Another Dream

A pitch-black rainy night.

I stood alone in the forest.

The pain in my body seemed to have been swept away.

In an instant, I realized this was another dream.

There was no scent of soil or leaves, and the surrounding trees bore no bloodstains or scratch marks.

“Sigh…”

I sighed softly.

I didn’t want to dream.

Dreams are meaningless and only ruin the quality of my sleep.

Just as I tried to fall asleep within the dream, my perspective shifted upwards.

From high above, I watched myself standing dazed on the ground.

‘Huh? A strange experience.’

How should I describe this feeling?

I could barely perceive my own existence, yet I could feel everything the figure below was feeling.

I watched “me” sitting there, asleep, but my mind found no rest.

It was just boring. So boring.

I couldn’t do anything, not even sleep.

Time passed in silence.

Finally, another figure appeared in my field of vision.

The Leader?

Strange. Why would I dream of her?

In my view, the woman, much taller than me, grabbed “my” hair and yanked the sleeping “me” awake.

Strangely, even though I was separated from my body, I could feel the pain with terrifying realism.

The kind of pain where your scalp feels like it’s being torn off.

Why?

Isn’t this my dream?

Why can I feel pain here?

‘…’

I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

It seemed I couldn’t speak in this state.

“Sob! It hurts! I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

The words of the other “me” down below reached my ears.

I wasn’t controlling them.

Why was “I” apologizing? Why?

Yes, why?

The Leader’s lips moved, but I couldn’t hear what she said.

I only saw the other “me” apologizing profusely before being pinned to the ground by the Leader.

Long golden hair and half a face were pressed into the dirt.

I felt a wave of dizziness and a strange sensation of being crushed.

Wait… why was the hair of the “me” on the ground so long?

Only then did I notice that “my” hair reached almost to my waist.

“No, I didn’t. I’ve never done that. I’ve never actively asked for such a thing.”

On the ground, that “me,” who seemed so alien, continued to beg for mercy.

Done what? Asked for what?

I understood every word, but strung together, they sounded like nonsense.

I saw a faint, mocking smile appear on the Leader’s face.

She pulled “me” up, then kicked the back of “my” knees hard, forcing “me” to kneel.

‘Tsk…’

Floating high above, I felt my body sink.

Watching the obedient “me” kneeling with my back to the Leader, I felt a sense of boredom.

These people really do love making others kneel before them.

But soon, my boredom vanished.

A familiar teddy bear suddenly appeared on the ground without warning.

Yet the two people down there seemed completely unaware of it.

Bang bang…

Two gunshots rang out.

First, I felt numbness, and then pain—excruciating, heart-rending pain.

Warm blood flowed down my calves.

‘Hiss… It’s clearly a dream, so why? Why do I feel pain? Is this what being shot feels like?’

My vision blurred from the pain, but I could see the teddy bear lying on the ground.

There was a hole in each of its legs, white cotton spilling out.

“Ahhh!?”

The “me” on the ground wasn’t faring any better.

In fact, “my” condition was worse.

“My” body slumped, nearly collapsing from the kneeling position.

The Leader’s lips moved again.

I saw “my” face turn a shade paler.

“I” pursed “my” lips tightly, not uttering another sound.

The Leader turned “me” around to face a large tree, then walked in front of “me” and crouched down.

I couldn’t see clearly what they were doing.

The next moment, a piercing pain struck, and the vision on my left side vanished.

On the ground, the teddy bear’s left eye was gone, along with the fabric beneath it, leaving only white cotton exposed.

‘Lunatic. She’s an absolute lunatic…’

Nothing feels worse than that.

Imagine someone sticking a finger into your eye socket and gouging the eyeball out.

That is exactly what I just experienced.

What was worse was that I had no way to lessen or alleviate the pain.

I couldn’t even make a sound; I just had to endure it in silence.

Compared to being shot earlier, this pain was many times more excruciating.

But the “me” in my vision didn’t speak again, nor make any coherent sound.

“I” just trembled and let out a muffled groan.

“I” was facing away from me, so I couldn’t see “my” face.

In my vision, Zhou Qiuqin showed no intention of letting “me” go.

A hatchet appeared in her hand, and she gestured with it near “my” left shoulder.

Yes, I no longer wanted to call her “Leader.”

It was my dream anyway; she wouldn’t know what I called her.

‘Wake up. Wake up. Wake up, now.’

I didn’t want to endure this meaningless pain anymore.

I urged myself to wake, but it was useless.

Zhou Qiuqin taunted “me” with the blade for a while.

Every time “I” braced for the pain, she moved the hatchet away.

Repeating this, she wasn’t just torturing “me” physically, but psychologically as well.

Finally, she raised the hatchet high and brought it down heavily.

‘…’

I could no longer think.

With the sound of slicing wind, the blade cutting into flesh, and the cracking of bone, my already weightless body felt even lighter.

If I even had a body to speak of in this state, I think I would have passed out from the pain.

The teddy bear’s left arm was gone.

Large clumps of exposed cotton scattered across the ground.

This poor doll was practically torn to pieces.

On the ground, “I” couldn’t withstand the blow.

“My” body, already exhausted from the torture, collapsed forward.

“My” forehead knocked against the tree, but compared to what came before, that was nothing.

Yet “I” still didn’t say a word.

Why?

What exactly did Zhou Qiuqin say to “me”?

How could “I” endure such pain without letting out a single groan?

If that “me” really is me, Zhou Qiuqin must have used my life as a threat.

If you can hold it in without screaming, I’ll spare your life?

That was the only possibility I could think of.

I am the kind of person who will do anything to survive.

Nothing threatens me but death.

Unfortunately, Zhou Qiuqin’s words can never be trusted.

I saw Zhou Qiuqin step on “my” back, draw her pistol, and fire a finishing shot.

As “I” breathed “my” last, Zhou Qiuqin took out a match and set “my” corpse on fire.

The teddy bear burned.

The crimson flames made my heart panic.

“I see you.”

Zhou Qiuqin turned around, looked up in my direction, and wore a grotesque smile.