"NO!"

My eyes snapped open.

Arms, warm and trembling, wrapped around me.

"I'm here, Peter," Thea whispered, her voice shaking.

My breaths came sharp and erratic. My body ached, my mind burned, but the real pain, the unbearable weight, settled deep in my chest, crushing, suffocating. My eyes darted around, sluggishly piecing together my surroundings.

The tent.

I’d been moved.

How much had I projected into the real world? The answer struck the moment I registered Thea clinging to me, her shoulders trembling, her eyes red and swollen.

Most of it. If not all.

"I'm sorry," I croaked, my throat raw.

"Peter!" Thea’s grip tightened, relief spilling into her voice. "You were—" Her voice hitched, cracking mid-sentence. She looked at me, her expression tangled between relief and lingering horror.

I wanted to comfort her. I wanted to tell her I was fine, that it was nothing, but millions.

No.

Billions.

All of them, in danger. Most would die. My home, my world, my friends, the kids I grew up with, my classmates, every single person I had ever known.

I could do nothing.

Thea’s warmth pressed against me, anchoring me to the present, but the weight of what I had learned, what I had caused, sank deeper and deeper, like my body was trying to reject the truth itself.

Maybe this planet had once been like mine. Maybe it had thrived, had peace, had normal lives before…before it was cursed.

Before it fell to ruin.

I curled inward, pressing my forehead against my knees.

"I'm sorry," I whispered again, hollow. Empty.

Thea wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her tunic, forcing a difficult, shaky smile. She wrapped her arms around me, gently, like she was afraid I’d break. "I was just worried. You don’t have to be sorry. You kept screaming, struggling…" Her fingers wove through my hair, slow, grounding. "One moment, you passed out. We brought you here, then…"

She hiccupped. Once. Twice. Still recovering from whatever horror I had shown.

"No." I shook my head more forcefully.

Outside, there was a rustling.

The tent flap shifted, revealing another open tent right next to ours. Elric, Sia, and Lyra were crouched there, peering in from the small space between.

Their faces were drawn, concern pooling in the way they hovered, uncertain if they should step in.

I barely spared them a glance before shutting my eyes.

I wanted to forget.

I couldn’t.

Because I knew.

And knowing meant I couldn’t ignore it.

Billions of lives in danger.

Most of them would die.

And I would be blamed.

Because I was to blame.

The tent flap shifted closed again. Soft footsteps. A quiet rustling of fabric.

Thea lay beside me.

She didn’t speak, just breathed. Her presence steady, unwavering. A quiet comfort.

"Peter," she murmured after a while, voice barely above a whisper. "You don’t have to be sorry. Really, I’m just glad you’re okay."

I shook my head again, harder this time. My fingers rose to my hair, gripping tight. Too tight. Nails digging into my scalp.

I couldn’t.

I couldn’t handle this.

Not the gentle comfort.

Not the soft words.

Not the undeserved warmth.

"Peter?!"

Thea grabbed my wrists, her fingers curling around them, firm yet careful. "What’s wrong?"

I let out a slow, shuddering breath. My grip loosened. My hands fell uselessly into hers.

She held them. Squeezed lightly.

"You can tell me, Peter."

Her voice trembled.

"Please."

I swallowed, my throat burning.

I opened my eyes.

She was looking at me, really looking at me. And it was then that I noticed the fresh tears welling at the edges of her storm-gray eyes.

"I—"

"No." She shook her head, cutting me off. "Don’t apologize."

She pulled me closer, her head resting against my chest. Her fingers curled into the fabric of my shirt, gripping tightly.

I felt her warmth.

Her breath.

Her heartbeat.

And for the first time since waking up, since him…since the nightmare, I could breathe.

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But the weight didn’t leave.

Activating Phantom Whisper, I let my voice slip between reality and thought, threading only to Thea.

"He’s going to kill them all, Thea." My own words burned. "He tore through my memories, my existence like it was nothing."

Thea looked up, confusion flickering in her tired eyes.

"The eyes. That man. Whatever he is. He knows where I’m from."

Her grip on me tightened slightly. "But… how could he go there?"

I swallowed hard. "He can."

She flinched at the certainty in my voice.

"He was mocking me, Thea. Like it was just a step away. Like my world is nothing to him, just another weak place to be devoured. Maybe it’s already..."

The words strangled themselves before I could finish.

A deep, hollow pit formed in my stomach.

Thea pressed closer, her warmth barely reaching through the icy feeling settling inside me. "Peter, I’m so sorry."

I shifted, pulling her in, not because I expected comfort, because I needed an anchor.

"He’s going to ‘bless’ them, whatever that means. Unleash the beasts all over. He said most would die. Gloated about it."

The tent felt smaller. My body felt heavier.

Thea was silent for a long moment before she spoke. "The System?"

I exhaled shakily. "Probably. Maybe…I don’t know. It hardly matters. I can’t stop it."

I let Phantom Whisper fade.

The air between us settled, our breathing syncing, matching pace.

"Cold?" I asked, reaching for the blankets nearby.

She didn’t answer, just took them when I held them out, spreading them over us. I adjusted the pillow under her head, then placed one beneath mine.

We settled in. The fabric of the tent whispered with our movements, the soft murmur of voices drifting in from next door.

Elric, Sia, and Lyra.

They must have realized I wasn’t in immediate danger and started talking among themselves.

