The digital clock in the room displayed 10:27 AM.
Zen's eyes fluttered open. His chest felt tight, the suffocating feeling from the dream still clinging to him like a phantom. He sat up, pressing a hand to his forehead... the phantom sensation of warm blood running down his arm from the dream that had just ended... it still felt like it was on his skin, even though it wasn't real.
...That world again. The world where I couldn't do anything.
Today was his day off. No work, no obligations. Just him and the dream that still coiled in his mind. He picked up his phone and dialed someone—the person he trusted most in this world.
The call was answered almost too quickly.
"What's up? Another dream, I take it?"
"Yeah... this one was long... and..." Zen swallowed hard, the words catching in his throat.
A soft laugh came from the other end. "If you try to tell me the whole thing, you'll be talking until tomorrow. Stop talking and just come over."
"...Okay."
Not long after, a black, autonomous cab pulled up in front of Zen's condo. He got in without a word. The AR glass inside automatically adjusted its tint to his face. The destination was already set.
"Her Place."
Her house was located in the heart of an inner-city residential district. From the outside, it looked like a large, ordinary two-story minimalist home. But the inside was a fully-equipped martial arts gym. Swords, two-handed blades, wooden staffs, and MMA practice gear were arranged neatly on the walls. One side of the floor was covered in training mats, the other was a glass-enclosed room for sparring.
This was her world... and on some days, his sanctuary as well.
The sliding door opened automatically as Zen stepped inside. She was waiting for him in the middle of the room, wearing a sleeveless training top and shorts that ended just at her knees. Her hair was braided as usual, and a light sheen of sweat on her hairline and neck suggested she had just been working out. Natural, yet still as sharp and capable as ever.
"Good morning... You look even more worn out than usual," she said with a faint smile, leading him toward a long sofa.
Zen sank into the seat, took a deep breath, and began to recount the entire dream… starting from when he awoke in the body of the boy named Xu Yianzi. The journey into the forest... the encounter with the black-furred fox beast... the fight that nearly cost him his life. He even included the part about his own voice trying to warn the boy... but being unable to do anything at all.
The young woman listened in silence. No interruptions, no questions, no interjections.
It wasn't until Zen had finished that she shifted slightly and spoke.
"If I say something... don't get mad, okay?"
Zen nodded quietly.
She looked him straight in the eyes and said, "I don't think your dreams... are just 'dreams,' you know?" Her tone was tinged with a light chuckle, but her eyes held a serious weight. "Ever since we met, you've always had these bizarre dreams. Dreams where you can feel things... sometimes they even change the way you think..."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "In other dreams, you could talk to them, help them. Why can't you do the same in this one?"
Zen was silent for a long time, his eyes staring at the floor as if chasing his own thoughts. Then he mumbled softly, "...Might as well try... hope it works."
He shifted slightly, leaning back against the sofa. "...But I'll have to wait for a chance to get back to that dream first."
In the afternoon, the two of them went out for a meal at a small restaurant near the local sports field. They talked about their high school days, the gym, the time she had accidentally knocked him out during a spar. For a moment, the light laughter returned, and the atmosphere became more relaxed than it had been that morning.
When they were full, she led him out of the restaurant toward the side parking lot. A sleek, black sedan was parked there. A driver in a sharp uniform quickly got out and opened the door respectfully. It wasn't a public cab like the one Zen usually took, but her family's private car... often used for transportation.
Zen hesitated slightly before she spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'll have my driver take you. It's more convenient."
He gave a small nod and got into the car. Before the door closed, he turned to look at her one last time.
"Thanks... for always listening to these dreams."
She didn't reply, just offered a small smile and a slight nod.
The car slowly pulled out of the parking lot, carrying Zen back to his apartment amidst a city still teeming with lights and chaos.
Back in his room, Zen collapsed into a chair, his gaze drifting aimlessly across the ceiling before his chair swiveled to face the holographic computer beside his desk.
If I'm really going to help in the dream... I'll need to understand more about that world.
He turned on the machine. A floating display materialized. His right hand swiped through the air with practiced ease, opening old files he had saved since his student days—research documents on ancient magic, mystic symbols, theories on psychic waves.
He scrolled and scrolled... until one file appeared. "Undecipherable Symbols from the Northern Ruins."
He remembered... his professor at the time had said they didn't resemble any known language or script, but they looked similar to the "Runes" used in old fantasy novels.
Zen stared at it intently.
If that world has formations... but I can't do anything... then what if... I try to get him to use these instead?
Dozens of strange, shaped characters were arranged before him. Arcs, intersecting lines, and junctions surrounded by an alphabet from no known world.
Zen sighed softly before closing the file.
Whatever... If I see that dream again, I'll give it a shot...
He shut down the machine, leaned back in his chair, and slowly closed his eyes, a barely audible whisper escaping his lips.
"Please... let this work."
"Sometimes, a whisper in the heart... can change the fate of a universe."