The Dream Code: Yume no Kodo [Light Novel] Vol. 1 – Page 6

Page 6

^{Chapter 2 – Ava [The Dream Code]}

Ava Fukushira navigated her days in Tokyo with a quiet, almost imperceptible grace. Her world was largely contained within the four walls of her apartment, a space where her mother, Shiena, existed more as a television-shaped silhouette than an active participant in her daughter’s life. Shiena’s moods dictated the atmosphere – a day of flickering screens and the clinking of liquor bottles, or, on rarer, brighter occasions, the aroma of something simmering on the stove. Ava, accustomed to this detachment, found her own company sufficient. Gratitude for the roof above her head and the basic provision of meals was a steady undercurrent, a quiet acknowledgment of what little stability she possessed. She didn’t speak much at school, her presence marked by a thoughtful silence rather than active engagement, her classmates a blur of faces she observed from a distance.

Her true vibrancy emerged in the hours outside of her studies. The natural world, as viewed from her window – the intricate patterns of rain on glass, the way sunlight caught the leaves of a distant tree – was a constant source of fascination, inspiring the sketches that filled her notebooks. She also found a different kind of engagement in the digital realms of computer games, drawn to their intricate worlds and the thrill of challenge. But these were mere preludes to her most profound explorations, those undertaken in the landscape of her dreams.

^{Sea Angel Miika [The Dream Code]}

Ava possessed an innate gift, an ability to traverse dimensions, which had been hers long before her encounter with Koinan Dimension 5. It was this very faculty that led her, in a dream state, to that mysterious underwater realm. There, a whisper of knowledge guided her: a precious gift lay hidden beneath the waves, a leaf that held the power to unlock the secrets of the Zingkon Dimension. Driven by an instinct she couldn’t explain, Ava plunged into the dream-sea, swimming with a desperate resolve towards the crushing depths. The journey was perilous, the pressure immense, but she reached the ocean floor.

It was there, as she clutched the hard, rustic leaf, that Sea Angel Miika appeared. Miika, a being of serene beauty and ancient wisdom, recognized Ava’s bravery and her inherent ability. For retrieving the leaf, Miika bestowed upon her further gifts of Koinan Spirit, amplifying her nascent powers: the ability to become invisible, a transparent phantom undetectable to sight, touch, or sound, and the capacity to read minds, to glimpse the thoughts of others. Miika cautioned Ava that these powers were a sacred trust, not to be misused, lest they be taken away. Ava didn’t fully understand the ‘why’ behind these extraordinary gifts, only that they were hers, and that they felt undeniably significant, especially as they allowed her access to the Zingkon Dimension.

Within that dimension, the vast, ancient Book of Future awaited. It was not a mere projection, but a colossal tome from which light emanated, projecting its script like a divine projector. It was here, in 2025, that Ava learned of the impending global destruction, a cataclysm that would begin in 2044 and devastate the world by 2045. Her own fate was starkly defined: to perish in the apocalyptic events of 2044.

Nuuko, the guardian of the Zingkon Dimension—a small, captivating creature with vibrant orange wings and a luminous white body, possessing an almost impossibly attractive radiance and impeccable manners—explained the sole path to her salvation. The leaf, the key Ava had so bravely retrieved, was the ultimate requirement for any interaction within the Zingkon Dimension. Because she held it, her wish for survival was granted.

“A survivor will be sent to you from the future,” Nuuko had conveyed, its voice a melody of gentle authority. “You must accept him, Ava, as he is. You will belong to him. This is the only way.”

The words resonated deep within Ava. A survivor. Someone traveling back through time. The concept was staggering, yet the promise of salvation was a balm to her solitary existence. She already felt a nascent connection to this unknown figure. The quiet girl who liked cute things and lost herself in games and dreams now harbored a secret hope, a burgeoning affection for the destined stranger who would find her. She trusted the process, the intricate weaving of fate, and felt a profound gratitude for the chance to live, to belong. The Koinan Spirit within her stirred, a quiet echo of the destiny that was now irrevocably intertwined with her own.