"How long was I out?" I asked, voice quieter now.

"Not long. But after you passed out, we figured we should rest for a few hours."

Thea’s voice was softer now, heavier. Drowsiness tugging at her words.

I felt it too. A quiet exhaustion curling around me.

Being next to her, talking, eased the pressure in my chest.

"Goodnight, Thea… and thanks."

For everything.

The reserved girl, the one raised with no friends, no real social interaction outside her family, stunned me with what she did next.

Her ears burned red as she shifted slightly.

Then…soft, fleeting, her lips pressed against my lower cheek.

Just as fast, she pulled away, burying her face against my chest.

I short-circuited.

For the briefest moment.

Everything else disappeared.

No looming apocalypse. No unbearable weight.

Just warmth.

I chuckled. “Maybe I won’t be the one teaching you after all.”

"Mm mmhhm mhm mm," came the muffled response.

I laughed again. "What?"

She shifted just enough to peek up at me. “You always ruin it.”

"I do?"

She nodded.

I tilted my head slightly, resting my chin near the top of hers. “How’s this?”

I pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering just a moment longer than she had.

Immediately, she buried her face against my chest again, this time refusing to emerge.

That didn’t stop her from mumbling before we both drifted off.

Her last words were something like, “mm mmh m hm hmm.”

"Enlightening," I muttered.

Eventually, she fell asleep like that, and I must’ve followed soon after.

Though I wish I hadn’t.

…

I had the most vivid and memorable dream of my life.

Monsters fell from the sky.

A storm of destruction. Large, small, winged, crawling. They riddled the landscape as they landed, tearing through everything in their path.

A beast the size of a skyscraper crashed into a city block, its grotesque form shaking the earth like an earthquake. The force of impact sent cars flipping through the air like pebbles, streets splitting open, entire buildings collapsing like sandcastles kicked over by a child.

From the oceans, serpentine horrors slithered onto land, their slick, muscular bodies coiling around bridges, tightening until steel beams snapped like twigs. Their fanged maws unhinged, swallowing entire buses in a single, effortless gulp.

In the suburbs, smaller, faster creatures, things with elongated limbs and too many eyes, crawled along walls, slipping into windows, doors, tearing through homes like paper, leaving nothing but screams and blood in their wake.

Overhead, shadows blotted out the sky. Winged monstrosities with razor-edged feathers, their talons snatching people straight off the ground, lifting them high, then dropping them.

And then came the swarm, hundreds of insect-like abominations, each no bigger than a human, but fast, ravenous, relentless. They poured through the streets, devouring flesh down to the bone in seconds, leaving only red-slick pavement where people once stood.

A laugh echoed through my skull.

Low. Mocking. Endless.

And beneath it…screams. So many screams.

“All this is my reward to you, Peter.”

The voice slithered through my mind. Amused. Pleased.

“For having the skill to devour my will… enjoy the worms squirming.”

But then he spoke again.

Not to me.

To them.

“The one responsible for all of this… is this man.”

I didn’t need to see it to know. They were all being shown my face.

Children, clutching at their parents, sobbing, trembling, until something snatched them away. Parents, watching helplessly, their mouths open in silent horror as their families were torn into bloody pieces before their eyes.

Somehow, my vision zoomed in, locking onto the worst of it. As if something wanted me to see every detail.

Wanted me to feel it. Wanted me to break.

“But do not fear… I will save you.”

The voice softened, gentle, almost sorrowful. But the amusement still slithered beneath his words, poisoning them.

“I cannot save all of you,” he sighed, like a benevolent god lamenting his own limitations. “But I can save some.”

Lies.

“Receive my blessing. Accept my blood.”

Men, women, children, all clutching their heads, writhing and screaming, until their bodies began to melt.

Their skin boiled, liquefied, sloughing off in thick, oozing rivulets as drops of blood they couldn’t escape touched them. Their bones softened, dissolved, until there was nothing left but pools of quivering, gelatinous remains.

They were gone.

The two red suns shifted, focusing on me.

“Feast on our work, Peter.”

His voice dripped with satisfaction.

He was pleased.

“What we have created together… You should be proud of your people’s potential.”

I couldn’t speak.

“Over a million have risen above mere scum.”

Over a million.

Out of billions.

The world was falling apart in front of me, crumbling, collapsing into something grotesque. And

I couldn’t look away.

I tried. I fought. I strained to close my eyes, to pull back, to wake up, but I was forced to watch.

Every detail. Every second.

There were still voices. Whispers, cries, prayers.

I could hear them thanking their savior.

I could hear them cursing me.

Swearing revenge.

But their voices faded beneath the roar in my skull, a swarm of bees, buzzing, screaming, deafening.

The ruby stars turned toward me once more.

“It is done.”

A pause. A smirk woven into the words.

“What do you think?”

Almost casually he spoke to me, “I had to use an enormous amount of power to show you this, you know. I won’t be able to show you how they develop, unfortunately.”

The buzzing grew louder.

My chest tightened, my vision blurred at the edges, everything narrowing down to a single, crushing certainty.

“I will find you.”

A flicker of something…satisfaction? Anticipation?

His final word came next.

“Good.”

Not in a gloating tone.

Not in mockery.

But in seething, quiet rage.

Not the howling, monstrous voice we had all heard before.

A calm, calculated, eternal hatred.

A hatred so deep, so ingrained, that it drove him to show me all of this.

To break me with it.