"Uhm… uh… erm… the thing is… I… Actually—"
Amy kept stuttering, her words tumbling out like scattered raindrops, each one hesitant and uncertain.
"Take your time. I'm listening," I said gently, concern threading my voice. She'd called me out to this secluded spot behind the school, where the old cherry trees cast dappled shadows on the ground. If this were any anime, this would be the perfect place for a confession scene—but alas, life tre—
"I like you."
But alas, life—
"I really, really, really like you."
But alas—
"I love you."
Bu—
"Please… Please! Be my boyfriend."
I stood there, dazed, my thoughts lagging as if my brain couldn't process such sudden input.
"Uhm, Enma? Didn't you hear me? I said that I—"
My heart pounded so loudly in my chest I was sure she could hear it. Flustered, I managed to blurt out,
"I heard you! I totally heard you—very clearly!"
I cleared my throat, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. Honestly, this felt like the best day of my life. My lifelong crush, confessing to me—how convenient could fate be?
I raised my head, meeting her expectant gaze. As always, her face was heartbreakingly cute, her amber eyes usually fierce but now shimmering with uncertainty and longing. She twirled a lock of her long, curly, crimson hair around her finger, a nervous gesture that made her even more endearing. The way she avoided my eyes, cheeks flushed, was absolutely adorable.
Refocusing, I spoke in a firm yet gentle tone, hoping to convey my sincerity.
"I would love to."
Her eyes widened in disbelief, her entire body trembling with joy, as if she might burst from happiness.
"Wait, really… like, really, really?!"
"Yeah, I would love for us to be a cou—"
splat
That once-adorable face, the one I cherished with all my heart, now lay on the ground, still frozen in a joyous smile—except her eyes were empty, lifeless. My mind collapsed. My body wouldn't move.
"Wha?… huh…"
She'd been decapitated in an instant, her neck spraying blood like a grotesque fountain. Her body crumpled to the ground. And then I saw him.
A man in Victorian-era attire—a tailored suit, cane, bow tie, and a top hat. His face was painted like a clown, a twisted, permanent smile carved into his features. Despite never having met him, a part of me recognized him, and that part burned with hatred as fierce as a lake of fire.
Rage, despair, hate, and sorrow surged through me. I roared,
"I'LL FREAKIN' KILL YOU!"
I lunged at him, and as i ran i caught a glimpse of someone with a gnome's head in my peripheral vision. Suddenly, I realized—my heart was gone. I collapsed, blood pooling beneath me, my life draining away. All I could hear was my ragged breathing and the jester's maddening laughter, until—silence.
I found myself in a pitch-black room. Suddenly, dozens of TV screens flickered on, each showing scenes from a foreign life—Enma's life. One screen showed him weeping over a friend's death. Another, him and his allies fighting horrors in a sun-scorched desert. The Scarlet King? Was that what it was called?
"But I don't remember that."
Wait—I? Why did I say "I"? Now that I think about it…
Who
Am
I?
A flood of memories crashed over me, threatening to drown me. I remembered: we were fighting the jester, the leader of the Fool's Carnival. Just as we were about to defeat him, he opened a black box that played a haunting lullaby. Then—something else appeared.
The slumbering one.
The eternal slumber.
The cosmic horror diety known as-
"The dreaming angel".
Its mere presence shattered our minds. Then what? Ah! It trapped us in a cycle of dreams—a samsara of nightmares. This wasn't the first time, or even the three-hundredth. We'd been feeding this thing nightmare after nightmare. That damned jester!
And then, suddenly, it all stopped.
I woke up in my room.
"What a strange nightmare."
I vaguely remembered my crush dying, and something about a samsa… sam… sa? If I can't remember, it probably doesn't matter. I started getting ready for school, just like any other day in—
"Sleepers City."
I've lived here all my life, but the name of this city still feels… strange. Very strange.