Chapter 9: The Whispering Eyes

The monster's presence flooded the Hero Wing like a living nightmare.

Its form was shifting—sometimes a hunchbacked beast, sometimes a crawling shadow, and sometimes… a tall man with countless eyes embedded in his skin, each blinking slowly and in sync.

Ram and Deeksha backed toward the far wall of their chamber, weapons raised. But the monster didn't attack. Instead, it spoke.

"Lay down your weapons... friends. You are tired. Rest. Let your true dreams awaken..."

Hypnosis.

Deeksha’s sword hand wavered. Her eyes grew glassy. Ram clenched his fists. “No. Stay awake… stay awake! Deeksha, don’t listen to it!”

But the monster’s hypnotic voice slipped between their thoughts like silk, painting illusions over reality. The floor turned to soft grass. The stone walls faded into skies and sunlight.

Ram found himself standing in his old schoolyard. Deeksha was there, laughing under a tree, holding a familiar lunchbox. Their exams were over. No monsters. No isekai. No magic. Just peace.

“Is this... a dream?” he whispered.

The monster watched silently from the real world, its many eyes flickering. “Sleep deeper,” it hissed.

Meanwhile, on the Palace Rooftop

I stood overlooking the Hero Wing, my magical eye activated, scanning through layers of reality. I could see the illusion wrapping around Ram and Deeksha like a blanket—a dream trap. The monster wasn’t killing them; it was feeding off their peace.

“Clever trick,” I muttered. “Too clever.”

But Time had warned me not to intervene directly. Ram and Deeksha had to break the illusion on their own—or they’d never be ready to wield the strength of true heroes.

Even so… I had one idea.

“Sage to Serena. Are you there?”

Her voice echoed through the Time Phone. “Yes, Sage. We’ve hidden the Sword. What’s wrong?”

“Deploy the Lily Trigger—Level 1. Use the melody spell: Memory Echo.”

Lily’s voice chimed in. “Are you sure? That could—”

“Yes,” I interrupted. “Just enough to rattle their subconscious. Don’t break the dream. Just plant a crack.”

Back in the Illusion

Ram was laughing. Deeksha was about to bite into her favorite chocolate bar when—

A soft hum echoed through the wind. A melody. Familiar. Faint. Warm.

Deeksha froze. Her eyes flickered. “That tune… Ash used to hum that… every time we trained…”

The grass beneath her flickered into gray tile for a split second. Ram looked down.

“What... was that?”

The illusion began to pulse, struggling to hold its grip.

Suddenly, a reflection appeared in the lake nearby. But instead of showing blue skies, it showed a dark room with blinking eyes and a twisted smile.

Deeksha dropped the lunchbox. “Ram… we’re still in that world.”

Ram blinked. “We’re dreaming.”

The world shattered.

Reality Crashed Back

The monster screamed as the illusion collapsed. Ram and Deeksha hit the floor, gasping, sweat pouring down their faces.

“You... woke yourselves?!” the creature shrieked, its dozens of eyes opening all at once. “No matter. You’ll still feed me... in fear!”

It launched forward. But this time, Ram was ready.

“Deeksha, cover me!”

She chanted her first real spell: Shield of Clarity—a barrier that shimmered with anti-illusion energy. It burned the monster’s gaze like sunlight on ice.

Ram leapt forward, slashing across its core, roaring with every ounce of rage he’d kept inside for months.

“I’m not afraid anymore!”

With one final scream, the creature burst into black mist, leaving behind a single silver eye that rolled across the floor—still blinking.

Back at the Rooftop

I smiled.

“They passed.”

Arthur appeared behind me, arms crossed. “Can we train them now?”

“Soon,” I said. “But first, they need to learn who they are… without me.”

I pocketed the blinking eye artifact. It might be useful later.

Down below, Ram and Deeksha collapsed onto their bed, laughing and crying at once.

They didn’t know it yet, but this was the beginning of their path to becoming legends.

To be continued…