlight gleaming across the faint sigil burned into her palm—a swirling mark that shimmered like liquid gold.
"Toshio… what if the goddess isn't the enemy?" she whispered. "What if I am?"
He froze.
Before he could answer, a gust of wind swept between them, rattling the leaves. The sigil on her hand pulsed once—then again, faster this time.
"Aika?"
Her breath hitched. "She's calling me…"
The air shimmered around her, faint streaks of golden flame rising like dust motes.
Toshio grabbed her wrist. "Don't listen! Stay with me!"
"I'm trying!" she gasped, clutching his hand so tightly he could feel her shaking. "But—Toshio, it hurts—"
The light flared brighter, and for an instant, he saw the reflection of something vast behind her—a woman cloaked in stars, eyes burning with divine sorrow.
"He is not yours, mortal child. He belongs to me."
The voice rolled through the air like thunder inside his skull. Toshio fell to his knees, clutching his head as the world tilted.
Aika screamed.
And then everything went white.
(Part 2).
The white haze shattered like glass.
Toshio opened his eyes to find himself standing in a vast, colorless field. The moon above him was fractured, its pieces suspended like floating shards. Every breath echoed, every heartbeat throbbed through the emptiness.
"Aika!"His voice carried, but only silence answered. Then—softly—came a whisper.
"Toshio… don't come closer."
He turned. Aika stood a few meters away, barefoot on the shimmering ground. But her hair glowed like liquid fire, her eyes no longer human. Golden markings crawled across her arms as though alive.
"It's a dream," he muttered. "No… her realm."
The Dream Goddess's world.
Aika's lips trembled. "She's inside me. I can feel her waking."
Toshio took a cautious step forward. "Then I'll wake you first."
The sky cracked, releasing a surge of gold light. Out of it emerged the goddess's silhouette—tall, radiant, sorrowful. Every step she took caused the dreamscape to ripple.
"You defy me again, child of flesh."
Toshio raised his voice against the thunder. "You're hurting her!"
"She is my vessel. Through her, I return. Through her, I remember."
Aika clutched her chest, falling to her knees. The markings burned brighter. Toshio rushed to her, ignoring the goddess's glare, and wrapped his arms around her shaking form.
"Look at me, Aika. Not her—me."
Her gaze flickered; for a moment, humanity returned. "Toshio…"
He smiled faintly. "That's it. You're stronger than her."
But the goddess's laughter filled the air.
"Then prove it, mortal. Face the truth she hides from you."
With a sweep of her hand, the ground beneath them split open, revealing flashes of Aika's memories—a crying child before a shrine, a woman's voice chanting, the same golden sigil searing onto her skin.
Toshio's heart pounded. "This… this happened when you were little?"
Aika's tears glimmered. "I was sacrificed—to be her reincarnation. My parents didn't survive the ritual."
The goddess stepped closer, her voice now almost kind.
"She was born to be my heart. Yet you would chain her to your fragile love."
"Love isn't a chain," Toshio said quietly, standing. "It's the reason she's still fighting you."
He looked at Aika, his tone steady. "You decide who you are. Not her. Not destiny."
The dreamlight flickered. Aika's breathing slowed. The markings dimmed.
"No…" the goddess hissed. "He cannot unmake fate."
"Watch me," Aika whispered.
She raised her glowing hands. The sigil on her palm pulsed once, twice—and the entire world trembled.
(Part 3).
The dream world was collapsing.Fractured stars rained from the sky, and the ground rippled like liquid glass under Aika's feet.
Toshio shielded his eyes, shouting over the storm of light. "Aika! Don't lose control!"
She looked at him, tears streaking down her cheeks, golden flames burning at the edges of her eyes."I'm not—losing it," she whispered. "I'm taking it back."
Her hands pressed against her chest, right where the goddess's voice had once echoed.
You are mine.
"No," she breathed, voice trembling but fierce. "I am me."
The sigil flared one last time—then shattered like a mirror, scattering threads of gold into the air.
The Dream Goddess screamed, her outline disintegrating into shards of light. For a brief instant, Toshio saw her true face—not wrathful, but sorrowful.
"Then carry my memory… child of dawn."
And just like that, she was gone.
The world fell silent.
Toshio ran forward, catching Aika before she collapsed. Her body was cold, but she was breathing. He held her close, heart pounding in disbelief.
"It's over," he whispered, though his voice shook. "You did it."
A faint smile touched her lips. "If it's over… why do I still hear her voice?"
Before Toshio could answer, the ground beneath them glowed again—this time, not gold, but crimson.
The goddess remembers… but something else awakens.
A chill spread through the air. A new mark, darker and sharper, appeared on the back of Aika's neck—pulsing slowly like a heartbeat.
Toshio froze. "That's… not hers."
Her eyes fluttered open, glimmering faintly red.
"Toshio…" she whispered, her voice soft, distant. "Run."
And the dream shattered.
[End of Chapter 21] Next Chapter: "The Blood That Remembers"