Chapter 8
The last traces of dust faded into nothing. but something remained on he floor it was a small bead like crystal, Nille didnt saw it because his attention was on what just happened, the scarf tip were wiggling slightly as it was communicating with him,
Nille remained still for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the empty space where the creature had vanished. His breathing slowed, steadying, not out of calm, but out of discipline.
Then, slowly, his hand rose to the scarf.
"…you knew," he whispered under his breath.
The fabric felt warm beneath his fingers, warmer than before. Not just warmth from contact, but something deeper… responsive. Alive in a way that defied reason.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then the scarf shifted.
It wasn't a dramatic movement. Just a slight tightening, a subtle adjustment around his neck, like a quiet acknowledgment.
Nille's eyes sharpened.
"You reacted before I did," he murmured. "You gave me the knuckles… without me calling them."
He paused, thinking carefully.
In his dream realm, everything required intent, focus, control, will. But this… this had been different. The scarf hadn't waited. It had anticipated.
As if it understood danger.
As if it understood him.
Nille lowered his hand, his thoughts aligning quickly, logically.
"Then you're not just a tool…"
The scarf loosened slightly, the faintest shift brushing against his collarbone.
A response.
Not words. Not even a clear signal. But enough.
Nille exhaled quietly.
"…you're protecting me."
The warmth deepened for a brief moment, subtle, but undeniable.
His gaze drifted toward Granny Amparo. She slept peacefully, unaware of everything that had just unfolded. The steady rhythm of the heart monitor filled the room again, grounding reality.
Nille stood and walked closer to her bed, adjusting the thin blanket over her shoulders. His movements were careful, practiced, gentle in a way that contrasted sharply with the fight that had just ended.
"I won't let anything reach you," he said softly.
The scarf shifted again, this time not tightening, but settling. Like it agreed.
Nille looked back toward the door, where the creature had tried to force its way in.
"They're drawn to something," he said quietly, thinking aloud. "The dead… or something inside them."
His mind moved quickly, connecting what he had seen: when he notice the edge tip of the scarf was extending as if it was pointing , the light from the moon cascaded toward the closed window and shine at the floor when Nille saw a gleaming small bead on the floor were the creature turned to dust, Nille walked toward it and kneel down to check when the scarf tip extended a tread and grab it like a spider spring out a web to catch its prey. it was so fast Nille could not do anything, the bead was pulled into the scarf and the cloth absorb it, soon the scarf movements were more noticeable .
when the sliding room open and a nurse with a male hospital porter pushing a hospital bed into the room the porter, place the newly admitted patient facing Granny Amparo at her foot. Nille quicly walked back when the nurse saw the dust on the floor and asked the porter to tell the janitor about the mess on room 201A. the male porter nodded and lock the patients bed and walked toward the exit and pullrd in medical equipment, a heart monitor and place it beside the patients bed, Nille sat at tne plastic Monoblock chair and didn't speak he just sat and watch
A few minutes later, a nurse entered the room, her movements quiet and practiced. She approached the elderly man in the next bed, a frail figure whose condition looked even more fragile than Granny Amparo's.
Gently, she placed the heart monitor pads on his chest, checking each connection with care. The soft beeping of the machine soon followed, steady but faint. She adjusted the oxygen mask resting over his face, making sure the flow was set correctly before glancing at the IV line dripping slowly into his arm.
The man didn't stir. He simply lay there, breathing shallowly, suspended in a quiet, uncertain rest.
When the nurse finished, she gave one last look at both patients before stepping out.
Not long after, a janitor entered, pushing a small cart. He worked quickly, wiping the floor with efficient, practiced strokes, unaware of anything beyond his routine task.
But Nille saw something else.
Clinging lightly to the back of the janitor's collar was a small figure a Duwende. (a dwarf)
It dangled there playfully, its tiny limbs swaying as the man moved, almost like a child enjoying a ride. Its presence felt… different. Not hostile. Not hungry. Just curious. Light.
Nille didn't react. Not outwardly.
His eyes followed it briefly, calm and observant, but he kept his body still. There was no danger in it, at least, not that he could sense.
Then the scarf shifted.
