Axel nodded with relief. “Understood.” For a mont, he wondered why the others trusted Charles so completely—then he decided it didn’t matter.
What Axel didn’t know was that Charles was hiding his own fear. He’d already done the calculations. Forcibly dragging the Awakened out of a dream would burn through most of his ntal strength—and tear at his consciousness in the process. Axel’s “Abundant” ability could replenish so of that, but compared to what he’d need, it was barely a drop in the ocean.
Still, the boy had escaped on his own—that was sothing. At least he wasn’t fighting this nightmare alone.
“Let’s go,” Charles said quietly.
The two of them walked through the abandoned streets for a long ti until they ca to a crumbling, gray-white building. The sign above the entrance creaked in the wind, hanging by a single nail.
SUNSHINE ORPHANAGE.
The letters were faded, several strokes already worn away.
“Mr. Charles, where are we?”
Charles stood in front of the orphanage, the faded sign creaking in the breeze. “Kaia should be here,” he said quietly.
He motioned for Axel to grab his arm, then extended his ntal energy outward. The air shimred—and as they stepped through the door, the world flipped.
A rush of sound hit them—children’s laughter, the hum of voices, the squeak of chairs.
The blood-red sky dissolved. In its place, warm afternoon sunlight poured through the windows of a classroom. At the front stood a young teacher—sweet, bright-eyed, her square glasses slightly askew—patiently explaining a lesson to a room full of chattering kids.
Despite the noise, she didn’t lose her temper. She smiled, joked, and coaxed the children back to attention.
Axel and Charles stood at the back of the room, invisible, watching her. Kaia.
Her outfit was completely different from the combat gear she usually wore—she looked soft, approachable, ordinary.
“This is…” Axel began.
“Kaia’s sweet dream,” Charles finished softly.
The bell rang. The children bolted for the door, filling the hallway with laughter and chaos. Kaia gathered her lesson plans, humming to herself, and walked toward the dorms.
They followed her silently down the corridor until she opened the door to a small room—barely ten square ters, its walls covered in bright ani posters. The air felt cozy, hoy.
Axel blinked. “So this is Kaia’s dream?”
He knew Kaia spent most of her earnings maintaining her lavish Everton mansion. In reality, she lived like soone used to luxury. But here, in her dream, she preferred sothing simple.
She unwrapped a colorful lollipop, popped it into her mouth, and curled up cross-legged on a chair, watching TV with the easy contentnt of a child.
Charles watched her quietly, a faint tenderness softening his stern face. “Kaia grew up in an orphanage,” he said at last. “After she awakened, she donated most of her money to the one she ca from.”
He stepped closer.
Axel hesitated, not sure what Charles intended. Then he saw the man’s eyes fade to a pale gray, and felt a surge of psychic energy radiate through the air.
Charles pressed his hand toward Kaia. The wave struck her mind like lightning.
Kaia stiffened in her chair, a flicker of pain flashing across her face. Her body trembled as she resisted instinctively, sending a counterforce of her own.
Charles gritted his teeth. The space around them began to waver and twist, the room flickering like bad TV reception. Children’s laughter outside warped, muffled by static.
“Kaia,” Charles called out, voice firm but gentle. “Co back. You’ll have plenty of ti to return when you retire.”
A soft thud echoed—then the dream shattered like snowflakes in the wind.
Kaia stood up slowly, brushing her hair back into place. Her cheerful teacher’s outfit lted away, replaced by the khaki blouse and denim shorts she’d worn when they entered Skyfleet Town.
“Ugh… Mr. Charles,” she groaned, stretching and yawning. “You could’ve let enjoy that a little longer. It’s not easy finding a dream that nice.”
Charles exhaled heavily, rubbing his temples. “Kaia, you’re the easiest one to wake up. The others won’t be so simple.”
As a fellow psychic Awakener, Kaia’s sensitivity to dreams made her easier to reach—and her lack of deep obsession let Charles pull her out without breaking her mind.
She glanced at Axel, lollipop back between her lips. “Wait—you brought him out first?” She pouted. “That’s favoritism.”
Charles chuckled. “Actually, Kaia, he got out on his own.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Axel? So you’re one of those rare optimists, huh?”
She tilted her head. “Most people don’t want to wake up. The dream always feels better than reality. Only those who’ve already made peace with real life can walk out on their own.”
As they stepped out of the orphanage together, the building began to crumble behind them, walls dissolving into dust. The collapse spread outward—whole blocks of the dream city vanished into the red mist.
Charles watched the space folding in on itself. “The shallow world’s held together by Valerie’s power,” he explained, “but it’s also fed by the emotions and obsessions of the drears. When one wakes up, the space shrinks.”
He turned to the two of them, smiling faintly. “Co on. Next, we go after Millers.”
Axel nodded, glancing at Charles’s tired expression. “Mr. Charles… do you want to heal you?”
Charles waved him off. “Save your strength. I’ll manage. Once everyone’s out, that’s when the real fight begins.”
Axel and Kaia exchanged confused looks.
Charles noticed. “Valerie’s here too,” he said grimly. “She’s not attacking because she’s maintaining the dreams—and feeding off the others’ ntal energy. But once we wake you all, she’ll co for us.”
He paused, gaze narrowing. “Inside this shallow dream, she’s even stronger than she would be in the real world. Be ready.”
Axel swallowed hard and nodded.
They continued down the deserted street. A few run-down convenience stores lined one side; across from them, a bar flickered with dim neon light.
Charles stopped and let out a low chuckle. “I think I can guess whose dream this is.”
Axel and Kaia exchanged knowing looks.
“Stay out here this ti,” Charles said, already moving toward the bar door. “I’ll handle this one myself.”
And with that, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Millers’s dream… was sothing else entirely.
For soone his age, watching that kind of thing—with two younger won, no less—was downright shaless.
“Mr. Charles is probably having a nosebleed in there right now,” Kaia said with a soft laugh, covering her mouth.
Axel gave a helpless nod. Even Victor, who had glanced through Millers’s mories before, had taken way too long to co back from them—and had looked conflicted as hell when he did.
Two minutes later, Charles erged from the bar with Millers in tow. Kaia leaned forward, smirking. “Mr. Charles, co on, tell —was this kid’s dream erotic?”
Millers, clearly trying to pull himself together, groaned. “Don’t look at like that! I’ve changed, alright? I’m not the sa guy I used to be. I’m a reford, handso, emotionally available man now.”
Kaia pretended to gag. “Sure you are.”
But Charles, instead of teasing, smiled faintly. “Kaia, you’ve got it wrong this ti. Millers really has changed.”
Kaia blinked. “What?”
Millers straightened, chest puffed, trying to look dignified.
“You’ve stopped being a playboy,” Charles continued thoughtfully, “and beco… what’s that word you young people use again?”
Millers felt a tiny spark of pride light inside him. Maybe Mr. Charles actually respected him now.
Charles snapped his fingers. “Ah, that’s right—a bootlicker, isn’t it?”
Millers froze, his vision going dark. “Mr. Charles, please don’t ruin my character arc like that.”
Kaia burst out laughing, enjoying his misery. “Now I’m even more curious who you were seeing in there.”
Charles waved her off, the faintest trace of humor tugging at his lips. “He’s got decent taste, at least. The woman in his dream had good manners. Co on—we’ve still got to find Phoenix.”
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