Behind the Red Door

Kael floated in the void. No pain, no sound, just the endless nothingness. Then, a light-a small one, like a single star in an endless night-finally appeared, and it grew larger and larger until he realized it was a screen with text appearing to be projected from an infinite source.

[> **[Life Escalated Trauma Collection]**

> **[Initializing System…]**

> **[System Activated]**

> **[#1 Collected Trauma]**

Kael was confused. What was this? He felt a peculiar serenity. He could feel this system coursing through his veins, an extension of himself, it felt. New-it was not from his red door.

The screen flickered once more. Information cascaded down in intricate hieroglyphs, translating itself in words Kael could read in an instant:

[> **[Trauma Status]**

> **Level: 1**

> **Stage: Hatchling**

> **Rank: F**

> **Category: Nightmare**

> **Boost: 100%**

> **Awareness: 10%**

> **Effects: 13%**

> **Skills: Walker**

A game. It felt like a **game**. Like the RPGs he played as a kid.

Then more notifications appeared.

> **[Alert]**

> **[You have died from Escalated Trauma]**

> **[You have been resurrected through a unique convergence]**

> **[Escalated Trauma Collection Recorded: #1/399]**

> **[You have gained the title: The Survivor (Passive Skill)]**

> **[The Survivor: Increases vitality by 10% in dangerous situations]**

A strange energy coursed through him. It was light, yet powerful—alien, but familiar. He looked down. **His body was whole again.** His arm, his stomach—the fatal wounds were gone.

Then the world **snapped** back into focus.

Kael **gasped** as he returned to the land of the living.

The sounds of battle had faded, replaced by an eerie stillness. He was lying on cold concrete, the damp chill seeping through his uniform. A sharp pain throbbed in his chest, but it was a dull ache—**nothing compared to before.**

He pushed himself up, wincing. The farmhouse was gone.

No.

He was gone.

This wasn't the farmhouse anymore. He was in **King's Cross Station**.

Bodies lay strewn across the platform, twisted in grotesque angles. Blood smeared the tiles. The air was thick with the scent of **death.**

The **monsters were gone.**

How the hell had he ended up here?

He was lying on the cold, damp floor of King's Cross, his chest throbbing, and the metallic tang of blood filling his mouth.

The wet damp ground of the farmhouse was nowhere to be seen now.

Kael staggered to his feet. His uniform was still ripped where the creatures had torn into him, but the skin beneath was **unscathed.** He clenched his fists, glancing around in confusion.

His vision **flickered**. A **transparent blue screen** hovered in front of him.

> **[Life Escalated Trauma Collection: 1/399]**

> **[Dreamer's Stats]**

> **Level: 1**

> **Strength: 5**

> **Agility: 3**

> **Vitality: 4**

Kael stared at the interface.

It was **real.**

He wasn't in a dream. He wasn't in the **Red Door.**

Something inside him had **changed.**

His thoughts raced. *Was it because I died?* Was this some kind of **reward** for surviving? Or was it something far more sinister?

Then—**footsteps.**

Soft. Measured. Echoing through the abandoned station.

Kael froze.

His pulse **hammered** as the sound drew closer, slow and deliberate. Whoever—or **whatever**—it was, they weren't in a hurry.

A **figure** emerged from the dark tunnel.

Tall. Lithe. Moving with an unnatural **grace.**

They were dressed in layers of **shimmering obsidian fabric** that seemed to drink in the dim light. A **mask**, crafted from polished **bone**, concealed their face, save for two **burning eyes**—glowing embers in the depths of shadow.

A silver braid cascaded down their back, adorned with **beads that clicked softly** with each movement. Their very presence sent a chill crawling down Kael's spine.

This was no ordinary human.

This was a **Dream Walker.**

A **high-rank** one.

The figure stopped a few meters away, head tilting slightly. A slender hand, adorned with silver rings, reached up to adjust the mask.

Kael staggered to his feet. His uniform was still ripped where the creatures had torn into him, but the skin beneath was **unscathed.** He clenched his fists, glancing around in confusion.

His vision **flickered**. A **transparent blue screen** hovered in front of him.

> **[Life Escalated Trauma Collection: 1/399]**

> **[Dreamer's Stats]**

> **Level: 1**

> **Strength: 5**

> **Agility: 3**

> **Vitality: 4**

Kael stared at the interface.

