Chapter 127: What a Weird Dream

"What the fuck?" Magna’s eyes shot open in his bed. He sat up at once, looking around in a panic.

His room was dark. The only light came from the windows, an azure moonlight spilling in through them.

He wasn’t alone either. Renna lay on his right side, Faye on his left, both of them fast asleep, their calm, steady breathing giving it away.

’What’s going on? Was that a dream?’

This was the first time he had ever experienced such a realistic dream.

’Why are these two sleeping in my room?’ He looked at their faces with a frown.

There was no way he could fall back asleep while sharing his bed with two other people.

Not feeling sleepy anyway, he got out of bed slowly and slipped out of his room quietly, careful not to wake them.

The maid on night duty greeted him the moment he opened the door.

"Young Lord, do you need anything?"

Seeing her actually brought Magna some relief. "Thank you. I just couldn’t sleep, so I’m going to walk around a little."

He started walking toward the study room, thinking it would probably be empty.

Maybe if he read a little, his sleepiness would come back.

Even though it was night, he passed a few maids in the corridors, some cleaning, others carrying clothes and blankets in their arms.

The whole mansion felt like a hotel, except every worker in it served only a handful of people.

’Being rich really is something,’ he thought, feeling amused.

When he reached the study room, he took the key from his pocket and slid it into the keyhole.

Then his eyes opened again.

He once again found himself back in his bed.

His heart raced in his chest, a terrifying feeling creeping through him. He bolted upright from the bed, on guard, scanning every corner of the room.

Sunlight poured in through his windows, lighting up every corner.

There was no sign of Renna or Faye. The room was completely empty.

Magna couldn’t sense anyone either, but he still called out, fairly certain someone was messing with him. "Hello? Can you stop this?"

He tried to stay especially polite, not wanting to anger whoever was playing with him.

He was almost certain of it. Someone had to be there watching him and laughing in amusement, since the experience felt quite similar to the time he had run into Azelith.

At that time the Witch had appeared out of nowhere and cast a spell on him, one he still didn’t fully understand even now.

The most terrifying part of his current station was that he couldn’t even tell whether he was still asleep or actually awake.

He closed and opened his eyes a few times, trying to figure out if he was still dreaming. He even slapped himself a few times, only to feel the pain as real as ever.

’Am I really awake now?’

Right as that thought crossed his mind, his eyes landed on his room door.

"You’ve got to be kidding me." His bedroom door was identical to the handleless door of the study room.

Not wanting to open that door again, he turned toward the window and looked down.

His room was quite high up, but if he jumped, he doubted he’d get hurt much, not with how high his stamina stat was.

He had heard before that falling from somewhere high could wake a person from a dream, so the idea seemed worth trying in that moment.

But the moment he climbed onto the window to jump, the ground below suddenly seemed to pull farther away.

The sudden jolt made him flinch back down into the room.

"What do you want from me?" he called out again, since whoever was trapping him in this clearly didn’t want him escaping through the window.

Unfortunately there was no sound to answer him.

Next, his eyes landed on the door again.

When he checked his pocket, he found the same key that had opened the study room door. It was clear now that he was meant to open it.

But the problem was that every time he opened the door, he woke up right into another dream. That made him hesitate.

He waited a while, hoping the dream might just pass on its own, but no matter how much time he spent waiting, nothing around him changed.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he took the key in his hand and walked toward the door.

"Please let this be the last one," he murmured, sliding the key into the lock.

With a click sound it opened.

The door cracked open slightly, but he didn’t push it any further.

He waited a while to see if anything would happen.

A brightness spilled out through the gap in the door. It was clear the door opened onto somewhere lit, but Magna still felt uneasy.

"If I push the door, will I wake up?" he asked again, hoping this time he’d actually get an answer.

Strangely enough, he did get an answer, though it wasn’t really an answer at all.

A sound began drifting out from the gap in the door, one that seemed to come from very far away.

The sound was faint, coming from somewhere distant. Even with his enhanced hearing, Magna had trouble making it out.

He leaned in a little, bringing his ear closer to hear it better.

’A man’s voice?’ He could finally make out the sound. Someone seemed to be saying something.

The sound was still too chaotic for him to catch the words, but it was some kind of screaming. Not the kind born from pain and terror, more like a shout full of excitement, relief, and celebration.

"Nope, there’s no way I’m opening this door." Magna stepped back, not wanting to become one of those curious movie characters who hears a strange sound, runs to look, and ends up dead.

If there had been a handle on the door, he would have even shut it again.

But this time the door opened on its own, flooding the room and his vision with a blinding white light.

The sound rose along with the light, suddenly clearer and easier to make out.

Even more voices joined the man’s, several people shouting and crying out at once.

"It’s the exit. It’s real. We’re saved."

—

When Magna’s vision finally returned, he found himself lying in his bed again.

"No, no, no, not again." Magna shot upright in bed, looking around his room with tired eyes that carried a trace of dread.

It was daytime again. The morning sun filled his room with warmth, while a light, cool breeze drifted in through the open window, carrying clean air.

Renna and Faye were nowhere to be seen, again.

The first thing Magna checked was the door.

Seeing it looking normal again was the only real relief he could find.

But knowing how realistic his previous dreams had been, he couldn’t make himself believe he was actually awake this time.

Unable to think of any way to check if he was truly awake, he got straight out of bed and walked quickly to the window.

Without a second thought, he jumped out.