Orion woke with a sharp inhale. The ceiling fan spun overhead, its rhythmic hum blending with the quiet stillness of the morning. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting golden streaks across his desk—a mess of half-open notebooks, a blinking holo-tab filled with unread messages, and an overturned energy drink can.
Everything looked as it should.
Except for the dull sting on his arm.
Frowning, he pushed up his sleeve. A thin red scratch stretched across his forearm—not deep, but fresh enough to burn slightly.
His mind flickered back to the dream.
Or at least, whatever fragments of it remained.
A dimly lit corridor. The scent of old parchment. The eerie sensation of being watched. And then—her. The old woman. Her face was always obscured, lost in the haze of the dream, yet her presence was unmistakable. Her voice lingered in his mind, soft yet weighty, like dry leaves rustling in the wind.
"It's almost time."
A sharp knock at the door made him flinch.
"Orion! Get your ass out of the bed! We're leaving in ten!"
Rin. Impatient as ever.
Orion exhaled, running a hand through his already-messy black hair. Just a dream. And the scratch? Probably from tossing around in his sleep.
Yeah. That had to be it.
---
The Morning Rush
"Late again," Neil muttered as Orion dropped into the cafeteria seat across from him.
The place buzzed with the usual morning chaos—students grabbing breakfast, holo-screens flashing news updates, trays clinking, conversations overlapping in an unorganized symphony of voices.
Neil barely glanced up, too busy tapping away on his holo-tab with one hand while sipping coffee with the other. He always had something going on—whether it was hacking into systems he probably shouldn't or running experiments that sounded only half-legal. His brain worked faster than most, and he had an annoying habit of always being right.
"I'm not late," Orion muttered, casually swiping a piece of toast from Neil's tray.
"You would've been if Cas wasn't later," Neil countered, finally lifting his gaze. He gave Orion a once-over. "You look like you wrestled a nightmare and lost."
For half a second, Orion tensed before scoffing. "Yeah, sure. Nightmares have it out for me."
Before Neil could press further, a tray thumped onto the table beside Orion.
"Actually," Rin interjected, balancing an absurd amount of food on her plate, "there's a theory that strong emotions in dreams can manifest physically. Like if you get hurt in a dream, your body reacts as if it's real."
Orion froze mid-bite.
Rin smirked. "What, too early for conspiracy talk?"
Neil sighed. "She's been on another deep dive."
"Hey, just because you're blind to the truth doesn't mean I'm wrong," Rin shot back before turning to Orion. "But seriously, you've been spacing out a lot lately. Anything weird going on?"
His fingers instinctively brushed over the scratch beneath his sleeve.
"Nothing," he said.
Lying came easier than expected.
---
First Lecture – A Strange Feeling
The academy wasn't just any university. It was the place for the best minds in dream research, artificial intelligence, and high-tech engineering.
Orion had managed to get in through a combination of decent grades, last-minute luck, and a well-placed recommendation from his uncle. He wasn't a genius like Neil or obsessed with dream theories like Cas, but he knew how to hold his own.
As he stepped into the lecture hall, a strange sense of déjà vu crept up his spine.
Rows of sleek desks. The faint hum of holographic displays warming up. Students filtering in, some still groggy from lack of sleep. It was all routine.
Yet, something felt... off.
Shaking off the unease, he took his usual seat. Probably just the lingering effect of a restless night.
Cas slid into the chair beside him, setting down her holo-tab with a quiet click. "You okay? You're zoning out."
"I'm fine," Orion said automatically.
She gave him a look. Cas wasn't the type to pry, but she was good at noticing things.
"You know," she said after a pause, "I read about an old theory. That déjà vu is just your brain recognizing something from a dream. Like a memory surfacing."
Orion stiffened. "What, you and Rin team up for conspiracy hour?"
Cas smirked. "Hey, you brought it up."
Before he could reply, the professor's voice cut through the room, and the lecture began.
Orion tried to focus, but his mind kept drifting back to the dream.
And the old woman's voice echoed in his mind.
"It's almost time."
---
A Whisper of Something More
After class, as Orion made his way through the halls, a news broadcast flickered across a holo-screen.
"Authorities remain baffled by the recent string of unexplained disappearances. Witnesses report the individuals acted strangely before vanishing, often speaking of dreams that felt 'too real.'"
A chill ran down his spine.
Orion turned away, shaking his head. Just a coincidence.
Probably.