Lord of Mysteries: The Dream That Waits

Klein stepped through.

And nothing changed.

His breath hitched. His heart pounded against his ribs. The sensation of falling through ink, through something viscous and clinging, had overwhelmed him for a moment, but—but he was still here.

The Vault still loomed. The endless pages still floated. Yeaia was still beside him.

And the doors…

The doors had closed again.

Klein's fingers twitched, his thoughts in chaos. No. No, we stepped through. We did.

He turned, grabbing Yeaia's wrist again. He would push forward, he would force them out—

But Yeaia wasn't moving.

They stood there, utterly still, staring forward with wide, haunted eyes.

Klein followed their gaze—

And his breath left him.

Because beyond the now-closed doors…

They were still standing there.

Another Klein. Another Yeaia.

A fraction of a second behind. A perfect reflection. Caught in an eternal moment of hesitation.

It was them.

Or rather, a version of them—just one among thousands.

A sick, sinking horror filled Klein's chest. His pulse pounded in his ears. His mind screamed at the sheer impossibility of it, at the sight of himself standing there, looking back.

Then—the loop reset.

---

The doors slammed open.

Klein gasped, as if surfacing from drowning.

His lungs burned. His thoughts were scrambled. What had just happened?

No. No—this was familiar.

He looked around wildly, but the Vault was the same. The pages still swirled. The weight of something unseen pressed against his skull.

And Yeaia—

Yeaia looked exhausted.

They weren't reacting.

No confusion. No surprise.

Just… numbness.

A hollow emptiness in their mismatched eyes.

Klein reached for them again. His voice came hoarse, nearly a whisper. "Yeaia…?"

They didn't respond.

He swallowed, throat dry. "How many times?"

Silence.

Then—a smile.

A slow, painful curve of the lips.

Not amusement. Not defiance.

Something broken.

"…How many times do you want it to be?"

Klein felt his breath falter.

No.

No.

No.

That wasn't an answer.

That was—

That was someone who had lost count.

His chest tightened, panic clawing up his ribs. "No—no, I need you to focus—how many?"

Yeaia just smiled again. It was worse than a scream.

And then—

The loop reset.

---

The doors slammed open.

Klein choked.

A violent gasp ripped from his throat, as if he had been forced back into his own body.

No. No—

He staggered, barely catching himself. His limbs felt like lead, like he had been running for days without rest. His vision swam.

And Yeaia—

Yeaia was on their knees.

Their body shook violently, hands gripping their head. Their breath came ragged, shallow.

Klein lunged forward, grabbing their shoulders. "Yeaia—hey, stay with me, stay with me—"

A strangled, breathless laugh bubbled from Yeaia's throat.

"Ah… it hurts…"

Their voice was not right.

It was cracking at the edges, like something splintering apart.

Klein's grip tightened. "We'll figure this out. We'll—"

Yeaia's hands suddenly snapped up, grabbing his wrists.

Their mismatched eyes locked onto his.

And the expression on their face—

It was the look of someone who had already died a thousand times.

"Klein."

It was the first time they had used his name.

A shiver ran through him. "Yeaia—"

But Yeaia just shook their head.

"…I don't think I exist anymore."

Klein froze.

"What—"

Yeaia's fingers dug into his wrist, their voice trembling. "I don't remember who I am. I don't—" They swallowed, blinking rapidly. Their shoulders trembled. "I don't know if I was ever real. If I ever… existed before this."

Their breath hitched.

"Every time the loop resets… I lose something."

Klein's stomach twisted into knots. No.

Not just losing memories—but losing themselves.

The loop wasn't just repeating.

It was taking from them.

Piece by piece.

Until one day, there would be nothing left of them at all.

Klein's hands tightened into fists.

A voice chuckled in the distance. "Ah. That one is sharp."

The unseen presence shifted.

It was watching.

Klein turned toward the voice, his pulse hammering. "You—"

A low hum of amusement. "What? Did you think I'd simply let you leave? That you could just step through and be free?"

It laughed.

"You are not the first to try."

The air shuddered. The Vault seemed to stretch endlessly, bending in ways that made Klein's head pound.

And then—

Klein saw them.

The others.

The ones who had tried before.

Countless figures, lost in the maze of ink and parchment. Faces half-formed, bodies flickering in and out of existence, forgotten.

Failed.

Yeaia was breathing too fast. Their whole body shook.

"…How many of us have there been?" Klein demanded.

The voice only laughed.

"More than you will ever remember."

The loop reset.

---

The doors slammed open.

Klein's knees hit the floor.

His fingers clawed at the ground, his breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps. His lungs burned.

He felt like he was dying.

Or worse—like he had died too many times and was being forced to keep going.

His thoughts scattered. What was real? What wasn't?

What had been taken from him?

He didn't know anymore.

He didn't—

A hand gripped his wrist.

Klein barely had the strength to turn his head.

Yeaia was beside him, their form flickering, half-transparent.

They were disappearing.

And yet, in that moment—

Their mismatched eyes held a desperate, burning clarity.

"Klein." Their voice was weak, but firm. "This loop is not perfect."

The words sent a shudder through him.

"What?"

Yeaia's fingers tightened. "Something is wrong with it. It's not seamless."

Klein's heart pounded.

A flaw.

A single oddity.

A variable that wasn't supposed to be there.

Something the being had overlooked.

Something that could break the cycle.

His mind latched onto the thought like a lifeline.

There was a way out.

A single imperfection in the endless repetition.

Klein clenched his fists. He didn't know what it was—not yet.

But he would find it.

No matter what it took.

Even if he had to suffer through the loops again and again.

He would find the flaw.

And he would break free.

---

End of Chapter 59.

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