A faint movement brushed against his neck, subtle, deliberate. It scratched lightly, once.
Nille's gaze lowered slightly, understanding forming.
"…ah," he whispered under his breath, barely audible, "you're communicating with me."
The scarf responded with another small, gentle scratch.
A signal.
Nille adjusted it slowly, pulling the fabric upward to cover part of his mouth, as if shielding himself from the cold air. To anyone watching, it looked like a simple attempt to stay warm.
He leaned back against the closed window, letting his body relax just enough to appear at rest. His eyes half-lidded, unfocused to an outside observer.
But he wasn't resting.
From the corner of his vision, he kept watchingthe elderly man,the quiet machines,the harmless little Duwende still clinging to the janitor,and most importantly…
Granny Amparo, sleeping peacefully on the bed to his left.
Still. Safe.
Nille exhaled slowly, steady and controlled.
The world he was seeing was growing wider by the hour.
Not everything was dangerous.
But not everything was safe either.
And now, he had something
not just to protect him,
but to guide him.
The nurse returned to check on the newly admitted patient, adjusting the IV line and glancing at the monitor to make sure everything was stable. Satisfied, she turned to the janitor, who had just finished mopping the floor.
"Kuya, pakilinis na rin po yung kabilang room," she said gently. "May dadating pa pong mga pasyente."(Sir, could you please clean the next room as well? More patients will be arriving.)
The janitor paused, leaning slightly on his mop.
"Ah… tungkol ba ito doon sa aksidente sa kalsada kanina?" he asked.(Ah… is this about the road accident earlier?)
The nurse nodded, her expression turning more somber.
"Oo," she replied quietly. "Nakakalungkot nga… malalang aksidente."(Yes… it's really sad… it was a serious accident.)
She let out a small breath before continuing.
"May cargo trucks na bumangga sa isang passenger bus Namatay yung driver ng bus, yung konduktor, at lima pang pasahero."(A cargo truck. collided with a passenger bus. The bus driver, the conductor, and five passengers died.)
She glanced briefly toward the hallway, as if already anticipating what was coming.
"Sampu naman ang malubhang sugatan… dadalhin sila dito mamaya."(Ten others are severely injured… they'll be brought here later.)
The janitor shook his head slowly, his earlier casual demeanor fading.
"Grabe…" he muttered under his breath.(That's terrible…)
Without another word, he nodded and pushed his cart toward the next room, preparing for what was to come.
Meanwhile, Nille remained still by the window, the scarf lightly covering his mouth.
But inside, his thoughts sharpened.
More injured.More dead.
And if what he had seen was true…
Then something else would be arriving with them. they were on the second floor and the widow were Nille was leaning on overlook the hospital courtyard , Nille felt it was safe to rest a little and continue to learn about the thing that was happening around him. he entered the dream realm again but this time the scarf was with him, now he knew what ever was on him will also reflect on the dream realm, he check his pocket and saw a few coins and a piece of candy he had on his old but sturdy cargo pants .
As Nille stepped once more into the dreaming realm, the silence welcomed him like a familiar void.
The structure he had created still stood, rows of solid concrete pillars, evenly spaced, their surfaces worn from repeated strikes. The ground beneath him remained firm, shaped by his will into a stable training space.
But something had changed.
At the very center of the space, the floating orb was no longer stable.
It pulsed unevenly, its once smooth surface now soft and unstable, almost as if it were melting. From it, droplets of glowing liquid began to fall, one by one, descending slowly through the still air.
Nille's eyes narrowed as he stepped closer.
Drip.
Drip.
Each drop landed on a circular patch of soil below, an area that hadn't existed before. It was about three feet wide, its dark surface slightly damp, standing in contrast to the cold concrete surrounding it.
"This wasn't here before…" he murmured quietly.
The glowing liquid soaked into the soil, and for a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
A faint movement.
Nille stilled.
Beneath the surface, something shifted. The soil trembled ever so slightly, reacting to the energy being fed into it.
He crouched down, watching closely.
Another drop fell.
And this time, he saw it clearly,
A tiny sprout, fragile and pale, pushing upward from beneath the soil.
