In a dream-crafted amusement park, a place born from the depths of imagination, young 7-year-old Ayume—then known as Sapan—chased what looked like his mirror image. Both wore similar shorts and playful short haircuts, making them nearly indistinguishable at first glance. Yet, on closer observation, one could discern the gentler features of the girl, Sapna, Sapan's twin sister. The kids chased each other, jumped into a pool of glimmering water, and rode on an endless roller coaster.
The world was their own creation in their dream, with hints of their real world evident all around. Road signs on the roller coaster, billboards with their favorite K-pop star. Often, they would indulge in a lightsaber fight or ride the flying broomstick from Hogwarts. They didn't remember at what age they learned to walk into each other's dreams and how they learned to control it, but now in their dream they could create anything they wanted.
Sapan loved to create new rides and take his sister to experience them. Once, he created the most beautiful sunset backdrop on a hill with a huge swing that would soar to the sky and back, making Sapna ride it. Later, they just sat watching the sunset. Sapan turned to Sapna with a gleam of mischief in his eyes. "Should we try getting into someone else's dream?" he proposed, the idea thrilling him.
Sapna, ever the cautious one, hesitated. "Do you think that's possible?" she asked, her curiosity piqued despite her reservations.
"Let's try," Sapan urged with enthusiasm. "We focus on our Mom's face to find each other's dream. Let's focus on something common that we could use to get to anybody's dream," he pondered aloud, his eyes scanning their surroundings for inspiration.
"Like the moon?" Sapna suggested, pointing towards the evening sky where the moon just began its ascent.
With the moon as their anchor, they closed their eyes and concentrated, their minds reaching out. Suddenly, a kaleidoscope of dream worlds swirled around them, each portal a gateway to uncharted realms. But as the visions settled, Sapan found himself alone on an endless plain, the ground beneath him a mirror, reflecting the vast emptiness of the sky above.
"Sapna? Where are you?" His voice trembled, the excitement now replaced with worry. Panic set in as he ran across the endless plain, his heart pounding. The reflection of the moon on the mirrored surface was his only companion, a silent witness to his growing despair. He tried to focus, to will himself back to his dream, to his sister, but the void was unyielding.
Finally, Sapan managed to wake himself up. He hurried to Sapna, attempting to rouse her. Her body was burning up, her forehead slick with sweat. Despite Sapan's desperate efforts, Sapna remained unresponsive. Their commotion eventually woke their mother.
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By morning, a medic had been called. Sapna's screams pierced the air as she was trapped in an endless nightmare, yet she couldn't be awakened. Sapan, overwhelmed with grief and unable to stop crying, was gently led away by relatives. The atmosphere was heavy with hushed talks of possession, the villagers whispering about ancient myths. Eventually, Sapan was taken to the city, where he was confronted with a devastating reality; his twin sister, his closest companion, was gone forever.
Sapan was engulfed by guilt, his heart aching with the loss of his sister. His days melded into nights, each moment punctuated by the sound of his own grief-stricken weeping. The joyful sanctuary of his dreams began to wither as a creeping black mold emerged, engulfing the light and transforming his refuge into a cavern of despair. Each passing night, the darkness intensified, and the once small black mass began to multiply and take form.
Soon, the largest of the black mass manifested into a form – a demon of both majesty and terror. It loomed over him, its slender neck arching with sinister grace. Its body was armored in scales that glimmered like a moonlit ocean, each scale a tiny mirror reflecting a starless night sky. Piercing, luminous blue eyes fixed upon Sapan, eyes that held the cold light of distant, uncaring worlds. Atop its head, a crown of horns curved elegantly backward, as if to challenge the heavens themselves.
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This demon haunted Sapan, whispering sinister promises of eternal slumber, urging him to surrender his battered spirit to him. Fearful of sleep, yet unable to avoid it, Sapan found himself running through his dreamscape, hunted and tormented by this demon waiting for him to relinquish.
On the brink of surrender, huddled in the darkest corner of his mind, Sapan heard the Demon's menacing whispers. "You don't have to suffer," it hissed, "let me take control of your soul. I'll make you stronger." Sapan couldn't find his voice, but he shook his head in refusal. "Can't you see the shadows closing in?" the Demon persisted. "You can either cower in fear and lead a wretched existence, or you can embrace the darkness and turn it into your strength, your shield."
Amidst this internal struggle, Sapan's gaze fell upon a new presence – a woman cloaked in white, a striking contrast to the surrounding gloom. Adorning her cloak was a mysterious emblem, an eye with a blue iris at its center.
Through the haze of his despair, Sapan glimpsed only fragments of the ensuing battle. There was a flurry of movement, a dance of light and shadow, as the woman confronted the draconic demon.
Then, as quickly as night had descended upon his dreams, it was banished. The woman, with vibrant red hair framing violet eyes, her slender yet strong figure outlined against her light brown skin, stood in front of Sapan, her hand extended to him.
Awakening from the tumultuous vision, the present-day 19-year-old Ayume found himself once again in the presence of the woman from his dream. "Am I dead, Master?" he rasped, his voice hoarse with the residue of fear.
Her smile was a sunrise, banishing the last shadows of doubt. "Not yet," she replied.