Nightmare
The forest was burning. Blue flames blazed fiercely, consuming everything in their path. I stood in the middle of it all. Where was this? Why was I here? Who... was I? Yet no memories surfaced. Only an unsettling feeling that I had forgotten something important.
I ran. I ran through the burning forest, desperate to escape. How long had I been running aimlessly? Eventually, a massive mansion came into view. But it was nearly destroyed, half of it reduced to rubble. The wide garden beyond the main gate was filled with flowers blooming in beautiful shades of blue and red, yet those same flowers were slowly vanishing as the blue flames engulfed them.
"What is this place?"
As if entranced, I kept walking. Crossing the burning garden, I reached the mansion's enormous door. I carefully pushed open the broken door and stepped inside. The interior was in complete chaos. A chandelier had fallen from the ceiling and was burning on the floor. Every picture frame on the walls was torn apart.
"Have I... been here before? I've never seen this place, but it feels familiar."
Was it just my imagination? Even though it was my first time here, an inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over me. Carrying that strange frustration, I wandered through the mansion. After aimlessly exploring the first floor, I climbed the central staircase to the second floor.
"My stomach's churning... My head's spinning. It's suffocating. What the hell is this?"
Several rooms lined the second floor. I passed what looked like a woman's room and another that showed signs of long-term use by men. Finally, I reached the last room. My nausea grew worse, my head dizzier. I felt like I was about to vomit, like I might collapse at any moment. But I knew that unless I opened this door, the suffocating feeling wouldn't go away.
I grabbed the handle of the finely crafted wooden door and flung it open.
The inside was a mess. It resembled both a study and an office, but nothing remained intact. The windows were shattered, the books all burned to ash, and the expensive furnishings reduced to unrecognizable black husks. And there, besides myself, were two other people.
Two figures with jet-black hair and eyes like obsidian. One appeared older, with streaks of gray in his hair and one eye that had lost its light. The other looked like a student—his black hair gleamed with vitality, and his eyes shone brightly under the moonlight streaming through the window.
Looking at them made my stomach churn even more violently. It felt as if something inside me was burning away. Because the black-haired boy had driven a knife into the chest of the black-haired man.
"Ugh...!"
I couldn't hold it back. The scene was too horrific. It was terrifying. Chilling. I needed to run. But my feet wouldn't move. My legs refused to obey. My body wouldn't listen.
The blue flames wrapped around the black-haired man began to burn through the knife piercing his chest and into his heart. Blood sprayed like a fountain. The endless flow soaked both men. The white shirt turned crimson, and the floor filled with the man's blood.
"Haa... haa..."
The man with black eyes finally noticed me. Slowly, he turned his head. He looked at me and began to speak, but I couldn't hear him. It was as if the sound had been muted—his voice refused to reach me. I clutched my throbbing head and tried to approach him to hear what he was saying, but it was useless. The closer I got, the farther he seemed, and his voice grew more distant.
"······Still··············you··················."
...What? I can't hear you. What are you trying to say...
'Consciousness...'
Feeling the thread of my consciousness snapping, I had no choice but to close my eyes.
....
"Haaah...! Haaah.....!!"
Again. That dream again. I couldn't remember the details, but it definitely hadn't been a good one. Cold sweat ran down my forehead, and my back was drenched. I tried to recall it, but nothing came. What kind of dream had it been? This was already the third time. Why did I keep having it? Was I missing something? Had I forgotten something important?
Shaking off the uneasy feeling, I headed straight for the shower. Thanks to the mana-stone devices, modern conveniences were available here at Oasis Academy. I stood under the hot water pouring from the mana-stone-powered showerhead.
"Haa.... hoo..."
Letting the hot water hit my face helped calm me down. Nothing worked better for steadying my mind. Sometimes standing there blankly under the heat brought peace. Occasionally it backfired and led to overthinking about life, but the unsettling feeling had completely vanished. Instead, I felt a bit tired from the broken sleep.
Today was a weekday, not the weekend, so I needed to get ready for school. I roughly dried my hair with a towel and stepped out of the shower. The dorm room was reasonably sized—maybe a little too spacious for one person. Looking out the window with that thought, I saw the sun slowly rising in the once-dark sky, and birds beginning to sing. A cool breeze drifted in through the open window. The weather had warmed up enough that even at dawn, it wasn't too cold. Though part of that might be because I didn't feel the cold or heat much anyway.
Anyway! Since I'd woken up early by accident, I might as well prepare ahead of time. Today was Friday, so I could head to school in a good mood. My school life was a bit dull without friends, but peace was the best thing. The final chapter of Act 1 would begin soon. This was probably the last time I could afford to relax. But I'd already lived a life of being constantly pushed around. I had no intention of living that frantically even after entering a game world. Once I escaped from the family, my survival would be guaranteed. If I could just get through summer break safely, the protagonist would handle everything else. So let's take it easy and focus on finding a way back home. Yeah, let's just make it until summer break.
....
Arriving first in class as usual, I sat in my regular seat and gazed out the window. The cool breeze made me think of the past. Back then, it had also been spring, with cherry blossoms scattering in the wind. The breeze had been a little chilly, but the scenery had been truly beautiful. Around this time, I'd joined a club. We watched movies together for club activities and took walks in the nearby park. The club's name had been pretty unique, and at first I'd been surprised by how few members there were. Still, the advisor and the other members had all been good people. Those were good memories. I wondered how those guys were doing now.
Come to think of it, clubs... Vern hadn't joined one. Whether he chose not to or couldn't, it didn't matter. There was no need to join right away. But there were plenty of benefits to being in a club. Special systems and events only available to club members. Having a club wasn't a bad thing. But joining one in Vern's body would be extremely difficult.
Hmm... Should I just make one myself? To establish a club, I needed at least three members. Were there any friends who hadn't joined a club yet? No, first I'd need someone I could even call a friend. Ah, they didn't have to be friends—there were definitely named characters who hadn't joined clubs yet.
'I can just go find them.'
Even if they were ghost members, it didn't matter. I only needed the perks and events. Though clubs could make money during festivals, which made it worth considering. If I was going to make one, I wanted it to be something unique. Yeah... decided. I'll go recruit people after school.
....
It was past four o'clock, and the sun was beginning to set. The road home was filled with students heading out to hang out with friends and others going straight back to the dorms. Among them, I was looking for the student with the most eye-catching hair. A girl with peach-colored hair—Elin.
I stopped her as she walked alone toward the dorms.
"Elin, I have something to talk to you about."
"Eek?! ...Uh, huh? It's you, Vern? What's up?"
"I'm planning to start a club. I'd like you to join. The club is..."
If she refused, there was nothing I could do, but I might as well try. If it worked, great; if not, oh well. That was what I thought, but Elin's answer was completely unexpected.
"Um... okay!"
Huh. I hadn't even explained what the club was yet, and she just agreed.
"I haven't even told you what kind of club it is."
"But if you're the one asking, Vern, then it's fine!"
"I see. Thanks."
"So, Vern, what kind of club are we making?"
She was only asking now? She trusted me way too much.
"The club we're making is..."
....
"That's the kind of club it is. So even if you're just a ghost member, that's fine. Lucy, will you join?"
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
Hmm. Maybe that was pushing it too far.