1 The Dream
(A/N:Hello everyone. Iam-Hastur Here, believe it or not, this is a book I've been working on for approximately six months. It was a concept I had long before I became a contract writer. To be honest, I was going to share this book before My System is turning me into a Yandere. So far, I've got around 13 chapters simply sitting there. I dropped it because I didn't feel confident in my writing at the time, but now that I have a larger fan base, I'm reconsidering. Please tell me your honest opinion. Do you enjoy the concept of this piece... or do you think it's Meh at best? Don't be afraid to criticize; in fact, it has helped me improve as an author. As a result, I'll share one a day until the thirteen are finished, and then you can give me your honest view. By the way, I'm taking the holidays off to spend with my family, so I apologize for not updating one of my most recent chapters. It's because I'm going to spend the holidays like everyone else. As a result, I shall post when the holidays are over. Thank you for your patience, and good evening.)
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"I love you." I fell in love with you the instant I saw you. So, please go out with me, even if it's only one date."
Dane Winter said this to the attractive lady in front of him, who puzzledly glanced at him. The woman in question was 5'2 tall, much shorter than him, who was 6'3 tall and weighed approximately 54.4 kg. She was of Russian and Japanese origin, with clear skin and long platinum hair styled in twin ponytails.
She was so beautiful and popular that it was clear that she was out of Dane's league, but that didn't stop him from expressing his affection to the woman of his dreams. Of course, this was none other than Asuka Mikhaylov.
Who was wearing quite fashionable clothing that showed off her figure in a decent way at the time? She was dressed in a short white long-sleeve top, white sweatpants, and a white designer sneaker. Her arms were folded as she looked up at Dane, her beautiful blue eyes scanning him from top to bottom as if looking at a rare creature.
However, her response was evident, as she sighed and spoke to him as such.
"Dane... was it? Hmm, look, I'm flattered... really, but I don't want to hurt your feelings, so I am just going to let you off lightly; I can't be with you. So sorry, it is a no for me; however, I will commend you on your bravery."
Asuka said to Dane, who was only smiling at her; he sighed in response to her statement and replied to her in kind.
"I see... Understandable. Have a nice day."
Those were Dane's only comments; oddly, despite being rejected by his crush, he seemed ecstatic. Asuka glanced at Dane, perplexed even; she expected him to say more, but all she got was the sight of Dane going into the distance, leaving only his back visible.
"Dane Winter, what a strange human... normally guys fawn over me like crazy, and the majority can't handle rejection, and yet he did it so casually... strangely, I'm impressed." "However, why do I feel like I was the one who was rejected?"
"...*sigh*, Whatever, I should go see Mother now; the dimensional collapse won't be long now."
Asuka stated as she turned away from Dane and began to walk away from the university building's back entrance. Dane, on the other hand, walked to the school gate; it was already dark, and most Higris University students were either preparing for the next session or leaving for the day. He, for one, had two classes back-to-back earlier in the afternoon, English and Literature, which he had just finished after declaring his one-sided love, and was now on his way to his flat.
After going from the university gates, he pulled out a strange piece of paper, which, when examined attentively, revealed itself to be a list. And the topic of the paper was "Things I Want to Do Before I Die."
L̶o̶s̶e̶ m̶y̶ V̶i̶r̶g̶i̶n̶i̶t̶y̶.
S̶k̶y̶ D̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶.
T̶r̶y̶ g̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ a̶ t̶a̶t̶t̶o̶o̶ f̶o̶r̶ t̶h̶e̶ f̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ t̶i̶m̶e̶.
F̶i̶n̶i̶s̶h̶ m̶y̶ f̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ n̶o̶v̶e̶l̶ a̶n̶d̶ p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶s̶h̶ i̶t̶ o̶n̶l̶i̶n̶e̶.
T̶r̶y̶ a̶ $̶1̶0̶0̶0̶ b̶u̶r̶g̶e̶r̶.
T̶a̶k̶e̶ a̶ S̶p̶i̶n̶ i̶n̶ a̶ S̶u̶p̶e̶r̶c̶a̶r̶.
T̶r̶y̶ s̶m̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ m̶a̶r̶i̶j̶u̶a̶n̶a̶.
F̶i̶n̶i̶s̶h̶ r̶e̶a̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ m̶y̶ f̶a̶v̶o̶r̶i̶t̶e̶ n̶o̶v̶e̶l̶
Confess my feelings for Asuka, hoping to be rejected.
