Lucas had a strange dream.

  In this dream, his entire body was cold, numbing his senses. Eerie sounds assaulted his ears, and glimpses of peculiar colors made their way through his heavy eyelids.

  He slowly opened his eyes to this strange reality.

  In his vision, mysterious lights danced and flickered like flames forming a bright tapestry of pink and purple colors, similar to the northern lights he had only seen in movies until then.

  The mere sight of the ethereal patterns was enough to fill him with an unprecedented awe. The more he looked, the deeper that feeling penetrated, slowly creeping into every corner of his body numbed by the cold.

  He wanted to completely dive into it. But something held him back. A growing pressure in his chest, yearning to break free. He didn’t want to let it be. He knew that if he did, he would have to face a reality he was not ready for. But he had been given no choice.

  Incapable of resisting anymore, Lucas allowed the water to rush through his airways, burning the cruel truth into his body.

  The shock had finally brought Lucas to his senses.

  Desperate for his life, he fought to escape, only to find himself stuck in place by the seatbelt. He tried to break free, but panic sabotaged his efforts, making the buckle slip from his hands over and over again.

  Calm down, idiot. Your desperation is going to kill you.

  Forcing his own nerves to calm down a little, he slowed down and managed to finally free himself, immediately rushing to the front of what used to be his family’s car, now unrecognizable.

  The car front had been crushed, the windshield completely shattered, distorted metal and glass fragments carving their way into the bodies of the people he loved so much.

  Mom... Dad...

  They were dead.

  He wanted to believe they could still make it, but even obscured by the bloody water he could tell.

  Maybe it was good that it was blurred by the blood, he wouldn’t have been able to keep himself together if it wasn’t.

  Not that it mattered much, he probably would soon be joining them.

  The water above him was clouded by an illusory purple mist, whose effects remained a mystery, and the surface above seemed very distant.

  He didn’t have much time remaining, certainly not enough to reach salvation.

  That was the end.

  The lights showed him familiar images. Memories of a past long forgotten, visions of a future never accomplished.

  However, they soon darkened as his sight started to dim.

  In his last moments, he grabbed the hands of his deceased parents and brought them closer to his chest.

  A single thought remained on his mind as his body finally gave in.

  I’m sorry.

  ***

  And then, he woke up.

  Lucas immediately opened his eyes in shock, taking in deep breaths of air.

  ‘What... When...? I’m alive?’

  He was confused, he really felt like he was gone. The simple memory of his death made him shiver.

  ‘But, if I died, then... where am I? Heaven?’

  Well if it was, then it was much different than what people had imagined.

  There was some weak light coming from behind, but he couldn’t see much from his position. He seemed to be laid out on a rough and wet surface with his face on the ground, facing left, and belly down. His body was hot and sticky and there was a scent of iron in the air.

  Hoping to get a better understanding of his position, he tried using the ground as leverage to get up. However, as soon as he tried, his hand immediately recoiled in reflex to sudden pain.

  Resisting the pain, he lowered his hand to see that a jagged shard of a dark material had impaled it. The shard was dislodged while he moved his arm, sending a new pinch of pain and leaving an open wound behind that started leaking a small stream of blood.

  ‘Shit, I’m bleeding. ’

  At least that proved he wasn’t dead, but now he needed medical care. And he had no idea where to find it, in fact, he still had no idea where he was.

  Carefully lifting himself up to not get injured again, he sat on the wet ground and pressed on the wound with his other hand, trying to stop the bloodstream.

  ‘Now, is there anything helpful here?’ He tried scanning his surroundings, but it was too dark for him to see properly. ’Maybe I can use my clothes to bandage it?’

  He wasn’t sure what exactly he was wearing, but it seemed quite fancy and had some fabric to spare. However, before he could try anything, he noticed something odd. The injury was not hurting anymore.

  Confused, he stopped pressing the wound to have a better look at it... only to realize there was no wound. Instead, what he saw was a blood-stained, but perfectly closed skin. With not even a scar left behind to tell the tale.

  ‘What the—’

  How could a wound just disappear like that? It shouldn’t be possible, right? Was he going crazy now?

  ‘Wait.’ A scary possibility popped into his mind, making him pale under the realization. ’The iron smell and the wet and sticky ground... is this... blood?’

  His own blood, to be more precise. He was sitting on a pool of it.

  Before Lucas could fully take this revelation in, an orange hue emerged from the distance, making the room grow brighter. A tall stone counter stood in the way between Lucas and the source of the light, blocking his vision from it.

  Curious, Lucas got on his knees to see over the obstacle—careful to not hurt himself again. What he saw was a long room full of what appeared to be some tables and shelves, although he couldn’t be sure due to the poor lighting. The orange light he noticed came from beyond an open door on the other side of the room, and it seemed to be approaching each second.

  At some point, he started hearing footsteps, indicating the approach of a small group. He considered asking for help, before giving up on the idea. He didn’t know if these people were friendly or not, better to keep himself hidden until he was sure of their intentions.

