Takeshi woke up gasping.
His hand flew to his chest—no mark. No burn. Just skin.
The ceiling above him was boring and cracked.The hum of the school's AC unit whispered above his bed.
For a second, he didn't move.Not because he was tired—because part of him still felt like it was there.
In Nehvarra.The world behind the dream.
His phone buzzed.
📱 "You're late again, dumbass. Homeroom started." — Riku
Takeshi groaned. "Every morning now?"
He threw on his uniform, still half-dazed, hair a mess, bag barely zipped.As he slid into his shoes, he glanced at the mirror.
He looked the same.Maybe too clean. Too normal.A good face card, like always—lazy eyes, soft smile, just messy enough to seem effortless.
Girls liked it.Teachers ignored it.But Takeshi never really cared.
Not until last night.
At school, the halls buzzed with voices.
Students moved like water—gossip, flirting, yawns, cheap perfume.Reality felt... smaller.
He stepped into class right as the bell rang.
The teacher raised a brow. "Sato."
"Had a vivid dream," he muttered.
Laughter.The teacher sighed.
"Just sit down."
He slid into his seat.
Next to him, Asami Kuroda raised a brow.
Long dark hair. Sharp eyes. Always reading something that looked too advanced for her age.
She looked at him, then tilted her head."You look like you saw a ghost."
Takeshi smirked. "Is that your way of saying 'good morning?'"
"No. It's my way of saying your shirt's inside out."
He blinked. Looked down....It was.
She didn't laugh, just handed him her book to block himself as he fixed it under the desk.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
She didn't reply, just turned the page.
But her eyes flicked back to him once.
Just once.
And for a second, it felt like she knew something.
Lunch break.
He sat under the cherry tree in the back of the school grounds—same spot he always went to nap.
But this time, he didn't sleep.He stared at the clouds.
Drifts. Remnants. Singular.
It wasn't just a dream.He felt it.That pull. That weight in the air.
And under the skin of this normal world, something was... humming.
Waiting.
Later that night, in his room, he lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
Same crack.Same silence.
But this time, when he closed his eyes—
The mark burned.And Nehvarra welcomed him back.
End of Chapter 4.