The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 8: A woman in the dream

The room was dim, with the only light coming from the lamp beside the bed.

On it sat a boy, curled up into himself, his legs close to his chest, his fingers gripping the blanket.

The air felt heavy, suffocating even.

Because the boy knew it was time for the bad monster to come home.

He looked around 6 years old. Black hair stuck to his damp forehead, his eyes shut tight as if everything would be fine if he did that.

The door creaked open, revealing a silhouette of a woman.

Listening to the creak, the boy flinched.

"It's fine, dear. I'm here."

Her voice—soft, familiar—made his trembling stop.

The boy turned toward her and ran into her arms.

Her face was blurred, like a dream fading too quickly, but he clung to her anyway.

The woman smiled, but it was a smile filled with guilt.

She should have done more for her boy—for her child, but she couldn't.

She was barely allowed to step outside the house, and even then, she couldn't do anything—not with him threatening her to hurt her son.

DING!~

Both of them flinched at the sound of the doorbell.

The woman forced herself to take a calm breath, gently patting the boy's head.

"Everything will be fine. Just… don't make any noise." She whispered.

"He might hurt you if he hears you."

The woman's words made the boy nod silently.

Seeing that, the woman sighed and went outside… making sure to close the door from the outside.

Moments later, a harsh, drunken voice thundered from the other room.

"You bitch! Why did it take so long to open the damn door!!"

Then came the noise—the dull thud of fists, the loud slaps, and her choked gasps.

The boy clamped his hands over his ears as tears streamed down his cheeks.

His fingers tightened around his ears to the point it hurt, but he didn't care.

He just wanted the screams of his mother to stop.

After what felt like forever, the door creaked open again.

The woman stumbled in, her steps uneven.

Her face was swollen, bruised, and stained with blood.

"Mom!!"

Looking at her state, the boy broke down and ran towards her.

She smiled weakly.

But—

Before he could reach her, the world went dark.

*****

"AAaaah!!!"

Inside his room, Lucian jolted awake with a gasp and started panting.

His heart pounded in his chest.

"Ha… ha… ha…!"

He was drenched in sweat.

"W-what happened?"

The dream slipped away like smoke.

All he remembered was a blurred silhouette of a woman.

He pressed his hands against his face, trying to steady his breathing.

Who was she? He wanted to know.

He tried to recall the memory, something…

But there was nothing.

The memories of the dream had blurred out.

He just knew that something happened in the dream… something terrible.

[You are slowly but surely starting to remember… but it seems your subconscious doesn't want to.]

Akasha's voice echoed in his head.

'My subconscious?

What does this have to do with that?

And don't I remember Lia's death? What more horrifying can happen?

Did it happen to the woman? Who the fuck is she?!'

He screamed inside his mind. His chest tightened as frustration clawed at him.

First, Lia's death.

Now this.

'Did that person… did she die too?'

Just as he thought that, his breath hitched—like he had thought something forbidden.

He didn't want to think about it.

"...Sigh. Do you know who she is?"

He asked, since it felt like she did.

"Can you tell me?"

[I think you should find out for yourself.]

[I am not your babysitter. And how will you grow if I tell you everything? Find your own answers.]

Her words irritated him, infuriated him, even though he knew she wasn't wrong.

She had helped him before.

He shouldn't expect too much.

'But still…'

Just as he wondered if there was truly no other way—

[I will give you a hint] Akasha finally relented.

[Ding!~]

A soft chime sounded.

[New Quest Generated]

[Quest: Woman of your dreams.]

Main Objective:

– Find who the woman in your dreams is.

– Meet her.

Hint:

– Name: Seraphina Cross

Reward: None

Failure Penalty: None

— — —

"Seraphina... Seraphina…." He repeated her name multiple times, hoping it would help him remember.

It didn't.

The surname, though—it felt familiar.

Cross.

He'd seen it somewhere, maybe in a newspaper? A report?

He couldn't clearly remember, but he knew he had seen or heard it before.

Now, he just had to find out if the woman—Seraphina Cross, was related to it or not.

He was still thinking when the door opened with Lia stepping in.

"I'm home."

She greeted him with a smile and hugged him.

She had a habit of being clingy to him—even more so since he was getting better, not that he minded it.

But looking at her just coming home, something came to his mind.

'How much time has it been since I slept?'

He didn't know if Akasha could hear his thoughts, so he wanted to test it.

[Around 2 hours.]

'So you can hear my thoughts?'

Because if she could, then couldn't she hear every time he thought about anything?

[I can only hear your thoughts if you direct them at me.]

Akasha's words reassured him… but not much.

Who knew if she was lying?

"Why are you sweating again?" Lia narrowed her eyes, wondering if he was trying to do something stupid again when she had clearly told him to rest.

"It's just hot," Lucian replied quickly.

"Don't worry about it."

Lia was unconvinced but eventually let it go.

They talked for a while, with Lia humming as she walked into the kitchen.

Lucian watched her leave.

His chest tightened.

That warmth, that ordinary moment—

It reminded him of something.

Of someone.

Someone he didn't seem to remember.