Dark crimson spreads across Fumiko's trembling hand.
It glistens under an unseen light.
Thick.
Warm.
Real.
Her breath catches in her throat.
For a split second, her mind refuses to understand what she's seeing.
"…Blood?"
The word barely escapes her lips.
And then
The world breaks.
The sky above her twists violently.
The endless emptiness shatters like glass, replaced by a deep, suffocating red.
It spreads like ink through water, staining everything.
The once-clear sky now looks torn apart–
like bleeding fabric stretched across infinity.
Fumiko's chest tightens.
The ground beneath her feet begins to change.
The glassy surface darkens.
Ripples slow.
Thicken.
The water turns heavy.
Viscous.
Red.
Her reflection disappears beneath the surface.
In its place–
Only blood remains.
An endless ocean of it.
The smell hits her next.
Metallic.
Sharp.
Overpowering.
Her stomach lurches violently.
"W-What is this…?"
Her voice trembles, barely holding together.
She stumbles backward, nearly slipping as the surface beneath her shifts unnaturally.
Her fingers twitch.
The blood on her palm feels sticky now.
Clinging to her skin.
She wants to wipe it away.
Desperately.
But she can't move.
Her body freezes.
A deep, primal fear wraps around her spine.
This isn't a dream.
The thought echoes loudly in her mind.
This feels too real.
Suddenly
The surface beneath her ripples violently.
Then
Something moves.
A hand bursts out from the blood.
Black.
Twisted.
Its fingers claw desperately at the air.
Fumiko gasps.
Then another hand emerges.
And another.
And another.
Dozens of them.
Hundreds.
They rise from the crimson sea like the dead reaching from beneath the earth.
"No… no, NOOO!"
Her voice cracks.
The hands lunge toward her.
They grab her wrists.
Her arms.
Her legs.
Her shoulders.
Cold.
Wet.
Unnatural.
"STOPPP!"
She thrashes violently, trying to pull free.
But for every hand she shakes off
Two more take its place.
Their grip tightens.
Dragging her downward.
The blood beneath her feet ripples like a living thing.
It pulses.
Slowly.
Like a heartbeat.
Thump.
The sound echoes through her skull.
Thump.
Her breathing becomes erratic.
"I won't–!"
She struggles harder.
"I won't let you–!"
Her voice breaks into a scream.
"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ME!"
She pushes against the pulling force with everything she has.
Her muscles strain.
Her nails dig into the slick surface.
But nothing holds.
The weight on her body increases.
Her chest tightens.
Her lungs begin to burn.
The hands climb higher.
Wrapping around her torso.
Her neck.
Her throat
Something cold brushes against her skin.
Then tightens.
A shadowy hand coils around her neck like a noose.
Her breath stops instantly.
"–!"
Her eyes widen in pure terror.
She grabs at her throat desperately.
Trying to pry it off.
But her fingers slip through parts of it.
Like grabbing smoke
And yet the pressure is real.
Crushing.
Unforgiving.
Her vision blurs.
Darkness creeps into the edges of her sight.
Her thoughts scatter.
Fragment.
"I… can't…"
Her voice comes out as a broken whisper.
"I can't breathe…"
The world pulses again.
Thump.
The crimson sea rises higher around her.
Thump.
The sky feels closer.
Heavier.
Closing in.
Her knees buckle.
Her body begins to give in.
'Is this… how it ends?'
Tears blur her vision.
Her strength fades.
Her hands fall weakly to her sides.
The darkness grows.
Swallowing everything.
And then
A sound.
Soft.
Faint.
Almost lost in the suffocating silence.
"…meow."
Fumiko's eyes flicker.
The sound feels distant.
Like it's coming from somewhere far away.
"…meow."
It comes again.
Gentle.
Calm.
Out of place in this nightmare.
Her fading consciousness clings to it.
'What…?'
Her vision flickers.
The crimson world trembles.
The grip around her throat loosens... Just slightly.
"…meow."
The sound grows clearer.
Closer.
And then
Everything shatters.
Fumiko's eyes snap open.
She gasps violently.
