Chapter 22: The Third Presence
822 Words
The square near Notre-Dame Cathedral suddenly felt colder.
Only moments ago, snow had been falling softly and golden lanterns had floated peacefully across the river. Now the dream felt unstable, like something invisible had disturbed its balance.
Isabelle slowly stepped closer to Daniel.
“Did you see that shadow?” she whispered.
Daniel nodded, scanning the quiet square.
“Yeah,” he said. “And I definitely didn’t create it.”
The lanterns above the river flickered again.
Some of them faded away completely.
Isabelle felt a strange pressure in the air, as if the dream itself was holding its breath.
Then footsteps echoed across the empty plaza.
Slow.
Measured.
Both Isabelle and Daniel turned toward the sound.
A figure was standing near the edge of the square, partially hidden in the dim light.
Isabelle frowned.
“Who is that?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I have no idea.”
The figure slowly stepped forward.
At first, the person looked like nothing more than a shadow, but as they moved closer, the shape became clearer.
It was a man.
Tall.
Dressed in dark clothing.
But something about him didn’t feel normal.
His presence seemed to disturb the dream around him.
The snow on the ground disappeared where he stepped.
The lanterns dimmed.
Isabelle’s voice trembled slightly.
“Did Camille send him?”
Daniel frowned.
“No… I don’t think so.”
The man finally stopped a few meters away from them.
His face was calm but strangely unfamiliar.
And yet…
Isabelle felt something strange.
A feeling that she had seen him before.
But she couldn’t remember where.
The man looked at both of them quietly before speaking.
“So,” he said softly, “you finally noticed me.”
His voice echoed strangely through the dream.
Daniel stepped forward slightly.
“Who are you?”
The man tilted his head.
“That’s a complicated question.”
Isabelle crossed her arms nervously.
“Try answering it anyway.”
For a moment, the man simply studied them.
Then he said something unexpected.
“I’m part of the connection.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The man glanced around the dream world.
“This place exists because your minds are linked,” he explained. “But every connection has deeper layers.”
Isabelle looked confused.
“You’re saying you’re… part of our dream?”
“Not exactly,” the man replied.
He looked directly at Isabelle.
“I’m something your minds created without realizing it.”
Daniel blinked.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
The man smiled slightly.
“Your emotions, your memories, your thoughts… all of them shape this place.”
He gestured toward the square.
“The snow. The lanterns. The river.”
Then his voice became quieter.
“But strong connections also create guardians.”
Isabelle raised an eyebrow.
“Guardians?”
“Yes.”
The man’s expression became serious.
“To protect the dream from outside interference.”
Daniel suddenly understood.
“You mean Camille.”
The man nodded.
“She’s trying to observe and influence this connection. But the dream is learning to defend itself.”
Isabelle looked shocked.
“So you’re protecting us?”
“In a way,” the man said.
But before either of them could ask more questions, the sky above the dream suddenly flickered like a broken screen.
Daniel looked up.
“What’s happening?”
The mysterious man’s expression darkened.
“She’s trying to enter the dream again.”
Inside her laboratory across Paris, Camille stared intensely at her monitors.
The brainwave signals had become chaotic.
Three distinct patterns now moved across the screen.
Camille typed quickly, trying to stabilize the connection.
“Come on…” she muttered.
“Let me see inside.”
Back in the dream, the mysterious man stepped backward.
“You don’t have much time,” he warned.
Isabelle’s heart raced.
“Time for what?”
The man looked directly at both of them.
“To decide whether you trust each other.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why does that matter?”
The man’s answer was calm but serious.
“Because the stronger your bond becomes, the more powerful this dream world will be.”
He paused.
“And the harder it will be for anyone else to control it.”
Suddenly, a bright pulse of light flashed across the sky above the square.
Camille’s signal was trying to break through.
The dream began shaking.
Buildings flickered.
The river distorted.
Isabelle grabbed Daniel’s arm.
“Something’s wrong!”
The mysterious man stepped back into the shadows.
“You must hold the dream together,” he said.
Daniel shouted over the noise.
“How?!”
The man gave one final answer before disappearing.
“Believe in each other.”
Then he vanished.
The square trembled violently.
The connection between the real world and the dream world was collapsing.
And Isabelle and Daniel were standing at the center of it.
- Writer
