4. Dreamscape: Newspapers and News

Jako jolted awake from a dream.

He had not dreamed in many years. After his wife and daughter died, he had taken a dozen sleeping pills every night before bed to escape reality.

Those small white pills ensured that he slept until dawn, undisturbed by any ghosts or memories.

But tonight seemed different. The sleeping pills had failed; the product of human industry had been defeated by an incomparably aged shell of a body.

The old man climbed out of bed with lingering fear in his heart, then slowly sat up along the edge of the bed.

Compared to the wealth he possessed, this bed was truly shabby. Even with him sleeping alone, it felt somewhat cramped. It also creaked constantly, yet Jako had never considered replacing it.

Back when he had been a poor carpenter, this bed had accompanied his family of three through difficult times. He had already decided to take this bed with him into the grave.

He distractedly rubbed his neck, feeling a wave of stiffness.

He was old. His body was far inferior to what it had once been. Even life-extension surgery could not completely eliminate the effects of age. Every day, he felt more exhausted than the day before.

The sensation of being chased by Death made the old man sigh. He looked up at his window and happened to glimpse a gloomy moon.

The things from his dream assailed him mercilessly with the moonlight.

—Murder. Cruel murder.

A young, handsome blond man had had his tongue and jaw torn off by someone. The sight alone had terrified Jako.

But that was merely the beginning. What followed was a hellish scene of horror: pale arms reaching from the darkness, bloated yet unrotted, their fingertips sharp as blades. Countless dead souls gnawing at the man—men