Sweet Dreams

Tongues of fire churned.

Inside the long cargo hold, thick smoke twisted and spiraled like a living black python through the narrow passage.

The air was scorched, thin and scalding; every breath felt like swallowing a glowing blade.

A sight reminiscent of purgatory.

Everything within view distorted and melted under the high temperature.

Rustle… rustle…

I saw it—a figure.

A muscular silhouette, built like cast iron, moved with a slowness that felt almost frozen in time.

Held tightly in his arms was a female with the upper body of a person and the lower body of a snake.

Her long tail trailed across the charred floor, leaving a startling, winding, viscous trail of dark red, as if she were dead.

But, that was only “as if.”

Her chest still rose and fell—a movement so slight it could be missed if one wasn’t looking closely.

The moment I noticed this, my vacant gaze snapped back into focus, and an inexplicable impulse began to surge in my chest.

The world suddenly went silent.

The roar of the flames, the wails, the heartbeat—all were drowned out by a deeper, more profound rumbling.

I only knew that my arms erupted with an incredible, savage strength, forcibly propping my body up as tattered scraps of clothing and charred wood chips fell away.

The edges of my vision began to blacken, like pitch being poured over my eyes, yet that single figure became clearer and clearer. So clear I could see every pattern on her body, hear every faint, painful breath she took.

‘Still… alive…’

‘That beast… is still breathing…’

Dark emotions gradually neared their breaking point.

“Unforgivable…”

The words squeezed through my gritted teeth, raspy and barely human, like a blade scraping against rusted iron.

My fists clenched, nails digging into my charred palms, but I felt no pain.

My shoulders trembled—not from fear, but because muscles were tearing and bones were creaking, as if this physical shell could no longer contain the boiling contents within.

Darkness surged up from the depths of my chest, hotter than fire and more toxic than smoke, carrying with it—

Regret.

Resentment.

Hatred.

And then—

Destruction.

Something snapped.

It wasn’t my sanity, but the final iron chain deep within that locked away the beast.

Everything condensed into a single thought, an instinct, a roar crawling out from the filthiest corner of my soul:

‘Kill them—!’

Bang!

Leaning my center of gravity forward, I turned all my rage into power beneath my feet and charged recklessly.

Slit their throats!

Let the scalding, foul blood spray onto their own terrified faces!

Pull out their venomous tongues!

Stuff them into their mouths that will never close again!

Tear them in half at the waist!

Let them taste this bone-shattering despair!

Every word was soaked in the scent of blood and fire. The flames of revenge, nearly overflowing from my eyes, burned madly in the depths of my pupils. My body lurched forward as my broken limbs erupted with a final, desperate strength. Carrying a resolve for mutual destruction, I lunged toward those two retreating figures—the source of everything!

Bang!

The world suddenly froze.

That iron-like arm simply swung out casually.

Like brushing away a speck of dust.

Like swatting a mosquito.

Agony exploded in my chest; the crisp snap of breaking ribs was clearly audible.

My body went airborne, spinning. My vision whirled amidst a spray of bloody froth before I slammed heavily into the burning wreckage.

“Cough—!“

Shattered teeth mixed with blood spilled from the corner of my mouth. I struggled to lift my head. In my blurred vision, that man didn’t even turn around; he only tilted his head slightly.

There was no contempt, nor any surprise—only a deep sense of confusion.

It was as if an elephant found the movement of an attacking ant incomprehensible.

‘Damn it… damn it…’

Their movements didn’t falter for a second because of my attack. That back remained steady, the footsteps remained composed, as if the charge just now had been nothing more than an insignificant breeze.

“Bastards… bastards…”

A sob.

With my teeth clenched tight, tears slid from the corners of my eyes, and bitterness spread through my mouth.

I couldn’t do anything.

Faced with true power… I was as weak as an insect…

A sensation more bitter than tears surged from the back of my throat, something scalding that seared my heart—

Despair.

“No… no!”

Subconsciously, with extreme difficulty, I raised a hand toward those receding figures.

The back of my hand, coming into view, was covered in filthy dust and fresh, hideous blisters.

