The voices around him grew louder, but the subject of their conversation merely frowned, turned over, and kept his eyes firmly
shut, as if still fast asleep.
It was that small movement that finally made them notice Lucas.
Startled, they fell silent immediately. When he didn’t move further or say anything, they realized he was asleep. After a brief, puzzled exchange of glances, one of them looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he shook his head and stayed
quiet.
Lucas didn’t hear any of it. He was lost in another dream–one that brought those two figures back again.
This time, though, he saw their faces clearly.
To his shock, the two people were none other than himself and Celia Quinn.
He watched the story unfold from the perspective of an outsider, the events barreling toward their inevitable tragic end.
Desperation surged within him as he tried to intervene, to warn the man in the dream.
The intensity of his desire must have been overwhelming because suddenly, he wasn’t just a bystander–he had become “Lucas
Shaw,” inhabiting his body.
When Celia called for help, he answered. He pushed Yvonne away, abandoning everything in his single–minded determination to
make things right for Celia. He fought tooth and nail to win her trust again, and finally, she opened her heart to him once more.
But when the seventh day came, he still ended up watching her die before his eyes.
Her soul disintegrated into nothingness.
In her final moments, she lay in his arms, her hand gently brushing his cheek.
“Uncle,” she whispered, her voice as light as a feather, “I’ve never regretted loving you.‘
“But, Lucas Smith… I truly don’t love you anymore.”
11
The dream shattered abruptly. Darkness engulfed him as Lucas stumbled blindly forward, hands outstretched as though searching for something solid to hold onto.
Disoriented, he felt his memories slipping away.
Where was he? He had no idea.
Why was he here? He couldn’t remember.
Who was he?
A look of confusion clouded his eyes as a massive, menacing face loomed out of the void before him.
He spoke instinctively, his voice trembling. “Who are you? Who am I? Why am I here?”
The monstrous face responded, its tone devoid of emotion.
2/3
Chapter 24
+15 Bonus
“You don’t need to know that. All you need to understand is this: you violated our deal. So now, I’ve come to claim the rest of you
time.”
Lucas Smith was dead.
His roommates discovered it the next morning when they tried to wake him up for class, only to find he was no longer breathin
The news traveled quickly, eventually reaching Celia. When she heard it, she was stunned into silence for a long time.
Finally, she let out a soft, bitter laugh.
“Lucas,” she murmured quietly, “why did you push yourself this far? I never truly needed you to come back.”
