It took a while, but I finally made it down from the building. Stepping onto the cracked pavement, I took a moment to take in the scene around me. It looked like something straight out of a fantasy—an endless stretch of ruins bathed in the glow of the full moon.
The sky, speckled with twinkling stars, stretched wide and open, a contrast to the desolation below. The moon's silvery light illuminated the crumbling cityscape, casting long shadows over the wreckage of buildings—some half-destroyed, others reduced to nothing but rubble. Scattered remnants of the past littered the ground: abandoned vehicles, twisted metal, shattered glass, and broken chunks of concrete. It was as if this place had once been caught in the middle of a war and then forgotten, left to be swallowed by time.
And yet, despite its abandonment, the place didn't feel lifeless. I wasn't alone here.
The road beneath my feet was in terrible shape—fractured with deep cracks, some parts completely caved in, forming gaping holes. Just like in every dream, the streets were inhabited by those strange, shadowy figures, wandering aimlessly.
A four-legged silhouette that vaguely resembled a dog passed by me, moving with an eerie silence, not even acknowledging my presence.
I let out a dry chuckle. My brain sure is creative.
The road ahead seemed to be in better condition compared to the destruction on the other side, so I didn't waste time thinking—I just started walking.
~
"Wow," I muttered under my breath. "So detailed…"
After wandering for a while, I arrived at a massive intersection. Crisscrossing above me were towering flyovers, their concrete structures overwhelmed by nature. Thick vines coiled around the supports, digging into the cracked surfaces, while tree roots had forced their way through the pavement, splitting it apart.
One of the flyovers had partially collapsed—a broken section dangled precariously, one side still attached while the other lay shattered on the ground.
At the heart of the crossroad stood something that immediately caught my attention—a massive tree, its silver bark gleaming under the moonlight, its presence otherworldly.
The tree radiated a soft glow, casting a faint, ethereal light over its surroundings. Its roots sprawled across the intersection, breaking through the concrete, wrapping around fallen street signs and abandoned cars like skeletal fingers.
The most mesmerizing part, though, was its leaves. They shimmered like tiny stars, pulsing gently, swaying ever so slightly even though I couldn't feel a single breeze. The glow they emitted wasn't from the moon—it was their own, like fireflies trapped in the shape of leaves.
The entire sight was enchanting, yet there was something deeply unsettling about it.
Somehow… I got the feeling that the tree was alive.
As I stood there, mesmerized by the sight, a faint rustling sound made me snap out of my thoughts.
My body tensed as my eyes darted around, scanning the surroundings. But the area was empty—no figures, no creatures, nothing moving except for the soft swaying of the tree's leaves.
There's no one here.
I shook my head. I'm being paranoid again.
This was just a dream—a sequence of thoughts, images, and sensations created by my brain during sleep.
There's no one else here. There can't be.
Pushing the thought aside, I decided to get a closer look at the tree. But just as I took a few steps forward, the rustling sound returned, clearer this time.
My instincts flared, and I whipped around, eyes locking onto the exact spot where I had just been standing moments ago.
Something was different.
Roots.
They were pushing up through the cracks in the pavement—roots that hadn't been there before.
They just appeared?
A strange unease crawled up my spine.
Slowly, I crouched down, reaching out to touch one of the fresh roots. It was rough, covered in patches of dirt and stone, its surface cold against my fingers.
Then, suddenly, the entire area brightened.
I blinked, momentarily disoriented. The dim, eerie glow of the tree was overtaken by a harsh, blinding light coming from the same direction I had arrived from. It was as if someone had just flipped a massive switch, flooding the ruins with illumination.
I turned around instinctively.
A massive source of light had materialized in the distance, glowing fiercely. It lingered for only a moment before it began to dim, then vanished entirely, leaving behind a powerful gust of wind that swept through the area.
Loose debris scattered across the road, tiny rocks shifting and bouncing across the pavement from the sheer force.
I shielded my face with my arm. "What the... what was that?"
But before I could fully process it, another disturbance followed—loud, grating sounds filled the air.
In the direction of the vanished light, towering buildings were beginning to collapse, crumbling under some unseen force. Sharp, eerie creaks echoed through the silence, followed by deep, rumbling crashes.
And then—
"Hyah!"
A voice.
Faint but distinct. Someone shouting.
I stared blankly. "Hyah?" I echoed in confusion.
What the hell was happening now?
Why did these dreams keep getting weirder?
A memory surfaced—one that I had tried to push away. A nightmare from before. The day I encountered that beast. The one that nearly killed me.
But… was it really a dream?
I had visited that same place in real life afterward, and nothing was there.
There was no proof of its existence. No logic to support it.
There was no way something like that could exist… right?
My thoughts spiraled, tangled between reality and delusion.
My grip on what was real and what wasn't had been slipping ever since this all started.
No. Stop overthinking.
Think rationally.
There's no way any of this is real.
The only logical explanation was that, after my accident, I was losing my mind.
And the only thing I could do was keep moving forward.
With a deep sigh, I muttered, "I should've demanded more tests from those doctors."
Whatever. No point standing around. I needed to see what was happening over there.
I started walking toward the source of the noise, when—
Another voice.
Fainter this time.
Muffled, unintelligible words carried through the air.
I couldn't understand what they were saying, but the fact that I could hear them at all meant one thing—
Whoever they are, they're really loud.
Or…
I was dreaming inside a dream.
Or…
I was just losing my mind and overanalyzing my own hallucination.
Or—
Stop thinking already.