Chapter 26 – It Was All a Dream
I was startled awake by an unexpectedly familiar sound.
My alarm clock.
A sound I hadn't heard in weeks. My heart was in my ass right now. My mind was a mess.
Where were the girls?
My body didn't ache like it should. I'd just fought a life-or-death battle, but I felt… fine.
My clothes weren't ripped either.
"What the fuck is happening?" I muttered, stumbling into the bathroom.
It was exactly the way I left it. Clothes still on the floor, waiting for me to eventually pick them up.
The faint scent of soap and the cologne I threw on before visiting my professor still hung in the air.
I leaned over the sink and stared into the mirror.
No battle scars.
Not even the one Nyla gave me.
Like it had never existed.
Had it ever been there?
My head spun. Did I really dream up all of that? If so, that was the longest, most realistic dream of my damn life.
"…I might need to lay off the drink," I muttered, heading for the fridge.
"Another day, though. I need this."
I cracked open a beer, took a swig, and dropped onto the couch, trying to arrange my thoughts.
Okay, so I remember sitting at the computer to game… but before that, I was thinking I'd give myself a little relief. Leftovers from my visit with the professor. Then—boom—I'm in a forest, fighting for my life and meeting the girls.
The girls.
Did I really dream up my three dream girls?
I mean… it's possible. They were perfect.
Perfect for me.
All three were ideal in some way. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense that it was just a dream.
I felt sick.
Am I really so alone that I have to dream up bitches to love me? To see me? To understand me?
"Shit…" I said, sinking deeper into the couch. "What have I been doing with my life?"
Good question.
Before my time in the Wildreach, I'd have told you my life wasn't so bad. Full scholarship to the college of my choice.
Crappy apartment, sure—but the rent was dirt cheap because I'd slept with the landlord's wife, and now the dude was giving me a discount just to stay away from her.
Win-win, honestly. She was a mid lay anyway.
I'd just started sleeping with my professor too.
She was brilliant. Awkward, but funny. It felt like we were growing up together.
I hadn't even thought about her since the Wildreach, but before… we might've been building toward something.
If it really was a dream, maybe we still are.
I pinched myself.
I couldn't rule out that this was the dream.
I pinched myself.
Hard.
Nothing.
No flicker. No jolt. No shattering illusion.
Just my fingers on my forearm and the ticking of the kitchen clock.
"…Shit."
My pulse quickened. This wasn't funny anymore.
I looked around the apartment. Same furniture. Same smell. Same low-budget lighting. Same emptiness.
I hadn't felt this alone since—
"System?" I said aloud, testing the air like someone calling for God in a godless room.
No response.
Not even a flicker of static. No HUD. No status screen. Not even an error message.
I felt my throat tighten.
"System." Louder this time.
Still nothing.
I closed my eyes.
There was one more thing I could try.
"Shyara…"
Silence.
"Shyara, come on. Say something."
Still nothing.
No snide remark. No smug little laugh. No voice in my head telling me I'm an idiot.
I clenched my jaw, heart starting to drop.
Maybe this was real. Maybe I really was back.
Maybe…
Maybe it was all a dream.
"I'm such a fucking idiot," I muttered, collapsing back into the couch. "None of it was real. Of course it wasn't."
My chest felt hollow. Like someone had scooped out everything that mattered and left the meat behind.
I closed my eyes again, this time just to breathe. Let it all go.
And then…
…I felt it.
Not a sound. Not a light.
A tug.
Faint. Barely there. Like a thread caught on the edge of my consciousness.
I leaned forward, breath held.
The air was still. The room, quiet.
But something was there.
Pulling.
Reaching.
"…Shyara?"
The tug vanished.
But something else replaced it.
A whisper.
So faint I couldn't tell if I'd actually heard it, or if my brain was just giving me what I wanted.
But it was there.
One word.
One voice.
"Kai?"
My breath caught in my throat like a trap.
I heard it. I heard her.
It was faint. So far off it was barely audible—but I was certain she'd called out to me.
Maybe. I don't know. Maybe I want it so bad I'm hearing things.
It can't have all been a dream.
I didn't just make it up. Did I?
Okay, be rational. You know how powerful the human mind is.
If I want something enough, my brain will fill in the blanks. Touch, sound, emotion—doesn't matter. My imagination is strong enough to make it feel real.
…That's not great.
I'm a dreamer. My mind takes me to places even I didn't know existed.
Wait—why does it matter?
The Wildreach was hell. Do I really care if I can't get back?
This is a second chance. I could go back to normal.
Quiet. Peaceful. Comfortable.
That's what I wanted, right?
…Right?
Parts of the Wildreach weren't so bad, though. The powers. The excitement. A new challenge every day.
I fucked with that.
But I could live without it. Sitting on a beach with my feet up and a baddie in my lap?
Yeah. That sounds good.
Baddies.
Fuck.
There wouldn't be any women like those three here.
No girl in this world could ever match Nyla's fire.
Untamed. Fierce. Loyal to a fault.
Or Yuki's calm.
A beauty so serene she could freeze angels mid-flight.
Or Shyara's—
…Well. Anyway. She was great too.
I mean she's hot. 10/10 would tap that.
Plan to tap that. Impregnate that. Not once. Not twice—
Stop.
Focus, brain.
My bad, I thought to myself.
I'm conflicted.
On one hand, I get my old life back.
Half the danger. One-third the excitement. But it's mine.
No monsters hunting me. No empires targeting my bloodline.
I looked at my skin and snorted.
Well… not all humans hate me.
But on the other hand?
There were the girls.
I don't know if I love them.
But I'm close.
Is a "maybe" worth throwing away a sure thing?
Depends on what the possibility is.
The thought echoed louder than it should've.
It most certainly does, me.
It most certainly does.
For those three girls, I'd bet it all.
Because what I was building in the Wildreach?
That was real.
No question. No doubt.
…
Well, maybe one question.
One doubt.
How the fuck do I get back?
Can I even get back?
I closed my eyes and reached inward—toward the bond with Nyla.
It was the deepest. The strongest. If anyone could tether me, it'd be her.
It was faint.
But it was there.
I felt it.
Warmth. Anxious energy. Burning heat laced with relief and hunger.
Yeah. That's Nyla.
And that settles it.
I didn't make it all up.
They're out there.
But…
Something still feels off.
If I know this is a dream…
Why can't I wake up?
That's when it hit me.
A sharp ping in the back of my skull.
A screen exploded into my vision.
⸻
ALERT: Unique skill CHOSEN is unhappy with its user.
It craves to be used to its maximum potential.
Alternative personality manifested.
Main personality confined.
Time remaining: 76 hours.
⸻
I stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
"What the actual fuck!?"