It struggled at first, as if the act of existing required effort. But as more of the glowing liquid seeped into the ground, the seedling began to steady itself, its faint glow mirroring the energy from above.
Nille didn't touch it.
He simply observed, his mind already working.
"The orb… is feeding it," he said softly.
This wasn't random.
The orb represented his energy, his focus, his growth. And now, instead of just strengthening him directly, it was creating something new.
Something separate.
Something alive.
Nille's gaze hardened slightly, not with fear, but with realization.
"If this grows…"
He didn't finish the thought.
He didn't need to.
The dream realm had changed.
And whatever this seedling would become,
It would be a result of his own evolution.
Because time moved differently inside the dreaming realm, Nille slowly began to notice changes, not just in the environment, but in himself. At first, it was confusing. His thoughts felt faster, his awareness sharper, and his body, though physically asleep in the real world, seemed to adjust and respond to everything he did inside this space.
As he spent more time there, he started to understand the advantage. While only minutes passed in reality, he could train, observe, and think for what felt like hours. This allowed him to improve at a pace that shouldn't have been possible. The more he adapted, the more natural it became, and soon, he was no longer overwhelmed by it, he was using it.
Nille wanted to understand everything about this place. What were its limits? What rules governed it? Was it truly under his control, or was he only shaping a small part of something much larger?
He recalled what Luna, the stray cat who appeared in his dream, had told him.
The dreaming realm was not just a dream. It was a space between reality and the mind, a bridge where thoughts could take form. Everything there was created or influenced by the subconscious, which is why Nille could shape the environment, build structures, and now even witness something like the growing seedling.
But not everyone could enter this place.
According to Luna, humans normally cannot access the dreaming realm because their perception is limited to the physical world. To enter it consciously, a person must open what is often called the "third eye."
In simple terms, the third eye is not a physical eye, it is a state of awareness. It means being able to see beyond normal senses, to perceive energy, intention, and hidden layers of reality. Most people live their entire lives without ever realizing this level exists.
Nille, however, had already begun to open it.
That was why he could see the creatures in the hospital.That was why he could sense the energy forming in his dream.And that was why he could enter this realm while still awake in his mind.
The dreaming realm followed a few simple but powerful ideas:
Thought creates form – what you imagine can exist there.
Focus gives stability – the clearer your mind, the more real and solid things become.
Energy fuels everything – without energy, nothing grows or changes.
And now, with the orb feeding the seedling, Nille realized something important,
He wasn't just shaping the dream anymore.
He was creating something that could grow on its own.
Which meant the dreaming realm…
…might not be entirely under his control.
Nille stood and began walking around the space he had created, his footsteps echoing faintly against the concrete floor. The pillars remained where he had formed them, solid and unmoving, but his attention quickly shifted to something else.
The light.
Everything he could clearly see, the pillars, the ground, even the small patch of soil—existed only within the soft glow coming from the melting orb above. Beyond that, there was nothing but darkness. Not shadows… but an empty, depthless void.
Curious, Nille walked toward the edge of the illuminated area.
He stopped just before the boundary, studying it. The light didn't fade gradually, it simply ended, like a line separating existence from nothingness.
"…there's a limit," he murmured.
He stepped forward.
The moment his foot crossed into the darkness,
He was back.
Standing exactly where he had been seconds ago, still within the circle of light.
Nille blinked once, his expression unchanged, but his mind immediately began analyzing what had happened.
"…a loop."
He tried again. This time more deliberately, stepping farther, committing his weight into the dark.
The result was the same.
In an instant, without any sensation of movement, he returned to the illuminated space—as if the realm itself rejected anything beyond that boundary.
Nille exhaled slowly and began walking along the edge instead, measuring with careful steps. Counting. Observing.
Step by step, he traced the circumference, committing every detail to memory.
When he finished, he stopped near the center again, glancing up at the orb, then down at the small growing seedling.
"…about twenty meters," he concluded quietly.
A contained space.
Defined not by walls, but by light.
He looked once more toward the darkness beyond.
It didn't feel empty.
It felt… unreachable.
"For now," he added under his breath.
His gaze returned to the orb, the source of everything here.