  Carefully avoiding the debris, Lucas quietly crawled in the direction of light and crouched behind the counter. He couldn’t help but leave blood marks on his path, but it’s not like the blood pool wouldn’t have denounced him anyway. He just had to pray they did not come close enough to see it.

  Thanks to the flickering orange light coming from behind his hiding spot, Lucas could now see his surroundings better.

  In front of him, there were two large dark glass containers. One had been completely broken, while the other had a small crack near the base. None of them had any liquid around them, so he assumed they must have been broken a long time ago, the shards, however, remained scattered on the ground. The wood and stone wall behind it had collapsed, opening way to a starless night sky.

  And of course, there was a crimson pool of blood right in the middle.

  The amount of destruction made him think the place had been abandoned, although there were some people there now.

  “I’m not sure we’re gonna find anything here, teacher.” Lucas heard the voice of a teenage boy speaking in English, the suddenness of it putting him on edge. “The large container where it should be stored is gone.”

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  “Help me look through the shelves, there might be some smaller flask in one of them.” This was a different voice, more rough, probably from an older man. “This is the only place where we can obtain some life essence without being caught.”

  Lucas couldn’t help but try imaging the intentions of these two man based on their dialog.

  ‘Without being caught... are they robbers? But what the hell is life essence?’

  It sounded like something mystical, but that was probably just the result of some marketing campaign. He didn’t remember any product of that name, but considering where he woke up, there should be some connection between him and the so-called life essence.

  ‘I can think more on that later, perhaps something in the room might give me a hint, but I can’t move until these two are done.’

  He had decided not to reveal himself under the perspective of the two being potential criminals, but there was nothing he could do if they decided to check his hiding spot.

  The duo kept searching for a while, apparently fruitless by their reactions.

  “I told you we wouldn’t find anything.” Said the younger one. He sounded angry but strangely weak. “What should we do now?”

  The teacher took his time to reply, doing so with reluctance. “We’ll have to go back.”

  “What?” The boy exploded upon hearing that. “We can’t go back, we might never get a chance like this again if we do!”

  “I know.” The teacher replied calmly, unaffected by his student’s outburst.

  “Then—”

  “But there’s no point if it costs your life.”

  That seemed to have made the younger one shut up, leaving them surrounded by silence once more. The only sound present was that of flames cracking, likely the source of the orange light Lucas had seen.

  While he waited for a resolution, Lucas thought about what they had said.

  ‘So, one of them is dying or injured... perhaps, this ’life essence’ is a type of medicine. It does have a fitting name, at least.’

  After some painfully long seconds of waiting, he finally heard the voices again.

  “Come, Azubi. There’s nothing left for us here.”

  The two left silently, accompanied by nothing but the sound of their footsteps. Only when Lucas couldn’t hear them anymore did he allow himself to relax.

  Apparently, the teacher and student duo had lit something up during their stay, so Lucas now found himself in a room brightly illuminated by red and orange hues. He sat on the ground, leaning on the stone behind to rest as he pondered over his next course of action.

  From his resting spot and under the new light, he had a clear picture of the bloody scene where he had woken up, confirming his early suspicions.

  ‘It’s strange, it almost feels like someone came crashing down this wall and breaking this container before bleeding to death right there. But that’s not possible, because the person that awakened in that pool of blood a few moments ago was me. And I’m certainly alive...’

  An idea started forming in his head as he remembered the words of the duo that had just left, how the tank in front of him was supposed to store the, supposedly, life-saving medicine they were searching for.

  He had looked at his red-stained hand, magically healed from a cut just a few minutes ago.

  ‘No, that doesn’t make sense. That’s not how medicine works and I’m not even sure if it’s really one.’

  At that moment, the orange light flickered and disappeared, casting him into darkness once more. Lucas instinctively recoiled closer to the stone counter he was using as cover.

  ‘Did they return? No, I haven’t heard any footsteps.’

  Lucas could have a peak over the counter and check, but it could be trouble if it had been something else.

  ‘But then, why did—’

  ‘There you are.’

  Before Lucas could react in any form, something held him in place by the shoulder.

  A soft female voice whispered in his ear, sending shivers through his body.

  ‘Found you, Lucas.’

  Lucas gulped when he heard his own name. That could hardly be a good thing in such a situation.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m not here to kill you, nor to do any evil.’

  The thing released his shoulder, but Lucas didn’t relax one bit.

  ‘Words don’t always correlate with actions—’

  Suddenly, something cold pressed on his neck and he felt a warm stream flowing from it.

  ‘In this case, they do. After all, if wanted you dead your head would already be rolling on the floor.’ The stranger immediately replied to his thoughts, as if she could hear them.

  ‘Lucky for you, you’re a very interesting individual.’ She said as he felt the pressure on his neck being released. ’Your very existence is contradictory and your presence in this world should be impossible. Killing such a curious phenomenon would be a cruel waste.’

