Taren jerked awake, his chest heaving as if it was going to implode on him. He lay there, trying to grip fragments of the dream still floating in his mind like slipping sand, leaving only the shadow of something he couldn't define. Warm droplets trickled down his cheeks. He touched his face and stared at his wet fingers—tears. Why was he crying?

Then he rubbed at them quickly, trying to shake off the odd feeling. As he stood, a strange unease settled over him. The prison felt. different. The air felt heavier, the silence too loud. Everything looked just a little off, like he was seeing it all for the first time, though he'd lived here his entire life.

Taren walked over to the cracked sink in the corner of his cell. The cold water sputtered out in uneven streams as he splashed it on his face. When at last he looked up into the grimy shard of mirror nailed to the wall, he froze.

The reflection staring back at him was a stranger. Dirt clung to his skin, tracing every line of his weary face. His long black hair hung in unkempt strands, and his pale complexion made the faint brown in his eyes seem darker than usual. The sight left him uneasy, almost disgusted.

Taren ran his hands over his face, scraping off grime as good a job as he could. The water got murky as it dripped off his chin, but he didn't stop until he could feel the cool sting of it on his skin and the haze start to clear. With one final splash he stood up, his tall frame just brushing the edge of the mirror.

The first time in ages, he stared at himself—not just to see, but to understand. Something had changed, something happened in the world, only he didn't know what.

He struggled to recall the details of his dream, but only fragments of it lingered in his memory—fleeting scenes that felt both vivid and elusive.

(Hours Ago In dream)

──────◇System Vogari ◇──────

「You are seeing a dream but it may can take place in reality. 」

────────◇◆◇────────

"Oi, Michiko, check this out! I'm gonna hurl this firestone at those balloons—boom! They'll go flying, everyone will freak out, screaming and running like headless chickens. And then I'll stroll in all cool, like, 'Relax, losers, I'm here to save the day!' It's gonna be legendary. Trust me, genius-level stuff right here!"

"Wow, Haruki, pure genius," she said with a mocking laugh, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Then her smile faltered, replaced by an expression of mild disapproval. "You know, I could mess with your plan in one move, and you'd be standing there like a clueless deer in headlights. Honestly, this is a disaster waiting to happen. But hey, if you're into epic fails, go for it. Just don't whine to me when it blows up in your face."

Michiko snatched the sling from Haruki's hands with a sly grin, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oops! Plan failed already, Mr. Genius!" she taunted, nimbly hopping from rooftop to rooftop. "So, what's your next brilliant move?"

Haruki shouted, his half yellow and black hairs whipping through the air as he pursued her. "Oi, Michiko, give it back! If you don't, I will make you regret this with a long, force kiss!"

"Hahaha, try to stop me, Mr. Genius-level!" she taunted from a distance, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What's next? Gonna throw a tantrum and call yourself a genius while you fail miserably? Seriously, you couldn't even hit a balloon if it was tied to your face!"

She raised her eyes, mischievous smile crooked on her face. "Perhaps I ought to start a fan club for you—"she chuckled—"Haruki, the Master of Epic Failures." What a pity your brain isn't as quick as your tongue is!

She laughed out loud at that, and, oh dear, she was having such a ball teasing him.

Haruki couldn't keep up with her velocity, his legs barely keeping the capacity to run while she leapt so naturally from rooftop to rooftop. "Michiko, stop! You brat!" he yelled, getting frustrated. "You think you're some sort of queen now, able to parkour around? Ugh, I'm going to send you tumbling and regret this one right now.

He gritted his teeth, still trying to catch up. His voice cracked as he said, "If you don't stop, I'm gonna start calling you 'Princess of Pain in the Neck' from now on! And no one wants that, trust me!

Turning back from afar, her voice rang with defiant carefreedom: "Who cares?" she shouted out, a playful smile spread across her face. "You can't catch me anyway, Haruki!"

But just as Michiko's laughter echoed in the distance, Haruki's luck ran out. His foot slipped on the edge of the roof, and with a yelp. "Buhh-uaaa-uaaa." He plummeted straight into a stack of crates below. The crates, packed with delicate festival decorations, shattered upon impact, sending ribbons, lanterns, and streamers scattering across the ground in a chaotic explosion of color.

The decorators, who had been setting up for the festival, whipped around in shock, their faces flushing red with anger. One of them stormed over, hands on hips. "Are you kidding me?" they snapped. "Do you have any idea how much that stuff cost? You better start apologizing, you clumsy idiot!"

