Two years later, while Kai had been having strange dreams every day, he woke up on his bed once again. As he emerged from the familiar dream, he sat up and stared at his own hands. Kai got up, brushed his teeth, took a shower, and washed his face—just like any other day. Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, he let out a sigh and said,
"Ugh… the same dream again?"
Kai walked outside his place with a bag slung over his shoulder. He got into a taxi and said,
"To the hospital, please."
The taxi took Kai to the hospital entrance. After paying, he got out and headed into a psychiatric clinic. Inside, a male psychiatrist in a white coat sat across from him.
"Could you tell me what's been going on?"
"Well… I keep having the same dream every day. It's very similar to the book I read. And when I dream it—or read the book—I start crying. The dream feels so real… and there are friends in it too."
The psychiatrist took notes and then said,
"You might be suffering from depression. From what you've described, it seems you feel lonely and long for companionship. I recommend taking the prescribed medication—it helps increase dopamine in your brain to lift your mood—and try to find activities you enjoy; they'll help too."
"But doctor, I've taken the medication as prescribed before, and it still doesn't get better," Kai replied.
"I understand. These things take time."
Kai's expression showed his frustration as he thought to himself,
"The doctor doesn't understand… he keeps saying the same thing every time."
Kai left the consultation room, picked up his medication, and hailed a taxi back home. Once there, he paid the driver, went up to his room, closed the door, and lay down on his bed, muttering,
"Ugh… the same thing again. The doctor doesn't understand at all. I've been on this medication for two years, and nothing's improved."
He sat lost in thought as usual, until he picked up the book and continued reading on the bed. Reading through to the last page, he became puzzled.
"Why does it end so strangely… the main character just goes to a planet, and that's it?"
Curious, Kai went to his computer to look up information about the book. It turned out there was no sequel—only this one volume—making him even more puzzled.
"Huh… why is there no continuation? And why does it end so oddly?"
At that moment, he heard a voice in his head:
"Wake up, Kai. Wake up."
The voice disappeared, leaving only Kai's lingering curiosity. He muttered to himself in front of the computer,
"That voice… sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere… but where? Whose voice is it? Why can't I place it?"
Kai picked up the book again, reading through it as a realization struck him. He exclaimed,
"Wake up, Netra Nimith!"
A loud scream escaped him, echoing throughout the area. Then, memories flooded back into his mind.
"What… is happening?"
Before Kai stood Rese and Eugene, both calling out his name. They were crying, and yet, as he woke, he saw them start to smile at him.
Kai looked at them and said,
"So… this is what happened. We were being mentally controlled, weren't we?"