Getting Worse

Rand was not a saint, but he would never order the execution of someone.

"That dream again! Was it just me?" he wondered.

Everyone had the same dream the previous night, so they probably had the same dream tonight, too.

"It felt so real. Wait, when I was there, I thought this world was a dream! So, is this a dream, or was that a dream?" he wondered, looking around, trying to find something dream-like.

After a while, he found nothing.

"Will I have the same dream if I sleep again?" he thought.

He went to his bed and finally fell asleep after half an hour.

...

Rand opened the door of the restaurant and went in.

When he fell asleep the second time, he didn't dream again.

There, he is a king, but here, he still needs to work to eat. So, in the morning, he came here to work.

He went in and saw Rick, the bald man.

"Hey," Rand smiled.

Rick nodded, distracted.

"That dream again?" Rand asked.

His father is away, so Rick is the first person he has spoken to since morning.

Rick frowned. He said hesitantly, "Yeah."

Rand waited for him to continue, but Rick stopped talking after "Yeah."

Rand wanted to ask, "So how was it?" but he didn't. Rick looked wrong, like confused.

Rand left him alone and then went to the management room to see the man in the suit, the restaurant manager named Rob.

"Hey, did you have the same dream?" asked Rand.

Looking pale with bags under his eyes, Rob said, "I didn't! But I felt like a void ... like a void was chasing me and about to get me! It felt terrifying! I'm afraid to sleep!" Rob said while trembling.

He feels a desire to kill someone as if the void will be filled if he does it.

Of course, he didn't say this to Rand.

Rob is not a bad person; these thoughts make him feel terrified.

He already decided that if it continued, he would go home and lock himself in.

He doesn't want to kill someone accidentally.

He asked," Rand, what do you think? Is this world real? or is that world real? One must be a dream, but I can't tell which one."

Rob, of course, liked here to be real because he already died in the other.

Rand nodded, "Exactly my thoughts. I think this world is a dream, and the world there is real," he said boldly.

He wants there to be real; after all, who wouldn't want to be a king?

But, after he said it, he regretted it; after all, Rob is dead there.

He died in a war with spikes empire.

"So I'm just a dream?" asked Rob while frowning.

Before Rand could say anything else, Rob laughed and said, "Anyways, you better hope I'm a dream! Now it's time to work!" said the manager Rob.

Even if it's a dream, they still have to work!

Rand sighed and went back to get to work.

...

Alex III looked at the scene, which was covered in blood.

Just now, he had a vision.

"I wasn't asleep; how can I dream when I'm awake?" he thought.

Many people looked around in confusion; they couldn't speak because of Alex III's presence, but they still felt confused.

Alex III noticed this.

Who would dare to turn his head around in his presence? In normal times, nobody. But now, everyone, even his guards, looked around in confusion. It's easy to realize something is wrong.

"Bring the next group!" Alex ordered.

There are still more people waiting in line to be executed.

Alex III, of course, wouldn't want to make them wait for long.

...

After killing more than 1,000 people, Alex III finally called it a day.

The remaining death row prisoners would be imprisoned and probably executed the following year on justice day.

Some lucky ones may be pardoned and expelled to faraway cities.

In the Alex Kingdom, all executions must happen in the king's presence; he doesn't have time to watch executions every day, so some will be pardoned to reduce the numbers to a manageable level.

...

Alex III was sitting on his throne.

He called Sebastian IV, his most loyal servant.

Sebastian IV came and bowed, "Your honor?"

Alex III stroked his beard and asked, "Have you had any dreams these nights?"

Sebastian IV looked wide-eyed.

"So do you did!" Alex III gussed.

"Your Majesty, I had a continuous dream for two nights, but not only at night. I dreamt even when I was awake, just a few hours ago in the Justice Day ceremony," Sebastian IV said.

"Who were you in your dream?" asked Alex III, curious.

"I was someone called 'the president,' which is a role that serves the people," Sebastian IV said.

Alex III, of course, knows what a president is.

Heads of five-star country call themselves president.

In other words, he, Alex III, is only a regular worker, while Sebastian IV, his servant, is the head of state!

Alex III felt dissatisfied.

If it were anyone else, he might have ordered an execution.

How can anyone dare to be president when he is an ordinary worker?

But Sebastian IV is almost a friend, so he let it pass.

Sebastian IV, who didn't know he nearly received a death sentence, remained motionless.

"Go around and investigate; I want to know if others also have the same dream," said Alex III.

Sebastian IV bowed and left.

...

Rand looked around in confusion.

"What? I dreamt without actually sleeping?" he felt afraid.

He went out and looked at everyone.

Everyone present, including all the customers, was talking with confusion; a few called the police.

"Are we going crazy?" someone said.

"It's aliens! Aliens are experimenting on us," another said.

"What aliens? It's the end times! Soon, all will die and go to that dream!" another said.

Rick, the bald man, was looking pale, trembling visibly.

Rand asked, "Rick, is there something wrong?" he was worried about him.

Rick spoke tremblingly, "Last night, I had that dream, but it was horrible, worse than a nightmare."

He continued," Long story short, I died! But just now, I felt a presence ... like emptiness, cha ... chasing me!" he said.

Rick looked at Rand with murderous intent.

