*chirp! *chirp! *murmuring
His ears picked up the gentle sounds of birds chirping beyond the wooden walls, their rhythmic tweets blending softly with the distant murmurs of people talking—voices layered in casual conversation, laughter, and the ambient clatter of a waking world.
These familiar sounds filled the surrounding air with a calmness that felt oddly nostalgic.
The warm light of the morning sun pierced through the small gaps in the old wooden window, casting slender beams of golden light that settled gently upon his cheeks.
The warmth made his eye twitch slightly, a reflex to the sudden brightness.
He caught the faint scent of fresh flowers resting atop the table by the window.
The scent was subtle, yet unmistakably familiar—the same kind of flowers Ophelia always brought to his room back at the orphanage.
But as the floral aroma reached his nose, something inside him stirred—a realization creeping in.
Wait—flowers?
His eyes began to twitch rapidly, and in a sudden burst of movement, Jinn's body jolted upright from the bed
*clutter!
as if electricity surged through his spine.
His breathing hastened, confusion immediately washing over his expression as he scanned his surroundings in disbelief.
He looked to his left, then to his right, eyes darting across the wooden walls and simple furnishings that made up the place he had always known—his room back in the orphanage.
The bed, the dresser, the little cracks on the floorboards, even the blanket's pattern—all just as he remembered.
"What the...?" he muttered under his breath, eyes wide as uncertainty surged through him.
He raised his arms—both of them—and stared in disbelief.
His fingers moved freely, and not a single scar or injury could be found.
Bending his elbow back and forth, he felt no stiffness or discomfort, no reminder of trauma.
He touched his face, brushing against both of his eyes—nothing out of the ordinary.
No injuries.
No pain.
He blinked several times, heart thudding louder in his chest.
*thump! *thump! *thump!
"How could this be?" he whispered, voice laced with disbelief.
Every injury he remembered so vividly, every wound he had suffered… gone, like they were never real to begin with.
Jinn stared at his reflection in the glass pane, the bewildered look on his face mirroring the turmoil inside.
The memories—the pain, the operation, the machines, Amaron—none of it aligned with what his body now told him.
It was as though the nightmare had ended, and he had returned to a reality that didn't match what he'd been through.
===
As he sat there frozen, trying to make sense of the contradiction, he heard a soft shuffle of footsteps approaching from outside.
*thud! *thud! *thud!
The wooden floor creaked slightly.
The door creaked open gently,
*creaaak!
and a familiar figure entered the room—Ophelia.
She wore her usual calm smile as she waved at Jinn, her presence bathed in the golden light that spilled from the window.
Without saying a word at first, she walked up to him and sat on the edge of his bed, her legs dangling over the side and swinging casually, the way she always used to when she visited.
"Good morning, Jinn!" she said with a cheerful tone, tilting her head as she spoke.
"Had a good dream last night?"
Jinn's confusion only deepened.
He stared at her as if she were a ghost.
"W-Wait, didn't the Zeraf attack?" he asked, his voice shaky with uncertainty.
Ophelia looked at him and gave a playful hum, placing a hand thoughtfully on her chin.
"Hmm...? Must have been a bad dream, huh?"
She then gave him a reassuring smile and stood up, walking toward the door before turning around to beckon him with a wave.
"Come on! The others are waiting for you!"
"The others…?" Jinn muttered under his breath.
His eyes widened, heart skipping a beat.
"N-Nevi!"
The name escaped his lips with sudden urgency, and his body reacted instantly.
Without thinking, he jumped out of bed and sprinted through the door,
*thud! *thud! *thud! *thud! *thud!
racing down the corridor of the orphanage he thought he'd lost.
His footsteps pounded heavily against the wooden floorboards, echoing through the halls as he ran with frantic speed.
The voices—those familiar voices—grew louder as he approached.
He heard the laughter, the teasing, the joyous chatter that used to fill the air when they were all together.
"N-Nevi!" he shouted again, his voice desperate, hopeful.
His heart beat rapidly within his chest, driven by a mixture of joy and fear as he neared the end of the hall.
