The silence of the dungeon was so heavy that Luka could hear his own heartbeat like a pounding drum. Lane's eyes were still fixed on his face, waiting for an answer. Luka took a deep breath and chose his words with extreme caution. He had to hide the truth for his own protection and test Lane's reality at the same time.
"I don't know if that dream was scary or not..." Luka began softly. "In that dream, I saw an incredibly beautiful garden. There were colorful flowers blooming everywhere. And there, I saw three boys. The way they sat, their aura... it felt as if Gods themselves were sitting there. Their divinity was such that no ordinary human could stand before them."
Luka paused for a moment, pretending to dig through the fog of his memories. "The faces of those three were not entirely clear. It was as if they were surrounded by a celestial light that hid their features. But..." Luka's voice dropped even lower, "I saw the cold smile of that one boy very clearly. That smile was so icy that it could make one's soul shiver."
Inside Luka's mind, a storm of thoughts was raging. He looked at Lane's calm face and questioned himself: 'If that boy is indeed Lane, then why did he appear in my dream? Lane and I have only just met. I barely even know him... then how can my mind dream of his reality or his past?'
Luka did not let his inner turmoil show on his face. Keeping his 'mask of innocence' intact, he looked into Lane's eyes and asked, "Do you think they were just my imagination? Or is this place showing us things that don't really exist?"
The mysterious smile returned to Lane's lips, but this time it didn't reach his eyes. He bowed his head slightly and whispered, "Sometimes we see things we aren't supposed to see... Dreams aren't just imagination, Luka... they can be warnings too."
Luka's blood ran cold. A heavy silence filled the room, as if the dungeon walls were closing in to swallow him whole. But then, suddenly, Lane burst into a loud, roaring laughter. His laughter echoed against the stony walls of the suffocating dungeon like a haunting vibration.
Lane's sudden and reckless laughter drew the attention of all the other children in the cell. Huddled in dark corners, those children forgot their whimpers and looked at Lane with wide, terrified eyes. Their silent gazes were fixed on Lane's face, as if they were witnessing madness itself.
Then, as if nothing had happened, Lane suddenly went quiet and leaned closer to Luka. His voice was now barely a whisper, meant only for Luka's ears.
"Don't take my words so seriously, Luka," Lane said with an eerie tenderness. "I was only joking with you. You told me a story that I really liked, so I thought I should do a bit of acting too. I was just having a little fun with you by answering that way. Don't worry so much about these things."
Lane patted Luka's shoulder and smiled as if he were the most innocent person in the world. Luka tried to force a faint smile back, but his mind was in chaos. Lane's transition from laughing like a maniac to whispering so calmly... Luka was now certain that Lane's 'joke' was more dangerous than any death trap.