Chapter Text
In the depths of his nightmares, there lives a man.
A man, Light knows by the rough, calloused hands which speak of effortless strength clamping around his neck and tightening as he struggles to breathe, his own hands grasping for a body that isn’t there, desperate pleas dragging from his hoarse throat. He knows it by the whiff of cologne— barely there and strikingly familiar, gone before he can place it.
It’s always the same man. Light knows him through rough footsteps and bloodshot eyes and a smile that stretches far wider than it should. Light knows him through the tightness of his belly, through a blood-freezing sort of panic that rushes through his veins.
Reality is tiring, but unlike others, Light Yagami finds no rest in sleep.
Nightmare Journal, Entry 935
In this dream, I’m leaving a café I’ve never seen before. Before I exit, I catch the eyes of a man in the corner reading a magazine. He has a black surgical-looking mask on, those ones I’ve seen around Japan but are mostly worn in Korea or China due to pollution. He wears a beanie and sunglasses that perch low on his nose so that his eyes peer up into mine. I turn away and head home.
I wake up.
Nightmare Journal, Entry 936
The same man from the last dream is following me home. I only notice because I see him in the reflection of a passing bus. His footsteps are non-existent - he does not make a single sound, even when he does something that warrants it. He’s wearing the same clothing, but in the dream it feels like it’s been a while since I’ve last seen him. I try to lose him in the crowd.
I wake up.
Nightmare Journal, Entry 938
He’s in my house. Nobody else seems to be here. He’s just staring at me. It’s terrifying. I ran to the neighbour’s house to get away and asked them to call the police, but they didn’t seem to listen, or grasp that the situation was dangerous. It was almost on purpose. It’s like they think I’m hallucinating. I told them to lock the door, and just as they got to the door, it opened and he walked right in and towards me. I felt this dread, but also a strange sense of defeat, as if this is a common occurrence and he’s finally won, or something like that. There’s a strange sense of panic within me for every step he takes.
I wake up.
Nightmare Journal, Entry 938
In my dream, I live through what seems like a normal week of my life. Up until mid-week, nothing suspicious occurs. On Wednesday I take the train with Sayu and walk her to her school which is a block from mine. When I arrive the hallway is full and I head to my locker. Though my high school does not have lockers, in this dream it’s like they’d always been there. The atmosphere feels thicker, and the chatter of other students are muffled to my ears as if I am underwater. I open my locker and there is a gift on the shelf. Inside I find human hair laid in the shape of a heart and suddenly I experience that familiar horrible pressure on my shoulders, like I am holding the ocean’s weight. I can’t seem to breathe. It ends as fast as it came and I throw the box in the trash. The rest of the day I suffer from intense paranoia. The following days feel heavy, as if I’m being watched. On Saturday while walking home, I look behind me. Nobody is there.
I look down and notice that my shadow has eyes.
They are not mine.
Nightmare Journal Entry 939
The mirror is fogged with condensation, but for some reason my dream self doesn’t wipe it off. I just stare into the mirror, and I can see the vague outlines of myself. There’s vague outlines of something else too. I freeze as I notice it is in the shape of a person, and I feel a hot breath against my ear. In the mirror, the fog has melted into spots, right where two bloodshot eyes are looking right at me. I scream.
I wake up.
Nightmare Journal Entry ???
I know I’m not crazy. I saw him, for a second. It wasn’t a dream. He’s real.
He’s —
dangerous.
In another life, Light Yagami sees a black notebook fall from the sky. In this one, he stares down at his paper to hide the sunken eyes that even concealer can't cover.