The transition from the world in between back to the dreamworld was… interesting.
Those were Elias's thoughts at the time.
Light disoriented his vision, leaving nothing but white visible.
[Elias] "–––––"
Elias gritted his teeth, biting down as hard as he could.
Transitioning between worlds turned out to hurt a tiny bit more than he thought it would.
A yell rang out from the white void; it felt as if the world was breaking apart his body and… putting it somewhere else?
Now that he thought about it, that was probably exactly what was happening.
Another surge of pain rushed through Elias, prompting another yell.
This time, though, he resisted the urge. Maybe it was to prove something to himself—maybe he just wanted to feel cool.
Regardless, the dreamworld answered to his will.
Color gradually began to form, sprouting out from his peripheral vision.
First it was brown, then green, then grayscale colors; eventually Elias could see what the world had turned into.
Wait—that couldn't be right.
Green?
It was October, and greenery should have faded with the introduction of fall.
So how were there trees, shrubs, and even radiant grass on the ground right now?
According to his memory, the loop should only regress a week or two. How was the weather like this, then?
Elias shook his head and sighed.
[Elias] "What the hell…"
This world was really getting to him. At this point, he just wanted to go home.
Soon, he began walking. Among the first things he saw was a café, so he planned to enter it when he saw it.
[Elias] "I could go for a coffee right now."
Would the effects of caffeine even affect him in a dream world? Elias wasn't sure, but he was already too stressed to think about something like that.
Without needing to push open the door, Elias stepped in. Since gaining a Ghost body, he had attained the ability to move through walls—a very convenient ability, to say the least.
Without any glances or stares, Elias went to the back of the café. He was surprisingly good at making beverages.
Maybe in another world, he was a bartender rather than a memory dealer.
Elias picked up a cup from the stack and walked over to the coffee machine.
Something caught his eye for a minute—a calendar. He brushed it off at first; it was just a calendar.
But why were there only four letters on it?
Elias glanced again, and this time he finally noticed it.
The cup dropped to the floor.
It was April.
[Elias] "What the f—"
He was interrupted by a loud footstep.
[???] "Hey, Elias."
A jolt ran through his body. Someone could see him?
He turned around and was met with a cascade of golden hair.
Finally, a breath of relief escaped him.
[Elias] "Hey."
It was Claire, not a random person—huge relief.
Maybe Elias had been doubting his ability as a Ghost too much lately, or maybe it was the constant mental fatigue he'd been dealing with the last few… months, was it?
Regardless, she was someone familiar.
Familiarity was comforting to Elias; he despised new developments—too many surprises.
They stood in silence for a moment.
[Claire] "Been a few months, right?"
[Elias] "Yeah."
Right—since he came down here, he needed to serve a purpose too.
That purpose, Elias decided, was to take Claire away from his… huh.
What would he even call the dealer?
His past self was 'Elias'.
He himself was Elias. So was he the present or the future?
After a moment, he decided he wanted to be the future Elias.
[Elias] "Claire, want to talk?"
[Claire] "Sure."
The neutral tone checked him for a minute. Wasn't she just so glad to see him a few months in the future?
It didn't matter. She still agreed to talk.
Elias touched her shoulder.
Nothing happened.
Claire shot him a questioning glance, and he could only chuckle sheepishly.
[Elias] "Give me a second, I got this."
He touched her shoulder again and finally got the result he was aiming for.
When his teacher, "Elias," had been teaching him how to turn into and maintain a Ghost form, he hadn't really paid attention to how to transform himself.
Instead, he had paid attention to how his teacher gave him the form.
By doing that, Elias had effectively acquired an additional skill: along with turning into a Ghost, he could give the form to others.
Claire's smooth skin was now turning translucent, a blue hue outlining her shape.
[Elias] "We can talk normally now."
He breathed out in relief; this would've been awkward if he'd failed.
Suddenly, a loud sound erupted beside him. Claire was pointing at him, laughing uncontrollably.
[Elias] "What the hell is so funny?"
He asked this out of genuine confusion—little did he know, those words would only fuel her laughter.
Now she was laughing so hard she had to gasp between breaths.
[Claire] "You… are so… stupid!"
[Claire] "Failed on accident, did you? Sure you didn't just want an extra touch?"
The thought made Elias flush, but he didn't have the time to be distracted. Her life was at stake, and Elias had no idea when the dealer would come for her.
[Elias] "Claire."
She was still laughing.
[Elias] "Claire."
By the second call of her name, she stopped.
[Claire] "Huh?"
Seeing his serious expression, Claire blinked in confusion.
[Elias] "Claire, someone will be after you soon. I want you to come with me."
Claire paused, then grinned.
[Claire] "Way to take a girl home."
Elias scoffed. What else was he supposed to do?
[Elias] "Will you?"
[Claire] "Sure, but at least explain more. I'm not that easy, you know."
Her constant joking felt grounding to the tired Elias. Somehow, it felt like the fog over his mind was easing.
[Elias] "The dealer will most likely be after you, according to a source of mine. I want to make sure he doesn't lay a finger on you."
Claire listened for a moment, then nodded.
[Claire] "I really hate that name."
Elias nodded back. "The dealer" was a terrible name. It was embarrassing that any version of him had it—especially his present self.
[Elias] "Do you know any places to go?"
Claire stared at him, dumbfounded.
[Claire] "I'm in danger and you have no idea where to put me?"
Now that he thought about it, he did have one spot, but he just left. Plus, he didn't want to go anywhere near that place right now.
Reluctantly, he spoke:
[Elias] "I do have one spot, but it's not ideal."
Maybe whatever surrounded Claire would shield them from whatever had stalked him in the world in between.
[Claire] "I'll go wherever you can follow in your teacher's footsteps and sleep on the couch like that dealer."
Elias wasn't sure if there was even a couch there. Probably not.
He paused.
How did she know he slept on the couch?
Hold on… hasn't she been referencing the last time we saw each other this whole time?
Finally, Elias arrived at the oh-so-obvious conclusion dangling in front of him.
Somehow, the Claire in front of him had memories of the future.
No—to her, it was an experience of the past.
She, too, was part of the regression.