Water flowed quietly.
A gentle current.
Clear enough to reflect the sky.
Clear enough to reflect him.
Kai stared at the river.
At his own face.
At the unfamiliar forest surrounding him.
At the questions that refused to leave his mind.
---
Why am I here?
---
The answer should have been obvious.
He had fallen.
Probably.
Maybe.
---
The problem was—
His memories felt scrambled.
Like someone had taken pages from a book and thrown them into the wind.
---
Kai crouched beside the river.
The reflection looked back.
---
"Oheyo..."
He muttered.
---
The word felt heavier now.
Ever since Alice told her story.
Ever since hearing about Brennan.
Oheyo.
Vaan.
The Cult of Azathoth.
The drifters.
The missing memories.
---
And then—
He remembered.
The dream.
The night before everything happened.
The night he couldn't sleep.
The night Oheyo wouldn't leave his thoughts.
The night he finally closed his eyes.
And dreamed.
---
Unlike the usual memory fragments—
This one didn't hurt.
No splitting headache.
No blurred images.
No scattered pieces.
Just a dream.