Cherreads

Its Dream or Reality?

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Chapter 1: The Wrong Portal

I was just an ordinary office worker.

Same desk. Same boss. Same stale coffee.

Every day felt like a loop I couldn't escape.

Until one day... something changed.

I was in the middle of filming a scene for a commercial.

Not that I was an actor. I was the guy holding the boom mic.

> "CUT! What are you doing?! Did you even read the script?" "Sorry, sir… it's my first day…"

> "I said CUT! Why is the camera still rolling?!" "I—I don't know how to stop it…"

> "You're fired. I'll pay you for these three miserable days. Now leave."

And just like that, I was jobless.

The rain poured. Fitting for the mood.

As I walked home, soaked and defeated,

I didn't see the open manhole ahead.

One step.

No ground.

No weight.

No warning.

Then—darkness.

A sharp pain hit the back of my head.

When I opened my eyes, I was somewhere else.

The sky was a shade of purple. Floating stones hovered in the air.

And in front of me... a glowing white figure.

> "Why are you here?"

"I—I don't know. I just got fired, and now I'm here?"

> "Seriously? What a mess. You're not even supposed to be in this dimension."

"What is this place?"

> "It's a void between worlds. Definitely not meant for humans. But... fine. I'll send you somewhere more fitting."

Before I could protest, a blinding light surrounded me.

And once again… everything faded to white.

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🌌 Chapter 2: "Is This Truth or Just a Dream?"

A throbbing pain shot through my skull the moment I opened my eyes.

But...

Something was wrong.

> "My arms… my legs… where are they?!"

Then — a flash of something.

A memory?

A voice, desperate, distant:

> "Don't leave me… please, don't…"

My breath turned shallow. My heartbeat — if I still had one — raced faster than it ever had. Panic crawled up my spine, even if I wasn't sure I still had one.

> "What… did I just see?"

I stumbled forward — or more accurately, I bounced.

A strange, slippery way of moving.

No bones. No muscle. Just... motion.

I turned, and there it was.

A mirror.

And in that reflection…

> "What the hell…?!"

My body — yellow, semi-transparent… a slime.

No, not a costume. Not a trick.

I had become it.

Suddenly, a monstrous roar echoed outside.

I rushed to the edge of the ruined shelter I had woken in, and there —

A massive zombie stood tall, grotesque and rotting.

And beside it… lay a glowing scythe, its light pulsing like it had a heartbeat of its own.

> "Ugh… my head… it hurts—!"

Darkness took me again.

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Chapter 3: Welcome to the lab... Where Everything Talk

When I woke up once again, a blinding light pierced my sight, and I let out a strange, distorted sound… almost like a broken radio.

> "Yo, hey! You're finally awake?"

A strange figure stood before me—cool-looking, with a scythe just like the one I had seen before.

I wanted to ask where I was, but the radio-like distortion kept bursting from me instead of words. Nobody could understand what I was trying to say. Then, someone in a white lab coat stepped in and spoke to the figure.

> "This specimen is quite special… I suspect it's one of his creations."

> "Really?!"

> "Yes, though we're not sure what purpose it serves. Strangely, its lifespan should have already ended. If we calculate by now, that slime should be dead."

> "Wait—dead?! But it's still moving... and seems to understand us?"

> "I'm not entirely sure. We need to conduct further research."

> "Alright, I'll take him to the Slime Research Lab. Maybe we can figure it out there."

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Chapter 4: A New World?

That strange man kept walking ahead, muttering nonstop about someone.

> "Was it really him? Or someone else? This world... it's too strange."

We passed through a colossal wall — separating this place from the outside world.

Inside, people were living side by side with slimes. Colorful, vivid, and oddly peaceful.

Suddenly, a yellow slime darted toward me.

> "Why aren't you working in the kitchens like the others? Why are you following the Reaper?"

I tried to speak, but only garbled, radio-like static came out of my mouth.

And yet… the slime seemed to understand.

> "Oh, I see. That makes sense then. The Reaper's kind of terrifying to us."

He shivered.

> "But... you spoke their tongue? That's... rare."

Before I could say—or static—anything else, he ran off and hid behind a crate, eyes wide in fear.

> "What did you just say to that slime?" the Reaper snapped.

I didn't know how to explain it. I couldn't even speak normally.

The only ones who seemed to understand me… were slimes.

We continued toward the mountains. That's when a strange voice echoed from the cliffs above.

> "What are you doing here?"

The Reaper didn't flinch.

> "Just trying to determine this one's... attribute."

He picked me up and shoved me awkwardly toward an ancient camera embedded in the wall.

> "Can you see anything?"

> "No! I can't see a damn thing! Get that gooey blob away from the lens—!!"

The voice screeched as the camera crackled and short-circuited.

I didn't know where I was…

But for once, I didn't feel completely lost.

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