Air rushes into her lungs in desperate, uneven breaths.
Her chest rises and falls rapidly.
Her entire body trembles.
The ceiling of her room comes into focus.
Dark.
Familiar.
Safe.
Sweat clings to her skin.
Her hair sticks to her forehead.
"…I'm… back…"
Her voice shakes uncontrollably.
Her eyes dart around the room.
Everything looks normal.
Her bed.
Her desk.
Her curtains
The digital clock beside her bed glows faintly.
4:13 AM
"…A nightmare…?"
She whispers.
But the memory of the blood.
The hands.
The suffocating grip
It feels too vivid.
Too real.
"…meow."
Fumiko freezes.
Her breath catches.
Slowly
Very slowly
She lowers her gaze.
Something soft rests on her chest.
A small white cat sits there calmly.
Its body rises and falls gently with her breathing.
One of its tiny paws rests lightly against her neck.
Right where she felt the choking grip.
The cat looks up at her.
Its expression… strangely composed.
"…You…"
Fumiko whispers.
Her voice trembles.
"The voice…"
The cat lets out another soft sound.
"…meow."
Relief crashes over her.
Her shoulders slump.
Her breathing begins to slow.
"So… it was you…"
She exhales shakily.
"You woke me up…"
Her fingers move hesitantly.
She gently lifts the cat into her hands.
Its fur feels warm.
Unnaturally warm.
Comforting.
Like holding something alive in a way that feels… deeper than normal.
"Thank you…"
Her voice softens.
"You saved me."
The cat blinks slowly.
Once.
Twice.
As if it understands her.
Fumiko lets out a weak laugh.
"You're kind of my hero now, you know that?"
The cat tilts its head slightly.
Fumiko studies it more carefully now.
And then
She notices its eyes.
One is a soft, silvery white.
Calm.
Almost glowing.
The other
Is deep crimson.
Dark.
Unsettling.
Her breath catches again.
"…That's… unusual."
She whispers.
A strange feeling creeps into her chest.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
But something close.
Something… unknown.
The cat continues staring at her.
Unblinking.
As if observing her.
Not like an animal.
But like something that understands far more than it should.
Fumiko swallows.
"…What are you?"
The question slips out before she can stop herself.
The cat doesn't respond.
Instead
It suddenly leaps from her hands.
Landing gracefully on the window frame.
Fumiko flinches slightly.
"That was fast…"
The cat turns back toward her.
Its tail flicks gently.
"…meow."
A soft sound.
But this time?
It feels different.
Almost like a goodbye.
Then
In one smooth motion
The cat jumps out of the window.
Disappearing into the darkness beyond.
Fumiko sits frozen.
"…Gone?"
Her voice is barely audible.
She slowly lowers her hands.
A strange emptiness fills the room.
"…That was… weird."
She exhales softly.
Then
Her eyes drift toward her palms.
The memory of blood flashes again.
Her fingers tremble slightly.
"…It felt so real…"
Her voice shakes.
"And that thing…"
Her hand unconsciously moves to her throat.
"…it almost…"
Her breath catches.
"…killed me?."
Silence fills the room.
But then
A thought hits her.
Suddenly.
Sharp.
Her eyes widen.
"Wait…"
She turns her head toward the window.
Her heart skips a beat.
The window is open.
Wideopen.
The curtains sway gently in the cold early morning breeze.
Fumiko slowly stands from her bed.
Her steps feel unsteady.
She walks toward the window.
Her mind races.
I closed this.
She clearly remembers it.
After last night.
After everything.
She made sure of it.
"…Then how…"
Her voice trembles.
"…did it get in?"
The wind brushes against her face.
Cold.
Unfamiliar.
She looks out into the quiet street below.
Nothing moves.
No sign of the cat.
No sign of anything.
But the unease remains.
Heavy.
Lingering.
Watching.
Fumiko grips the edge of the window frame.
Her heart beats faster.
"…What was that cat…?"
No answer comes.
Only silence.
And the faint feeling
That something has already entered her world.
And it is no longer just watching from the shadows.