Hina drifted awake into a space that wasn't quite darkness, yet not light either. A formless void stretched endlessly around her, colorless and cold, as if even sound had been swallowed whole.
In the distance, a lone figure stood.
Her mother.
Hina's breath caught, her chest tightening as the woman's familiar features surfaced from the haze. For a fleeting moment, warmth filled her—until her mother's lips curved into a slow smile. The smile cracked. Her teeth began to loosen, tumbling soundlessly from her mouth, one after another, scattering into the void.
Something shifted.
A snake slithered up her mother's body, its scales glistening like wet obsidian. It coiled across her shoulders and around her neck, tightening as it went.
Hina staggered forward, panic ripping her voice raw.
"Mom! MOM!"
Her steps faltered. Snakes erupted from the ground, coiling around her ankle, yanking her down into the void. Her arms clawed forward, desperate, useless.
"MOM, PLEASE!"
Her mother's dim eyes locked onto hers for one last instant before the serpent sank its fangs deep into her neck. Her body sagged lifelessly.
Hina's scream split the silence.
She jolted awake, drenched in sweat, chest heaving.
The door slammed open. Ivan burst in, clad in ridiculous superhero pajamas, his face still bound in those suffocating bandages. A massive scythe shimmered into being in his hand as he swept the room with sharp movements.
Finding nothing, he let the weapon dissolve, shoulders slumping.
"Damn it, I thought you were being mauled…" he muttered, rubbing his face.
He leaned against the doorframe, half-exasperated, half-worried.
Hina clutched the blanket to her chest, trembling. "S-sorry… I just had a nightmare."
Ivan blew out a tired sigh, his tone softening.
"Nightmares get the best of us." He turned, already stepping out. "Try to get real sleep. Training starts tomorrow."
The door clicked shut, leaving her alone.
Hina sank back into the mattress, but the pressure in her chest refused to ease. Her hand drifted to her throat—the ghost of the snake's coils lingered there, suffocating.
"That wasn't just a dream…" she whispered, her voice hollow.
Her mother's fading smile. The falling teeth. The lifeless body strangled by black scales. No matter how tightly she shut her eyes, the images gnawed deeper, feeding on her fear.
Sleep never returned.