Night in Aarush felt heavier than usual. The city, beneath its layer of fog, seemed to be holding its breath.
Kali and Nicco shared a bed, still wrapped in hushed whispers, until sleep finally pulled them under. In the next room, Dahlia closed her eyes without another word, her body tense, as if anticipating something she couldn't name.
And then, all three dreamed.
Kali's Dream
Darkness. Dampness.
The cave breathed, as if it were alive.
Kali walked forward, her bare feet echoing in the unknown. With each step, a torch lit on the stone walls, revealing ancient spiral carvings: watching eyes, tongues of fire, roots bleeding black ink.
Her body trembled—not from fear, but anticipation. Desire.
At the end, a stone altar glowed with a faint light. And on it... a necklace.
A thin thread of black silver held a small dark crystal, like a shard of liquid night. It pulsed. It breathed.
"Take it," whispered a bodiless voice.
Kali reached out. Every cell in her body demanded it. It was hers. It always had been.
Her fingers brushed the crystal.
And then she woke.
Her chest rose and fell quickly. She was sweating, though the room was cold. Kali pressed a hand to her forehead. And for a moment... she swore she could feel the necklace against her skin.
Dahlia's Dream
A forest.
Dark. Silent. Alive.
Dahlia walked steadily, her figure wrapped in shadow, as if the mist protected her. Ahead, a clear path, impossible to ignore. She followed it without thought, as if her feet remembered a route her mind did not.
The trees whispered. Their branches leaned in, trying to touch her.
At the end, a clearing. And at its center, a massive tree. Its roots emerged from the ground, twisted like sleeping serpents, forming a kind of natural dome.
Inside, suspended by one of the roots... a necklace.
Black, with silver details. And at the center, a small metallic crow. Its eyes were dark gems. The way it looked at her... it hurt.
"You are it," Dahlia whispered.
She reached out. Touched it. Almost.
And woke up.
Cold sweat. Her heart pounding like it wanted to escape. On her lips, a name she didn't recognize. But the crow... it was still there. Inside her.
Nicco's Dream
Open sky. Endless field.
And above it... the storm.
Lightning fell like divine punishment. It wasn't the first time. This field had been his dream-prison for years.
But this time, he didn't run. He walked into the center of the storm, arms open, face to the sky. A roar split his ears.
And then, lightning.
Straight to his chest.
The world turned to light. And then, nothing.
He woke with a choked scream, gasping. His hands trembled. Burned. He looked at his palms... and just as he reached for his forehead, a spark jumped from his fingers.
CRACK!
"Agh!" Kali shouted, sitting up suddenly.
"What the hell?!" Nicco cried, waking from the dream and Kali's scream, clutching his chest.
A blue spark jumped from his fingers. It struck Kali's arm. She stared at him, wide-eyed.
"You shocked me?!" she exclaimed, more surprised than angry.
At the same moment, the door burst open—Dahlia. She was pale, disheveled, panting, her hands shaking.
"Did you dream too?" she asked, voice ragged.
The three stood still, silent. As if the air itself had changed.
Then Nicco looked at his phone and froze.
"It's Friday?!" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Dahlia blinked.
"We slept... two days?"
Nicco shot out of bed like a spring. He grabbed his backpack. Checked his phone. Two days. No notifications, no calls, no messages. As if time had swallowed their world.
"This makes no sense," Kali said, holding her head.
Then—a sound. Soft. Unsettling.
Ffffsssh...
Kali and Dahlia followed Nicco. When they reached the living room, their eyes all landed on the same thing at once.
The window. Open.
The curtain swayed in the cold wind. The same window they had closed carefully two days ago. Locked.
"It wasn't open," Dahlia said quietly.
"I know," Nicco replied. "I closed it before sleeping."
Kali stepped closer, touched the frame. It was freezing. As if something had come in... or gone out.
The three stood still, breathing unevenly, wrapped in a heavy silence broken only by the whisper of the night wind.
"This isn't normal," Kali whispered.
"Nothing is anymore," Dahlia replied.
And there, standing before the open window, their dreams still pulsing in their bodies and electricity in the air, they knew something had crossed the threshold that night.
Something not ready to be seen...
But ready to begin.