Shock. Awe. Confusion.

  The feeling is foreign. My life has always felt perfect, but now there’s a strange, weightless emotion I can’t name.

  Fortune grins. “Sorry. Everyone gets confused when they enter this world.”

  “Am I… dead?” I ask.

  “No! Of course not. This is the Dream World, dummy!”

  I glance around. Stars stretch endlessly, twinkling like scattered diamonds in black velvet. There are no planets, no horizon — only infinite space. And then, as if reality itself decided to blink, the scene shifts.

  I’m in a coffee shop. Its wooden floors creek faintly, and the walls are bare — no neon, no holograms. Everything is simple, monochrome, and untouched by the future.

  I pause. Why am I here? What is this place?

  Fortune disappears behind a curtain, presumably to retrieve something. Normally, I’d perform a reality check — my hands appear blurry in dreams — but now, I have to ask the world itself to make them clear.

  A few seconds pass. Fortune returns, shoving someone else in front of me.

  “This is Gaia! Tell them how you’re doing!”

  Gaia frowns. “Please don’t introduce me like that…”

  Fortune grins. “OK!” — and retreats again.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Gaia radiates calm. His wavy, light-blue hair contrasts with Fortune’s fiery chaos — an ocean to a volcano.

  “Are you there?” he asks.

  “Yes. When will I wake up?”

  Fortune peeks from behind the curtain. “Never!”

  “You will,” Gaia corrects. “But in about nine hours.”

  “Nine hours?” I frown. “Seems long for a dream.”

  “For those not from the Dream Universe, time stretches. Ten hours pass for outsiders while minutes slip for us natives.”

  “Wait… you’re from the Dream Universe too?”

  “Yes. And I call it the Dream Universe, not that it matters. I want to explain its creation. Can I?”

  “Go ahead.” I nod. Something bigger is happening here… but it doesn’t feel dangerous.

  The stars shift, and Gaia begins.

  “Legend says this universe emerged at the end of another. Two quasi-stars collided, collapsing into black holes. The outer layer of the sun expanded, freezing the surrounding universe. From this chaos, the Dream Universe was born — a singularity partially shielded by the sun.”

  Fortune once had two brothers. Together, they were the Chronostasis Shifters: Fortune, Clover, and Charm. They mirrored each other’s energy perfectly — chaos multiplied.

  “Three Fortunes?” I whisper. “That sounds like a handful.”

  Gaia chuckles. “Believe me, it was… especially without someone like you.”

  “The area with the stars?” I ask.

  “That’s the Blank Space,” he says. “Legends didn’t name it. I did.”

  Suddenly, we’re back in the coffee shop.

  “Hey Fortune, what’s your trio called?” Gaia asks.

  “The Chronostasis Shif—” Fortune yells, but is cut off.

  Gaia continues, monotone. “Time moves ten times faster for outsiders. You’ll wake up soon… but make sure to get…the quantum– logic– processor.”

  And then I do… remembering that I need the QLP.

  The clock reads exactly 8:00 AM.