Haruki groaned, gazing up at the mess he'd just caused. "This is. just great.", he muttered to himself, his embarrassment and frustration mingling in his mind.

From afar, Michiko stopped mid-lunge, letting out a sharp glance over her shoulder. Haruki stopped chasing her. She waited for a moment, letting go of her mischievous grin and pouting her eyebrows in puzzlement.

"....Huh?" She turned completely, casting down at him below. At first, nothing seemed to penetrate her skull, but the sight of him sprawled across broken crates and decorating festival decorations somehow managed to hit her.

A slow, almost apologetic chuckle spilled from her lips as she realized what she had done. "Oh … that's gonna hurt," she muttered to herself, but she couldn't help the snicker that followed. "Well. guess the genius-level hero just got grounded."

Michiko's eyes scanned the chaotic scene below, her glance darting between the scattered decorations and the angry crowd of decorators. She was looking for any sign of Haruki, but the mess was so overwhelming and the people so frantic that he seemed to have disappeared into the chaos.

"Great," she muttered, hopping down from the rooftop to the street below, her footsteps light and quick. She weaved through the crates, the ribbons, and lanterns, trying to find him, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Haruki?" she called out, her voice tinged with both concern and amusement. "Come on, don't tell me you've really vanished, you drama queen!"

But no answer came. All she heard was the disgruntled chattering of the decorators and the muffled sounds around her of festival preparations continuing. Michiko sighed, now seriously interested and a little worried. Where the heck did he go?

Meanwhile, Haruki, bruised and disoriented from his fall, stumbled into a narrow alley, trying to collect himself. His head spun, but before he could regain his bearings, a group of older boys emerged from the shadows. They sneered at him, clearly spoiling for a fight.

Haruki, dazed and battered from the fall, stumbled into a narrow alley, his breath shallow as he struggled to find some semblance of balance in himself. His head pulsed with pain, his legs weighed like leaden, and his pride lay in tatters. Damn it, Michiko. If only you hadn't—no, concentrate. You've gotta keep it together.

Before he could find his way again, the faint shuffle of footsteps echoed behind him. He froze. Emerging from the shadows, a group of older boys appeared, their smug faces illuminated by a faint streetlight. They looked ready for trouble, their sneers cutting through the air like knives.

"Well, well, look who decided to show up," one of them sneered, cracking his knuckles. His voice dripped with mockery. "Thought you could pull off some 'genius-level' stunt, huh?"

Haruki's chest tightened. He forced himself to stand tall, his battered body screaming in protest. *No way I'm letting these guys see me scared. Not a chance.*

"What? How do you know about that?" he spat, trying to sound confident despite a slight tremble in his voice.

The leader of the group stepped forward and grinned. "Who was that girl? The one who called you 'genius'? She sounded like she had a pretty good laugh at your expense."

Thoughts were racing through Haruki's head. 'We must have been watched; just what I needed--an audience to witness humiliation at its best'. He locked fists hardening his knuckles, desperately summoning inner strength to react by fighting, every movement which caused piercing shots of anguish in the limbs.

"Yeah, we heard everything," one of the boys said with a smirk, leaning on the alley wall. "All that big talk about being a genius. Pretty rich, coming from somebody who can't even keep his footing."

The group burst out laughing, the taunts cutting deeper than Haruki cared to admit. *Keep it together. Don't let them win. If Michiko saw me like this.* He shook the thought away.

The leader's eyes gleamed with malice as he advanced. "Let's see how tough you really are, genius."

Haruki's mind was reeling. 'This day couldn't get worse. First Michiko steals my sling, then I embarrass myself falling off a rooftop, and now this?' His teeth clenched. 'Why did I think I could pull off something so reckless? No, I'm not going to lose here. Not to these losers

The bullies didn't give him a chance to react. The first blow came fast—a hard punch to his stomach that knocked the wind out of him. Haruki staggered, clutching his midsection, but before he could recover, another fist smashed into his jaw.

"Not so tough now, huh, genius?" one of them sneered, driving a knee into Haruki's chest. He fell to the ground with a groan, his vision swimming.

As they surrounded him, Haruki tried to push himself up, but his body refused to cooperate. 'Get up. You can't stay down. You're not this weak.' He gritted his teeth, his breath ragged.

Another kick hit his ribs, and he fell back onto the ground. Pain shot through his body with every blow, taking away the little strength he had left. 'Why can't I fight back?' he thought bitterly. 'Damn it, I can't lose here. I can't let this be how it ends.'0