My fingertips trembled, grasping fruitlessly at the air, as if I could catch something, catch that disappearing silhouette—

Crack…

Above me came the groan of something breaking.

I knew that sound… it was the desperate cry of a wooden beam scorched by fire.

BOOM!!!

The burning ceiling crashed down. In the instant that crimson and darkness swallowed everything—

I heard the last sound squeezed from my throat.

It wasn’t a roar.

It wasn’t a curse.

It was a whimper.

Short, broken, like the sound a young animal makes when its spine is stepped on—

[……！]

Suddenly, I propped myself up.

My chest heaved violently, large beads of sweat rolled down my face, and my wide eyes were filled with shock.

“Hah! Hah! Hah…”

But soon, as the scenery before me cleared, my heart began to steady.

There was no searing sea of fire.

My breath didn’t pull in choking smoke.

The ground didn’t feel the slightest bit shaky.

I’m… not on the ship?

I instinctively looked at my arms. Beneath me was a pile of dry straw.

I lifted my head to look around. Simple earthen walls showed water stains, old wooden barrels were piled in the corner, and through a simple window—really just a square hole—a sliver of moonlight as thin as gauze spilled in, silently illuminating the room.

A simple thatched hut.

I slowly raised my hand, but I didn’t see the wounds I expected. Instead, I saw bandages neatly wrapped after a thorough cleaning.

Moving my arm out of my line of sight, I noticed my luggage placed neatly against the wall at the end of the straw pile, as if a partner were saying to me—’You’ve finally woken up.’

The thing just now… was a dream?

The vividness of those images made it hard to believe the scene before me was reality.

I… I survived? From that purgatory?

Memories of fire and death surged in my mind once again like a tidal wave.

I endured my physical discomfort and rewound my memories, searching for clues.

The last thing I saw… was the Nako race clad in armor. They were fighting fiercely, and the Nako language they screamed seemed to mean… ‘Rescue the kin’?

They were well-equipped, and their combat movements were highly trained.

Judging by the Sirens’ reactions, they clearly hadn’t expected this situation.

“…So, I was rescued.”

I had almost reached a certain answer. I lowered the hand propping up my head, and my gaze returned to my surroundings.

This might be a Nako stronghold, or perhaps where they lived.

In other words, it shouldn’t be dangerous here.

After all, I wasn’t bound, my wounds had been treated, and…

I squeezed my hand gently. That feeling of weakness and trembling fingers had long since vanished.

The fever was gone.

My body was recovering.

For someone who had been imprisoned on a ship for over ten days, this was a luxury that felt like a dream.

Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.

Although it was different from the original plan, I had at least survived.

To pluck a life from such a desperate situation—how fortunate, how…

Drip.

On the dry straw, a strange wet spot appeared.

Drip… drip…

Then another, and another, falling like raindrops and spreading—

Tears.

“Eh?”

My throat had become choked up without me realizing it.

Tears continued to pour out, sliding down my bewildered face.

At a time like this, shouldn’t I feel relief? Shouldn’t I be celebrating that I survived? Why am I…

My mind and body were like misaligned gears. When the bitterness of the tears reached the corner of my mouth, the bone-chilling truth—temporarily suppressed by the nightmare—suddenly bit through the bubble of luck like a lurking venomous snake.

—Leni-chan!

That voice, always full of vibrant life and constant surprises, was silenced forever.

“No… that’s not right…”

The voice squeezed from my throat was dry and raspy, like sandpaper rubbing together.

I shook my heavy head in a futile attempt to shake off the thick, foul blood, trying to dispel the vision etched into my marrow.

She was right there… within reach, so close I could feel her breath.

My vision was completely blurred and melted by the hot liquid.

The earthen walls of the simple hut dissolved and peeled away. The scene rewound frantically, instantly replaced by that narrow, cold corridor reeking of death and despair.

The cold metallic touch of the lock-picking tools pressed into my palm again. Before me was still that door, the symbol of the escape’s end.

The glimmer of hope was just behind the crack of the door.

—Run!

The beast burst through the door, opening its bloody maw.

Those hands that pushed me away carried a desperate strength.

The next moment, her thin silhouette precisely filled the space that originally belonged to me—the space torn by fangs.

