Dream

Zain POV

Next Day

"Wake up! Why are you sleeping outside? And why did you miss today's classes!" The voice buzzed in my ears.

I opened my eyes, only to notice that I was sitting in the same place as yesterday.

It was evening. 

"Is this a dream?" I muttered. 

Why was I alive after failing the quest? 

"Should I help you to wake up?" The man rolled his sleeves, annoyed by my response.

"History Professor?" I asked. 

He was one of my professors, and someone who had sent me to stand out of the class after I made a bad joke.

"It's Professor James for you." He answered with a condensing gaze.

I turned to Nutless.

The holographic ball spoke, as if understanding my doubt, "Master really did die as he had said. I thought it was Master's usual nonsense." 

"I'm alive though." I retorted.

"No, Master is dying. His lips are blue, heartbeat is irregular, body temperature is abnormally high and he regained and lost consciousness a number of times today. Master's body is slowly dying. At this rate, his body will cease to function in a few hours."

So, I was actually alive?

Did this mean that the 'Death' penalty wasn't an instant death but a slow one?

I stood up to confirm my condition.

A stabbing pain emerged in my limbs. My muscles tightened and my heart felt as if it was on fire.

Professor James caught me before I fell.

Excruciating pain shot through my body when he held me. It was as if hundreds of burning needles were poking me.

"You don't look healthy." Professor James frowned.

"Hehe, it's nothing. I only missed the classes because they were too bo— cough! Cough!"

Warm blood swelled inside my throat which I couldn't hold back.

My bones creaked when I moved. I realized. Slow Death meant that I was supposed to feel the bone-crushing pain of dying before I died.

I instantly regretted my thoughts. Slow Death was comparably worse.

Professor James' eyes widened when he saw me coughing blood. 

"Come with me." He pulled me into the Academic Cell building.

"Shouldn't we go to the hospital?" I joked. I doubted any medicine could save me.

"The hospital is far. We'll get you first aid here and then go to a medical center." He answered seriously. 

I wanted to laugh at this attitude. 

I was one of the students who cursed him behind his back as he was needlessly strict. It had been only a few days, but our group gained more than fifty students.

Professor James arranged a doctor for me. 

On my way to the infirmary, I noticed that the building had fewer people. Doll failed, I guess.

"But why are you here?" I turned to the professor who was supporting me.

He snorted, "I was here to file a complaint. Too many halfwits have entered this year. If the Academic Cell doesn't do its job properly, it brings the Academy's reputation down."

"Must be hard to deal with so many idiots." I snickered, knowing I was among the halfwits he mentioned.

I was told to lay on the bed. The doctor inspected me.

Professor James left shortly after.

It was getting difficult to stay awake. Each movement I did made the pain flare.

"I'll rest for a bit…" 

I closed my eyes to take a short nap.

...

William POV

"He had to come just today." William clicked his tongue when he saw James. 

James was aware of the malicious rumors surrounding the Academic Cell. He visited the place frequently in search of evidence to support the rumors.

In fact, James was the only professor who still searched for the missing girls.

William normally laughed at James' futile attempts.

But today, they were moving out. It was easy for a mistake to appear. 

"Should I deal with him?" William made up his mind. He went around the building to make one last inspection.

His feet stopped at the infirmary.

Noticing Zain, he moved closer.

His gaze was pulled by the white mask on the table. The doctor had taken off Zain's clothes and the mask was hidden inside them.

William picked the mask. He noticed the blood on it. Shifting his gaze, he noticed blood on Zain's knuckles.

"So it was him." He whispered.

The news about one of the drug dealers being attacked had already spread. No one had caught the aggressor until now.

William couldn't believe that he met the aggressor by accidental coincidence.

He asked the doctor for Zain's report. 

According to it, Zain had put too much pressure on his body from training. He was suffering from the backlash.

The report seemed genuine. 

However, William couldn't dismiss his suspicion. 

James appeared on the day they were moving out and brought the aggressor with him.

The coincidence bugged him.

William signaled the doctor to stay put.

He took out the paralyzing poison and injected it into Zain's veins.

As he saw Zain going down without any fight, he realized that Zain truly came to them by coincidence.

But better safe than sorry.

"Bring him along. Check if he knows something about us and then dispose of him," William ordered to bring James and Zain with them.

...

Zain's POV

It was a dream.

I could tell that the moment I saw my surroundings.

Mom was running around the house packing lunch, while my older sister was busy dressing up.

My hands were tiny and my vision's level was lower than I remembered. 

This was the dream of my childhood.

"Hurry up, Kamal! Or we will miss the show!" Mom stormed out of the kitchen and stripped me. She made me go through different sets of clothes until she was satisfied.

