Instead, a dream of meeting a deity would have been preferable. Pushing aside the usual dreams that came like a routine, the sudden thrust of an unfamiliar scenario made Sihyun swallow a tired sigh.
Could it be because of Pia?
During the week without the fantastical creature, he had always dreamt the same dream, but as soon as Pia returned, a new dream emerged. It wasn't that Pia needed to be by his side for him to use his abilities, but the possibility couldn't be dismissed.
Taking steps forward with exceptional suspicion, Sihyun felt the realistic sensation of sand under his bare feet. It felt so real that he imagined the pain of stepping on buried glass shards might transfer directly to his physical body.
With unnecessary worries slowing his pace, he scanned his surroundings. This was his first visit to a desert since the battle with Corpius.
Not getting sand in his eyes despite the blowing sand confirmed for Sihyun that this was indeed a dream, and he remained on high alert.
He wouldn't just dream of wandering through a desert without reason. Something could leap out and attack at any moment. If it was a dream about Irregulars, it usually ended violently.
Recalling past experiences, Sihyun tensed up. Given the terrain, it was likely anything that might jump out would be buried in the sand, so he proceeded with caution. After a while,
Pia was nowhere to be seen, nor were there any other beings. Initially suspicious and casting wary glances around, as time passed, Sihyun's vigilance began to wane.
"Could this just be a pointless dream where I walk and nothing happens?"
Looking up at the sky, the bright sunlight forced a squint. That's when it happened.
The entire desert started vibrating. With nothing to grab onto, Sihyun struggled to maintain his balance just by standing firm on the ground. Vibrations in this world often preceded significant events.
What could cause such an extensive area, seemingly kilometers wide, to shake? Could there be another entity like Gulra? Sihyun covered his mouth with his arm and pushed forward against the wind. The combination of wind and vibration made stepping forward difficult.
As he struggled forward, a loud noise sounded.
The ground a few meters ahead cracked open. Witnessing this unbelievable sight, Sihyun's eyes widened.
As the sand parted, something shot up from the deep fissure, the violent vibration evidencing its massive weight. The pointed tip that emerged was thicker than Sihyun's height.
What filled his view soared upwards, transforming the landscape with its majesty. The shaking ground gradually ceased. After the seismic event, a pyramid stood in the middle of the desert.
As the sandstorm calmed, large characters etched on the pyramid's surface caught Sihyun's eye.
Strange yet familiar script.
It was the language of the Irregulars.
'D, e, u, k, u, s, m, a, n, u'
As usual, the script flickered and transformed into Korean consonants and vowels. The rippling transition brought a wave of nausea, and Sihyun squinted at the text. The dancing letters formed a word.
'Dekumanus.'
The giant letters swallowed Sihyun's vision.
***
Beep, beep, beep—
The noise from the bracelet woke Sihyun from his sleep. The alarm ringing in his ears made him frown and toss in bed before he reluctantly opened his eyes. His vision, foggy as if shrouded in mist, gradually cleared. Rubbing his forehead, Sihyun sat up.
Unlike ordinary dreams that fade upon waking, the dreams shown by Pia remained crystal clear from start to finish. Thus, half-convinced that the dream he had just experienced was shown by Pia, Sihyun blinked his eyes. The dream had left him feeling unsettled, its abrupt ending particularly dissatisfying.
Was that... it?
He had expected to see more than just the emergence of a pyramid. Compared to his previous dreams, this one seemed significantly less impactful. Even during the Titan episode, he had been shown the scene of a black hand seizing a boy. This time, it merely hinted at the arrival of something.
What that pyramid brings about, who appears because of it, remained entirely unknown, prompting Sihyun to fiddle with his phone on the nightstand. Up until yesterday, Ruth had been asking him to share anything new or unusual, but now Sihyun was unsure whether to inform him about this dream.
Debating whether it was worth mentioning to him, Sihyun eventually decided it was better shared than kept to himself and turned on his phone's screen. Sharing even the smallest details could prepare them for unexpected situations, a lesson harshly learned from the Gulra incident.
