Lyra Swift POV:
It had been a long day.
I was tired.
Tired of chores.
Tired of training.
Tired of pretending Dan's dreams weren't getting to me.
After scribbling in my diary, I flopped back onto my bed like a half-sentient cabbage.
I didn't even bother fixing my hair. Let it tangle. Let it declare war.
My brain was too fried to care.
I closed my eyes.
One second or so I thought.
Just one peaceful second.
And then—
Even with my eyes shut, I knew.
He glowed. Again.
There it was—
That faint, stubborn glow leaking through my eyelids.
"Please not today, I'm already exhausted.
I swear this stupid dice is killing me slowly."
I told myself I wouldn't look.
I'd just bury my head until morning like a dead log.
But that glow…
It was knocking.
At the back of my eyelids.
Whispering: "Hello. Wake up, please."
Even that "hello" sounded like Dan.
That irritating, dumb voice.
Urgh this is driving me crazy.
I groaned into my pillow. Quiet. Frustrated. So done.
But even with all the complaining, I already knew.
I was going to look again.
I had to.
And I'd probably regret it by morning.
I dropped into the dream—
but this one feels… different.
Not because I'm inside it.
Not because I'm watching.
I always watch.
But this time...
It doesn't feel like a dream.
It feels like I'm trespassing in someone else's memory.
A real one.
And the silence that followed?
It wasn't the usual kind.
It just… stopped everything.
Even my breathing.
Then—
Her voice.
A woman's voice.
Soft. Familiar. Way too close to something I didn't want to admit.
"Dear… you're back again. Welcome home."
The man steps forward—quiet, steady, like the dream is holding its breath too.
He wraps his arms around her.
And it's not casual. Not polite.
It's that kind of hug.
The kind people give when they think…
They might never get another.
Even I get that badum feeling.
"Wow. He's so romantic."
Levin and Dan? Way out of their league.
Boys, take notes.
But somehow—
I still can't see his face. Or hers.
It's so quiet.
But the warmth from it makes my chest feel… weird.
Tight.
Like I shouldn't be here.
Then he pulls away. Slowly.
Then lifts a baby into his arms.
Small. Wiggly. Laughing softly.
His baby.
Their child.
The woman smiles.
It's so soft it hurts to look at.
"You know the baby missed you so much while you were gone."
The man chuckles, tired but full of something that doesn't belong in dreams.
"Hah… I bet what he missed wasn't me—"
"It was his toy."
"The dice."
My breath caught—
Dice?
That word hit me like a pebble to the forehead.
Her smile changes.
Still sweet—
But now there's something else behind it.
Like she just thought of something fun... and you're not ready for it.
She grabs his hand.
Steps in closer.
"Come," she whispers.
"Let's make another memory… just like before."
Then he leans down and lifts the baby again, cradling him close to his chest.
The child giggles, little hands swatting at the air like he's chasing stars.
They both laugh.
Soft. Safe. Home.
The man rocks him gently, whispering something I can't quite hear.
And slowly… the baby closes his eyes.
One tiny sigh—
And he's asleep.
The man smiles.
Tired, but peaceful.
He carefully lays the baby in a cradle tucked into the corner of the room.
Then turns back toward the woman.
She takes his hand.
The same hand that just held their child.
And without saying anything—
She guides him away.
They walk slowly, like the dream wants me to follow.
Like it wants me to understand something.
And just before they disappear behind a curtain—
Her voice again.
Soft. Familiar.
"You know…" she whispers,
"I missed you so much, love."
Wait what.
Why did the atmosphere just shift?!
Why is it getting—weird.
The curtain sways.
Flickers of light behind it.
Soft movement. Laughter. Clothes shifting.
I catch the briefest glimpse—
Bare skin.
Both of them.
And the man—
He's shirtless now.
His back. His shoulders.
Then he turns just slightly and—
Abs.
Crazy ones.
Wow.
My mouth opened.
Wide.
Everything was playing both fast and slow somehow.
I was panicking. But also... not looking away…
I was somehow hypnotized.
And then—
Just as the curtain flickered closed for good—
Morning sunlight.
Straight into my face.
Right through the window.
I jolted awake.
Still lying in bed.
Still staring at the ceiling.
Mouth still open.
…
And then it hit me.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS I JUST WATCHING?!"
I shot up like my mattress was on fire.
"Why?! WHY did I see that?! Who allowed that?! WHO DIRECTED THIS DREAM?!"
I grabbed my blanket, pulled it over my head, kicked it off again.
