[Lord of the Mysteries] A Midsummer Night's Lost Dream

This is the dream beyond the door, and his endless struggle.

[Mayfly]

Though it had spent its entire life striving, in the eyes of the "gods" it was still just a hollow-bellied mayfly, rising to the surface on the faint breath trapped when its organs closed. It had only just tasted summer when it was forced back underwater to drown.

[White Crow]

When I was young, I didn't understand what it meant to love someone equally.

I squandered affection and trampled on sincerity.

I only took, and never gave.

Now, at last, I understand.

I stand in November, beneath bare branches and in the absence of insectsong, as tears stream down my impassive face.

[The Singer]

Now I will be trapped in eternal, unending bliss.

Everyone, this moment, this very instant

The feast is ours!

[Awakening from a Nightmare]

The alarm clock by the table began to tremble, its battered body barely functioning.

He jolted awake from his dream, cold sweat soaking his back.

The window of his rented apartment faced a ginkgo-lined avenue. The lights in the buildings on either side had long since gone out, and only the pitch-black windows seemed to swallow fear and breathe it out again.

Now and then, a car entered the street, hidden beneath overlapping tree canopies. Its crimson taillights were reflected in the window glass like a red moon slowly rising.

Theme: Struggling against the currents of fate