A hair’s breadth away, yet separated forever by life and death.

“I touched it… I clearly… touched the edge of her clothes…”

My fingertips twitched neurotically, grasping fruitlessly at the cold air in front of me.

If only I had one more inch… even if my nails had grown one inch longer… I could have hooked her and pulled her back.

At that time, if I had just reached out a little more… I could have reached her.

The hallucination built from memory began a cold rewind. Time let out the click-clack of reversing gears. The monster retreated, the flying fragments gathered and reorganized bizarrely, and the broken door was restored.

And she… with a heartbreaking precision, rewound to the posture she had before lunging toward me.

The distance was close enough to see the reflected fear in her eyes and… the resolve to protect me.

At such a close distance, if only I… if only I had noticed earlier…

I reached out desperately, intending to stop her actions, and yet—

My weak body felt as if it were filled with lead. My outstretched arm was heavy and sluggish. I didn’t even have time to raise my arm, let alone scream the words, before time ruthlessly pushed forward.

The beast broke the door; I was pushed aside by her lunge once again…

Then, she vanished once more under the shadow of fangs and claws.

No.

That’s not it, this won’t do… I should have caught her the moment she lunged, that way we could have dodged together!

The hallucination rewound and reset again.

This time, the moment she lunged, I held her tight.

I caught her—this fool who would give up her life just to save mine. I stopped her!

“ROARRRR!”

However.

The entanglement of the embrace caused us to lose precious space to dodge. The shadow of death descended with even greater speed, the target of the fangs becoming two overlapping silhouettes.

Death arrived.

“No… that’s wrong!”

A beast-like low growl erupted from my throat. My memory was frantically shredded and reversed.

Further back, further… further back! Before I became distracted because the lock was almost open… No! Even before I decided to pick the lock… No! Even before I decided to take this path!

Countless “if” nodes were lit up, only to be extinguished one by one by the cold logic of reality. Every rewind, every reset, every futile attempt felt like a blunt knife repeatedly cutting my soul. It had become an unsolvable equation, and I was like a delusional lunatic, stubbornly believing that if I just found the “correct” input, I could output a version of her that was alive.

But no matter what I chose, this equation only led to the same desperate end—

Her death.

“Just wait a bit longer… give me a little more time…”

My voice trembled, carrying a plea that even I couldn’t believe.

“It’s just a change of plan, right… just like always. No matter what the difficulty, I’ll definitely find a way… Trust me, we can definitely escape together… when the time comes… I’ll go with you… You…”

The address that should have slipped out of my mouth got stuck deep in my throat, becoming a scalding, bitter lump.

A total blank.

That girl who always foolishly stayed by my side, giving me warmth and escaping with me… I couldn’t even call out her name at the very end.

The lethal blank turned into a heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing all my illusory struggles to pieces.

The carefully constructed hallucination full of “ifs” shattered like fragile glass.

The cold, heavy, suffocating reality collapsed like ten thousand tons of seawater.

“Ugh… uh-aaaaah—”

A suffocating whimper squeezed out from the depths of my twisted throat. The air in my lungs was instantly forced out; my heart was gripped by an invisible hand, deformed and aching.

The despair accumulated to its breaking point, the regret enough to corrode my very marrow…

Finally exploded.

“Ah… ah… AAAAAAAH—!”

A soul-shredding roar.

A shriek of a soul being completely torn apart.

“Are you kidding me… are you kidding me! Bastard! Aaaaaah! Waaaaaaah—!”

My nails dug deep into the straw beneath me, as if trying to claw through the floor.

I howled madly, letting my body convulse violently.

Tears and saliva mixed with uncontrollable dry heaving, completely blurring every sensation.

“Why… why did it turn out like this… there were so many chances… there were still several seconds… I could have done something… Why, why did I do nothing! Why did I just watch like that! Aaaaaah!”

Bang!

My fist, carrying the wail of flesh and bone, slammed hard against the cold earthen wall.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Once, twice—the dull thuds echoed in the small space. It was as if what stood before me wasn’t a wall, but the cursed, incompetent, “self” that deserved to be erased.

“Making grand boasts! Weaving lies! Then lingering on like trash!”