He burst into the main hall, where a long wooden table stood proudly at the center—unchanged from the way he remembered.
And there they were.
Orin, Ophelia, Hector, Verhedyn, Kain, Vox—and yes, even Nevi—sat together at the table, surrounded by plates of food and stacks of books.
Laughter echoed off the walls.
Their faces were filled with joy, and their voices brought warmth to the air.
It was the scene he had longed to see again.
A time before everything fell apart.
Nevi turned her head, her eyes lighting up when she saw him.
She raised a hand and waved in quick succession.
"Heya Jinn! I managed to borrow this amazing book from the local library!" she said enthusiastically, her tone light and excited.
"Let's read it together—like always!"
Her voice, her smile—it was exactly as he remembered.
No pain, no sorrow.
Just the joy of being with the people he cared about.
Tears welled up in Jinn's eyes and spilled down his cheeks as he rushed to Nevi and embraced her tightly.
*clasp!
His arms wrapped around her small frame with a strength that trembled.
He held her as if she might vanish if he let go.
Her warmth was real.
Familiar.
Comforting.
"W-What are you doing so suddenly!?" Nevi gasped, blushing slightly as her tiny arms hugged him back.
Orin raised a brow at the scene, watching them with mild amusement.
"Hey, hey! She won't be able to breathe if you hug her that tightly, Jinn!" she said teasingly, a small smile forming on her lips.
Hector stepped closer, resting a hand on Jinn's shoulder.
"What happened, Jinn?" he asked, sensing something wasn't right.
Jinn sniffed, wiping his tears and snot with the back of his sleeve.
"Just… a bad dream I had last night."
Verhedyn leaned back in his seat, propping his legs on the table as he casually twirled a pencil between his fingers.
"Never knew you had this side in you, Jinn. You'd normally take a punch from a street thug without blinking."
Ophelia gently rubbed his back, her voice soft.
"Everyone has their own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, Jinn included."
She then glanced over at Verhedyn. "Even the strongest among us."
Vox adjusted his glasses as he approached.
"What kind of dream was it, anyway?" he asked.
Kain leapt atop the table with dramatic flair.
"It must've been terrifying! Like a monster as tall as a mountain, right?"
Nevi grinned, letting out a confident laugh.
"Knowing Jinn, he probably stood in front of it to protect us all!"
She raised a spoon like a sword.
"Like a true hero!"
"H-Hey! I'd do that too!" Kain huffed, nudging Nevi's shoulder playfully.
Verhedyn snorted.
"Yeah right."
Nevi smacked the table with both hands, her eyes lighting up.
"Okay! Time for the daily story!"
Orin leaned in beside her, resting her head on Nevi's shoulder.
"What's today's story?" she asked, gazing down at the book Nevi had opened.
"This time, it's about a knight in shining—" Nevi's voice faded into a quiet murmur as Jinn stared at her, his focus drifting from her words to the sight of her face.
It was perfect.
Untouched.
Still filled with life.
===
And then—
*knock!
A sudden noise shattered the illusion of peace.
A sharp, unsettling knock echoed from the nearby window.
Jinn flinched, heart beginning to beat faster again.
He looked around, unsettled.
"Did you guys hear that?" he asked.
But something was wrong.
Most of the group had disappeared.
Only Nevi remained, flipping a page in her book.
She looked up, puzzled.
"What do you mean, Jinn?" she asked softly.
"I didn't hear a knock."
*KNOCK!
Then came a second knock—louder, more violent, like something—or someone—was trying to break in.
Jinn turned to the left window and froze.
What he saw chilled him to the bone.
A woman stood outside, her crimson hair whipping in the wind.
Her expression was blank, but her presence was suffocating.
Her aura seeped into the room like venom.
It was her—Venedix.
Jinn's breath caught.
She was the tyrant.
The one who burned his world.
The one who brought death to Nevi.
And Nevi… her head turned slowly toward him.
Blood had begun to flow from a wound on her forehead, soaking the pages of her beloved book.
"No… no no no!" Jinn stammered, reaching for her with trembling hands.