  The words of the mysterious woman filled him with questions and fear. She made a good point, but her threat didn’t help to relieve the tension in him. Even so, under the perspective of temporary safety and the pressure of his curiosity, Lucas dared to pose a question.

  “Do you know where am I?” He asked in the same language used by those around him. He was slightly surprised by the voice that came out of him, it sounded different from what he remembered and his pronunciation was clearer.

  ‘I can tell you it’s somewhere far, far away from home.’ The woman answered him back, but without giving him any useful information. ’And that you likely wouldn’t believe if I told you the truth.’

  Lucas frowned, slightly. “Why would I not believe?”

  ‘Well, if I were to tell someone they had died and reincarnated into another world, it’s very likely that they would call me a liar.’

  At that moment, memories of the nightmare Lucas had just awakened from surged in his mind and he paled under the possibility of it being more than a mere dream. He remembered the strange situation he had woken to and the mysterious healing of his wound.

  He felt like the pieces were finally falling in place to reveal the truth, but he refused to accept that answer to the puzzle.

  “No... that can’t be. You’re lying, there must be another explanation...”

  “See? I told you you’d end up calling me a liar. But that’s your reality, dreamer of a distant star.”

  “No, I—” In a burst of emotions, Lucas turned to face his mysterious ambusher, but he only saw the nothingness. “...what?”

  Without him realizing it, a towering darkness rose behind him, so dark that even the shadows seemed bright near it. From the darkness, a pitch-black arm surged, touching Lucas’ forehead from behind with a single black finger.

  ‘You call me a liar, and yet you’re the one lying to yourself. So, I shall help you see the truth.’

  With these words, Lucas’ entire reality was rewritten.

  His vision got more detailed, his earing clearer and his olfaction more sensitive. He could suddenly see the details on the stone, he could hear the sounds of the night and smell the unbearable stench of blood. He could feel the soft fabric over his skin and the weight of his flesh over the ground below.

  More importantly than that, he could feel a subtle wrongness with every aspect of his body. It felt unfamiliar, almost as if it was not his.

  [You see it now? This is not your body, but the vessel of another being that you took over after their soul left. The bonds it formed with your essence were flawed, they exposed your mind and blurred your perception, concealing the truth.]

  The voice of the mysterious woman also sounded different. Earlier, it had sounded like a normal dialogue, but now he realized it was not a real sound, but more like a record playing on his head.

  Lucas stared at the dark wooden ceiling above him. He had a question to ask, but no will to make his voice heard. No matter how hard he tried, the words were stuck in his throat, refusing to come out.

  That’s when he realized he didn’t want to know the truth. However, he also knew he had no choice but to face it.

  “Are... are they really gone?”

  [They’re in a dream they will never wake up from. One that you may never join.]

  Before he realized it, there was already a warm stream flowing down his face. Touching the area with his hand, he saw that the tip of his unfamiliar fingers had become wet.

  There’s no denying it anymore, is there?

  His old life was over. His family was dead. And he had been helplessly thrown into the unknown.

  He didn’t really feel anything at the beginning, his heart was eerily numb. But the deeper the truth settled within his being, the stronger became the flow of the tears. His throat ached with the desire to let out the feelings building in his chest, but he didn’t know what should come out.

  It had been so sudden, in a moment he was daydreaming about cupcakes, and in the other they were dead. It was his birthday and they were going to celebrate, just that. They would soon arrive at the surprise location and have a lot of fun in there, he was sure of it. Then his mother would take out the small birthday cake he had seen her hide in the cooler before they departed and they would sing and share it like family.

  But now that would never happen.

  If only I had gotten better grades on that test...

  The only reason his parents had decided to take that trip was because they wanted to cheer him up after he had failed his college entrance exams. If he had passed, they would’ve never have taken that trip.

  If he hadn’t failed, his family would still be alive.

  “It’s all my fault.” He said amidst his sobs.

  His words triggered a change in his environment. The shadows grew even deeper than before and he was soon enveloped by an eerie darkness. It poured over him like a cold mantle that gently caressed his hair.

  [Poor child, don’t blame yourself for things out of your control. The past is in the past, there’s no point in suffering over what’s already set in stone.]

  [It’s not your fault.]

  Her tender voice soothed his tormented heart with sweet and gentle words. Lucas didn’t know who this person was or why they had chosen to comfort him, but in her arms, he felt nurtured and safe, so he allowed himself to run dry his tears in the shadow’s embrace.

  ***

  The shadow gently lowered the boy’s body, allowing it to rest gracefully on the floor.

  He had cried in her arms until her gift finally put him to sleep. Now, he should be seeing a memory that would help him understand his situation and survive the following events.

  She couldn’t help but pity him. But alas, at least for now, her role here was finished. She couldn’t watch over him forever. Sooner or later, he would have to forge his own bonds and acquire his own power to survive in this world.

  The shadow had one last look at the peaceful sleeper, before vanishing in the darkness.

  Sleep well, my child. Harsh trials await you beneath the haze of dreams.