"Hahaha... I truly did it... I accomplished everything I set out to do; it's a short list, but at least I won't die with regrets. I refuse to die unhappy, and I refuse to die on my own terms; it's just a shame I can't establish a family the proper way. At the very least, I know I am or will be a parent one day, especially given how I contribute sperm to a sperm bank."
Dane muttered as he used a black pen to scratch off the last of what he intended to accomplish. He then crumbled the paper with his hands and tossed it in the garbage bin on the street side.
"Sigh, if only I had been born in a more technologically advanced era; to think I was diagnosed with Sleeping Beauty syndrome, I could already feel its effects creeping up on me." Because of this illness, I've missed a lot of classes recently. I used to sleep for 15 hours a day, but now I can hardly stay awake for 4 hours, and I'm exhausted. I don't even have a mother, a sister, or any family to keep an eye on me. What a stupid way to die, and if Dr. Morenzo is correct, it won't be long until I go into an unwakable coma. This... this... is far from ideal."
"...*Yawwwnnn!* So... exhausted... Damn... I need to get home as soon as possible. I don't want to doze off on the street again. The last time I fell asleep, I had my phone and money stolen as a result."
So, with that in mind, Dane began to slouch his way toward his one-bedroom apartment. The journey, thank God, was not long, but the instant he reached the front door, he collapsed to his knees as oblivion took control. But he continues to battle it, forcing himself to crawl to his bed after closing his apartment door.
'Augh... what a bothersome disease... so... drowsy... dang... I'm wondering if I'll wake up or if this is it. This is a question I frequently ask myself: 'However, the fear of the unknown is quite genuine.'
Dane thought to himself as he felt his consciousness slip away from him. And then nothing but silence filled his chamber as he fell into a deep sleep, but this time simultaneously. A giant red and black butterfly landed on his face as it phased through his room wall, only to swiftly morph into a long black worm that proceeded to crawl in his ears as it made its way to his brain.
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"Haa... ohhh... that's right." I fell asleep again... *sigh* how long have I been out for now?"
Dane inquired as he began to massage his eye, but as he looked around, he discovered he wasn't in his bed. However, he was, for lack of a better word, in the middle of nowhere; or, to be more precise, he was on a small vessel floating in the middle of the ocean.
"Egh...
"UGH... EHHHHHHHH!!!... Wait, wait... Dane, calm down; there has to be a plausible explanation for this... "I am certain I was in my flat after passing out on my bed; how did I end up on a boat in the middle of the fucking ocean?"
Dane inquired, sitting on the boat's thwart, his head bowed in perplexity, and then it hit him.
"I see... that's it. I'm dreaming; is this what they call a Lucid dream?"... wait, if that's true, maybe I can control my dreams; let's give it a shot."
"But what should I create? Let's start small; how about a pencil? Ah, yes, I know. Let's create a simple pencil."
With that in mind, Dane closed his eyes and imagined a pencil, but when he opened them, he found nothing, destroying any dreams he had up to this point.
"Well damn, so is this not a dream then? But if this is all real, how did I get here, or better yet, who brought me here?"
Dane asked, getting a little anxious about his situation, but suddenly, out of nowhere, a screen popped out in front of him. As this object abruptly appeared in front of him, he fell flat on his ass in shock.
"Ghaaa!!! *Thud*, w-w-What the hell?...
"Wait, this looks like a system panel?"...like a genuine system panel, well, now I'm quite sure this is a dream, damnn to think, I'd unconsciously think about stuff like this hehe... Well, I'm not going to wake up any time soon, so I might as well enjoy this strange predicament."
Dane thought to himself as he carefully rose from the wooden floor of the boat and approached the strange system panel that appeared in front of him. And when he glanced at it, he was impressed with how it appeared. The system panel was about a meter wide and a meter long; it was fairly enormous, and the patterns were quite elegant since the primary color scheme was black and gold. It was mostly a panel consisting of a black screen with a gold envelope in the center with the word invitation above it.
"An invitation ha... hmm, strange, this is new... and I hear I thought I was dreaming some kind of cliche." How weird... stranded in the middle of the ocean, with nothing but a boat and a system panel with the words "invitation" above it."
"I suppose I'll have to press the envelope to open it?"... Okay, I'm hoping and praying that this doesn't turn into a nightmare... Darn, I jinxed it. Heheh... well, here goes nothing."
Dane then pressed the envelope, and the envelope began to shine before revealing a full black screen with golden letters and staring at it. Dane started reading the invitation, and what he read perplexed him more than anything.
