Elias stood frozen, paralyzed by shock.
'He was awake?'
The voice behind him was unmistakable — it spoke with an almost seductive charm, a compelling charm.
[The dealer] "Nice to meet you… Elias, was it?"
This could throttle their whole plan. How could his predecessor ever make such a mistake? He wasn't supposed to be able to.
Through the few days he had known "Elias," he had never once made a mistake. A few days may not seem like much — until you factor in the time regression. The total number of days they spent together was nearing a quarter of a year.
He moved reflexively, looking back to his mentor for guidance.
A mistake — one that could trap them here forever, until the beginning of time. Elias was human though, and he was most definitely shocked.
But when he looked behind him, Elias saw nothing.
'He left me behind?'
Elias's heart sank.
The "restoration" was a phenomenon that happened at the end of each day in this dream cycle. Being awake during restoration was undoubtedly fatal to those without external help. The fact that the dealer risked his life just to utter such simple words—
[The dealer] "Let's have a nice competition, shall we?"
Those words were said with a smile — a smile of satisfaction, of relief, and most importantly, superiority.
Elias's eye twitched in anger.
How dare he speak so casually, so lightly in such a situation? Was his past self really so dumb as to risk his life just to brag?
…Was he?
For the first time since meeting 'Elias,' Elias tried something new.
Rather than remembering the Elias he once was, he tried remembering the dealer he once was.
It was a strange and utterly confusing experience. When trying to remember 'Elias,' he could explore memories — watch them in real time — but he could never clearly see.
Everything he saw was blurred, as if it hadn't been cleaned or maintained for generations. The words spoken were quiet — too quiet to hear naturally, too loud once you focused.
'Elias' once warned him that those whispers weren't good — that they shoved men into insanity. Elias's natural curiosity led him to test the warning; needless to say, 'Elias' was correct.
Since then, Elias has always listened attentively.
So why, when he tried remembering his old memories — the ones from just three months ago — couldn't he?
The dealer's smile stayed, but Elias's complexion worsened rapidly.
[Elias] "Who is—"
His voice was drowned out by a quiver — the first warning.
Fighting the restoration was pointless, an even stupider idea than trying to reread the dealer.
Without looking back, Elias ran. Death wasn't a card he could afford in his deck right now, let alone a card he should play.
Sparks crackled, rising from the ground; the earth tore apart piece by piece, rearranging into a multitude of different shapes and colors.
The beauty within danger was truly alluring.
Danger was also repulsive — which is why he hadn't gone sightseeing just yet.
His movement was no longer determined by the strength of his legs. Thanks to 'Elias,' Elias was able to assume a type of ghost form.
Well… "ghost form" was Claire's wording, and he honestly hated it. He used it anyway, though, because she liked it.
[Elias] "Speaking of Claire…"
He had succeeded in persuading her. Maybe success was an understatement. It didn't matter — Elias prided himself on being an overachiever.
Somewhere during their conversation, Elias realized Claire was also very persuasive. Honestly, from the way their talk ended, he genuinely wondered about the authenticity of her actions.
That woman was very good at making a man doubt himself; in fact, he had been contemplating her request ever since he ran out of the house.
[Claire] "Take me with you."
It wasn't a declaration of love, nor a desperate plea — it was a formal request.
Claire wanted Elias to help her get out of the dream.
The way she spoke about the dream, how casually she used the term, pointed to one conclusion: she had long been aware of its existence.
Certainly, this familiarity raised questions.
How had she known?
As far as Elias knew, nobody but himself knew about the dream. The only reason he even knew was because of 'Elias.'
Elias was fairly certain that his teacher and past self were a unique and unrepeatable phenomenon — something that couldn't be reproduced, even in a lab.
So how was Claire aware of it?
The longer he thought, the more questions arose. Eventually, Elias decided he'd talk to her about it the next day.
With the world quite literally rearranging, somehow, a single clock still worked — a watch.
In about a minute, this world would be reformed, and if he didn't find his alter ego, he would die along with this point in time.
So desperately, Elias ran — searched — until he finally found what he was looking for:
A sign that 'Elias' told him to look for.
An open door.
Without hesitation, Elias stepped through.
In an instant, everything changed.
The deafening noise of the world ripping apart was gone. The migraine that followed the constant changes in color and lighting vanished.
Elias was now in a peculiar place… perhaps even more peculiar than the regressing world behind him.
Elias felt like he was inside the walls of the world.
Soon, an echo spread through the hall.
[???] "You're late."
Elias scoffed.
[Elias] "You left me."
The voice laughed — a mocking, ridiculing laugh.
['Elias'] "You were overstaying your visit, and I was paying the price. Can you blame me?"
Elias turned, wanting to see what he meant by "price."
But when his eyes landed on his teacher, his pupils widened.
His body was writhing — each part moving independently, slithering like half-dead snakes.
It was an unpleasant sight, an incredibly sickening thing to watch. Even with all his experience with injuries, Elias had no choice but to look away.
['Elias'] "What's wrong? Don't tell me this is too scary for you?"
The voice dripped with mock courtesy.
Elias tried diverting the subject, still refusing to look at him.
It didn't work. Minutes passed in silence before 'Elias' suddenly spoke again, voice serious:
['Elias'] "Look at me."
He didn't want to.
['Elias'] "I said — LOOK AT ME."
Elias flinched — it was the same tone his teacher used when urging him to run back after he stole from Ardent.
Reluctantly, he looked, forcing himself to meet his teacher's eyes.
At first, he focused on the eyes to avoid staring at the grotesque wounds. But soon he noticed, through his peripheral vision, that something had changed.
The wounds were gone.
Completely healed.
Seeing Elias's shock, 'Elias' bowed slightly and smiled.
['Elias'] "Welcome to the world in between."