The lecture hall buzzed with activity as students packed up their things, some stretching after the long session while others lingered to chat. Orion sat at his desk, absently tapping his fingers on the smooth surface. The class had been about neural interfaces and dream recall, a subject that usually fascinated him. But today, his mind was elsewhere.
His gaze drifted to the faint mark on his wrist, still there from the dream.
It had been days, and he still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.
"Alright, that was boring," Neil groaned, collapsing into the seat beside him. "If I hear one more professor talk about how 'we're living in the golden age of dream research,' I'm gonna lucid dream myself into another dimension."
Orion smirked. "You mean you weren't inspired?"
"Oh, I was," Neil said, mock-serious. "Inspired to figure out how much money the academy makes off these research grants and scam my way into one."
Orion chuckled. "Right. Because you'd totally join the research department."
"Hey, if I get paid enough, I'll sell my soul," Neil said easily. "But I'd rather be the guy selling the tech than the guy trapped in a lab running brain scans all day."
That much was true. The Academy was a powerhouse of dream sciences, famous for its research into lucid dreaming and its real-world applications. Many students aimed to land positions in prestigious labs, pushing the boundaries of what was possible.
Neil? He wanted to build the future, not analyze it.
A soft chime rang through the hall as a notification flashed on their student IDs.
> Dream Studies Course Registration – Form Submission Required
"Finally," Neil muttered, tapping his ID to open the form. "We get to pick our tracks."
Orion glanced at his own screen. Zenith's Dream Studies program was divided into different specialties—some students focused on theory and research, while others explored practical applications. A select few even trained in lucid combat and dream-state manipulation, but that track was reserved for elite candidates.
"You're going with Tech Integration?" Orion asked, already knowing the answer.
"Obviously," Neil said. "If I can merge lucid dreaming with neural tech, I'm basically set for life. Imagine controlling entire simulations just by thinking about them. Full-on VR, but inside your own head."
"You make it sound like hacking the human brain."
Neil grinned. "That's exactly what it is. Ethical concerns pending."
Orion shook his head, looking at his own choices. Most students in his position would choose Research and Exploration, the safest and most flexible career path.
But something in his gut told him to pick Practical Dream Exploration—the track that focused on first-hand experiences rather than theory.
Cas would probably say he was being reckless.
"You gonna stand there all day, or are we submitting these forms?" Neil asked.
Orion took a breath, then tapped Submit.
---
Falling Into a Dream
That night, sleep came easier than expected.
At first, there was nothing but darkness.
Then—
Light.
Brilliant and warm, like the first touch of sunlight after a storm.
Orion opened his eyes.
He wasn't in his bed anymore.
He was floating.
The sky stretched infinitely in all directions, painted with shifting hues of deep blues and shimmering golds. Below him, the world rippled like liquid glass, reflecting an endless expanse of stars. He wasn't standing, wasn't falling—just existing.
The realization sent a thrill through him.
He was lucid.
A grin spread across his face.
Let's see what I can do.
With a simple thought, the air bent to his will. He pushed forward, gliding effortlessly through the dreamscape, the wind rushing past him in exhilarating waves. His movements felt limitless, like the world itself was responding to his thoughts rather than physical effort.
He flipped mid-air, twisting into a smooth arc before accelerating forward.
"This is insane," he muttered.
Then, far below, a city emerged.
Its towers glowed with a soft, golden light, built from something that seemed more like energy than stone. Streets pulsed like flowing rivers of liquid gold, winding through a place that felt both ancient and impossibly advanced.
Orion slowed, hovering just above the skyline.
This place… it felt familiar.
As if he had been here before.
Then—
A flicker.
A shadow against the golden light.
Orion's stomach tightened. He turned sharply, scanning the horizon, but the figure—if it had even been real—was already gone.
His heart pounded.
Was someone else here?
Before he could investigate, the dream began to shift. The golden city dimmed, the stars flickered out, and an invisible weight pulled him downward—
—Darkness.
---
Waking Up
His eyes snapped open.
For a moment, he wasn't sure if he was still dreaming.
The ceiling of his dorm came into focus. His body felt light, almost like he was still floating. His heart was still racing—not from fear, but from the sheer exhilaration of flight.
That had been different.
No cryptic warnings. No eerie figures whispering in his ear.
Just pure, exhilarating freedom.
He sat up, rubbing his face.
The dream had been the most vivid one yet. The details still clung to him—the golden city, the weightlessness, the feeling of power that came with knowing he was lucid.
He had always been able to lucid dream. But never like that.
Never so effortlessly.
The thought made his pulse quicken.
And for the first time in a long time, Orion wasn't just curious about his dreams.
He was excited.
Excited to fall asleep.
Excited to dream.
Because something told him…
This was just the beginning.
--