It was **real.**

He wasn't in a dream. He wasn't in the **Red Door.**

Something inside him had **changed.**

His thoughts raced. *Was it because I died?* Was this some kind of **reward** for surviving? Or was it something far more sinister?

Then—**footsteps.**

Soft. Measured. Echoing through the abandoned station.

Kael froze.

His pulse **hammered** as the sound drew closer, slow and deliberate. Whoever—or **whatever**—it was, they weren't in a hurry.

A **figure** emerged from the dark tunnel.

Tall. Lithe. Moving with an unnatural **grace.**

They were dressed in layers of **shimmering obsidian fabric** that seemed to drink in the dim light. A **mask**, crafted from polished **bone**, concealed their face, save for two **burning eyes**—glowing embers in the depths of shadow.

A silver braid cascaded down their back, adorned with **beads that clicked softly** with each movement. Their very presence sent a chill crawling down Kael's spine.

This was no ordinary human.

This was a **Dream Walker.**

A **high-rank** one.

The figure stopped a few meters away, head tilting slightly. A slender hand, adorned with silver rings, reached up to adjust the mask.

"Well hello there", suddenly greeted the mask man with calm composure.

Before Kael could react or reply back to the man, the Dream Walker out of nowhere suddenly took a step forward with a gait that was fluid and effortless. His speed was unnatural , blurring the line between movement and teleportation. Kael could only watch, paralyzed by fear, as the Dream Walker closed the distance between them, in a instant.

[Alert] [High rank dream walker approaching]

[Immediate Threat Level:Extreme]

[Task, survive the overwhelming bearing of the walker before the emergence subconscious transportation]

Upon seeing and hearing the flashing notification Kael's mind raced, and fragments of information, perhaps gleaned from forgotten news reports or hushed whispers, coalesced into a chilling clarity. The way the figure moved, the power swirling around them, it was undeniable.

This wasn't just a dream walker, no… this was someone who was probably above the six star realm. The powerhouses that were rumoured to be able to destroy armies and take down bosses single handedly.

They were the apex predators of the world, the stuff of nightmares. He remembered reading, buried deep in a news article, about how only three were stationed in England itself. He'd always dismissed it as fantasy, just like the video games he had played in his childhood, but now he knew it was real. And he was about to die for the second time in a matter of minutes.

A hand shot out from nowhere, heading towards Kael's throat.

"Wait!" Kael managed to choke out, but his voice was swallowed by the oppressive silence that had fallen around them and the speed of the incoming attack.

He braced himself for the inevitable. He could see the silver nails heading toward his throat, death was coming once more. He closed his eyes, waiting for death, Then—

**[Emergency Subconscious Transportation Initiated]**

The world **ripped apart.**

---

### **The Subconscious Realm**

Kael felt himself being **pulled**—a force dragging him through something tight and suffocating, like being yanked through a narrow tunnel at impossible speed.

Then—**stillness.**

He gasped, his breath coming in ragged gulps.

The world around him was… **wrong.**

Vibrant colors stretched infinitely, twisting into bizarre structures. Some looked like trees made of **pulsating light**; others were endless cities built from fractals that spiraled into eternity. The air **hummed** with unseen energy.

It was like stepping into a **living dream.**

A **notification** blinked into existence.

> **[Subconscious Realm Accessed]**

> **[Status] [Skill Tree] [Inventory] [Collection]**

Kael's hands **trembled** as he stared at the floating menu.

This was **inside** him.

His own subconscious.

And then—**the world shifted again.**

The colors bled away, twisting into a long **corridor.**

Lined with **black doors.**

At the very end—

A **red door.**

A construction of **crimson and silver**, etched with **glowing glyphs**. It pulsed in time with his heartbeat.

A message appeared.

> **[Subconscious System Stabilizing]**

> **[One Task Completed]**

> **[Organizing Reward for Completion]**

> **[Reward: Access to a Single-Star Realm – Psychological Trauma]**

> **[Psychological Trauma Analysis Initiated]**

> **[Trauma Scenario: One suffering from a huge debt]**

Before Kael could process it, the world **shifted again.**

He **stood before the Red Door.**

It pulsed.

A whisper slithered through his mind, ancient and knowing.

**Welcome to your subconscious.**

**Prepare for the first psychological trauma.**

Kael exhaled sharply.

And took a step forward.