Jonathan’s Dream Journal Entry - February 9, 2025

Jonathan woke up abruptly, his eyes flicking open to the dimly lit room. The clock on his bedside table read 4:45 AM. Too early for a normal day, yet he felt completely rested. There was no grogginess, no urge to close his eyes again—just a strange alertness like his body had already been awake for hours.

Something was different.

A dream still clung to the edges of his consciousness, vivid and surreal. His heartbeat quickened slightly as the details poured in. He reached for his dream journal, flipping to a fresh page. The pen felt oddly firm in his grip as if whatever he was about to write was more than just a fleeting dream—it was something important.

"Today's dream was pretty weird, but I can still remember it clearly."

It began with a voice. A deep, ethereal voice that resonated in my mind rather than my ears. I couldn’t tell if it belonged to a person, a deity, or something else entirely. It spoke about the ‘system’—a word that instantly made me think of video games.

“The system is initializing. Seven hours remain.”

I didn’t understand what that meant, but there was an urgency in the voice that sent a shiver through me. Something was about to change. not just within the dream, but in reality itself.

Then, I found myself standing before four doors, each distinct in its appearance and energy. The first door had "Sumner" engraved on it. The second is "Malae." The third is "Ragne." The final door bore the inscription "Seport."

Each door seemed to hold a mystery, a path leading somewhere unknown. I reached for the ‘Sumner’ door first, but it didn’t budge. Locked. I hesitated, glancing at the other options. If this really was a game-like scenario, my choice had to matter.

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I wanted to be as far away as possible—something told me distance equaled safety. Without overthinking, I grabbed the handle of the ‘Ragne’ door. The moment my fingers touched the cool metal, a sensation of weightlessness overtook me, and suddenly, I was somewhere else.

A hallway stretched out before me, its stone walls flickering with an eerie blue glow. Two more doors stood at the end: one labeled ‘Physical’ and the other ‘Elemental.’

Physical combat? Magic? The choice seemed obvious. If this was like an RPG, magic would give me more options. I reached out and pushed open the ‘Elemental’ door.

Darkness engulfed me.

Then, light.

I was no longer standing but floating. Or rather, sinking. Water surrounded me on all sides, its temperature just cool enough to be soothing rather than shocking.

I panicked at first, kicking and flailing. But then, something shifted in my mind—an understanding. The trial wasn’t about survival. It was about attunement.

I stopped resisting and let myself drift.

Water flows to the lowest point.

I relaxed, allowing my body to descend deeper. The fear of drowning dissipated, replaced by something else—acceptance.

Water is adaptable. It takes the shape of its container.

My mind grasped the lesson intuitively. Instead of struggling, I focused on becoming one with the water, moving effortlessly through it. My limbs stopped fighting, my breath slowed—wait. I was breathing?

That realization almost startled me out of my calm state, but I held on. Something fundamental had changed. I wasn’t just in the water—I was part of it.

A soft chime echoed around me, and a semi-transparent screen materialized before my eyes.

[Trial Passed: Water Affinity Acquired]

Before I could process the words, the dream ended.

My eyes snapped open, and I was back in my room. The sense of peace remained, but so did the questions.

What was that? A dream? A premonition? A message?

Something told me this wasn’t just a random figment of my imagination. Something was coming. And I only had seven hours.