I stared at the woman in front of me, my mind running in circles.
Don't tell me this is going to turn into a wet dream?
I never thought I was into cosplay, but hey, I wasn't exactly complaining. She took a few slow, deliberate steps toward me before stopping. Her hand moved behind her neck, fingers grasping something hidden there.
In one smooth motion, she pulled out a wooden staff, its ends adorned with strips of paper marked with strange symbols. The way they fluttered slightly in the air as she held it gave me an uneasy feeling.
I didn't even notice she was carrying that thing.
Then, she suddenly shouted something. Her voice was clear, sharp, but the words slipped past me like wind through my fingers. The only thing I registered was the sheer coldness in her tone, like a blade pressing against my skin.
"…What?" I muttered, blinking at her.
She shouted again. This time, I caught a familiar word amidst the foreign-sounding syllables.
Did she just say… strip?
My expression twisted in confusion. "Strip?" I called back hesitantly.
To my horror, she nodded.
The fuck, brain? Why are you doing this to me?
Was I secretly some kind of weirdo? Had my subconscious been hiding this from me my whole life, only for it to suddenly emerge now? No way. This was my dream, right? That meant I should have control over it.
I straightened up and shot back, "I'm not into that shit. Why don't you strip?"
She didn't react to my words. Instead, she began moving.
The wooden staff spun in her hands with practiced grace, cutting through the air with a fluidity that made it clear she had been training with it for years. Each movement was precise, controlled, almost mesmerizing.
What is she doing?
Then, she lowered her stance. Her right hand stretched forward, fingers poised as if preparing to strike. Her left arm pulled back, gripping the staff at its center. The way she positioned herself sent a spike of unease crawling up my spine.
"H-Hey, you look really weird."
I barely finished speaking before she launched herself toward me.
A sharp panic flared in my chest. "Hey, wait—"
But something even stranger caught my eye.
The wooden staff—it was changing. The inked symbols on the paper strips began glowing, a vivid spring green, pulsing with energy. And then, swirling blades of wind—alive, writhing, as if the air itself had awakened—gathered around the base of the staff.
I blinked.
And suddenly—
She was in the air.
For a split second, I just stood there, frozen, staring in awe. Her posture, the way her staff hovered at her back, the controlled power behind her movements—it was breathtaking.
Then, before I could even process it, she swung.
The staff came down with terrifying speed, aiming straight for my shoulder.
Pain.
A searing, mind-numbing pain exploded through my body the moment the staff made contact. The force of the impact sent a shockwave through my bones, and before I could even let out a scream, my knees buckled.
I collapsed.
My body hit the ground hard, my senses overwhelmed by the burning agony radiating from my shoulder.
Huh?
My brain struggled to catch up.
Then—
"A—Arghhhh! F–fUkk!!"
I let out a strangled cry, my breathing coming in ragged, uneven gasps. My hand shot to my shoulder, fingers trembling as they pressed against the throbbing pain. My whole body shuddered involuntarily, my lungs struggling to keep up with the sudden distress.
Even breathing hurt.
Why—why does it hurt? This is a dream, isn't it?
If pain like this was possible here, then—shouldn't I have woken up by now?
"It hurts... Huff. Huff. Huff—"
I forced myself to breathe deeply, trying to regain some control over my body, but the pain was unrelenting.
Then, before I could react, her fingers curled around my hair.
A sharp yank.
My head was pulled upward, my neck straining under the force.
She leaned in, her cold voice cutting through my dazed mind.
"What are you doing here?"
The throbbing in my shoulder pulsed like a slow-burning fire, sending waves of pain down my arm. My left hand hung limply at my side—unresponsive, useless. I tried to move my fingers, but they refused to obey.
It feels… wrong.
The weight of my arm, the numbness seeping into my bones—it was unsettling, suffocating. I hadn't heard a crack, but something deep inside told me the truth.
It was broken.
I clenched my teeth, my breath shaky. "It hurts... damn it…" I hissed through gritted teeth. "You—stupid… Why'd you hit me? And why does it hurt so much? I thought this was my dream!"
She didn't flinch.
Her gaze, dark and unreadable, remained locked onto mine. "You don't look like one of us."
One of us?
She leaned in even closer, her masked face inches from mine. The air between us was heavy, charged with something I couldn't place.
"How did you get here?" she asked, her voice firmer this time.
I blinked. "Huh?"
The words came out before I could stop them.
For the first time, I had understood her clearly.
But the meaning behind her question only made me more confused.
What does she mean, 'How did I get here?'
Her tone sharpened, irritation creeping into it. "Hm? I thought you understood English. I heard you bullshitting in this language earlier." Her grip on my hair tightened slightly. "So, why are you here?"
I barely heard her.
My mind was drowning in the pain of my shoulder, the way my body felt real, the way every movement sent fresh waves of agony through me.
None of this felt like a dream.
Not the pain. Not the weight of my own body. Not the warmth of my own breath.
I sucked in a sharp breath. "I think my shoulder is broken," I forced out, my voice shaking. "Shit—It hurts!"
She let out a small sigh, like she was already growing impatient. "I don't have time for this." Her grip loosened, but her stance remained firm. "Either tell me what you're doing here, or I'll just get rid of you."
There was no hesitation in her voice. No bluff.
Even though her mask concealed her expression, I could feel the weight of her words.
I stared up at her, my breathing still ragged. "What… are you even talking about?" My voice dropped to a whisper. "Wait…"
A thought crept into my mind, uninvited. A thought I did not want to acknowledge.
I tried to push it away.
But it latched onto me like a parasite, growing, twisting, sinking into the very core of my being.
My stomach twisted.
My heart pounded.
My eyes widened.
This isn't a dream… is it?