That night, Deven had a peculiar dream.
He found himself standing in a black void—an endless abyss. No light, no sound, just emptiness.
Then, shapes began to form around him. People. Strangers he didn't recognize, standing perfectly still, scattered across the darkness like statues. Their faces were blank, unmoving, and even their chests didn't rise with breath.
Confused, Deven approached one of them—a young man with messy blonde hair, green eyes, and glasses.
"What is this place?" Deven muttered, his voice swallowed by the void.
He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or if something stranger was happening. Carefully, he reached out and touched the young man's shoulder. His hand met real warmth, real texture. This wasn't the normal formless feeling of a dream.
Suddenly, Deven's vision blurred to black.
When it cleared, he was no longer in the void—he was sprinting through a dense forest. He looked down and saw a deep wound bleeding into his side. Panic surged through him, but he couldn't control his body. It was as if he were trapped inside someone else's actions.
His body stumbled behind a tree and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Then a voice—not his own—escaped his lips, weak and desperate
"I… I need to tell Doctor Octovis about the new species of mon—"
The voice cut off.
Everything faded to black again.
Deven found himself back in the void, the strangers still standing silently around him. Heart pounding, he patted his body down, relieved to find he was himself again.
"What the hell was that?" he whispered, looking back at the man he had touched.
Wait… was that his memory?
Before he could make sense of it, an unseen force yanked him awake.
Deven jolted upright in bed. Morning light spilled weakly through the hospital window. His breathing was ragged, his heart racing.
A nurse entered the room, startled to see him awake.
"Oh! You're up! Good morning," she said. "After we run a few tests, you'll be cleared to leave."
Deven nodded, pushing the strange dream to the back of his mind for now. He followed the nurse out of the room, trying to keep himself calm.
The tests were brief. After confirming that everything about his body seemed normal, the hospital discharged him.
Deven stepped into the sunlight outside, feeling the beginning of a new, uncertain chapter in his life.
Deven stepped out of the hospital, shielding his eyes from the harsh, blinding sunlight. It felt unnaturally bright, almost painful.
Unsure of where to go, he decided to check out the academy he had heard about. As he made his way through the streets, he noticed people giving him strange looks. It made sense—his clothes didn't match the style of this city. He must have looked like a lost drifter.
After some time, he finally found the academy. Just as he was about to approach the towering building, he spotted a familiar figure standing near the entrance, speaking to someone.
"Abby?" he muttered, blinking in disbelief.
He moved closer, needing to be sure. It was her.
"Hey! Abby!" he called out, waving his hand.
She turned at the sound of his voice—and the look she gave him wasn't what he expected. Her eyes widened in complete bewilderment.
Deven slowed down, confused. "Abby?"
He took a step closer, but she recoiled slightly, her face pale with shock.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" she said, her voice trembling.
Deven froze, caught completely off guard. He hadn't expected anyone he knew to be here, much less someone who thought he was dead.
"I… I don't know how," he stammered, shrugging helplessly. "But I'm alive."
Abby took a step back, shaking her head violently.
"No. No, no, no," she whispered. "That's not possible. You can't bring a dead person back."
"Abby, I—" Deven tried to explain, but she cut him off.
"You— You can't be real!"
Before Deven could respond, four guards rushed forward, pointing their swords directly at his neck. Fear seized him. He didn't dare move a muscle.
Then, a voice called out from the distance
"Wait! Don't kill it!"
A man with long, messy black hair and strange green-purple eyes came running toward them. He wore a white lab coat that billowed behind him, and glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
The guards stiffened but didn't lower their weapons.
The man reached into his coat and pulled out a small, engraved card, flashing it in front of the nearest guard.
"Dr. Octavis White," he said firmly, making sure everyone heard him.
Deven's eyes widened in recognition. Doctor Octavis? The same name he had heard in that strange dream?
The guards hesitated, glancing between each other.
One stepped forward cautiously. "And who are you to make such a request?"
"I said—" Octavis repeated, louder this time, "—Dr. Octavis White. Now, let it come with me."
The guards immediately straightened, some murmuring among themselves.
"Yes, Lord Octavis," they said in unison.
"Call me doctor," he corrected with a sigh.
Then, without warning, the guards seized Deven, locking him inside a metal cage before loading it onto a waiting carriage.
Deven sat in the corner of the cage, stunned and powerless to resist.
He just wanted to say hello to Abby.
Now he was locked in a cage, heading somewhere unknown, caught up in something far bigger than he understood.
He leaned back against the cold metal bars, staring up at the sky, wondering what fate had in store for him next.