"I saw it— I saw it— I saw it?! WHY WERE THEY—DOING—THAT!?"
"Is this… is this what Mom and Dad have been doing??"
"OH MY GOSH I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE!!"
My hands were shaking.
My brain was gone.
I needed a priest. A full mage council. Possibly exorcism.
"AAAAAAAAAAAA I NEED TO UN-SEE THAT—BUT HOW?!"
I rolled off my bed, face-smacked the floor, groaned into the floorboard.
"I'm screaming. I'm dying. I'm evaporating. I'm becoming a spiritual mist."
Muffled groaning.
I released my soul, I gave up my life.
"Take me now, great tree spirit. I'm ready."
But no.
I was still alive.
Which meant I had no choice.
I was gonna murder someone today.
Then I turned—
Hair a mess, face still on fire—
Toward the actual living source of this nightmare-fuelled mental breakdown.
Dan.
He was off the nightstand.
Somewhere else.
Whatever.
Didn't matter.
He was responsible.
I grabbed the dice by the chain
"WHY would you even dream that?! What is WRONG with you?! ARE YOU—?? ARE YOU—???"
I couldn't even finish the sentence in my head.
My brain snapped halfway through the accusation.
"I'm going in there. I'm kicking you. Right in the soul."
Then—
I paused.
Squinted.
"…Huh? Why do you have a pimple now?"
Right on one of the dice faces.
Tiny. Red.
Suspicious.
Nope. Not thinking about that, nothing is more important than kick his ass right now.
I raised the dice.
Held it up like I was about to exorcise it.
Deep breath.
"I'm going in."
Everything twisted.
And just like that—
I was inside.
—
White walls.
That familiar, slightly glowing space.
Dan's inner world.
Still as weirdly tidy as ever, which is extra insulting considering how chaotic his soul is.
I looked around.
Furniture. Floating lamps. A bed. A couch. A fake plant in the corner.
Seriously? Who puts a plant in their mental dimension?
Then—
There he was.
Shirtless.
Standing next to his weird little thing he called it mana shower, holding his shirt in one hand like he was mid-change.
He blinked.
"Lyra?!"
I blinked.
We stared.
Time stopped.
My brain refused to function.
I was frozen—
Nailed to the floor by pure, horrifying realization.
He was confused.
And very, very shirtless.
Abs.
Wow.
He had some crazy abs too—
I gulped.
My brain exploded.
"WHAT AM I DOING RIGHT NOW—THIS IS DEFINITELY THE EFFECT OF THAT DREAM!"
I screamed internally.
My face turned so red, I was worried I'd spontaneously combust.
No thinking.
No logic.
Just instinct.
I sprinted out.
One blink—
And I was back in my room.
Panting.
Heart racing.
Brain: GONE.
And yet—
Dan really has some crazy abs in there.
I didn't want to admit it, but—
I needed to check again.
Just to be sure.
I was totally making an excuse.
And I hated how aware I was of it.
This wasn't making any sense to me.
But then I still—
Went back in.
Again.
Same space.
Same quiet.
Same shirtless idiot.
He hadn't moved.
We stared again.
And yeah… I checked his abs. Again.
I didn't mean to. It just—happened.
My eyes betrayed me. So did my brain.
I even imagined what he'd look like fresh from a bathhouse, wet mist with water sliding down those muscles—like some kind of punishment designed specifically to torment me.
I blinked.
And then… the dream replayed.
Side by side.
Abs from the dream. Abs from reality.
I was comparing them.
How insane is that?
My face was red.
Burning.
And my ears?
Also betraying me.
Hotter by the second.
Emotionally?
I was a boiled turnip.
No thoughts.
No words.
Only heat.
And then—
I snapped.
Fists clenched.
No warning.
Mana surged to both palms.
Twin wind bursts.
No aim.
No logic.
Just rage
And embarrassment.
"W-wait, Lyra—!"
WHAM.
Shirtless idiot went airborne.
It felt amazing.
Then I turned around with the grace of an innocent girl pretending nothing was wrong.
Exited the cube.
Slid back under my blanket.
Laid down.
Faced the ceiling.
Back to reality.
Back to silence.
Back to processing the craziest day of my entire life.
And ever since that day?
Dan didn't dream anymore.
Not for a long, long time.
Which, honestly... helped.
At least I could sleep again.
…But yeah.
I still wrote it all in my diary.
Everything. ❤
I hate that I looked twice.
I hate that I remembered.
But the worst part?
I know I'll remember it forever.
For the record—
I went back in purely to confirm my sanity in the future.
Not the abs.