The night in the grand yet cold mansion of **Elmsvale** was quiet, steeped in an eerie stillness. Despite their recent marriage, **Raviena** and Solaris slept in separate chambers, and this night was no exception. The moonlight spilled through the towering windows of Raviena's room, casting a pale glow that only deepened the mansion's ghostly ambiance. As she fell asleep, shadows seemed to creep into her subconscious, dragging her into a vivid, haunting dream.
### **The Dream of Blood and Shadows**
In her dream, Raviena stood in a dense, shadowy forest. The air was heavy with dampness, and the ground beneath her feet was soft and muddy, sucking at her steps like invisible chains. Tendrils of fog snaked through the trees, curling into vague shapes—remnants of memories or warnings from the past. Despite her unease, something beyond her control pulled her forward.
Ahead, a man stood with his back to her. His tattered clothes clung to his wounded frame, and his labored breathing filled the unnatural silence. Raviena's hand lifted of its own accord, reaching out to the figure, though her body felt impossibly heavy, weighed down by unseen forces.
As she drew closer, the man turned toward her, revealing a face ravaged by deep wounds and streaks of fresh blood. His eyes were hollow yet brimming with a strange, pleading terror. Without warning, he staggered toward her, his trembling hand clutching at hers. The coldness of his blood-drenched fingers sent shivers down Raviena's spine.
The man's voice, a low and guttural groan, broke the silence. Words were unintelligible, but his despair was unmistakable. As if unable to bear his agony, his body began to unravel. The wounds on his flesh widened, oozing a thick black liquid that mingled with the crimson of his blood. The stench of iron and decay filled the air, choking Raviena as she struggled to pull away.
Suddenly, the man collapsed, his broken body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. His chest bore a gaping hole where his heart should have been, a dark abyss that seemed to swallow the very light around it. From that void, a steady flow of blood seeped into the forest floor, pooling beneath him.
As Raviena's eyes darted around, she noticed the forest was littered with bodies—hundreds, perhaps thousands—scattered across the landscape. Limbs lay twisted at unnatural angles, faces frozen in expressions of terror, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of death. Blood coursed through the forest floor like rivers, staining everything in its path.
The silence broke with faint whispers—voices rising from the corpses as if calling for her. Weak, sorrowful cries filled the air, blending into a symphony of despair. Yet her eyes returned to the man before her, now lifeless but still somehow radiating a warmth that pierced through the nightmare.
Though his chest was hollow and his body broken, the man's eyes—emptied of life yet oddly kind—seemed to meet hers. They softened, filled with an otherworldly compassion that contrasted sharply with the horror around them. It was as if, even in death, he sought to reassure her, to offer a fleeting comfort amid the overwhelming dread.
His hand twitched, reaching toward her one last time. The small motion, delicate and fraught with meaning, filled Raviena with a confusing mix of warmth and sorrow. She felt as though he wanted to tell her something, yet his silence left her with more questions than answers.
### **The Wake-Up Call**
Raviena awoke with a start, her breath ragged, her body trembling, and her skin clammy with sweat. The metallic tang of blood and decay still lingered in her senses, though she knew it was just a dream. Her chest heaved as she sat upright, clutching the sheets tightly.
"Raviena," a calm voice called out, breaking through her panic.
Her gaze darted toward the chair near the fireplace, where **Solaris** sat, his posture relaxed yet his eyes sharp with concern. The flickering light from the dying embers illuminated his features, casting long shadows across his face.
"What happened?" Solaris asked, his voice steady but tinged with worry. "You looked like you were being chased by death itself."
Raviena hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. Her dreams, especially this one, felt deeply personal and inexplicably tied to the power within her—power that she neither wanted nor fully understood.
"I... I had a nightmare," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
Solaris leaned forward, his expression unreadable but focused. "What kind of nightmare? You seem shaken."
Raviena looked away, her hands trembling slightly. "It's hard to explain. It was... dark. There was a man... and death everywhere." She hesitated, the image of the man's hollow chest and kind eyes flashing through her mind. "I can't make sense of it."
Solaris studied her silently, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly as though trying to piece together a puzzle. "Raviena," he began, his tone quieter but firm, "you're not just dreaming. What you experienced—it's tied to your power, isn't it?"
Raviena's heart sank at his words. She had always feared that her abilities, linked to space and time, were seeping into her subconscious. But was Solaris right? Were these visions not merely dreams but echoes of something far more real?
"I don't know," she admitted, her voice tinged with frustration and fear. "I don't understand my power. I never have."
Solaris sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "If these dreams are connected to your abilities, you need to confront them, not run from them. Your power isn't something you can ignore—it's part of you."
Raviena looked at him, surprised by the faint trace of concern in his tone. Though Solaris often seemed cold and detached, moments like this revealed glimpses of something deeper—perhaps a genuine care hidden beneath his duty.
"Thank you, Solaris," Raviena said quietly, surprising herself with the sincerity in her voice. "I'll... try."
Solaris nodded, standing from his chair and moving toward the door. "Rest now. If the nightmares return, I'll be here."
As he left the room, Raviena lay back down, though sleep felt impossible. The vision of the man, his hollow chest, and his warm, kind eyes lingered in her mind. What did it all mean? Was this a warning of what was to come, or a reflection of something she had yet to discover?
One thing was certain—her dreams were more than just fragments of her subconscious. They were pieces of a puzzle she would have to solve before it was too late..