"Look at my handsome son." She smiled and stroked my head. Her wrinkled brows and rough hands caressed me with care.

"Stop dazing and hurry up." My sister joined us.

We sat in our second-hand car. Mom drove.

I remembered this day. There was no way I could forget it. Today my life was flipped on it's head.

Was I going through my cherished memories because I was on the verge of death?

I couldn't hold back my nervousness.

"We are here." Mom parked the car. 

The three of us entered the line in front of the big Circus tent.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Mom calling Dad. She was angry because he was trying to miss today's picnic.

It was rare for our family to be together.

Mom and Dad came from poor backgrounds. They spent their youth studying, aiming for good jobs that would allow them to have stable lives.

After they managed to be employed, it was another hell of constantly working at the job.

Mom and Dad were always at work, while my sister, who inherited Mom and Dad's hasty attitude, remained buried in books. 

Would it hurt if she didn't study? 

It's not like wasting a few minutes to play with me would end the world.

I once burned her books out of resentment. That day, I learned about the importance of paper and how much it hurt to sit with a sore butt.

"Why are you laughing?" My sister questioned me.

"I am laughing...?"

The memory of being punished was a mundane event. It wasn't important enough to make me smile.

"Sorry! Sorry! There was too much traffic!" Dad came out of the crowd and apologized to the mom.

He shifted awkwardly, being scolded in front of his kids.

Then, as if it was the most natural thing to do, he held my hands as we entered the circus tent.

The show was good. 

The last time I was here, I couldn't take my eyes off the performers. The appreciation later grew into a thirst to become like them.

Today, I just stared at the faces of my family.

Dad, who noticed my gaze, placed his hand over my head, "Why do you look like that?"

His hands were big and rough. He had dark circles under his eyes, just like mom.

They had been working hard. For my sake. To make sure that I lived a good life. But I never noticed these details when I should have.

I was just a spoiled brat who threw tantrums because he didn't get attention.

I pushed down the lump in my throat and gave the same answer I had given years ago, "I want to be like them. I'll join them when I become an adult."

I spoke while pointing at the Clown on the stage.

Back then, it was just a simple wish. I wanted to be the center of attention and make others happy. Just like the Clown.

"Hahaha, you can do whatever you want." Dad laughed and ruffled my hair. "I'll sit in the front row when you act on the stage."

"Don't give him any weird ideas, honey." Mom smiled while shaking her head.

The performance ended.

Our family of four left the circus tent.

They entered the car.

I was the only one who didn't.

"Come in, Kamal." Mom urged me, but my feet refused to budge.

My parents were always busy. However, they still took time out of their schedule to spend time with us.

At least, until today.

I stared at my father who was sitting at the wheels. 

After he disappeared, our lives were torn apart.

The burden over Mom increased and my sister buried herself in studies as if a ghost had possessed her.

They were trying to cope with the absence of Dad and fill the void he had left.

I was too immature to understand it back then.

A few years later, Mom remarried. She wanted to make our family complete in her own way, but I thought that she was replacing Dad.

My frustration continued to grow until I ultimately left my family, saying that I wanted to join a Circus Troupe.

It wasn't them who abandoned me.

I just didn't want to accept that it was me who wrecked our family.

"I guess we should walk a bit before returning." Dad wiped my tears that were threatening to overflow.

Mom and my sister were staring at me with concern.

As we strolled the streets, no one asked me why I cried. 

It was a dream. I knew. But I didn't want to wake up.

"Are you disappointed in me?" I asked without knowing the reason. It was not like they would know that I failed at the job for which I left my family. 

They wouldn't know that I was going to die a second time, because I couldn't kill a person that deserved death.

Dad wrapped his hand around mine. 

"You know what is your bad habit?" He asked me.

I shook my head.

"You think too much. You worry about results for exams that you haven't even given. Sometimes, it's okay to do what you want and think later."

"What if I fail?" It was a question born out of resentment.

How could he say that I should move ahead without thinking of the future?

I left mom alone to join a Circus Troupe. But I failed. 

In the end, I died without a single accomplishment. 

She wouldn't have given birth to me if she knew how much pain I would cause her in the future.

In my second life, I died because I failed to complete a simple quest. 

If only I could've properly understood what was truly important to me. If only I put my feelings aside before making the decision. 

Maybe then I could've lived happily.

"It's okay to fail," Dad spoke in a warm voice. He lifted me and put me above his shoulders. "We'll always support you. No matter what choice you make or results they bring."

I didn't reply to him.

The dream was bound to end.

I spent my time with everyone until then.