With every strike came a curse hissed through my teeth.

“Why is a piece of trash like you the one who survived? By what right… by what right did she die for you?! Speak! Answer me! You failure! Answer me! Aaaaaah!!”

BANG—!!

A sound much duller and hollower than before.

The sensation of knuckles grinding and breaking against the rough wall was covered by a deeper, viscous warmth. A pitch-black crimson stained an irregular, ugly mark onto the yellowish-brown wall.

Regret, hatred, resentment—these surging dark floods seemed to find an outlet the moment I threw that punch, roaring as they poured out.

“You… shouldn’t have… saved me.”

My blood-stained fist dropped like that of a broken puppet.

Kneeling before the bloodied wall, my body lost all strength as if I had been emptied out.

Tears slid silently, washing away the filth on my face, but they couldn’t wash away the bone-chilling fact.

“Why… did you save me… why…”

The one truly facing death was me, standing at the door.

She had noticed the movement long ago. If she had just abandoned me, it never would have—

[Because… I want to leave with Leni-chan.]

In my mind, that voice—so clear it didn’t contain a hint of impurity—rang out.

In that fleeting place of tranquility, she had blinked those eyes that reflected pure starlight, looking at me with a gaze that was natural, almost naive.

—Why?

Facing that foolish question, the answer had long been revealed in her defenseless trust.

[What do you mean ‘why’? Aren’t we friends?]

“I know… I know…”

My vision was completely submerged by surging tears once again. The salty liquid stung my wounds, yet it couldn’t compare to the agonizing pain of my heart being pierced.

In that moment, I knew deeply what kind of mistake I had made.

I had touched that unreserved sincerity; I had already decided to repent.

So, I made up my mind to save you no matter what.

“But… why… why!”

I snapped my head up, the muscles on my face twisting and twitching from extreme grief and indignation, tears flowing like a burst dam.

“I repented! I knew I was wrong! I even planned with the highest priority of both of us being saved! But why… why was this the result in the end, why! Aaaaaah—!”

I clutched my head, falling into a frenzy once again.

My body slumped back onto the straw, twitching and rolling violently amidst the dust and my own filth.

Every moment with her, every image, rewound frantically in my mind which was on the verge of collapse.

That face full of timidity and unease when we first met.

The way her eyes would always widen in surprise at my words as we grew closer.

The clumsy silhouette that still chose to approach even after being met with harsh words and a brief period of gloom.

The strength that reached out to help without hesitation on the edge of death.

The resilience that was willing to become my legs in the mire of despair.

The unreserved trust, the resolve that handed over her vulnerable back completely.

Such a fool… such a… friend… such a partner…

“Give her back… give her back to me!”

Every memory was like a scrap of paper thrown into a void fire, turning into scattered black embers in the violently burning flames. Her vivid, warm, colorful silhouette quickly faded, carbonized, and disintegrated into ash that could not be put back together.

“You’re not allowed to take her away… that’s… that’s my precious friend, give her back, give her back to me! Aaaaaah!”

My fingers clawed madly at the straw beneath me, like a drowning person grabbing a final straw, only to catch handfuls of cold, broken nothingness.

—I believe in Leni-chan.

Those eyes, clear to the bottom.

—Leni-chan is so smart, there’s no way you’ll die!

Her natural, one-hundred-percent trust.

—Leni-chan, what is your dream?

The way she looked when lost in a beautiful wish was so pure.

—Even though Leni-chan is a girl, becoming a hero feels unexpectedly fitting, meow!

Her… expectation and blessing that never mocked me, but was entirely without malice.

“I’m not Leni… I’m not a girl, and I’m certainly no ‘hero’…”

I’m nothing but a coward, a despicable, selfish jerk.

“You… you were the one who saved me… you are…”

My throat choked up; the last word was squeezed out as if using up all my strength.

“The hero.”

My hero.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Unable to support myself any longer, I slammed my face hard into the filth beneath me—the straw mixed with tears, blood, and the smell of rot.

My body curled up, leaving only uncontrollable, broken sobs, and a heart-wrenching denial and despair—

Completely swallowed by endless regret and pain.