Chapter Three: The Dream of the Burning Palace
The dream came again.
Sheila stood barefoot on smooth marble under an endless night sky, stars gleaming like crystal tears. A palace loomed behind her, grand and glowing—its towers carved with dragons and phoenixes, its roof tiled with lunar stone that shimmered like ice under starlight.
She was dressed in silk, layers of silver and pearl cascading from her shoulders. Her hands bore golden rings, her head a jeweled crown so heavy she could feel its weight pressing into her skull.
But she wasn't alone.
He was there.
The same boy—the one from the rooftop. Dressed in black robes lined with dark fur and embroidered moons. A blade hung at his side, but his face held grief instead of threat.
"You promised me, Hyunsoo," her dream-self said, voice raw. "You swore your loyalty to the end."
"And I kept it," he said quietly. "Even now."
Flames exploded behind them. Screams rang from deep within the palace walls.
"Then why did you betray me?"
He stepped closer, the wind lashing through his hair. "Because you were losing yourself. You were becoming... something else."
Tears slipped down her face.
"I loved you."
"I still do."
The dream shifted.
Suddenly she was no longer wearing silk—her hands were bloody. A dagger was in her grasp. Before her lay a man, his throat slit. His eyes were still open.
Jiwoon.
The quiet, soft-eyed boy who had only smiled at her yesterday.
"No!" she gasped. "I didn't—"
But the vision wouldn't stop. More bodies littered the throne room. Priests. Maidens. Guards.
Her past self stood at the top of the steps—smiling. Cold. A queen untouched by sorrow.
"I did this?" she whispered.
The crown on her dream-self's head pulsed. A voice echoed from all directions.
> "You were not the savior.
You were the end.
And you will rise again."
Sheila screamed.
---
🌙
She bolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat.
Her room was silent. Her window slightly open, letting in the icy breath of early winter. The streetlights outside flickered. Her skin still burned, as if the dream had seared itself into her.
Was it a dream? Or a memory?
She glanced at her desk where the pendant still lay. Now it looked dim, lifeless. But she remembered the dream's voices, the fire, the crown.
And Hyunsoo.
She hadn't seen him since the rooftop incident. No one in school even knew who he was. When she'd asked about the new transfer student in her class, her classmates had stared at her blankly.
"There's no new boy," they'd said.
But she remembered. His voice. His eyes. The way he had called her Queen like it was a memory, not a metaphor.
---
That morning, as she walked to school, Sheila's senses felt... sharpened. She heard the heartbeat of pigeons fluttering from wires, saw the flicker of emotion cross strangers' faces like split-second bursts of light.
The world was too loud. Too alive.
Inside the classroom, she sat by the window again. She kept glancing toward the door, as if expecting him to walk in.
And then someone did.
But it wasn't Hyunsoo.
It was Jiwoon—a new student introduced by the homeroom teacher as a recent transfer from Daegu. His uniform was crisp, his black hair neatly parted, and he bowed politely to the class before making his way toward the empty seat beside her.
He smiled. Soft. Gentle. Familiar.
"Hi," he said as he sat. "You're Sheila Nam, right?"
She blinked, startled. "Uh, yeah."
He tilted his head. "You look like someone I used to know."
Her blood ran cold.
"Excuse me?"
Jiwoon chuckled. "Sorry, that came out weird. I meant—I saw you at the orientation last week. You stood out."
Not the same. Not exactly. But there was something in his eyes… like he knew her.
He extended a hand. "Jiwoon Kang. I'm into old legends and history."
She hesitated—then shook it. His skin was cool.
"Nice to meet you," she murmured.
He leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice.
"Tell me something, Sheila… have you ever felt like you've lived before?"
Her heart stopped.
"I—why would you ask that?"
His smile didn't fade. "Because you have the look of someone carrying old burdens."
Before she could answer, the bell rang.
But her thoughts spiraled. Was this fate? A warning? Or was she just going insane?
---
🌘
That night, she returned to the shrine.
She had to.
Even if it was dangerous. Even if it made her feel like she was being watched from every tree shadow.
She kneeled at the altar again. The pendant glowed faintly in her hand.
"Who am I?" she whispered. "What am I becoming?"
The wind picked up. The shrine creaked. Her fingers trembled as she set the pendant down again.
Then she heard it—a voice. Gentle. Familiar.
"You're remembering, My Queen. That's the first step."
She turned—and saw him.
Hyunsoo.
His dark coat billowed, and his face was illuminated by the pendant's glow.
"You're real," she said breathlessly.
He nodded. "And so are your memories."
Her legs nearly gave out. "What is happening to me?"
"You're awakening," he said. "And soon, others will come for you. Not all of them are kind."
Sheila backed away. "I saw… I saw myself kill people. I saw fire. I saw blood—"
"You saw truth," he said gently. "A truth buried deep so you wouldn't be destroyed by it."
"I was a monster."
"You were a queen."
"What's the difference?" she snapped.
He looked at her, his expression unreadable. "The difference… is who you choose to be now."
Before she could say another word, the pendant flared—and a howl split through the air. Distant, yet close.
Hyunsoo's face darkened. "They've found you."
"Who?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"The first of the Eternal Night."