Jinn's legs shook beneath him as he staggered forward, desperately trying to reach her—trying to change something, anything.
"N-Nevi we have to run!" he cried, grabbing her arm in a panic.
But as he turned to face her, what he saw caused his breath to hitch and his voice to die in his throat.
Her eyes were still open, but vacant—her lips trembled as she whispered,
"Y-You're scaring me, Jinn…"
Blood poured down her face from the gaping hole at the top of her forehead, the same wound she had when he found her body in the street.
Her small hands clutched the book tightly, its pages soaked and crimson-stained, dripping onto the wooden floor.
A scream clawed at Jinn's throat, but it never escaped.
Suddenly—
*CRASH!
The windows around the room exploded inward, shattering into thousands of jagged shards.
The force of it sent a violent gust through the hall, scattering furniture and extinguishing every trace of warmth.
Glass fragments flew like shrapnel, and without thinking, Jinn threw himself over Nevi to shield her from the blast.
Their bodies slammed against the floor.
*Thud!
A deafening ringing filled his ears, and for a moment, the world spun.
Jinn slowly blinked, his vision swimming as the shock wore off.
Then he looked down—and everything within him collapsed.
Nevi lay still beneath him.
"S-Save me Jinn…" her voice was so soft, so broken, yet pleading.
Her body was cold.
Her chest didn't rise.
The wound on her forehead gushed with horrifying force, flooding her entire face and soaking her hair and clothes.
Her once-vibrant eyes began to lose their light.
His arms trembled.
His body shook.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Couldn't even scream.
He tried to cry out, but before he could—
*smack!
A hand covered his mouth.
His eyes widened.
Venedix stood above him, her gaze cold and devoid of emotion.
Her grip was firm, suffocating, yet calm.
"This is the reality of war, child," she said, her voice chilling in its calmness.
Jinn's eyes burned with hatred.
His face twisted in agony and fury.
"The strong survive," she continued, her gaze falling to Nevi's lifeless body,
"and the weak… they decay and die."
Then, without warning, she turned her body and delivered a brutal kick to Jinn's ribs.
*Thwack!
The impact sent him flying backward,
*crash!
crashing into the long table, splintering the wood beneath him.
"urgh!"
He groaned in pain, the wind knocked from his lungs.
As he lay on the floor, struggling to catch his breath, he saw her again—Venedix, standing amidst the chaos.
"Wake up, Jinn," she whispered, her voice now a haunting echo.
Flames erupted around her feet, slithering up her body like serpents made of fire.
They curled around her shoulders and licked the wooden walls, consuming everything in their path.
The orphanage—the place of warmth, family, safety—was now a blazing inferno.
Furniture crackled and crumbled under the heat, and Nevi's body, still lying in the center of the room, was lit by the dancing fire.
Her position was exactly like it had been in the real world, lying in the middle of the street, lifeless and forgotten.
The flames danced around her, making it all too real.
"Wake up, Jinn," came another voice—this one unfamiliar, yet comforting in its urgency.
It didn't sound like Venedix.
It didn't sound cruel.
"I said—WAKE UP!"
*THUNK!
A mechanical hand slapped him across the face.
The world twisted violently, spinning out of control.
The fire vanished.
The orphanage dissolved into mist.
And Jinn's body jolted awake.
His lungs gasped for air as he sat up, drenched in cold sweat.
His hands trembled.
His vision blurry.
He was back in the medical chamber, laying on the metal operating table, surrounded by machines.
"You good, kid?" Amaron's voice echoed faintly, filled with concern.
Jinn didn't respond.
He curled into a ball, pulling his knees to his chest, and began to sob. Quiet, shuddering cries escaped him, too weak to hide.
The memory of what he saw—what he felt—still clung to his bones.
Amaron took a step forward, then hesitated.
His hand hovered above Jinn's back for a moment, unsure whether to comfort him.
Eventually, he pulled it back, deciding it was better to give the boy a moment to gather himself.
He glanced away, muttering softly,
"I guess the dream wasn't so sweet after all…"