The Dreamer's POV

We all have our 'Inner Demons.'

I remember hearing something like that at some point in my life.

At the time, it was just a statement, meant to imply the reality of different people having secrets and problems that preferred to keep to themselves.

Who would have thought that statement would ring true in the literal sense?

… Certainly not me.

*****

[You Have Died]

<Dream Sequence Has Ended>

{Based On Exclusive Skill: The Dreamer, your recent experiences have been dissolved into a dream}

<You Will Now Be Returned To The Preset Save Point>

[You Will Now Wake Up]

*****

[7:30 AM; Saturday, 29th of April, 2024]

"A-ahh…" I opened my eyes, feeling a mild headache.

My dark brown hair fluttered with the gentle movement I made, and I slowly rose from my bed, rubbing my forehead.

"I guess I'll check in with the drugstore later…" I whispered.

Taking a few steps away from my bed, I encountered my mirror and saw my reflection. Everything seemed normal so far, but I couldn't be too certain. It was time for me to commence my everyday ritual.

'I have to be sure I'm not in a… d-d… dr-dream…?'

Hold on… something felt weird.

Was it just my imagination?

I looked closely at myself in the mirror, and it felt like I had done it recently. It felt too off that I began to suspect I was in a dream. Perhaps…

I touched the mirror in front of me, feeling the cold sensation course through my palm. However, the moment I did so, I felt a tingle spread through my body, and a flash sparked in my mind.

Slowly, my eyes widened, and I felt something rush into my head.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

My eyes turned bloodshot, and I tightly clutched my head, screaming at the top of my lungs.

'W-what is… what is all this?!' My brain felt like it would explode, and I saw several images overlap even when I closed my eyes.

My fingers dug deep into my skin, and I felt like tearing my hair out due to the sheer insanity I was experiencing. In merely a few seconds, I recollected the 'nightmare' I just woke up from.

No, not just this nightmare.

It was something else.

'Everything… my whole life up until now… has been nothing but a dream…?' It felt like my whole world had collapsed. 'No… was it just yesterday? No. It's today. Yes… it's just today. Today… I dreamt of today.'

What did all of this mean? Why did I dream of this exact day, experiencing a lot of vivid details that felt too real.

'No… this isn't my first time, is it? It's not my first time…'

I slowly began to find myself amid the torrents of thoughts that threatened to tear my mind apart. It felt like I was going crazy, but I stabilized my breathing and shut my eyes tight.

"Haaa… Mikey calm yourself."

Hearing my calm voice did the trick. I could finally feel my racing heart stabilize, and the hair on my skin receded.

In no time at all, I was back to normal.

My thoughts slowly began restructuring, and I began to understand all that I was feeling.

"Those dreams… they were all real?"

Yes.

Ever since I was ten years old, I kept having different dreams of things I wasn't supposed to be capable of producing. Dreams were manifestations of latent knowledge, dominant thoughts, or abstract ideas, but they still had to exist in the mind.

Despite that, I often had dreams of monsters, entities, events, knowledge, and certain people that I should not have known—or even had the capacity of knowing.

I kept journals to track some of the things I dreamt of. Some dreams repeated themselves, while some only appeared once.

By the time I turned fifteen, I began to have a lot of repeated dreams. That was because, on my fifteenth birthday, I had a rather peculiar nightmare.

It showed me the end of the world.

"Haa… who would have thought that everything was real."

But, how could I be so sure? None of the things I saw should have existed in reality.

I only had vague recollections of those things, and my journals were nowhere to be found at this point. I could recollect some dreams that stood out, so it wasn't as if I knew everything. Even then, dreaming about monsters and some sort of apocalypse… wasn't that a bit too much?

"I must be going crazy… keuk!" My head hurt, causing me tightly clutch it even more.

Yeah, I probably just needed to take my medications.

"There's probably nothing to worry about."

*****

I decided to defy my dream and go to the drugstore before heading to the gym that day. As expected, I was able to see the pharmacist who attended to me.

