I continued walking, my steps steady as I made my way toward my destination, hoping to finally understand what was happening there.
Above me, the moon had shifted. It had been directly overhead earlier, but now it hung lower in the sky, drifting toward the east. My brow furrowed as I glanced up at it.
Weird. Doesn't the full moon set in the west?
I muttered the thought under my breath but quickly dismissed it. It didn't matter. None of this was real anyway—it was just another dream. Overanalyzing it would only make it seem more real than it actually was.
—
As I pressed forward, the air around me grew thick, heavier with each step. A fine layer of dust and concrete particles clung to the atmosphere, making it harder to breathe. The dry, grainy texture of it scraped against my throat, and with every inhale, I could taste the lingering bitterness of stone and debris. The haze around me grew denser, swallowing up the surrounding landscape, blocking my vision.
Then, a sound—deep and resonant—shook the ground beneath me. A tremor rumbled through my feet, the vibrations crawling up my legs like an unsteady pulse.
A moment later, a powerful gust of wind tore through the area.
It came without warning, an overwhelming force that blasted away the suffocating dust in an instant. The sheer pressure of it nearly knocked me off my feet, my body leaning against the current as I struggled to stay upright. The wind roared in my ears, a force so immense that for a moment, it felt like the world itself had exhaled.
Then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, the wind died down.
The thick veil of dust had vanished, and the view ahead of me came into focus.
And what I saw left me breathless.
My eyes widened, my heart pounding against my ribs.
A vast stretch of land had been utterly flattened.
Where there had once been houses, buildings, roads—entire foundations—now lay an open wasteland, as if someone had taken a colossal hand and wiped everything away. Hundreds of meters of land had been reduced to nothing more than barren soil, like a newly tilled field waiting to be planted.
I recognized this place.
This was the same path I had taken after leaving that apartment. The same place where that towering ten-story building should have been.
But it was gone.
Vanished.
The realization sent a cold shiver down my spine.
"What even happened here…?" I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper as I took in the devastation before me.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement.
A silhouette.
A person.
My breath hitched.
Among all the bizarre things I had seen in my past dreams, this was the first time I had ever encountered something that resembled a human.
"Hey!" I called out, my voice echoing across the desolate landscape.
But the figure didn't respond.
They simply continued walking, their pace steady, unhurried.
I tried to move toward them, but just as I did, they disappeared beyond the horizon, swallowed up by the remnants of the ruined cityscape.
~
By the time I reached the other side, they were nowhere to be found.
I frowned, scanning the empty road ahead.
This was the path they took, right?
Determined, I climbed onto the elevated road, my steps deliberate as I followed the route they had taken.
~
Then, just as I took a step forward—
My body slammed into something solid.
The impact was sudden, jarring. I stumbled backward, my hand instinctively flying to my face, fingers pressing against the throbbing ache where I had collided with… something.
I winced. "Ouch… What did I just hit?"
The road ahead of me was clear. If my eyes weren't deceiving me, there was nothing in front of me. No wall. No barrier. Just an open path stretching forward.
Then what did I even run into?
Cautiously, I extended my hand.
And just as I suspected—my palm came to a halt against something solid.
Yet, visually, there was nothing there.
An invisible wall?
A strange sense of intrigue settled over me. My fingers traced along the unseen surface, pressing against it with more force, but no matter how hard I pushed, it refused to budge.
Why is this even here?
Can I cross it?
Why would I even dream about something like this?
I shook my head. Stop questioning everything.
Still, curiosity got the better of me. I placed both hands against the invisible barrier, this time using all my strength to shove against it. But it didn't so much as tremble beneath my force.
Then—
A voice.
Sharp. Feminine. Commanding.
"Oi."
My body reacted before my mind could catch up. I spun around quickly, my gaze locking onto the source of the voice.
A woman stood before me.
The dim light of the moon, now barely peeking over the horizon, cast elongated shadows around us. The surrounding buildings swallowed most of the light, leaving only fragmented glimpses of her figure.
Yet even in the darkness, I could see the details of her attire—
The upper half of her body was draped in a pristine white robe, its long sleeves flowing like delicate wings, adorned with faint red patterns that hinted at careful craftsmanship. From her waist down, she wore a striking crimson pant, structured yet fluid, swaying subtly with each movement. A wide belt cinched the two garments together, its ends adorned with small dangling charms that gleamed faintly in the low light.
Her dark hair was gathered high, bound tightly by a vibrant red ribbon. The long tails cascaded down her back, a stark contrast against the white of her robe, giving her an air of both elegance and quiet ferocity.
A mask concealed her face—white, adorned with a single crimson line forming an intricate pattern I couldn't quite decipher.
Yet, even through the mask, her eyes were visible.
Dark. Piercing.
A gaze that felt both mesmerizing and unnervingly cold.
She looked like she had stepped straight out of some another world.
A new mystery added to this strange dream of mine.
As she moved toward me, slow and deliberate, I found my thoughts wandering to places I'd rather not admit.
A little shameless for an adult like me.
But I had the distinct feeling that she was the same figure I had seen just moments ago.