After composing his thoughts, Sihyun found Ruth's message thread and prepared to relay what he had dreamt about seeing a pyramid and added that he wasn't sure if it was
a dream shown by Pia. Despite the early hour, Ruth's response came quickly.
[Considering you decided to tell me, you must be somewhat certain.]
He was spot on.
Ruth had come to know him well through their multiple encounters. Sihyun, admitting to the similarity, detailed the contents of his dream at Ruth's request. Ten minutes later, Ruth replied, acknowledging the information and asking Sihyun to send more if he learns anything new. After putting down his phone, Sihyun turned to see.
Pia, sleeping soundly, her face the picture of peace despite having shown him such a dream.
Reaching out, Sihyun gently stroked her cheek with his index finger.
"It must have been you who showed it…"
His voice fell softly. The purpose of showing him this dream remained unclear.
Was it a warning, a prophecy, or an instruction to prepare for the future?
One thing seemed certain: the pyramid wasn't going to be of any help. After all, it was a pyramid of the Irregulars.
With that thought, Sihyun paused, considering the dream's non-threatening nature as a variable. Perhaps this dream could be interpreted differently.
...Could it possibly be helpful?
Piecing together various clues, Sihyun quietly muttered two hypotheses.
Adam and Eve, the first Awakened beings and the mother of all Irregulars, might hold the key to defeating Gulra.
Everything that can be resurrected has a method of being sealed again.
As his thoughts reached far and wide, Sihyun reviewed the situation for any missed clues, from the murals to the deity in his dream, and then…
...The deity?
"Ah."
A moment of realization struck Sihyun.
A dull thud as if a blunt hand had smacked him on the back of his head and a bolt of lightning had struck, he hastily activated his phone's screen. His fingers moved rapidly, as if possessed.
"Could it be…?"
Sihyun had been convinced the robed figure in his dream was a deity, guided by intuition and the déjà vu felt when he saw the robed entity in the mural.
Thus, Sihyun was certain he was dealing with a deity.
But, the robed figure didn't exist solely in murals or his dreams. Sihyun had once seen a similar robe, at least in model form, in reality.
In the school's garden.
There stood the statue of Eve.
His breathing became slightly ragged.
Adam and Eve, the first Awakened, both known for donning robes that concealed their faces, had contributed significantly by teaching early Awakened how to fight Irregulars and craft weapons, ensuring the current generation's ability to combat these threats.
It sounded like something out of a myth.
Appearing simultaneously with the Outbreak, Adam and Eve excelled in their abilities and understanding, unlike other Awakened from that time. No records existed of anyone knowing them before the Outbreak; they seemed to emerge from the earth with the changing world and disappeared once the crisis subsided.
Heroes who vanished as mysteriously as they appeared, their story was as surreal as it was transcendent.
"...Why didn't I think of this before?"
Murmuring like a sigh, Sihyun read through the information. The theory that Adam and Eve were emissaries of a deity was widely speculated, hence the statues erected in their honor.
Yet, why had it only now occurred to him? Questioning himself, Sihyun methodically sorted through the tangled thoughts cluttering his mind.
The robes worn by humanity's heroes, Adam and Eve, and the deity in his dream were identical.
Before the Outbreak, Adam and Eve had never appeared, and similarly, they vanished with the resolution of the crisis.
The two heroes, revered as divine emissaries.
Could all this truly be a mere coincidence?
'Not yet the time.'
Recalling the deity's words, repeatedly used to expel him from the dream, Sihyun let out an incredulous laugh.
Although it seemed far-fetched, the clues supporting his sudden hypothesis were more than sufficient.
Adam and Eve, the first Awakened.
Perhaps their true identity was the deity itself.
With this realization, Sihyun understood why the robed deity had consistently appeared in his dreams.
He was providing hints, making his presence known to lead Sihyun to this conclusion.
But why?
Daring to guess the deity's intentions, Sihyun soon arrived at a conclusion.
In essence, the deity was instructing him to seek out Adam and Eve's legacy left to humanity.
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