It was a bright morning. The sky stretched wide and blue, the kind of day that almost looked perfect. The garden outside the house was full of life: flowers, trimmed hedges, two kids laughing as they ran like nothing in the world could touch them. I stood there watching, feeling like I didn't belong in the picture.
Eight years. That's how long it's been since everything changed, since I lost control of my sin. After that… they exiled me. The Carvers even sat around a table talking about killing me. My father. who hated me more than anyone. was the only reason I'm still alive. He didn't want his last family member to die, so instead, I was locked away in this house.
They bring food, clothes, whatever I need to survive. It doesn't matter. None of it matters.
...
That day. I can't stop replaying it. I don't believe it was just me losing control. That demon… it was waiting. Waiting for me to slip.
And another thing. I awakened my sin at seven years old. Seven. There's no record of anyone unlocking theirs that early. Why me? Why then? What was different?
I've spent eight years trying to solve that puzzle. But what can I do? I can't leave this house. And even if I escaped… then what? Where would I go?
Out of nowhere, a demon appeared in the garden. It didn't move. It didn't even have time. I only glanced before it vanished again, like someone hit pause and rewound. I just stood there, staring at the spot, half in thought.
Demons keep showing up in my dreams more and more these days.
This is my dream world. Here I can see them again. Alice, Mother. Here I can feel what I've lost: warmth, family, happiness. Here I'm not powerless.
But when I wake up… there's nothing. Just guilt, loneliness, emptiness.
Then
...knocking.
At first it was faint. Then louder. Harder. Not part of the dream, but something in the real world. The world went black for a second.
When I opened my eyes, the knocking was still there, real and urgent. A voice shouted through the door:
"Kid! Wake up! Stop dreaming!"
I groaned and dragged myself out of bed. The room was dim, the morning light barely entering through the curtains. The knocking got louder. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, stood up, and glanced at the mirror by the foot of the bed. My reflection stared back. black hair, black eyes, a pale face, like someone who could fall apart at any moment. as I walked to the door.
The house looked empty; the lights were off as if no one lived here. It was just a bedroom with a small bathroom and a combined living area.
When I opened the door, a man in a suit stood on the threshold, face blank and sharp. Behind him was a woman, beautiful, but her gaze cut like a blade. I could feel something like hatred in her eyes. She was in her mid-twenties, striking, the kind of person you don't forget. I'd never seen either of them before.
"What do you want?" I asked.
...
Sinner: Roy Carver — Stage 7
Level: 86
Age: 15
Sin: Dreaming
Description: Your dreams are your sin.
I checked my level after the demon I killed in my dream, and the man sitting across from me finally spoke.
"So, let me introduce myself first," he said, a smile tugging at his lips. "My name is Calix, and this is Teacher Grace. She's a strong sinner, Stage 4, soon to be your instructor." He extended his hand across the table for a shake.
I didn't move. Just stared at him, ignoring the gesture.
"I'm Roy. Just Roy."
That's when the so-called instructor, Grace, moved. She'd been sitting still, like she was waiting for an excuse, and the moment I gave something, she blurred. One heartbeat she was in her seat, the next she was behind me, driving my head toward the table.
Or she tried.
Her hand went straight through me.
I heard her gasp behind me, startled.
For a moment, both of them just stared, dumbfounded.
This is a side effect of my sin. When my link to the dream world grows stronger than my grip on reality, my presence here becomes faint. And if I try to bend the waking world the way I do in dreams, reality rejects me and drains me, turning me into a memory lingering in the real world. I can't touch anyone, and they can't touch me.
I glanced at her once, then let my eyes slide back to Calix. "I thought you said she was an instructor."
Calix was the first to recover. He cleared his throat and gave a strained smile. "She believes pain and violence are the best way of teaching."
"Too bad for her, then," I said flatly.
Calix continued after Instructor Grace settled back into her seat—probably him giving her some face.
"Anyway, we came here by your father's order. You will attend Insight Academy in the next week."
I wasn't expecting this. Startled, I said, "Why would my father order this? I don't think he's forgiven me."
Grace spoke for the first time, and her voice was colder than her eyes.
"As if."
Calix glanced at Grace, then back at me. "All I know is that some big figures in the government and the other three families are involved." He paused for a moment, as if debating whether he should say the next part.
"You'll face one of the top students there. Based on your performance, you'll be sent on a mission."
"I see," I replied. I think I know what they're planning now… but the real question is why now? What's the difference?
As I was lost in thought, Calix and Grace began to stand.
"The guards will escort you to the academy grounds at the end of the week," he added. Then, with a sharper tone: "And one more thing. Don't waste this chance, Roy."
I heard the door close and kept staring at the spot where they had been sitting.
Well… if I get to leave this house, I can finally start digging into why demons keep showing up in my dreams, and maybe find out what's really happening outside.
I let out a breath. So many things to know.
Leaning back against the seat, I closed my eyes. I'll dream, just like I have for the past eight years. Reality doesn't matter. I can't see my mother and sister in it anyway.