"Uhh, what time is it now?" Hana woke up slowly due to the sound of the alarm clock ringing from the small table near her bed. Her eyes were still half-closed because she was still sleepy.
"Hmm, where's Hanah?" she looked to the side of her bed with still drowsy eyes. There was no figure of Hanah sleeping beside her.
"Has she woken up already? That's impossible, it's still too early for her to wake up. Hanah usually wakes up at 7 AM."
Hana looked at the clock on the table with eyes that began to open completely. It was only 6:30 AM.
"I think I know where she is." Hana left her room with slow steps and walked toward Nova's room. She opened Nova's room door carefully, and at that moment she smiled warmly seeing the scene inside his room.
"Wahhh, they look like real siblings now," said Hana with a soft voice while looking at the two of them sleeping very peacefully and calmly.
"Alright, I think it's better to make breakfast before they wake up."
Hana closed Nova's room door again with very careful movements so as not to make any sound. After that she went down the stairs with light steps, turned on the television, and walked toward the kitchen to start her morning cooking activities.
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In a dimension hidden from human sight, there exists a supernatural entity that has existed for thousands of years. This creature is known as the "Dream Creature" or in ancient language called "Oneiroi Malum"—the eternal bearer of nightmares.
The dream creature, as its name suggests, is a supernatural entity created from the accumulation of human fears and nightmares over centuries. It is not a creature that has a physical form in the real world, but rather a dimensional parasite that lives and reproduces in the human subconscious.
The existence of this creature is very unique and difficult for humans to understand. It does not have a single body like living creatures in general. Instead, it is a fragmented entity, scattered in millions of small parts that can each operate independently. Each fragment of itself can enter the dreams of children around the world simultaneously.
Imagine a virus that can infect not just one computer, but millions of computers around the world at the same time. That's how this dream creature works. It can be present in the dreams of children all over the world.
The dream creature has very terrifying and almost unlimited abilities when in the dream domain:
The creature is the absolute ruler. It can change, modify, and create anything according to its desires. If a child dreams of being in a beautiful playground, this creature can turn it into a terrifying cemetery in the blink of an eye.
The creature also has the ability to control the minds and bodies of its victims in dreams. When a child falls asleep, this creature can enter their subconscious and take complete control. The victim will move and act according to the creature's desires, without realizing they are being controlled.
The creature can also create various types of monsters and terrifying entities in dreams. Every creature it creates has the ability to hurt victims psychologically and even physically.
What happens in dreams can affect the real world. If someone gets hurt in a dream, that wound will appear on their body in the real world. And if someone dies in a dream... they will die for real.
During thousands of years of its existence, the dream creature has consumed millions of victims. It has a special preference for children for several reasons.
First, children have more active imaginations, so their dream worlds are richer and provide more "food" for the creature.
Second, children are easier to manipulate and control because they don't yet have strong mental defenses.
Third, children's fears are purer and more intense, providing higher quality energy for the creature.
The creature operates with a very systematic pattern. It will choose targets, usually children who are experiencing stress, trauma, or fear. Then it will enter their dreams gradually, starting with dreams that are slightly strange but not too frightening.
Over time, these dreams will become increasingly terrifying and realistic. This creature will begin to show its power, creating terrifying monsters, and slowly taking control of its victims.
The final stage is murder. When this creature has complete control over its victim, it will kill them in the dream in the most painful way. And because of the connection between dreams and reality, the victim will die for real in the real world.
The dream creature's power comes from several sources. The more afraid its victims are, the stronger this creature becomes. Fear is its main food, and it will always try to maximize its victims' fear before killing them.
Every victim it successfully kills will add to its total power. The life energy from those victims will be absorbed and become part of its strength.
The more fragments of itself scattered in various dreams, the stronger it becomes. This is like a computer network—the more nodes connected, the stronger the network.
Although it appears invincible, the dream creature actually has several weaknesses that are very rarely known.
