#113

“…No?”

The lab director’s head tilted askew upon hearing my answer.

“Then, does your body feel like it belongs to someone else right now?”

“Not at all.”

“Is that so? That’s a real problem.”

‘A problem?’

Isn’t it a bigger problem to think your own body belongs to someone else?

I thought I had chosen the answer that seemed most normal.

“If the problem is clear, it can be fixed, but if the cause is unknown, it means we have no choice but to maintain the current makeshift solution.”

“Makeshift solution?”

“I am barely maintaining that arm right now. If you move away from me, it will likely revert to its original form immediately.”

“Which means….”

“It means you must not move far away from me until the cause is found.”

‘…The moment I leave this place, my arm will turn into a pile of bugs?’

The urge to tell him to stop talking nonsense rose to the tip of my tongue.

However, remembering that all of this was a dream allowed me to regain my composure.

“Is it fine as long as I stay by your side?”

“You’re accepting this more readily than I expected. I thought you’d be more shocked.”

“Because regardless, I’m the one losing out.”

“Haha, is that so?”

‘How can I wake up from this dream?’

I take back the idea of slamming my head.

If I get a bump on my forehead, the lab director might offer to treat it.

I never wanted to experience bugs crawling inside my eyelids again.

“Since things turned out this way, I hope you can enjoy your stay here. Shall I give you a tour of my lab?”

“No need.”

“As it happens, there is someone I want to introduce to you.”

The lab director in the dream completely ignored my words and opened the door beside him at will.

Two Callisters looked back at me.

No, it was a Callister with two heads.

“Fabio!”

The head protruding from the left shoulder like a tumor acted glad to see me.

“Are you awake? How is it, is your arm feeling alright?”

“…What is that?”

“What do you mean ‘that’? I’m hurt. Fabio, I used my own body to reconstruct your arm!”

“That is Callister. And that is also Callister.”

“That’s right, and I told you we’d see each other again!”

“Nice to meet you. I am Callister.”

‘I feel like I’m going insane.’

The subconscious really creates the most grotesque things.

Truly, no matter how many times I see it, it is a sight I can never get used to.

“Do the Callisters not share memories?”

“Of course not. Their heads aren’t connected.”

Then aren’t they essentially clones?

As time passes, they will become separate individuals.

Wouldn’t it be confusing to refer to them by the same name?

‘If it were me, I’d just call them by numbers.’

“Why is there a head attached to the shoulder?”

“Because if they don’t have a body, they’ll die!”

‘…It’s only natural to hear bullshit in a fever dream.’

Once again, I quickly accepted it.

Callister-Cluster.

It would be weirder if he spoke normally.

“Is this Callister the person you wanted to introduce to me?”

“No. That person is further inside.”

I frowned at those words.

I didn’t think going deeper was a good idea.

Because inside there….

‘No, I’ve never been inside.’

So I don’t know what is in there.

‘And I won’t respond to such an invitation.’

I have a cautious personality.

Therefore, I didn’t go in, and I saw nothing.

That was more rational.

“Fabio.”

Hearing my name, I turned around to find Athanas standing there.

Athanas looked even more exhausted than before.

He had a face that looked like he might start having a nosebleed at any moment.

“What should I do?”

‘About what?’

“I did as you told me. But now, you believe all of this is a dream.”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Fabio. What is in the reality you desire? Where on earth do you want to return to?”

‘The reality I desire?’

He’s talking nonsense.

Reality is a shitty place.

A place I don’t want to return to.

However, the longer I stay in a dream, the more painful it becomes when I return to reality, so I simply have to force myself awake.

“A dream! How wonderful. Is this place Fabio’s dream right now?”

The lab director smirked.

“Appearing in someone else’s dream is such a fun experience!”

“…Please step aside for a moment.”

“Haha, isn’t that for the owner of the dream to decide?”

“That’s right. Who are you to tell us to move?”

“Anyone would think you’re the owner of the lab.”

‘God, this is chaotic.’

Every time the lab director said something, the Callisters chimed in, making my head feel like it was splitting.

“Fabio! As a character in your dream, let me give you a piece of advice!”

“…What is it.”

“Since it’s a dream anyway, wouldn’t it be better to enjoy it more? Everything that happens in a dream isn’t real!”

“Let’s just get rid of the human who is uncomfortable to look at first!”

“Exactly! And then we can have a great time among ourselves….”

“Then I would like the lab director to take Callister and disappear from my sight right now.”

The lab director’s eyes widened.

“Was I the unwelcome guest?”

‘Isn’t that obvious?’

The lab director pretended to cry.

“Sob, sob! How could you! This is too much! This is my lab!”

“If all of this is a dream, then it is my space.”

“That is true. I cannot logically refute that!”

The lab director nodded and moved behind me along with the two-headed Callister-Cluster.

“…What are you doing?”

“As you said, I have disappeared from your sight. Human eyes are located on the front!”

When I tried to look back, the lab director clung to my back and spun around in circles.

“Haha, you can’t see me, right? Then I’m not in front of your eyes!”

‘What is wrong with this guy?’

I’m getting fucking pissed.

“…Fabio.”

Athanas called me again.

“Am I your nightmare?”

His voice was low and heavy.

‘I think you’re the one having the nightmare.’

He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“Tell him yes, Fabio!”

“Tell him to get lost already!”

“I didn’t like his impression from the moment I first saw him!”

‘So noisy….’

Can Athanas not see the ‘Cluster’ behind me?

It’s so loud….

“Fabio, when you wake up from the dream, would you prefer it if I weren’t there?”

‘What is he talking about.’

Irritation surged within me.

“Then why would I be trying so desperately to wake up from this dream?”

Athanas would be waiting for me.

Not this fake, but the real Athanas!

“…Why do you think I am a fake?”

‘Do you think I’ll answer that?’

If I tell a fake the reason I distinguished the real from the fake, an even more sophisticated fake will appear.

I just barely escaped one dream; I refuse an ending where I’m in an even more sophisticated dream.

“If you do not tell me, you will never be able to wake up from the dream. Because the real Athanas does not exist.”

Now he’s threatening me.

Just because of that, I….

“I think that doesn’t sound too bad either! The owner of a dream is essentially a god! Fabio, you can do anything. As long as you don’t believe you can’t!”

The lab director whispered behind me.

‘If I could really do anything, I would have gotten rid of the lab director first.’

“If you still refuse to speak….”

Athanas drew a sword from thin air.

‘…And this guy wants me to believe this isn’t a dream while doing that?’

Why does Athanas have an inventory at this point?

“You, you rude fellow! To draw an unauthorized weapon in someone else’s lab!”

“To be precise, it’s inside Fabio’s dream. Let’s stick to the setting.”

“Even if it’s a dream, a lab is a lab! It is Lady Ledeia’s Domain! How dare you!”

‘Well, it’s a dream anyway, so it doesn’t matter.’

In fact, it’s for the best.

If I receive a great shock in a dream, I can return to reality immediately.

If I get stabbed by a sword, I’ll definitely wake up.

“Fabio! There is no need to be afraid. I, an apostle of Ledeia, am by your side. As an apostle, I can control the opponent as long as I am within my Domain….”

“But that guy is moving?”

“…There are occasional exceptions. But even then, there is a way to respond. Callister! Go stop him!”

“This is unbelievable, I haven’t even been born for a month! Make the older one do it!”

“Exactly! Use the less fresh one!”

Athanas ignored the likes of Callister and pointed the sword at his own neck.

“…I will use the final method.”

“The final method?”

“If you continue to think of me as a fake, I will die here and now.”

114 – #114