WMMAP - [S1] Shelter You - (愛)してる

Chapter 58: Escaping The Illusions

Lucas' POV

The moment I took a step forward after saying goodbye to Whitey, I felt like I was being watched. Although I didn't stop right away and pretended that I didn't notice the energy in the air and kept walking. 

But if there was one thing I was confident about myself the most, besides my handsome face, of course, it would definitely be my instinct. It wasn't always like that. The instinct I meant. 

For the look? I was and always have been handsome. Hands down.

But... Ever since I found this... Book... That I bought along with the gemstone for Athanasia for her birthday, I felt... different. 

I didn't look too much into it. I thought it was just some random old dude who was trying to sell me some good stuff so he could make a living. I mean, I found his stand at a fair. The booth didn't even stand out, but it wasn't half bad. Just decorated with strange antiques.

The funny thing was, the jewel was INSIDE the book and somehow it had this... weird energy that was calling to me somehow to choose it. It was just a book with ancient letters I couldn't understand. It's not the book that I wanted, but The Jewel. But the old man said the two who came together must stay together.

It got even weirder when he suddenly asked "Do you believe in magic, young man?" 

But I scoffed in response and tossed him some bills then left without saying anything else. So after that, I brought the stone to a jewelsmith for the pendant to be made.

Nothing out of the ordinary. If dreams weren't included. It started out as dreams. The only way to describe it was... Chaos.

It's as if I was witnessing from another... selves. Yes... Plural. I know It sounded Crazy... Maybe I've really gone mad but... "Maybe magic did exist?" That feeling kinda hit me out of nowhere then I remember waking up all sweating and panting.

Some other time I had to see... Athanasia, many versions of her, end up... In a bad spot. 

I didn't want to see it but I couldn't wake up from the limbo. It's like it was forcing me to see it. I felt what... the other me felt. Sometimes it was rage, red, and raw. Sometimes it was... Emptiness... As if she wasn't important at all.

Well, those weren't my feelings. I confirmed it the moment I woke up. But the first thing I had to check was if I was still dreaming. By checking I meant I would sometimes leap from my balcony to check on her in the middle of the night to see if she was safe and sound. And she was. All snoring and drooling. 

I wish I had taken a photo or two for blackmail purposes.

The dreams didn't stop there. It kept going and going until I had lost count of déjà vu. Although, it did give me an edge in fighting or responding to things instinctively. Then that was when I realized it affect my reality too. 

I had to find that old dude so I could get my refund. Hell! At that point, I would Pay him to take the book back! 

When I got to the location where the booth was supposed to be, there was nothing there. I fought every single cell in my body not to tear the book into pieces.

Instead of fighting the dreams, I tried to resolve them. Sometimes I wish I was so wrong about it because there was this one time that one of my nightmares became reality. It still haunted me from time to time as I relived the past. It would stay lurking in the back of my head until the day I almost broke her wrist. 

The dream was a warning and just like any other dream I had to see, I couldn't escape it, but I wasn't prepared to experience it. So I couldn't tell which reality belong to me. The scariest part was the dream in which I had seen her in a puddle of red.