Strange… after the novel had been deleted... since when did he ever dream?
Reol opened his eyes.
He was sitting on a wooden chair. His arms rested atop a flat table surface before him, positioned so naturally it felt as though he had only just stirred from sleep. Yet the moment he noticed it, unease crept in. This posture was not one he remembered choosing.
The world around him refused to make sense.
To his side, a broad pane of transparent window opened the room to an endless stretch of blue. Sky and sea blurred at the horizon, light spilling inward with the scent of salt carried on a distant wind. Thin curtains hung beside it, fluttering gently.
Then, he noticed before him stood a tall, dark slab fixed upright. A blackboard, albeit he didn't know it was called like that.
Its surface was marred with white, crooked symbols. A kanji— a lettering he only finds whenever the author types.
Though, he sensed they were meant to convey meaning, yet not a single mark spoke to him. They might as well have been scratches left by some unknown beast.
Then he noticed her.
A woman sat at the front of the room, turned toward him as though she had been waiting all along.
Her hair was black, much like his own, yet her eyes were darker still like a depthless void, as if light itself hesitated to remain there.
Whenever she looked at him, he felt being watched and seen intently.
She wore strange garments: a fitted top and a skirt cut far too short by Reol's sensibilities, leaving her legs bare without shame or concern. It was clothing without armor, not leather to protect her from cold. It was a casual in a way he could not understand it's purpose.
Reol did not know where he was.
He did not know what this place was meant to be.
Before he could shape a question, before he could even decide what to ask, the woman spoke first.
"Oh?" she said lightly. "Is that the main character you're drawing?"
Her gaze dipped.
Reol followed her eyes by instinct.
On the flat surface before him lay a thin empty book. Beside it rested a strange object, made of colored material instead of metal or bone. A pen, though he did not know the word.
His breath remained frozen still.
There, on the page was a face.
His face to be precise.
Carefully drawn lines formed familiar features. The eyes, the sharp angle of the brow, and the expression he had worn through countless battles and quiet despairs.
Beneath it, the symbols in the blackboard were written. Symbols he somehow suddenly understood the moment he saw them.
Reol Luniven.
"Such a nice name," the woman continued "You really enjoyed making him, didn't you?"
Reol stiffened.
"Will you let me read it when you're finished?" she asked, smiling as she rested her chin in her palms. Showing a gaze of fondness. "I'm curious."
And something in his chest lurched.
Before he could think... before caution or reason could intervene, a heat rushed to his face. Making the corner of his ears turned red.
"No," he answered too quickly.
The woman blinked, then laughed.
"How cold!" she replied while pouting exaggeratedly. "We've been classmates since childhood, and you still won't show me?"
Then, with a paused, she continued.
"Even if you hated it, I'll just become someone who can watch him forever."
The words struck strangely.
Reol frowned.
What does that mean?
Why would anyone wish for such a thing?
He opened his mouth to ask—
But the world vanished before he could.
The light collapsed inward. The sea, the sky, the strange room, the woman, everything drowned in black, as if the dream itself had decided it had revealed too much.
And Reol was left with only one lingering thought, echoing in the dark:
"Who am I...?"
****
"Sir…?"
The voice came from far away, as though drifting through water, but Reol did not stir.
"Sir…? Woohoo…? Are you still sleeping…?"
Still nothing.
"Hmmm…" the voice mused. "Very tempting. I kind of want to try smacking that face at least once…"
A pause.
"Ehem—! I mean! Sir… it's time to… train."
"…Sir?"
"…Reol?"
Then, suddenly—
"REOL LUNIVEN."
Reol's eyes immediately flew open.
He bolted upright with a sharp gasp, nearly losing his balance as he realized he was sprawled across a thick tree branch. Leaves rustled violently. His heart hammered in his chest.
And then he saw it.
A green-haired face, Far too close.
"—You!"
Reol recoiled so hard he almost fell out of the tree.
Sethos was hanging upside down from the branch above him, legs hooked securely, swaying back and forth like an overly cheerful bat. His grin remained wide, showing a pair of eyes so bright.
"Good morning~!" Sethos chirped.
Reol stared at him, utterly horrified.
"…How, did you know my name?"
Sethos blinked.
"Oh? I didn't knew it was your name!" he replied easily. "You were saying it in your sleep. Like… a lot."
Reol froze.
"I… did?"
"Yes!" Sethos nodded enthusiastically, swinging a little closer. "You kept muttering 'Reol Luniven' over and over. It sounded like a very important person!"
"Sir's name is Reol Luniven huh... It was a very nice name, almost sounded like a noble name."
Reol's gaze drifted away, his expression stiffening.
So even his dreams were betraying him now.
He exhaled through his nose, rubbing his temples.
"…Get down," Reol muttered.
Sethos tilted his head, still hanging upside down, with his hair brushed the leaves.
"Is that an order, sir~?"
Reol's eye twitched clearly annoyed.
"Get. Down." His gaze sharpened before he continued "Or do you want a continuation of yesterday."
The words had barely left his mouth when realization struck.
Sethos's smile vanished.
Yesterday—
The endless barrage of compressed water bullet arts.
The sting.
The humiliation.
The way Reol had calmly adjusted his aim every time Sethos thought he'd found an opening.
Sethos's brain promptly shut down.
In one smooth, panicked motion, he unhooked his legs and dropped to the ground, landing upright with perfect discipline. He straightened his back, snapped his heels together, and saluted like a soldier facing execution.
"Yes, sir!"