『Dear: Mr. Winter...My name is Kida'ghralma, better known as Madam Butterfly, and I am a Flux. I am from the land of dreams, often known as the astral plane, which is a location that transcends the mortal world and every thought that exists or will ever exist inside it. A place of complete chaos, only accessible to those who are called Dreamers or, better yet, have the potential to become Dreamers. These people are extremely artistic and have a unique perspective on the world. A unique species, so uncommon that you can't call them human; yet you, Dane Winter, have the potential to become a Dreamer. Now, what does any of this have to do with you in the slightest? You may be wondering. Well you see, we Fluxes can only appear in the physical world once every hundred years, thanks to a phenomenon known as the collapse.』
『For want of a better term, the collapse occurs when the collective unconscious of all sentient minds overflows like a roaring storm over the surface of a full cup. Making the patafictional dimension collapse into the physical world, causing countless Fluxes to flow into the real world. Many of mankind's urban legends, such as the tale of Baba Yaga, the epic of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, fables such as the slit-mouth lady, the boogeyman, and even the biblical god, are entities known as the Fluxes. And now I, a humble higher entity from that very same Paraphysical dimension, stand before you with an accord in mind.』
『You see, stronger Fluxes like myself can't leak into the physical realm without consequences; if we do, our mere existence alone will destroy everything in existence the instant a fraction of our being begins to appear in your world. As a result, I require an apostle, a sort of avatar, and you, child of man, share the same origin attribute as me, the attribute of desires, making you the perfect candidate. You know what you want and are willing to go to tremendous lengths to have it. As such, if you accept my invitation to this enigmatic and occult-like world, I will give you two gifts. The first is the gift of being able to shed your mortal restraints and become something more than human; as a result, you will never dread the thought of death again, and the second is to be the Lord of all dreams. I will give you my authority and the ability to manipulate the dreams of man and Fluxes alike and create illusions of madness in the real world if you become my chosen herald.』
『If you accept my offer, I have much more to offer along the way; therefore, if you agree, all you have to do is press the yes notification at the bottom of the message. And if you don't, simply press the no notification button, and you will awaken from your dream, believing it to be nothing more than a dream. But be warned: this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you will never have again. So, I encourage you to consider the wisely of your choice.』
The message said, leaving Dane rather shocked, as he said to himself.
"Well, this is rather interesting. Fluxes, ha?" This appears to be a good plot for a novel. Unfortunately, mine has been completed. "But I'm curious how far this strange dream will take me; it's the first time I've entered one this real and one that I am so vividly aware of."
Dane thought to himself; on that note, he pressed yes, completely unconscious of what was about to happen.
And then... that was when the chaos began.
*Crackle*
"Wha--what is that sound?"
Dane was taken aback as the system screen began to flicker in and out of reality, and space began to distort around it. Dane was caught aback as he slowly began to back up. However, the panel just exploded into itself as it transformed into a miniature black orb resembling a black hole. And then it happened: from that dark hole, a swarm of innumerable red crystal-glass butterflies flew from the singularity. Their wings appeared to have numerous dimensions within them. Each butterfly appears to be a depiction of unlimited possibilities, infinite consequences, limitless reality, fantasy, and non-fantasy.
The mere presence of these butterflies was so powerful to the point that reality itself began to twist everything around Dane and plunge normality into pure unhinge chaos, and the sea turned red. The sky above began to break like glass as a black, esoteric, amorphous cloud of enigmatic uncertainty with purple outlines began to invade Dane's current environment. While planet-sized nocturnal red eyes could be spotted in the distance, all looking down at him as if he were nothing more than a bug.
Huge waves the size of several mountains piled up on top of each other as they formed in different directions. Reality began to crack, and enormous fleshy blights with inflated tentacles and malformed mouths with sharp, unshaped, jagged teeth emerged from the fissures. Despite this, the small boat was the only thing that remained untouched despite the high winds and storms building above and surrounding the red ocean, which resembled an oozy morass of blood with a foul smell of fish and excrement.
Dane began to lie down flat on his back as he held on to the boat's edges tightly, clutching on for dear life. As the fear of the unknown began to seep into his being, his breathing increased, his eyes widened, and the hair on his body stood in attention to fear. Loud thunderclaps erupted from everywhere, illuminating the sky above and the earth beneath as they began striking the red mire that was the bloody ocean in all directions. On that note, a swarm of cosmic butterflies flies above the sky in synchrony. And after a countless number of them emerge from the black hole.