If the light defined his world…
Then as the orb changed,
So would the limits of his reality.
Nille paused in the center of the dimly lit space, a faint smile forming on his face. Before, he had treated this place like a strange dream, something to explore without thinking too deeply about it. But now, everything felt different. Clearer. More real.
He understood why, Nille was changing. Slowly, but noticeably.
At his core, Nille was calm, observant, highly adaptive and has nerve of steel. Growing up in the orphanage had shaped him into someone who focused on survival first. He learned early not to depend too much on emotions or attachments, especially to things that didn't directly affect him. Instead, he watched, listened, and adjusted, always thinking a step ahead, even as a child.
Because of this, he wasn't easily shaken. Fear didn't control him, it sharpened him. Curiosity didn't distract him, it guided him.
Now, as his awareness expanded through the dream realm and the strange world around him, that same mindset was evolving. He was no longer just surviving.
He was beginning to understand.
And with that understanding, Nille was slowly becoming someone who didn't just react to the world,
…but someone who could navigate it, even the parts most people could never see.
Nille stepped closer to the orb, his small feet barely making a sound on the concrete floor of his dream space. The orb glowed warmly, its surface soft and almost fluid, melting slowly like wax under a flame. He extended a hand toward it, feeling the radiant heat even through the imagined barrier of the dream. It was alive in a way he hadn't felt before, warm, pulsating, and strangely aware of his presence.
He instinctively reached as if to catch one of the droplets falling from its melting form, but he hesitated. Something inside him told him that this was not meant to be touched yet. There was a reason the liquid dripped slowly, deliberately, onto the soil below where the tiny seedling waited. Some part of his intuition whispered that interfering could change the process in ways he wasn't ready to understand.
As he lingered near the orb, he noticed the scarf around his neck moving.
The ends of it twitched and stretched, threads reaching toward the orb as if drawn by its energy. The movements were subtle at first, almost like a gentle wave, then more deliberate, curling closer to the glowing surface. A warmth radiated from it, spreading across Nille's neck and shoulders, comforting yet alerting him that it was watching, thinking, protecting.
Nille wanted to ask the scarf about the small bead it had taken the last time, he had so many questions about its purpose, but he already knew the answer wouldn't come in words. The scarf could only respond in gestures, scratches, and subtle movements. So, he didn't ask. He just let his gaze remain on the orb, absorbing its light and energy, trying to sense its rhythm, its flow, its intent.
Then, a new sound pierced through the dream, a faint, distant clamor of people in distress, echoing somewhere beyond the confines of the orb-lit space. Nille's focus shifted immediately. He had learned long ago that even in the dream realm, real-world dangers could call him back. His heart beat faster as he sensed urgency.
The vision dissolved, the pillars and the soil fading as he exited the dream realm, waking up in the hospital room.
Outside, the world was no less urgent. Bright lights from the emergency area illuminated the walls, and the sound of alarms, shouting, and rushing footsteps filled the air. A few ambulances had arrived, their sirens still wailing faintly, and paramedics moved swiftly to bring in stretchers.
Nille's mind raced. These must be the patients the nurse had mentioned earlier, the victims of the bus and cargo truck collision. He could feel the same anxious energy he had sensed in the dream, now mirrored in reality.
The warmth from the scarf lingered on his neck, reminding him that even here, awake and in the chaotic real world, he was not alone. And deep down, he knew that whether in dreams or waking life, he would need every ounce of focus, intuition, and courage he could muster to face what he was now seeing as more of those things were seen coming out , when Nille recall that those who have passed away were also being sent at this hospital .
The scarf continued its subtle movement, scratching lightly at Nille's skin, sending a warm, almost reassuring tingle along his neck and shoulders. He had learned by now that the scarf wasn't just a piece of cloth, it was aware, sensing danger, reacting, guiding him.
Then his attention shifted. Amid the flurry of ambulances and hospital staff, a vehicle arrived that was unlike the others. Its dark, elongated shape and somber presence immediately stood out. Nille's mind raced, recalling something he had read in one of the textbooks at the school library, a vehicle used to transport cadavers. A hearse.