The creature can only operate in the dream world. It has no power whatsoever in the real world and is very dependent on its ability to enter other people's dreams.
Although fragmentation gives it strength, this also becomes its weakness. If there's something that can damage the connection between its fragments, its entire existence can be threatened.
There are several types of entities or powers that are beyond its control. Creatures or powers that have a higher level of existence can fight or even destroy it.
◇◇◇
On that fateful night, the dream creature found an interesting new target—a boy named Nova. As usual, it started with its standard approach: creating familiar and pleasant dreams to lure the victim deeper.
Nova dreamed of being in a world similar to a cartoon he had once watched, a leveled labyrinth with various challenges and puzzles. The dream creature watched with satisfaction as Nova easily completed the first level.
However, when the dream creature tried to take control of Nova's body in the dream, something that had never happened before occurred: it couldn't do it.
For the first time in thousands of years of its existence, the dream creature found someone who was immune to its mental control abilities. This was a very surprising and confusing anomaly.
Frustrated and curious, the dream creature decided to break its usual operational protocol. Instead of staying hidden and working from behind the scenes, it chose to reveal itself directly in front of Nova.
This decision was a fatal mistake it didn't realize.
When the dream creature appeared in a terrifying form with a giant body made of raw flesh with hundreds of eyes and mouths, Nova showed a normal reaction: he was frightened. The dream creature felt relieved, thinking that Nova was just like its other victims.
However, when it launched an attack to kill Nova, something impossible happened.
A mysterious power protected Nova from its attack. Black energy emerging from the bracelet on Nova's wrist formed an impenetrable shield. Then, that energy transformed into a black sword that radiated a very frightening aura.
The dream creature that had lived for thousands of years and faced various types of supernatural powers had never felt such power before. There was something very different about that black sword.
When Nova held that sword, an amazing transformation occurred. His appearance changed completely, his face covered by a white mask, his body wrapped in a black robe.
What happened next was something the dream creature had never imagined.
Nova, who previously looked like a frightened little child, suddenly moved with unreasonable speed. In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of the dream creature and launched an attack with his black sword.
The sword cut the dream creature's arm easily. What was even more surprising, the wound caused by that sword could not be healed. In the dream world, the dream creature should be able to heal any wound instantly, but the wound from the black sword remained and continued to bleed.
Panicked and angry, the dream creature created dozens of small monsters to attack Nova. However, Nova showed no fear at all. Instead, he looked very calm and controlled.
Then, Nova did something completely crazy: he raised his sword and cut the air with one horizontal movement.
What happened next was something that could not be explained by normal logic.
Nova's sword slash not only cut the air in that dream but also cut the entire existence of the dream creature in all dream dimensions throughout the world.
The dream creature felt something it had never experienced before: all fragments of itself scattered in millions of dreams around the world began to disappear one by one. The connections between its fragments were severed simultaneously, and its existence began to collapse.
For the first time in its long life, the dream creature felt true fear. It realized it was facing something far beyond its understanding, a power that could destroy its existence that had lasted for thousands of years.
As its consciousness began to fade, the dream creature finally understood the terrifying truth: Nova was not human, nor monster, nor a creature like itself. Although his body looked like a human child, his true essence was something far more ancient than itself.
And the black sword he used was not an ordinary weapon—it was something that could cut not only physical matter, but existence itself. A sword that could sever bonds between dimensions, cut supernatural connections, and destroy entities that should not be destroyable.
With one sword slash from Nova, the dream creature that had terrorized children around the world for thousands of years was finally destroyed forever.
All fragments of itself scattered in various dreams around the world were destroyed simultaneously. Millions of children who previously lived in fear of nightmares suddenly felt peace in their sleep.
The dream creature didn't just die—it was truly erased from existence. No trace remained of its presence, as if it had never existed from the beginning.
And Nova was unaware that he had saved millions of children around the world from nightmares that would never end.