The Dreamwalkers

#Chapter One: Echoes of the Dream

Aeris Windrake woke to the sound of shattering glass.

Her body jerked upright, silk sheets slipping from her shoulders as her heart thundered in her chest. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light of her room, scanning for broken windows or signs of intrusion. But there was nothing—no glass, no disturbance. Only the fading echo of the sharp, splintering sound that had yanked her from sleep.

A dream. Again.

She inhaled slowly, pressing her fingers to her temples as remnants of the dream clung to her mind like smoke—shadowy figures, distorted faces, and distant voices. The same nightmare had plagued her for weeks now, leaving her waking up on the edge of panic, never quite fully leaving the dream world behind.

Before she could fully shake the feeling, a soft knock interrupted the silence.

"It's late," she called out, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.The door creaked open, revealing Luca. His unkempt hair and wild-eyed expression told her he hadn't been to bed at all."

Aeris," he whispered, urgency in his voice. "We've got a situation. It's bad."

Her body tensed. She didn't have to ask to know what he was talking about."Another one?" she asked, already moving toward her coat.

Luca nodded, stepping into the room. "In the city this time. They found him in the street. No physical wounds, but the look on his face... it's worse than the others."

Aeris slid into her boots, the weight of the situation settling in her chest. She'd been expecting it—another dream-death, the fourth one this month. People found dead in their beds or, like tonight, in the middle of the street. No sign of struggle, no injury. Just terror. She knew the signature well. The echoes of something dark and powerful lingering in the victims' minds even after death.

And now, it seemed to be happening more frequently.

"I'll need Kaia on this," Aeris said, buckling her coat as she walked past Luca and into the hallway. "She can sense what's left.""She's already there," Luca said, following quickly. "But she's rattled. There's something wrong about this one, Aeris."Aeris frowned but kept moving. "Let's not waste any more time."---The streets of the city were quiet, lanterns casting long shadows as the two of them hurried through the winding alleys. Aeris felt the familiar hum of the dream world pressing in at the edges of her vision—subtle, but always present. Reality and dreams were forever intertwined in her mind, but tonight the air felt particularly heavy, as though the line between them had grown dangerously thin.

As they approached the square, they spotted the city guard, forming a tight circle around the scene. Kaia knelt by the body at the center, her hands hovering just above the man's still chest.

"Kaia," Aeris called softly as she approached.Kaia looked up, her eyes reflecting the faint moonlight. "Aeris, it's worse than I thought."

Aeris crouched beside her, looking down at the body. The man's face was twisted in horror, eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream. There were no visible wounds, but something was unmistakably wrong.

Kaia's fingers trembled slightly as they hovered above the man's skin. "The fear is... still here. It hasn't faded, even though he's gone. It's like... something latched onto his soul."

Aeris nodded grimly. Kaia's power as a dream healer allowed her to sense the emotional and mental residue left in people's dreams. If she was picking up on fear this strong, it meant the man had seen something unspeakable before he died.

Aeris placed a hand on Kaia's shoulder. "Can you track it? Get a sense of what we're dealing with?"

Kaia closed her eyes, taking a slow breath. Her fingers brushed against the man's chest, and a faint golden light began to glow beneath her palm. Aeris watched as Kaia's brow furrowed, her face contorting with concentration. Her gift wasn't just for healing—it allowed her to tap into the dreams of others, even after death, to trace their final moments.

Kaia's breath hitched suddenly, and her eyes flew open. "It's there," she gasped. "A shadow, something... monstrous. But it's not just fear. It's like it's feeding off of it."

Aeris' heart sank. "A dream assassin," she murmured.

"Darian?" Luca asked from behind them, his voice tight.Aeris stood, clenching her fists. "It's possible. This has his signature all over it."

Luca pulled out his Dream Compass, a silver device that flickered softly in the night air. He began adjusting the dials, tuning it to the residual energy of the dream. The compass needle spun wildly before pointing toward the eastern side of the city.

"It's nearby," Luca said. "I can follow the trail. Whatever did this left a footprint.""Let's move before it disappears," Aeris said.

Before they could take a step, a ripple of cold air passed over them, and Aeris felt the dream world stir. Her instincts kicked in. She closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, sensing the thin veil between reality and dreams. It was shifting, warping as something tried to bleed through.

"No," she whispered. "Not here."

With a deep breath, Aeris activated her power. Time within the dream world moved at a different pace than reality, and she had the ability to slow it down, to stretch seconds into minutes. She tapped into that now, creating a bubble around them, slowing everything around her just enough to give them time to react.

Luca's eyes widened as he felt the shift. "Aeris, you're—""There's something coming," she cut him off, her voice steady. "Get ready."

Kaia stood, her face pale but determined. She raised her hand, golden light spreading from her fingers as she prepared to heal whatever wound might be inflicted. Luca, on the other hand, adjusted the compass, the device glowing brighter as it synced more deeply with the dream residue.

Then, the air around them crackled.

A dark figure stepped out from the shadows of a nearby alley, its form barely human, more a mass of swirling darkness. The echo of the dream that had killed the man. Its hollow eyes locked onto them, and a low, hissing sound escaped its lips.

"Luca!" Aeris shouted.Luca didn't hesitate. With a quick flick of his wrist, he amplified the emotional tone of the dream energy around them, pushing the creature's fear back upon itself. The air around them shifted, the figure hesitating for just a moment as confusion flickered in its hollow eyes. Fear twisted within the monster's form, making it unstable.

Kaia seized the moment. Her hand glowed brighter as she stepped forward, the golden light expanding to engulf the shadow. The creature shrieked as Kaia's power began to unravel it, dissolving the nightmare it was born from.

But just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished—pulled back into the dream world before it could be completely destroyed.

"It's gone," Luca said, his voice breathless. "But not for long."

Aeris let the time bubble collapse, the world around them returning to its normal pace. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"They're getting bolder," Kaia said quietly, her hand falling to her side. "That thing... it wasn't just a nightmare. It was something else."

Aeris nodded, her jaw set. "We need to find Darian before more of these things appear."

"Do you think he's behind this?" Kaia asked.

Aeris didn't answer right away, her eyes scanning the darkened streets. "I don't just think it. I know it." And somewhere, in the twisting corridors of the dream world, she knew Darian was waiting.