Chereads / Another Life, Another World, Another Ending / Chapter 8 - A New Life, A New Death Friday night

Chapter 8 - A New Life, A New Death Friday night

Daniel lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to take him.

All week, he had been preparing. If this was going to happen again, he needed to be ready. He had spent hours researching lucid dreaming, training himself to recognize when he was inside a dream. Counting his fingers. Checking clocks. Flipping light switches.

But deep down, he knew this was more than a dream.

It was something real. Something bigger.

And this time, he wasn't just going to watch it happen.

He was going to fight it.

Daniel let out a slow breath. His eyelids grew heavy. The real world faded.

And then—

He woke up.

A cold wind bit at his skin.

Daniel shivered. His eyes snapped open. He was outside, lying on damp grass beneath a gray, overcast sky.

He sat up quickly, heart racing.

Where was he this time?

Around him, an endless field of yellow grass stretched toward the horizon. The air smelled crisp, metallic. In the distance, strange, towering structures loomed massive, rusting machines, half-buried in the earth like the remains of a long-forgotten war.

His stomach twisted.

This wasn't Earth.

And then—

A voice.

"Commander! You're awake!"

Daniel turned sharply.

A man in a heavy, dark uniform sprinted toward him, face tense with worry.

He was young maybe mid-twenties, with a buzzed haircut and a jagged scar running down his cheek.

Daniel's mind supplied a name before he could even think.

Lieutenant Casner.

And just like that, just like before, memories flooded in.

This was his squadmate. His second-in-command. They were soldiers. Not on Earth, but on some distant, war-torn colony.

And Daniel?

He was their leader.

"No, no, no—"

"Commander, we have to move! The machines are coming!"

Machines?

Daniel's pulse spiked. He turned—

And saw them.

Towering figures of steel and wires, their red eyes glowing like embers. Their mechanical limbs twisted and reformed as they moved, reshaping their bodies with terrifying speed. A low, vibrating hum filled the air, a mechanical scream.

They weren't just coming.

They were already here.

"Shit," Daniel breathed.

Casner grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet. "Sir, we have to go—NOW!"

No time to think. No time to process.

Daniel ran.

They sprinted through the ruins, the ground shaking with every impact of the machines' footsteps. Daniel's breath came in sharp gasps. His body knew this place—his soldier's instincts kicking in automatically—but his mind was still reeling.

Another life. Another world. Another war.

*****

How long had he lived here before waking up? A year? Five? Ten?

And how much longer before it all collapsed?

A whirring sound cut through the air—followed by a sharp BOOM.

The ground exploded just behind them, sending debris flying. Daniel hit the dirt hard, ears ringing.

Casner grabbed him again, shouting something he couldn't hear.

The machines were closing in. Dozens of them. Red lights blinking. Arms shifting into razor-sharp weapons.

This wasn't a fight.

This was an execution.

Daniel's mind screamed at him.

"This is it. This is how this world ends."

Just like before.

Just like always.

And then—

He remembered Marcus's advice.

Lucid dream.

If this was a dream, if he had any control, then maybe…

"Change something."

Daniel clenched his fists. Focus.

The machines raised their weapons.

And Daniel willed them to stop.

For half a second, the world flickered.

And the machines—

Froze.

Casner gasped. "What the hell?"

Daniel's pulse pounded in his ears.

He had done that.

He had stopped them.

The machines stood motionless, their red eyes dimming. Like someone had hit pause on reality itself.

Casner took a cautious step forward. "Commander… what did you—"

The world shuddered.

A deep, rumbling noise echoed from all around them.

The sky cracked.

And Daniel knew.

He had broken the rules.

The Collapse Begins.

The machines started to melt—their metal bodies dissolving into liquid shadows. The ground trembled, splitting apart. The sky above them twisted, turning into a swirling void of white and black.

Casner stumbled backward. "Commander! What's happening?!"

Daniel's heart pounded. He had tried to change the dream. To fight back.

And now?

The entire world was breaking apart.

Just like the others.

Daniel turned, he saw Casner staring at him, eyes wide with fear.

He reached out. "Wait—"

But it was too late.

Everything collapsed.

Daniel woke up.

Gasping. Sweating.

Back in his bedroom.

Monday morning.

Again.

His hands trembled. His heart ached.

Casner. His squad. That entire war-torn world.

All of it.

Gone.

Just like before.

Just like always.

Daniel buried his face in his hands, grief crashing over him like a tidal wave.

This wasn't just a dream.

This was a curse.

And now?

Now he knew something else.

If he tried to change things… if he fought back

It would only make the end come faster.