I was an idiot.
Even for a second...
I let myself believe everything would be okay.
Lucan reached for his sword.
And that's when I saw it.
A face.
One mirroring that of a humans.
But...it was...off.
It looked human.
Almost.
Like someone had tried to remember what a person looked like...
...and gotten parts of it wrong.
It's face started to distort.
It's mouth grew long and wide.
It's rows of teeth reflected my appearance.
Drool slowly dripped down.
I wanted to scream.
But I didn't.
If I did...who knows what Lucan would do to me..?
I shut my eyes.
Just for a second.
Maybe...
Maybe when I opened them...
I'd be back in the library.
I'd fallen asleep over my notebook.
Someone would be annoyed that I was blocking the aisle.
...
I opened my eyes.
The monster was still there.
I don't want to die in a supermarket.
...
I didn't even eat breakfast...
I forced my eyes shut.
I tried to think about anything else.
The stray dog that used to wait outside the library every afternoon.
I'd buy it treats sometimes.
It always wagged its tail when it saw me.
...
Lucan grabbed my arm, that's when I was forced to snap out of it.
He practically threw me halfway across the store.
I slipped on the...the...ink.
Whatever it was.
I knew it wasn't ink.
But I didn't want to know.
I fell.
Although it all appeared in slow motion to me, I saw Lucan fighting the monster.
Bloo- I mean, ink, splattered all over the walls.
Including on his face.
I was terrified.
If I fell...surely...
I would wake up..?
People wake up when they fall.
Everyone knows that.
...
So...
Why wasn't I waking up?
I fell.
Right into the dirty disgusting-
Ink.
That's right.
Ink.
It's just ink.
Why...
Why am I panicking so much?
This is a nightmare.
...
The 'ink' soaked my clothes.
A metallic scent clung to them.
It was sticky.
...Is ink normally this sticky?
I...I don't know anymore.
Let me just...sleep.
Yeah.
That's right.
Sleep.
If I went to sleep...
I'd wake up.
That's how nightmares worked.
You slept...
Then you woke up.
...
Didn't you?
Sleep.
In the middle
Of a pool
Of ink.
But I couldn't sleep.
Not when Lucan was fighting just ahead of me.
I'd sleep.
But later.
I'd sleep.
But later.
In my bed.
Or maybe in the library.
Maybe even in a luxury hotel.
Somewhere with soft blankets.
Somewhere quiet.
Somewhere that didn't smell like...
...
Ink.
...Soft sheets awaited me.
I just needed to get up.
And... run.
Run away.
But...what about Lucan?
If this is a dream
He should be fine.
But...for some reason it doesn't feel right...
I slowly sat up.
The ink.
It stuck to my fingers and matted my hair.
...
Lucan...had he finished off the monster yet?
I forced my head to slowly look up.
Lucan...had defeated the monster.
Dark ink pooled around his ankles.
He stood there for a few moments.
His hands twitched at his sides.
And from my point of view
...He seemed to be thinking about something.
His brows were furrowed, his head tilted subtly to the side...
He turned.
And started walking toward me.
Slowly.
My stomach dropped.
Why...
Why was he looking at me like that?
...
One step
Two
Three
His boots splashed through the ink
...
He was coming toward me.
Slowly.
Almost carefully.
Like...he was...?
I...I didn't know..
He contradicted the character I had created.
Why?
This Lucan...was... different.
Fundamentally.
Emotionally.
And now...
That walking contradiction was stomping towards me.
What do I do?
Do I run?
No.
He'd catch up in seconds.
Do I fight back?
If I did, he'd crush me in an instant.
What do I do?
What do I do?...
Is this how it ends?
No...
This is how I wake up.
...
Right?
People wake up eventually.
They have to.
I'll be awoken by a librarian.
They'll tell me it's closing hours...
And...
And...
I'll go home.
I'd fall asleep watching a few silly cartoons...
Then everything would be okay.
....
There's no way it wouldn't.