He was a tall and lanky man, and while his very narrow gaze made me a little uncomfortable, I could tell he was a good guy at heart.

After leaving the drugstore, I made my way to the gym. I arrived a little later than usual, but nothing much seemed to change.

As expected, I was greeted by my gym buddies, and we had a wonderful time together. I finished my sets a bit later than usual, thanks to my late arrival. It didn't matter much to me, though, considering it was still bright out.

'I'll return home and finish working on my project.' I thought to myself as I stepped out of the shower.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, I stepped to the major workout room to say farewell to my buddies. Unlike them, I couldn't spend too long training my body.

However…

"W-what…?"

… I found an empty workout hall.

No one was in sight.

"U-um… guys? Where are you? Is this some sort of prank?"

Flashes of my last nightmare began appearing in my head, and a feeling of dread slowly crept upon me. And then—

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

<Paradise Will Now Be Initialized>

{The realm of the gods, Paradise, will be revealed to the chosen humans. Overcome the 99 Floors and reach the Final Realm.}

<Tutorial Will Begin Once The Announcement Has Been Concluded>

{Your mission is to survive the Tutorial so you can be qualified to enter Paradise. Time Left until the end of the Tutorial: 168 hrs: 00 mins: 00 secs}

<Announcement is ending… The Tutorial will now commence>

—It appeared again.

Just like before, a System Window manifested in front of me.

"Haa… haa… it wasn't simply a dream." I could hear myself struggling to breathe already.

~FSHUUUUUUUUU…~

A low hissing sound slowly began permeating the workout hall, forcing me to look around me. I began to see dark blots, like large puddles of dark mud, displaced in many directions within the room.

'RUN!' Something sharply whispered into my ears, but my body stood still for some reason.

Rising from the dark puddles of disgusting mud were the creatures similar to the one I saw in my dream. Some of them had tattered vestiges of the vests and tight shorts that my workout buddies were known for.

I could even see the striped pink shorts of a particularly queer one.

Unfortunately, the beings who had these outfits on weren't the buddies I knew. Not anymore!

[SYSTEM WARNING]

<You Have Encountered A Group Of Demons>

'RUN!' I heard the voice again.

This time I listened, swiftly moving my trembling feet as I rushed towards the exit.

Unfortunately…

~SQUELCH!~

Yes, that's right. I was pierced again! Not just once or twice, but in so many places that blood burst out of my body.

'Ah… haa… am I going to die?'

[SYSTEM WARNING]

<Your Life Force Has Dropped Below 5 Percent.>

{You will soon die…}

Looks like I had my answer. Death was waiting for me.

'... Or is it?'

I hated the pain I felt. More than that, I despised the regret that lurked inside me. I should have known better. I should have believed it wasn't just a dream.

'I-if there is a next time… I will believe! This isn't just a dream. It isn't a dream! It is a…'

[You Have Died]

<Dream Sequence Has Ended>

{Based On Exclusive Skill: The Dreamer, your recent experiences have been dissolved into a dream}

<You Will Now Be Returned To The Preset Save Point>

[You Will Now Wake Up]

******

[7:30 AM; Saturday, 29th of April, 2024]

"A-ahh…" I rubbed my head, feeling a mild headache. "... I guess I'll go check in with the drugstore later."

I rose to my feet and walked to the mirror in front of me to begin my everyday ritua—

'RUN!'

My body froze mid-motion.

'RUN!'

I couldn't understand it, but the sound started getting louder and louder in my pounding head.

'... I will believe! This isn't a dream. It is a dream! It is a…'

The pain coursed through my head and I screamed in horror and terror of the things I experienced, as well as the things I would yet see.

I didn't understand things back then… back when I was too young. Back when I was killed not too long ago.

But, at that point when it felt like my skull would crack open, and I would die due to the influx of the lives I had just lived and died, I was beginning to understand.

'I… I have been dreaming this whole time!'

And the worst part slowly began to dawn on me.

'The nightmares… they're just getting started!'

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading.

Please be patient and keep reading until the 10th chapter before making up your mind.

Cheers!