It started with the sound of bells.
Not my alarm. Not my phone.
Real bells. Soft, distant. Like wind chimes echoing through a canyon.
Then the dream began.
I was standing in a hallway that stretched on forever. Marble floors. Tall windows. Moonlight spilled across everything. The air smelled like old paper and rain.
There were voices ahead. I walked toward them, but I didn't feel like me. My steps were too graceful. My clothes too heavy. My heart beat like it was remembering something I hadn't lived.
Then I saw him.
He stood with his back to me, wearing a long coat with silver embroidery and a crown—not like a cartoon crown, but something old and cracked, like it had been buried. His hair was black. His voice… familiar.
"You should have left," he said without turning around. "You knew what I was."
I tried to speak, but no sound came out. Only a rush of wind and a flicker of something bright—runes? Fireflies? Stars?
He turned slowly.
It was Rikuya.
But not the Rikuya I knew.
His eyes were gold, yes—but colder.
Sadder. Tired in a way that felt ancient.
"You made a promise," he said. "And I remember."
I woke up with a jolt.
My room was dark. My hair was damp with sweat. The air around me buzzed like static, and the marks on my wrist—usually faint—were glowing.
Great. Glowing again.
I stumbled out of bed and found Rikuya sitting on the couch, reading a spellbook with his usual annoyed-but-bored expression.
He glanced at me. "You okay?"
"Nope." I plopped beside him. "I saw you in a dream. Like, medieval you. Crown, guilt, emotional damage… the whole thing."
He froze. "What did I say?"
I blinked. "Seriously? That's your reaction?"
He looked away. "I've seen that dream too."
I stared. "Wait. You've had it?"
"Yeah," he said, voice low. "But you weren't you, either. You wore a pendant with a sun crest. You told me you'd come back even if the world forgot my name."
I felt my stomach flip.
"That's… kinda romantic," I said.
"I cursed an entire kingdom the next day,"
he muttered.
"Still romantic," I whispered.
Kael barged in five minutes later, carrying five energy drinks and a scroll.
"You both look haunted. Did the curse finally start syncing?"
Rikuya nodded slightly. "She saw the memory."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Then we need to accelerate the timeline."
"Timeline for what?" I asked.
"For finding the last seal," Kael said. "Before the past starts bleeding into the present."
I looked at my hand. The mark was still glowing. It pulsed like a heartbeat.
"I think it already is."