‘It's been a few days since we parted with Elenora,’ Alex thought.

  He stood at the edge of a cliff, staring out over a vast valley of mountains and forests as the first light of dawn broke in the east.

  The view triggered a memory.

  In a recent dream, he had stood on a cliff just like this one. Beside him, on a flat stone, sat a girl. Not Elenora, someone else. Her face was a blur, but he remembered her white dress and the way her voice had calmed him. He decided to call her the Mystery Girl.

  In that dream, he remembered staring at a crowd below, a horizon that stretched forever, and a red moon that dominated the sky… right before the sound of shattering glass ended everything.

  Recalling it, Alex felt a chill. Not the cold mountain breeze, but a shiver of recognition.

  It had something to do with his sudden awakening.

  “Speaking of which…” Alex muttered.

  He summoned the screen with a thought. It felt natural now, like flexing a muscle he had always possessed.

  ------------------------------ MORPHEUS ------------------------------

  Lucidity : 36% ▼

  Realm Alignment : (Lucid Realm) ▼

  Lucidity Tier : Tier 1 (Lucid Dreamer) ▼

  Tier Level : Lv.1 (Awakened) ▼

  Dream Resonance : 110/200 ▼

  Dream Trial : The Crying Spire (Uncompleted) ▼

  Fragment Recall : 2 ▼

  Anchor : Those You Long For are within reach, yet worlds lie between you.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Having exceeded the resonance threshold, his status had shifted. He was no longer Dormant. He was Awakened.

  [ Lucidity Tier: Tier 1 (Lucid Dreamer) ]

  [ Description: You have opened your eyes within the dream. The world is no longer what it seems. You have begun to learn how to navigate the river’s current. Here, you learn the first law of this new existence: Awareness is the foundation upon which all power is built. ]

  [ Tier Level: Lv.1 (Awakened) ]

  [ Description: The first, startling moment of true consciousness. The world snaps into sharp focus. You are no longer asleep: you are here. ]

  [ Notice: Consciousness Detected. Welcome, Awakened Dreamer. ]

  “Yup. That sounds about right,” Alex sighed.

  Since his "Awakening," he had gained a sense of understanding he couldn't quite articulate. In a way, he had begun to feel human.

  He felt hunger and thirst, sensations that were absent since the stone room. The breeze felt real on his skin. The morning light had warmth. Even his sense of taste had magically appeared during last night's meager dinner.

  He realized he had been on autopilot before. He thought he was aware, but he had been sleepwalking through the dream.

  Now, he was here.

  But the low Lucidity percentage (36%) mocked him.

  “Not even half,” he muttered.

  He had assumed higher Lucidity meant higher awareness. But it seemed true awareness came from Resonance, which meant understanding the dream’s logic rather than just willpower.

  So many questions. And he knew exactly where to get answers.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  [ Fragment Recall: 2 ]

  He had two Fragments now. Two questions he could ask the Morpheus.

  ‘What should I ask?’

  He wanted to know the truth behind dreams. He wanted to know how to control them. He wanted to know if Elenora was real.

  But the warning [USE WISELY] held him back.

  “Truly understanding Morpheus might be the key to all this,” Alex whispered.

  [ Dream Resonance: +10 ]

  The notification chimed in his mind, validating his theory. Resonance was a reward for insight. It was a guide.

  “Well then…”

  Before Alex could open the Fragment menu, a voice echoed from the cave mouth behind him.

  “Alex! There you are. Up so early again?”

  Roric stepped out, stretching his arms and yawning loudly. “Or perhaps I’m the one who slept in. I can't see Iris anywhere.”

  ‘You had to show up now,’ Alex thought, annoyed.

  He dismissed the screen and turned. “She said she’d try to find a way out. Since someone got us lost.”

  “Oh, come on. For the eighth time, we are not lost,” Roric said, waving a dismissive hand. “This is a detour. A scenic route. You have to admit, nothing beats these views.”

  He gestured grandly toward the valley. Golden light painted the grey rock and green vegetation in a warm, welcoming glow.

  But Alex felt only revulsion. The forest below felt wrong. It concealed things.

  “Right… views,” Alex said dryly. “Can we at least find a way to the Sunken Archives?”

  Elenora had been clear. ‘Find the answers at the Archives. Then meet me at Stoneheart.’

  Alex didn't care about the answers. He just wanted to see her again. It was an overwhelming, irrational feeling, but he didn't question it.

  ‘Just play the game, Alex. Follow the quest markers.’

  A soft thud interrupted his thoughts.

  Iris landed at the edge of their camp, silent as a shadow.

  “Our only way forward is through the forest,” she said. Her voice was soft but firm.

  She didn't face him. She stared resolutely at a pine tree to his left.

  Alex sighed internally. ‘She still won't look at me.’

  It had been excruciatingly awkward since they realized she was the maid who had walked in on him naked.

  ‘Why do I have to travel with the girl who saw everything?’ Alex paused. ‘Have to admit she seems… a bit different.’

  “So, are we clear on that?” Roric asked, breaking the tension.

  “Uh… what?” Alex blinked.

  “I said, we move out. We’re cutting through the forest.”

  Alex stared at him. “Are you serious? You know what’s in there, right? Can’t we go around?”

  Roric’s smirk was infuriatingly bright. “Don’t worry. Roric is here. Besides, going around would take months. You do want to reach the Archives this century, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “Master Roric is correct,” Iris said. She turned her head slightly in Alex’s direction, though her bright brown eyes focused on his shoulder. “I, too, assured my Lady that I would ensure your safety, Master Alex.”

  Alex let out a long, defeated sigh. “Fine. If you both say so. And please… just call me Alex. No ‘Master’.”

  The decision hung in the cold morning air.

  Roric clapped his hands. “Right! Strap your gear tight. We move light, and we move quiet. The forest has ears.” His expression turned uncharacteristically serious. “And teeth. Keep that sword close, and your wits closer.”

  Alex adjusted his belt. The weight of the sword was becoming familiar, strangely comforting.

  He glanced at Iris. With her hood down, he could see her clearly. Pale skin, practical brown hair cut to her neck. Beneath her cloak, he caught a glimpse of her weapons: a coiled rope with cruel, hook-like blades.

  She moved with a silent efficiency that made Alex feel clumsy.

  With a final grim look at the sunlit valley, a beautiful lie masking the nightmare beneath, Roric took the lead. His calm demeanor was gone, replaced by a hunter’s tread. Iris fell in behind him.

  Alex took a deep breath. Pine and damp earth filled his lungs.

  He stepped off the solid rock and onto the soft, decaying loam of the forest floor.

  The temperature dropped instantly. The golden light fractured into weak spears through the dense canopy, leaving the world in a permanent, green-shaded twilight. The birdsong vanished, replaced by a heavy, watchful silence.

  The Whisperwood had swallowed them whole.

  [ Dream Resonance : +30 ]

  [ Acknowledgment : Entering Tier 1 Dream Nexus - “The Corrupted Glade”. Proceed with caution. ]

  This chapter introduced two big concepts: the Corrupted Glade and the Dream Nexus.

  I'm curious, what are your early theories?