The Thread Between World
983 Words
The Dream Realm
The light faded.
And Dylan opened his eyes—to a world that wasn’t his.
The sky above bled crimson, like a storm that had forgotten how to rain. The air was thick, slow, pulsing with something not quite alive.
Glass trees shimmered around him, branches jagged and swaying in a wind that didn’t exist.
And there—far ahead—
Aya stood.
But not alone.
The other Dylan—white-haired, perfect, uncanny—stood close behind her, fingers gliding along the back of her neck.
He leaned into her ear, whispering things Dylan couldn’t hear—but felt.
Aya’s eyes were dull. Empty. Unseeing.
Dylan took a step forward.
His boots didn’t crunch on leaves.
They sank into veins.
The ground was alive.
Silver roots pulsed beneath his feet, twitching like nerves, all of them leading—
To Aya.
“She’s mine,” the voice echoed.
The fake Dylan turned.
His crimson eyes shimmered with unnatural light. His smile was all cruelty and control.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, voice layered with echoes. “She chose me. Long ago.”
“You’re not me,” Dylan said, voice low, cutting. “And she never chose you.”
The air warped.
The forest screamed.
A jagged rift split the sky like a wound.
“You left her vulnerable,” the false Dylan hissed, stalking sideways. “And now she forgets you every time she dreams.”
Aya looked up. Startled—but still frozen.
Dylan’s gaze locked on her.
“I didn’t come here to argue,” he said.
“I came to bring her back.”
---
The Garden (Real World)
Mika, Mang Ramon, and Lance pushed through the hedge wall.
The Garden wasn’t peaceful.
It was suffocating.
Stone angels lined the overgrown paths, their faces cracked and blindfolded, mouths open in silent agony.
Fountains bubbled with black water, thick like oil.
The hedges pulsed, as if breathing.
Lance knelt at a statue and brushed off moss.
His heart dropped.
Carved into the base: “AYA”.
“Uh… guys—”
Suddenly, the earth groaned.
Then cracked.
Then the roots exploded upward—thick silver tendrils, twisting like serpents. One nearly grabbed Mika’s leg.
“Run!” Mang Ramon barked, drawing his rune-blade.
But the garden wasn’t letting go.
Not this time.
---
Dream Realm – The Fight
The false Dylan raised his hand.
And the dream forest came alive.
Doppelgängers emerged from the glass trees—distorted reflections, eyes too wide, limbs too long.
They rushed Dylan, snarling, dozens of them, teeth flashing like knives.
Dylan’s eyes narrowed.
He didn’t shift.
He didn’t need to.
The mark on his neck pulsed crimson-gold. His veins glowed. The wind trembled.
Then—he moved.
Fast. Too fast.
He ripped through the first wave of doppelgängers like a storm.
His fists shattered skulls. His claws, half-formed but deadly, tore through shadow-flesh.
He didn’t roar—he snarled, low and guttural, his fangs flashing as he fought.
One creature leapt onto his back.
He twisted, drove his elbow into its gut, spun, and snapped its neck.
Another lunged from behind.
He grabbed its wrist—and crushed it.
More swarmed him, shrieking.
Dylan’s rage rose like flame.
He slammed his palm into the ground—a shockwave burst out from beneath him.
The veins cracked. The ground howled.
Shadow figures disintegrated mid-scream.
The false Dylan raised both hands, summoning more.
“You’re only halfway awake,” he mocked. “Even at your strongest, you’re still bound.”
“I’m bound to her,” Dylan growled. “And that’s enough.”
---
Aya Awakens – Mind War
Aya watched—trapped.
Her limbs wouldn’t move. The threads around her wrists and ankles shimmered like silk—but burned like chains.
But as Dylan fought, something stirred in her chest.
The locket glowed.
And then—so did she.
Memories surged.
His kiss. His voice. The crimson sky. The trees. The pain. The protection. The bite.
Her mark lit up like fire.
Then—Aya raised her head.
And the dream shivered.
She didn’t lift her arms.
She willed them.
The chains snapped.
Threads unraveled mid-air. The web binding her mind trembled, then burst.
The false Dylan turned too late.
Aya’s eyes opened fully—from crimson to glowing gold.
She raised her hand—
And the forest bent with her will.
She didn’t touch the ground.
But it moved.
Dozens of silver roots shot up, slicing through shadow beings. A wave of psychic energy exploded outward from her, warping the very shape of the realm.
“Let go of me,” she whispered.
And the sky cracked.
---
Final Blow – Dream Realm
Dylan landed beside her—bloody, panting, unstoppable.
They looked at each other.
She remembered.
He never let go.
“I remember everything,” she said.
And she kissed him.
The kiss burned with truth. The bond ignited.
Their marks flared brilliant gold. Light erupted between them, spiraling through the forest, tearing it apart.
The false Dylan screamed.
His skin cracked—shadows leaking from his mouth and eyes.
The world rejected him.
And Aya—
Pushed him back with her mind.
He flew into the trees.
And vanished.
The dream shattered.
---
Real World
In the ruined resort room—
Dylan’s chest heaved. Then Aya’s.
They gasped—choking on air, dragged from the depths of a forgotten place.
Their eyes flew open.
Crimson met gold.
Their marks—branded into their skin—glowed like fire.
The bond wasn’t fading.
It was complete.
Stronger than ever.
---
Far away, deep beneath the Garden—
The roots writhed in agony.
Then stilled.
And from the cracked soil below, something immense began to rise.
Something older than memory.
Something that feeds on broken souls.
Something Aya and Dylan just woke up…
…and it remembers them.
- Writer
