Chapter 4: Dreamer
[9:39 AM; Saturday, 29th of April, 2023]
"I'm going to die…" I whispered, biting my nails while tucked away in the corner of my room. Those words just wouldn't stop echoing in my head. My skin felt all tingly and my heart was racing faster than a cheetah. It was like I was going nuts, just sitting there for what felt like ages.
"We're all going to die…"
Despair wrapped its icy fingers around my heart, and I was held tight in the clutches of terror. I was sweating like I'd run a marathon in the rain, and the room smelled like… well, you don't wanna know.
Even with all that craziness, I couldn't make myself move an inch.
"A-all… all of us… are dead…"
Ever since I remembered that creepy dream I'd had, the one I ignored but then ended up dying in a really painful way, my head felt like it was in a blender. There was a disconnect between my thoughts and my body, and I felt frozen, unable to move or do anything.
Was this what they called despondency?
The realization that those nightly terrors weren't mere figments of my imagination but rather glimpses into a terrible future gradually dawned on me.
Or maybe not.
It was more like I had lived through those horrors, fully aware of the agony until my life was cruelly snuffed out. It then became a dream when I died.
Not a mere dream, but a relentless NIGHTMARE!
"Am I dreaming now? Is this… is this just a nightmare?"
In the past, I'd look in the mirror to make sure I wasn't losing it. But now, even the mirror seemed unreliable. By all means, I was supposed to be completely awake—fully in touch with reality.
Yet… yet…
'Am I going crazy? I'm crazy, right?' My grip on reality was like trying to hold onto a slippery fish, and I felt like I was standing on the edge of going completely bonkers.
*****
[10:03 AM]
'My head… It hurts. The pain is getting worse.' I muttered, wincing at the growing discomfort.
My gaze fixed on the clock before me, still hunched over in my seat.
"Almost time," I breathed out, my voice a soft murmur.
I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment the world had ended, but I knew it hadn't clocked noon when my life ended both times. It was perhaps a little past 11 AM.
'D-does that mean I can make a quick dash to the pharmacy to get my meds?' If I hurried, I could relieve this pain that constantly made me miserable.
"But..." The memory of what happened in the pharmacy flooded back, and I gasped, my eyes wide with horror. A shiver ran through me, my body's way of reliving the fear.
"No, I can't go out. Not now." My voice trembled as I grappled with fear, the pain in my head flaring up, as if my mind was coming apart.
"Wait... I can order the meds online, right?" A small laugh escaped me, a mix of relief and self-mocking. Why hadn't I thought of that before?
Yeah, that's it. If I did that, I wouldn't have to step outside.
A flicker of hope rose as I noticed my laptop across the room – my way out in this storm of agony.
'Haa… haha… hahahaha…'
A dry, almost desperate chuckle broke free. No need to complicate things. Just needed to quiet the pain in my head, to find some peace in the chaos.
"I can buy it onli—"
>ZZZZTTZZZZ<
Right when my laptop blinked on, filling the room with its glow, everything plunged into darkness.
"Eeeeek!" I screamed, curling into a ball as my brain threatened to explode due to the pain.
I waited for a few seconds, hoping for a quick fix or for someone to show up. But nothing changed. No one came.
"A-ah..." Blinking my eyes open and looking around, it hit me.
This was just a power outage. A common occurrence in my apartment complex, thanks to our cheapskate landlord who refused to fix the faulty wiring of the building.
"Haha... haha..." A sigh of relief slipped out, a weak chuckle in the dark. But that feeling faded fast.
After all, this blackout presented another major challenge.
"No internet…"
The Apartment Complex's Wifi, and even my personal router, required electricity to function. No power meant no internet.
'No internet means...' I glanced at my laptop, its cracked screen barely visible. The hope it had sparked was now smothered by despair.
"Ahhh..." Frustration bubbled up, my headache turning into a full-blown migraine.
Stress, pain – they all crashed together, weighing me down. It felt like I was falling apart, and the thought of not making it was creeping in.
At this rate, I was sure I'd die."
How much longer could I last?
*****
[10: 37 AM]
"Haa… haa…"
I was currently on the road, running as fast as my legs could carry me.
My breaths escaped in ragged gasps, trembling lips parting as I fought to catch my breath. My gaze darted frantically, but I forced my focus on the path ahead.
'There's time. There's still time!'
The drugstore was just around the corner. I had to hurry.
*****
[10:43 AM]
"Mikey, you look like a sight for sore eyes. You really need to—"
I cut off the lanky pharmacist mid-sentence. My voice quivered as I blurted out, "H-here! I want this!" I dumped as many painkillers as the law would allow onto the counter, my breath coming out in ragged gasps.
There was no room for chitchat, no time for even a chuckle at his jokes. My mind was miles away, and my patience had run thin.
At this point, my brain felt ready to pop like a balloon, strings pulled tight.
"Jeez… so sweaty. I got it. I got it. Sheesh. Maybe lay off the workout a bit?" He said, scanning the items at a pace that tested my last nerve.
'Hurry up! Hurry up!' My internal chant matched the tap of my impatient fingers as I slid the cash toward him.
"Alright. Here's the receipt. Your change is—"
"Keep the change!"
Running off, I could feel an odd sensation and the moment I looked back, I realized… the pharmacist had vanished.
"Ahhh… no, no, no, no, no, no!"
Picking up my pace, despite my tired and aching body, I rushed towards my home.
'Please. PLEASE LET ME MAKE IT BACK!'
I looked left, then right, and the realization hit me square in the gut—I was the only person on the road. Deserted streets stretched before me, hollow and lifeless.
Silence.
Emptiness.
And then… Danger.
I could feel it close in on me as I got to my street.
>DING!<
I could feel it all over my skin as I got to my apartment complex.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
<Paradise Will Now Be Initialized>
{The realm of the gods, Paradise, will be revealed to the chosen humans. Overcome the 99 Floors and get to the Final Realm.}
<The Tutorial Will Begin Once The Announcement Has Been Concluded>
{Your mission is to survive the Tutorial so you can be qualified to enter Paradise. Time Left until the end of the Tutorial: 168 hrs: 00 mins: 00 secs}
<Announcement is ending… The Tutorial will now commence>
As I reached my doorstep, I sensed it gripping my throat, a suffocating presence. I fought to open the door to my sanctuary, desperate to seal the outside world away from me for good.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
<You Have Encountered A Group Of Demons>
I could…
>SQUELCH!<
'Haa… what did I expect?'
[SYSTEM WARNING]
The claws of the grotesque beings had already dug into my body, and the sound of painkillers dropping into my pool of blood reached my ears.
Amidst these sensations, that familiar feeling returned. A strange calmness washed over me, erasing the pounding headache and submerging me in tranquility.
Once again, it felt as though I was in a dream.
<Your Life Force Has Dropped Below 5 Percent.>
{You will soon die…}
I closed my eyes, embracing the pain, and letting the darkness swallow me whole. It was at this point that I realized that I never existed, to begin with.
This was simply a dream…
[You Have Died]
<Dream Sequence Has Ended>
{Based On Exclusive Skill: The Dream, your recent experiences have been dissolved into a dream}
<You Will Now Be Returned To The Preset Save Point>
[You Will Now Wake Up]
… And I was the Dreamer.
*
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[A/N]
Will Mikey find a way out of this maddening loop? Or will he continue to suffer like this forever?
Find out in the next chapter!
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