Every single night, I keep dreaming of war.
In the midst of the battlefield, I always see the same man—disheveled, wounded all over, with a hollow expression on his face.
He stands atop a pile of corpses, gazing downward as if lost in thought.
Above him, through a thin red mist in the sky, I see it—
a giant eye staring down at him.
Lightning cracks from every edge of that eye, forming tangled veins like a chaotic nervous system in the sky.
The man lifts his head. The moment his eyes meet the one above, his expression turns weary. He sighs deeply.
"Haahh…"
Then, he drops his sword.
Letting it fall into the abyss formed beneath the hill of corpses.
He looked… truly exhausted.
As if he had gone through more than anyone ever should.
I stood behind his shadow, unable to move, unable to speak.
Then everything faded to black.
And I woke up.
"…That dream again," I muttered, scratching my head.
While taking a shower, I kept thinking about it.
Normally, I'd just shrug it off. But lately, it's been bothering me.
That dream keeps coming back.
Even when I nap in class, it shows up.
Thankfully, my teacher has a divine habit of throwing chalk, shoes—or even chairs—at anyone caught dozing off.
Yeah, real helpful for dream suppression.
Just because I'm having some strange dreams doesn't mean my life's full of drama or danger.
In fact, I've lived pretty peacefully.
…Or have I?
On my way to school, I noticed a kid slip on a banana peel to the right of me.
And on the left?
Another kid was hugging a tree, crying—probably chased up there by a dog.
I was too deep in thought to care.
That's just who I am.
Arthur.
At the street corner, I ran into a girl with black hair, both graceful and sweet.
Her name's Alvia—my childhood friend. The one who's stuck with me the longest.
"Good morning, Arthur," she said with a bright smile.
"Morning, Alvia," I replied.
We walked to school together.
"Did you know," she started, "there used to be a king with the same name as you?"
"I know. King Arthur, right?" I said with a smug face.
She giggled. "Yeah. Honestly, I think you act kinda like him.
Maybe you're his reincarnation or something~"
"Hah! No way. Me? Don't be ridiculous. I'm just an ordinary guy," I said proudly.
"King Arthur was known as the king of knights, right?. Skilled in battle… just like you. I mean, you sent eight thugs to the hospital all by yourself."
"That's just 'cause they were dumb," I scoffed. "If we're talking about strength, you're the one who's stronger, Alvia."
"Don't forget, I lost to you in a sparring match the other day," I added.
I crossed my arms and recalled how she slammed me onto the dojo floor five seconds into the match.
"Ehehe~ You better train harder, Arthur," she teased.
"Next time, I'll win for sure," I grumbled.
"Let's see who wins next time," she smiled.
I stayed quiet, blushing a little.
Her smile… it was gentle and comforting.
I always felt safe when I was with her.
If possible, I wanted to stay by her side forever.
Before I knew it, we had arrived at school.
Still distracted, I walked through the school gates—
when suddenly, someone threw chewing gum at me.
I instinctively caught it.
"You spacing out, Arthur? That's rare."
It was Raka, chewing gum with his usual 'wannabe delinquent' swagger.
Another classmate of mine. Rough on the outside, but honestly a good guy.
"Raka!" I exclaimed, startled.
Alvia looked at me and asked, "Yeah, I'm curious too. You've been out of it the whole way here. Something wrong?"
"Huh? I didn't notice," I replied.
Raka butted in with one of his wild guesses.
"Haha! I bet it's those thugs again, right? Don't worry—I'll beat 'em u—"
I punched him in the gut so hard, the gum flew out of his mouth.
"UHRK!"
He dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach.
"Thanks to you, I got ambushed by eight of them, remember?!"
Then I sighed.
"Forget it. Doesn't matter anymore."
Alvia tilted her head and asked again, "But seriously, what's been bothering you, Arthur?"
I popped the gum Raka gave me into my mouth, and told them everything about my dream.
"Hmm… I see," Alvia nodded.
I glanced over at Raka, still groaning on the floor. "Urgh… Arthur, that was way too hard…"
"Sorry," I muttered, still chewing.
"Don't overthink it," Alvia shrugged. "It's just a dream. I once dreamed I fell into a volcano, and I'm still fine today. And c'mon, a giant eye? The biggest eye in the world belongs to a colossal squid, and it's only the size of a basketball."
"…Wait, really?" I asked, surprised.
"Look it up if you don't believe me," she replied confidently.
"Hey! Dreams can come true, y'know!" Raka suddenly blurted out.
"Huh? Why the sudden confidence? Did one of your dreams come true or something?" I asked him.
"I dreamed I was being chased… by a tomato."
…
The silence was deafening. Even the wind stopped.
"…Tomato?"
"Why a tomato?"
"I'm serious! Tomatoes are weird. They're red, but they're not sweet like apples or strawberries. They're not sour either. Just… weird! I hate tomatoes. Tomatoes are—"
He rambled on for a good while.
Alvia and I looked at each other, spat out our gum, and headed to class—laughing all the way.
Once inside, the class was noisy.
People were panicking over yesterday's homework.
I sat by the window. Alvia took the seat beside me.
The teacher walked in and started the lesson.
Then, as usual, someone came in late.
Who else but Raka?
He got scolded instantly.
Why was he late?
…Because of tomatoes.
The whole class burst out laughing.
I just stared out the window, still thinking about the dream.
A gentle breeze brushed my face.
Outside, kids were playing soccer, laughing and shouting.
Then something strange happened.
My vision blurred.
The sky flickered like a broken TV.
I felt dizzy. But it only lasted for a few seconds.
When things cleared up… I saw it.
I froze.
Eyes wide.
Body stiff.
Cold sweat dripping from my palms.
Hovering in the sky above the school—
Was the man from my dream.
His appearance was exactly the same:
Disheveled. Long white hair. Tattered cloak. Empty eyes staring at the sky.
I glanced around.
Everyone was focused on the lesson.
No one seemed to notice.
I turned to Alvia, voice trembling.
"Alvia… look out the window. Do you… see anything?"
She stared at me, worried.
Her pen dropped to the floor.
"…Arthur? What's wrong?"