They all started to form into a single humanoid shape, compressing themselves to extreme proportions until they finally came before Dane into a form similar to his own. Yes, a figure, a massive woman... She was all red, with no facial characteristics at all. She was completely naked, with sharp claws and two pairs of arms, totaling four arms in total. Her body appears to be latex, yet when she moves, it appears as if a large amount of glass is breaking within her being, almost as if the body itself is unstable. The woman was 10'4 tall, and her body shape was alluring; her boob was at least an E-Cup size, while her ass was soft and bouncy, and her thighs were thick. Her bottom half was smooth, but her legs were goat-like.
Dane was taken aback when her face burst open into the shape of an enormous mouth, which was cut from cheek to cheek to expose a terrifying smile. And when you peek within, all you see is darkness. And numerous big, gooey, slime-like tongues protruded from that very mouth.
"I... wha... ah... iih--miiyy... oh... God... Oh dear God above; what in heaven names; kind of sadist fever dreams is this?... I need to get up... I need to wake up... now...now... WAKKKKEEEE UPPPP....wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup... *sob*, it-it is watching me, not with eyes but with stars themselves. I can feel the nether sores of absurdity slowly crawling and bursting under my skin-skin-skin. AHHHHH.... I need to wake up; it's terrifying, and I'm afraid I'm going to die. Wait....no-nO-noOooOoo,NONONONONO!!~~ This isn't right, the scarlet blight; her voice beckons me... my thoughts; they tremblestremblestremblestremblestremblestremblestremBLLLESSS. My consciousness spreads like a melting yolk, as a result of a cracking egg boiling in water."
Dane collapsed on his knees, his hands palming his black hair; the very presence of this monster drove him insane, as his words of logic became pure encrypted nonsense. Dane's consciousness was being invaded, torn apart, and played with by this warped and perverted monster of chaos at the time. Or perhaps he simply couldn't bear the truth for what it was. The human mind is a weak thing that, like glass, begins to shatter under pressure if it is overloaded or exposed to something beyond its cognitive perspective. Pieces fly and scatter, and even when pieced back together, the fissures stay forever, acting as a cruel reminder.
On the other hand, the crimson figure began to raise a finger, and the terrified Dane, who had become insane, rose and floated upward from the boat, moving towards the scarlet blight. His tears looked like thick red muck from the red waters below as he found himself floating amidst the chaos. The woman gazed at Dane, her finger slowly raising his chin to meet his gaze. Dane saw it for what it was, but her face was devoid of eyes. And yet he could see them plainly, her beautiful eyes impossible to describe with mere words alone, even if one attempts to describe it in the first place; it was a statement that didn't make sense, but it did. He saw both beautiful and chaotic things in her eyes. It was like a daydream of limitless worlds collapsing into a cluster of insanity.
Nuclear devastation spread, demolishing, rebuilding, and completely depriving Dane's dreams of the concept of normalcy. And in a case like this, Dane did not stare into the abyss. Nooo! Dane was forced to gaze at the Abyss, and the Abyss simply looked back. Even if he awakens, he cannot undo the memorable.
But this Abyss did more than simply stare. No! It called to him and drew him into an intimate embrace from which he could not escape, no matter how hard he tried.
"My...herald... my one and only herald, you have made the correct decision when the world is thrown into chaos by the final collapse." I pledge to take you away from this mortal dimension to the land of the astral planes. That is where my true form resides. This is our first meeting—a bit sudden, if I say so myself. But on such a magnificent occasion as today, I must carry out the ritual myself. To liberate you from your mortal flesh, as well as to assist you in transcending your humanity and evolving into something more magnificent. However, your mind must first crack, melt, corrode, and twist into the nether must perversion. Hahaha, your concerns are so delectable that I'm tempted to break you and eat you right up. But I can't do that right now; you'll be my portal to the physical world. Your body is currently feeble; if I corrode it, it will break to nothing. However, your mission will be straightforward. Consume all Fluxes in order to make me a vessel worthy of my presence. If you do this, I will reward you with an opportunity that no other Flux would give you. Serve me courteously, and I will reward you a million times over. For now, drink as much of my saliva as possible."
Dane was utterly overwhelmed at this point, but what the mysterious woman did next broke him beyond return. Her lips met his as her tongue sank deep into his throat. A slew of esoteric emotions rushed over him at the time. Pleasure, anxiety, and delight shattered his psyche like frail glass. He should have been aware of everything, but he wasn't. Her embrace grows more intense. As two pairs of enormous draconic wings protruded from her back, he began to lose consciousness in a dream. Her warm, elastic-like wings gradually enveloped both him and her, until all that remained was a ball formed by the tightening clutches of her folded and twisted wings.
If one were to look closely, they would see this as an egg. Who could blame them, given its unusual size and shape? But even then, without a doubt, Dane Winter was forced to sip the saliva of the thing that came before him.
