The Dreamer's POV

I had a dream.

I dreamt of a massive castle that sat atop a snowy mountain. The landscape was littered with shorter hills and ridges, all frozen beyond repair.

In this pure white and blue landscape, with a snowstorm so severe that I could hardly make out any of the details, I suddenly felt pulled toward the castle that firmly remained on the mountaintop.

Within the palace was a throne room. So pure and white that I felt like I was in paradise. It had crystal-clear statues, and a humongous throne that felt surreal. Frozen chandeliers clung to the ceiling, and motifs carved in ice decorated the hall with splendor.

However, despite being surrounded by such beauty, I could not enjoy the view.

Because also locked in the throneroom… was a battle!

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!~

I could feel the room tremble, and the noise of two blades clashing rang in my ear, almost to the point of bursting my eardrums. Sparks flew, as the two beings who were locked in this ferocious exchange danced in the melee.

One was coated in pure white, magnificent as an angel. Its light armor was well covered by a fur-like cape, and it had a glittering crown on its head; like a knight of purity.

This castle belonged to it, my thoughts concluded. The very theme of the palace, and the throneroom, seemed to point toward the white knight. It was a monarch, an absolute being. It ruled this place.

But what about the adversary?

Dressed like the night, the intruder was shrouded in disgusting black mist, with a disruptive aura forming around him. His dark corruption seemed to contaminate the purity of the room, so much so that I found myself wishing he wasn't there.

The only stain in this paradise was this dark-cloaked person.

Who the hell did he think he was?

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I watched as the dark wretch and the glorious knight clashed once more, hoping for the victory of the obvious hero. The thin blade of darkness met the much larger sword of the white knight, creating sparks and echoes that began to crack everything in the room.

The speed and tempo increased, their exchanges growing much stronger than before. With each strike, the power exerted became unbearably more intense. The air was shrouded in tension, and through it all, I felt myself eagerly waiting for the death of the man in the dark robe.

Then finally…

~SQUELCH!~

The hero pierced the body of the creepy dark-coated man.

His icy blade delivered the final strike of justice, slowly causing a white mist to encase the man of the night. From his chest, white particles slowly began to leak out. It caused the darkness around him to vanish, and I noticed he was beginning to freeze.

He was soon going to become one with the purity of the castle. Just as the other statues that were present in the hall… and the statues I saw at the entrance when I was being pulled in, as well as the plenty statues that stood among the mountains, valleys, and hills.

This dark-robed man was going to join the others in completing this paradise.

"Failed again, huh…?" I heard him whisper.

The dark cloak on his body was already vanishing, revealing his scrawny physique. His emaciated body and parched lips told me this man hadn't taken anything in for at least a few days.

His sunken eyes told me it was too late for him. He had lost all his strength and would die here. Ironically, I felt bad for him.

Did he really need to die?

Why did he have to come here in the first place? Why couldn't he leave the white knight alone in peace?

"I… I promised them…" His lips uttered, and the final vestiges of his cape vanished, revealing his partly frozen face.

"... I promised to do it. To win…"

With the final strand that masked his face gone, I was able to uncover the identity of this mysterious person.

He had pitch-black hair, with glowing crimson eyes, and a pale, malnourished face that had clearly seen a lot of hardship.

This man…. There was something oddly familiar about him, and I recognized it the moment I took a good look at his face.

He was me!

What in the world was going on? Why was I the man being killed? Wasn't he the villain? Wasn't the white knight the hero?

"N-not yet… this isn't over…" I heard myself say. I seemed to be croaking, most likely due to my lungs already being frozen.

"I'll do it next time. I'll win for sure…"

My face completely turned white, the same as my entire body. Everything seemed blank, and everything felt so cold I felt myself shiver in silence.

Even though I was supposed to be dead, I heard something whisper to me. It was my voice, gentle and warm.

"... Win, or die trying!"

And then I awoke.

*****

I nearly forgot the dream a few days later, taking it to be yet another of the nightmares that often afflicted me.

For years now, every night, I would get nightmares showing me many things. It first started when I was ten years old, and now, being twenty, it kept occurring.

However, something stood out about this one. It was most likely the reason I found myself unable to forget it despite how many days passed. And that was because ever since I had that dream, the nightmares completely stopped.

I was honestly overjoyed—happy that I could finally enjoy my nights in peace.

Little did I know that that joy was misplaced.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

<Paradise Will Now Be Initialized>

{The realm of the gods, Paradise, will be revealed to the chosen humans. Overcome the 99 Floors and reach the Final Realm.}

<Tutorial Will Begin Once The Announcement Has Been Concluded>

{Your mission is to survive the Tutorial so you can be qualified to enter Paradise. Time Left until the end of the Tutorial: 168 hrs: 00 mins: 00 secs}

<Announcement is ending… The Tutorial will now commence>

After all…

[GOOD LUCK!]

… The real nightmare was just beginning.

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[A/N]

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