He felt a great urge to take the knife and kill him! Of course, he didn't say this part to Rand.

The dream last night was so bad that he felt terrified even thinking about it.

Even leaving aside the great pain of watching all his family die, the execution alone can make many lose sleep!

He still feels the cut on his neck. Even when they cut off his head, he still saw the world from his severed head for a few seconds, and it was an experience that nobody could imagine.

He never thought he could ever experience anything worse in his life.

But that Emptiness was worse!

Rand was getting terrified! Rob said the exact same thing about the void chasing him.

It seems that if someone dies there, a ghost will chase them!

Fortunately, Rand is a king there, so he will not die easily!

...

Alex III stroked his beard.

"This is getting worse!" he thought.

The intensity of this dream, or illusion, or whatever it is, is getting worse.

Just now, he saw another dream.

It had been only an hour, and another dream already.

This is something that can shake the foundation of a country if not managed well.

Alex III began to think.

"Let's say to the public that this is the last trump card of the Demonic Spikes Empire," he thought of a plan.

The 'demonic' part of Spikes Empire is entirely made up.

Humans controlled the Spike empire, and Alex kingdom labeled it demonic to justify its invasion.

It was nothing demonic. The Spikes family's last name made it much easier to make it sound vicious.

Every time a problem appears in Alex kingdom, they can put it on those damn 'demonic' spikes. Whenever people are dissatisfied, Alex III reminds them how he destroyed the demons of spikes. They are the scapegoat for everything.

It has already been seven years since the Spikes Empire was destroyed, but Alex's county kept it fresh like it was yesterday.

They even kept the war prisoners in prison and executed them every year so that they could keep the whole thing fresh.

Alex III called his ministers to think of a way collectively.

...

Rand heard screams!

 Many began to panic and run around.

 Obviously, many began to panic as the interval between this world and Alex kingdom shortened.

 Rand ignored it and went into the manager Rob's room.

 Nobody was there except Rob.

 Rand's eyes went wide as he saw Rob!

 "Hey, don't do this!" Rand shouted.

 Rob was holding a knife to his neck!

 "Hey, Rand! I know the truth! This side is the dream! Alex kingdom is the real world!" said Rob.

 "Don't! You will really die!" shouted Rand.

 "I am already dead! I'm only a dream! Let me die," shouted Rob with wide, bloodshot eyes.

 "No, you are not! You are real!" said Rand.

Rob thought for a second and then asked, "Tell me, who are you there in Alex kingdom?"

Rand, who wanted to stop Rob from killing himself, said the truth, "I'm Alex III."

"What? You are the king? How lucky are you?" Rob said this and took the knife off his neck.

"Ron, give the knife to me!" Rand slowly went forward to take the knife away.

"Sure," Rob smiled and slashed!

Rand didn't expect it; his neck was slashed!

"Ahhh, you…" he shouted while trying to stop the bleeding.

The screams outside prevented anyone from hearing it.

Rob continued striking. With another hit, he pierced Rand's heart, killing him directly!

When he killed Rand, he felt like the void had stopped chasing him.

He regained his sanity and looked at the corpse on the ground with horror.

"I killed someone!" he felt terrified.

The ghost that was chasing him caused him to lose his mind and do this.

He closed and locked the door and went to get his car.

...

Alex III looked around at his ministers.

He ordered, "Leave the room!" The ministers looked with confusion.

"Leave this room," Alex III ordered louder, almost shouting.

Everyone bowed and left.

"That bastard!" Alex III cursed.

Someone just killed him in the dream world!

"But, it's better this way," Alex III tried to be optimistic.

This way, he wouldn't dream about that world anymore because he already died there, and it seems his death there has no effect here.

...

Rob was just about to start his car when he stopped.

On the Alex kingdom's side just now, he was Alex III!

"But Rand was Alex III! Did I become Alex III because I killed him?"

He felt like he just discovered a secret of how it all works.

He thought calmly for a few minutes and came out of the car.

Currently, the streets are dangerous, and the roads are mostly blocked.

What happens if someone suddenly dreams when driving?

Of course, accidents!

Fortunately, his house is not far away.

On his way, he also bought a lot of food.

...

Alex III felt a void chasing him, along with a sense that he should kill someone.

He frowned and made his way to the prisons.

He ordered the guards to bring a prisoner on death row.

Then, he took a sword and slashed it!

The prisoner was terrified, screamed, and died after a few minutes of struggle.

Immediately after, he felt the feeling of being chased by a void disappear!

...

Rob was getting used to this switch back and forth.

Its interval now is every one hour and so.

Fortunately, it stabilized at one hour and didn't get shorter.

He finally reached his house, locked the door, and prepared to stay for a long time.

Now, outside is dangerous, so he will just stay here.

Also, if he suddenly gets murderous again, it's best to be locked here alone.

He put the knife he killed Rand with away and hoped the chaos erased the traces of the murder.

After all, no matter how guilty he feels, he doesn't want to spend his life in prison.

...

Alex III frowned deeply.

Again, He had that dream, this time from the perspective of Rob, the man who murdered him.

"What a headache!" he felt worried for the first time in a long time.

This is so serious that just putting it on 'demonic' spikes may not be enough.

He once again called the ministers to find a way to stabilize things.