It rolled to the other side of the hospital, away from the emergency entrance, its wheels heavy and deliberate on the pavement. Nille strained to see where it went, but the distance and obstacles obscured the view.
That's when he noticed movement.
The vile creatures he had fought and killed just hours earlier now emerged once more, their flickering, unnatural forms gliding silently behind the hearse. Their sudden appearance left no doubt in Nille's mind, they were drawn to death itself, instinctively sensing the energy of what the vehicle carried.
Nille froze for a moment, the warm, alerting presence of the scarf around his neck scratching gently at his skin, urging him to pay attention. His mind raced.
Is it right to follow them? he asked himself. To leave Granny Amparo unprotected in this vulnerable state, just to satisfy my curiosity?
Even as he hesitated, a deeper truth nudged at him. Granny Amparo had told him many times, in stories and lessons, that his life had already changed, that he was no longer an ordinary boy. She had warned him, gently but firmly, that he needed to prepare for what was coming.
Still, the conflict weighed heavily on him. Was that enough reason to leave her now, knowing she was weak and exposed? The thought twisted in his chest like a knot of responsibility and fear.
Then, a soft, distant whisper reached him, almost like a memory carried through the haze of sleep.
"When I was young… I faced many evil things that lurked in the dark," Granny Amparo murmured, her voice barely audible but clear enough to pierce Nille's hesitation.
He looked down at her, noticing she was half awake, her eyes fluttering beneath heavy lids. Without thinking, he stepped closer, gently taking her hand in his, feeling the fragile warmth of her skin. In a weak, almost whispered tone, she spoke again:
"You were born for this, apo… You didn't train out of curiosity, you felt it. You are like me."
Then, as suddenly as she had stirred, she drifted back into sleep. This time, however, there was a soft, serene smile on her lips, and Nille felt a quiet reassurance settle over him, as if her words had passed on not just knowledge, but trust.
but Nille's resolve began to form. Curiosity alone could not guide him. Protecting Granny Amparo, staying true to what she had taught him, what he had learned through his own experiences, was priority.
He inhaled deeply, feeling the scarf shift subtly, almost approvingly, around his neck. Its threads twitched as if echoing his decision: the danger could wait. For now, the boy's place was here, by her side, guarding the one person who had shaped the life he was only beginning to understand.
And yet, in the back of his mind, he knew the night was far from over.
The creatures, the hearse, and whatever it carried were still out there, and sooner or later… he would have to confront them again.
But this time, he would do it on his terms.
As if sensing his resolve, the scarf extended downward, its threads brushing lightly against Granny Amparo's blanket. A butterfly knife appeared, hovering in midair where the scarf touched. Nille's eyes widened, and he instinctively reached for it, but just as his fingers brushed the cool metal, it vanished into thin air.
The scarf twitched again, gently scratching his skin. The motion was deliberate, almost communicative, as if it were telling him:
"You already know what I can do. I've got your back."
Nille inhaled slowly, a calm certainty settling over him. Whatever came next, he wasn't alone, and the scarf, in its strange, silent way, would ensure he was ready.
the shadowy, flickering forms, the ones that had attacked Luna and that he had confronted in the hospital, all rushed after the hearse. Their movements were unnervingly synchronized, as if drawn to it by some unseen force. They didn't notice him. They didn't notice the nurses or the paramedics. They only cared about what the hearse carried.
Nille's fists clenched instinctively. The scarf tightened slightly around his neck, almost like a warning. It scratched again, urgent, insistent, its threads quivering with energy.
He understood immediately: whatever was in that vehicle was important to them. And he knew, without fully understanding why, that he would need to follow, or at least observe, if he wanted to stay ahead of whatever danger these creatures represented.
But even as the urge to move surged through him, Nille's gaze flicked back to Granny Amparo. She was still asleep, breathing steadily, completely unaware of the strange events unfolding outside her room. Protecting her remained his first priority.
The scarf pulsed warmly again, as if reassuring him that it would help him watch, protect, and act, no matter what these creatures were after.
And in that moment, Nille realized something profound: the line between what he could perceive in the dream realm and what was happening in reality was thinner than he had ever imagined, and the scarf was the thread connecting him to both.