Morning.
The sunlight felt ordinary. Too ordinary.
As if the world was pretending nothing had shifted last night.
Tiger walks through the school corridor, heading toward his class. A few students pass by, laughing, unaware of anything unusual.
A strange feeling crawls up his spine.
Not fear.
Recognition.
He turns.
Flames burst behind him without warning.
They didn't spread wildly.
They rose in a straight line — like a wall being built.
Heat spreads across the hallway. A teacher rushes out of the staff room.
"Stay back! Leave immediately!"
"S-Sir… how did the fire start?" Tiger asks, voice tight with hesitation.
"Short circuit. Go. Now!"
The word felt rehearsed. Too quick. Too convenient.
Tiger nods and walks away—only to slip against the wall and blend into the corner, hidden from sight. While the teacher calls others for help, Tiger moves toward the burning area.
The air feels wrong.
Suddenly—
Day collapses into night.
It wasn't darkness.
It was absence.
As if the world had been peeled away.
Silence.
No students. No teachers. Only Tiger… and the fire.
He steps closer, but an invisible barrier blocks his path. A force slams into him, Swiga didn't activate.
It was waiting. Watching. pushing him back. He nearly falls yet steadies himself.
From the center of the flames—
Blood begins to drip.
It fell upward for a second — defying gravity — before splashing onto the flames.
Tiger forces himself forward again. This time the barrier fails to stop him.
He walks into the blaze.
The fire doesn't burn.
It felt cold.
Like walking through memory instead of heat.
He can see through it.
Beyond the flames… a body hangs from a rope.
The face was hidden in shadow.
But the white ribbon tied around the wrist was unmistakable.
Tiger jerks awake.
"W–What…? A dream?" His left eye burned faintly — the same place the blade had stopped.
He grips his shirt tightly, hand pressing against his chest. The other rests on his forehead.
A long breath escapes.
"These dreams… they're getting deeper. Out of control. Yesterday that girl… those so-called gods… Why are they after me? If this continues, I'll lose my mind."
He lies on his left side.
The clock reads 6:30 A.M.
The moment his eyes focus on it—
He's back at school.
Right in front of the fire.
Shock freezes him.
"I'm here again…?"
The air smelled the same.
Burnt metal.
And something sweeter beneath it.
He takes one step forward.
Stops.
Moves several steps back.
A teacher runs in with a bucket of water and throws it over the flames. Others join. The fire dies quickly.
Tiger hides again, watching.
Once everyone leaves, he steps out and stares at the blackened floor.
Everything looks normal.
For one second—
The hanging body appears again.
This time… its head tilted slightly.
As if it knew he could see it.
Night swallows the corridor.
Morning returns instantly.
Tiger steps back and bumps into someone's chest. He stumbles but regains balance.
"You shouldn't be here, Tiger."
It's his own teacher.
"O-Oh… Sir… I was just—"
"Tiger," the teacher says calmly.
"I saw you all bringing water… I just came to check what happened."
The teacher points toward the scorched floor. "See that? The fire burned the tiles."
Tiger looks.
For a split second, he sees the body again.
He steps back.
"You're acting strange," For a brief second, Tiger wondered—
Could he see it too? the teacher says. "Is something wrong?"
Tiger's gaze snaps upward.
"N-No, Sir. I'm fine. Maybe I just… didn't sleep well. I'll go now."
He walks away, whispering to himself.
"This isn't a dream anymore," he murmured.
"It's leaking."
After classes, he leaves the campus and heads toward his rented home, lost in thought.
"I believed it was only a dream…"
He reaches his room quietly.
And the question follows him inside—
Was it ever just a dream? If this was only a dream…
Then why did it know his name?