If it was just a dream

Everything slowly fades away

I try to grab it again

But I can't even remember your back

CR.SQW

Nightmare is the devil

A demon of the shadows that dominates the minds of humans when they are weak.

A shrill scream sounded throughout the area. A tall young man in a white warrior outfit stood, breathing heavily after he had just gotten rid of a nightmare according to his assigned mission. The long sword in his hand shone brightly in the light of the golden light. The moon hits

“DN96 mission complete”

A deep voice spoke as the glowing sphere flickered as if in response to his words a moment before, fading into the darkness with only the light from the moon guiding him, calming his mind. But then some memories appeared.

'Help me, I don't want to leave you yet.'

The tall figure shook his head to chase away the echoes in his head. He tried to remember the owner of the voice he had heard over and over again but couldn't recall it, as if he had no memory of that voice at all. Even though once I got rid of the nightmares I would hear this sound every time.

The golden sword in his hand was stabbed into the ground before the tall figure disappeared as the golden light that appeared turned into dust and fell high on the ground.

“What do you mean?”

As soon as his feet touched the floor, the voice he had been talking with so nicely asked without the person asking even looking at him.

“Nothing is the same, but this black shadow is harder to get rid of than before.”

After that sentence, a young man in a floor-length white robe raised his head to look at him. He couldn't see the expression on his face under the robe, but the other party was probably quite surprised.

“So that means it won't leave any traces this time?”

The tall man nodded.

“The last time I got rid of it was like this.”

“Strange”

The conversation stopped there. The silver-haired man sighed and took off his cloak and jacket. A severe gash on the outside of his forearm stretched all the way to his left shoulder, causing him to frown in pain.

A tattoo of a circular net with feathers hanging on it was cut in two by the wound.

“Where did that wound come from?”

The owner of the deep voice didn't answer, but put on his shirt as usual and then headed towards the medical room.

“Did you get this again? Last time I patched up the wound, it still hadn't healed well. There's a long mark here."

A reproachful tone mixed with a sigh from a close young nurse's friend sounded before the tall figure felt a stinging sensation on his arm like being cut with a knife.

“And what did you hear this time?”

“The same person's voice. But this time I said please help me. I don't want to leave you.." He said while biting his lip to express his pain, "But I still can't figure out whose voice it was."

“Anyway, I hope you remember soon.”

Golden powder was sprinkled on the wound by the person in charge of treating injuries to seal it, leaving only a long scar.

“This tattoo will only protect you one more time and the net here is starting to fall apart.”

“Once the net is completely severed, the blood of the Nightmare you killed will be released again.”

“By that time, he would probably have found a way to handle it himself.”

His seemingly careless words caused the person considering the tattoo to pause. The young doctor stretched his body to his full height before slender eyes flickered to him, dissatisfied with his words a moment ago, and spoke in a harsh tone.

“Are you talking like you don't care at all even though it means your death?”

"Whether I die or live has nothing to do with him. He doesn't even care what I'm like."

“Daniel…” The voice had softened from the moment when he called his name. The owner of the name looked into the darkness outside the window with an indescribable feeling as the sound he had heard all along came back to disturb his mind again.

'I don't want to leave you'

For a moment, in the back of his mind, an image of a person appeared in a square room before that image was replaced by darkness.

“If I could disappear from this world, it would be great.”

“That's not good..” A soft voice, like a whisper, did not enter the ears of a person who was deep in his own thoughts.

He ran a hand through his silver hair before getting off the hospital bed and walking out to put on his robe again.

A cool breeze hit a tall figure who was holding a golden lantern in his hand as he walked along the path in the forest. His white veil fluttered with the wind as his silver hair reflected in the lantern's light in the darkness of the forest. The cold air was covered only by the warmth of the lanterns.

The sound of footsteps walking on the snow was the only thing he could hear besides his own breathing.

The golden sword was unsheathed as the tall owner walked into the heart of the forest. A large tree with purple streaks glowed alternating as if it were absorbing the human spirit as nourishment, causing him to take a deep breath.

“Nightmares aren't real.”

Before he could raise his beloved sword high to keep his dreams from being extinguished, a voice he was very familiar with interrupted him.

“Are you going to fight against something that is just a dream?”

“What does that mean?”

His usually deep voice was now filled with doubt and incomprehension.

“Even if you fight the darkness to protect your good dreams from nightmares, it doesn't mean that the nightmares will end.”

“Even if you sacrifice your life, the nightmare will still not go away.”

“Because it never existed in the first place.”

The purple streak gradually turned completely black until it blended in with the darkness surrounding the owner of the voice who he thought should be standing nearby. But when he found the golden lantern that had gone out, he was unconscious, causing him to now be in the area. The surroundings were completely covered in darkness. There wasn't even a shred of light.

“Your nightmares haven't gone away, Kang Daniel.”

And that was the last sound he heard before his body was consumed by darkness.

A warm feeling as if he was in a familiar place made him open his eyes. The door of the place called home appeared in front of him, a bright light shining throughout the area, causing some smiles from the tall figure. When he raised his left arm to look, there was no trace. of wounds or scars like before. A strong hand grabbed the doorknob and turned it with force and pushed the door open.

“I'm back.”

As soon as the door was opened, the bright light coming from behind the door caused him to narrow his eyes because he couldn't bear it. Before he could open his eyes again, the cold from the air conditioner hit his skin, causing the sleeping person to lazily open his eyes and tighten the covers that were covering himself more closely.

His eyes looked at the person lying motionless on the hospital bed, his chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm, indicating that the other person was asleep.

Teed

The moving device that was meant to measure the pulse let out a high-pitched sound, warning that the curve that had once jagged back and forth was now just a straight line with a red light flashing as a signal.

“Sungwoo!”

As soon as the name of the person he loved was called out, everything seemed to fade away.

It was at that moment that Kang Daniel understood what he had heard the person in his dream say.

His nightmares still haven't gone away....

END