The morning had started like any other. The sky was covered in a light mist, and the air seemed heavier than usual. Yoshi, his body still tired from the restless sleep of the night before, opened his skills notebook.
There it was.
Immersive Dreams - Status: ACTIVE
It hadn't just woken up. It had activated itself.
"It can't be..."
Until now, that ability had been only a passive manifestation, just a perfect sensory recording of his memory. But now... it was active. That meant it could be used consciously. Or worse: it was acting on its own.
"And if it activates itself... what if others get caught up with me?"
He shuddered. But he pushed his thoughts aside. He gritted his teeth, closed his notebook and got up. He had classes to attend. He had to keep to his routine. He had to keep a low profile.
The day was monotonous. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. No one called out to him, no one confronted him. Haruto remained the warm centre of the classroom, Liz as a beacon of ice, Haruka as an impossible wall to read. Charlotte and Kyria, in another section, did not appear that day. Perhaps not by chance.
Back at the inn, Yoshi collapsed on the bed. He didn't even take off his shoes.
Sleep overtook him before he could do anything.
And with it, the other reality returned.
-
When he opened his eyes, he was not in his room.
The ceiling was different. The hanging lamps bore ancient inscriptions. The walls were lined with bookshelves and documents. He recognised the place at once: it was one of the private rooms reserved for high-ranking professors.
"What...?"
He tried to sit up and that's when he noticed. He could not move. His arms and legs were held in firm straps, invisible to the naked eye, but with a palpable magical pressure.
"W-what is this?"
His heart was pounding. He wanted to activate some defensive spell, but his mana was sealed.
It was then that he heard it.
A soft laugh, barely a murmur, came from the shadows in the corner.
-Hehehehehe... I knew it wasn't just a dream...
A figure slowly emerged. Jet black hair, loose and wavy. Crimson eyes glowing like glowing coals in the dark. His smile was... wrong. Sweet, yet repulsive in its crooked tenderness.
-I knew I hadn't made a mistake yesterday. That feeling when I woke up... it was too real to say it was just a dream.
The figure approached, wiggling his steps with a mixture of elegance and childish morbidity. Her voice dropped to a whisper:
-Where are you hiding in the real world, dear brother?
The voice froze him.
Kyria.
But this was not the quiet, noble sister everyone knew. This was a distorted version of her, born of hatred and trauma, cultivated in the darkness of shared dreams.
-I've dreamt of you many times, you know..... -he whispered, stroking her face with his fingertips. I dreamt that you looked at me. That you asked me for forgiveness. That you cried. That you cried. And then... you told me I was yours. Only yours.
Yoshi struggled hard.
-You're not real! This is just a dream!
-Is it? -Kyria crouched down to his level, her eyes sparkling. Then tell me... why can you feel the pain?
She scratched him. His cheek bled. And the pain was real.
Yoshi shouted.
She laughed like a child having fun.
-I missed you so much, nii-san....
She leaned over him. Her lips close to his ear.
-And I will not let you go until you do your duty as a brother. As a husband. As a toy. As punishment...
-NO!
Darkness enveloped him.
Yoshi awoke with a gasp, gasping for breath. The room was illuminated by the dawn. His whole body was shaking. He had sweated so much that the sheets were damp.
But his cheek... had a red mark on it.
A scratch.
Real.
He slowly brought his hand to his face. His thoughts were a swirl of fear, pain and doubt.
-This... this is going too far.
But he knew he could no longer stop it.
Because someone... had already woken up in that dream.