Whispers of Worlds Beyond: A Series - Chapter 106

Chapter 106: I Dreamt Of a Tree and a Bird Chapter 106: I Dreamt Of a Tree and a Bird After Creature Care, the first-year students made their way up the winding staircase of the Divination Tower, chatting among themselves as they entered the warm, incense-filled room.

The circular walls were lined with shelves of aged books, stacks of tarot cards, and crystal balls shimmering faintly under the dim glow of floating lanterns.

But there was no sign of Professor Mopsus.

“Where is he?” Ammonn muttered.

Aiden, Adrian, and Sevan found their usual spots, with Adrian leaning lazily against the plush cushions while Aiden scanned the room.

He didn’t particularly care for Divination, but even he found it odd that Mopsus wasn’t already seated.

The old professor was known for arriving before the students, settled in his chair with his cane resting beside him, already waiting.

“He probably saw this coming and decided to be late,” Adrian joked, earning a quiet snort from Sevan.

They weren’t the only ones talking.

Their classmwtes were whispering among themselves, some debating whether to leave and others already pulling out their notes to work on assignments while they waited.

Well, it was mostly Shiloh who was doing the talking.

Then, the door creaked open.

Professor Mopsus entered the room.

At first, there was nothing particularly alarming about that- until they took a second look.

His steps were too brisk.

He moved across the room with a straight posture, his head held high, as if he could see where he was going.

His usual cane was nowhere in sight.

For someone old and blind, he walked with the ease of a young man.

The chatter in the room faltered.

The students, frozen in place, watched in silence as Professor Mopsus strode directly to his desk.

Without a word, he plucked a book from the pile of old tomes, flipped through the pages for a moment, then turned on his heel and walked right back out of the classroom.

The door shut behind him.

A heavy silence lingered in the air.

“…Did anyone else see that?” Lochan finally broke the quiet, his voice unusually cautious.

“He didn’t even look blind,” Peter whispered.

“He didn’t look old,” Jarek added.

Before the silence could settle completely, the door creaked open once more.

This time, Professor Mopsus entered with the slow, small steps they were all used to.

His hunched frame leaned heavily on his cane as he tapped it against the floor with each step.

His head, covered in wisps of silver hair, nodded slightly as if sensing the air around him.

The stark contrast between this entrance and the previous one sent a chill through the room.

Adrian shifted beside Aiden.

“Well.

That’s unsettling.” Sevan remained quiet, his gaze fixed on the professor, mind undoubtedly working through the implications.

Professor Mopsus made his way to the center of the room and exhaled slowly, resting both hands on his cane.

“Ah,” he murmured.

“I see you all have settled in.” No one spoke.

Professor Mopsus let out a tired breath.

“Let us begin.” Not a single student dared to point out what had just happened.

Professor Mopsus settled into his seat, his cane resting against the desk.

He folded his hands over his lap, his clouded eyes scanning the room despite his blindness.

“Take out your assignments,” he instructed.

“You were to record your dreams for a week.

Today, we will interpret them.” Aiden reached into his bag and pulled out his parchment, though it wasn’t much.

He had written down exactly a week’s worth of dreams- the tree.

Beside him, Adrian shuffled through his papers, likely filled with nonsense, given how he had forgotten about the assignment until last night.

Sevan, of course, had neatly written entries, each one detailed and precise.

Professor Mopsus continued, “You will be partnered off with those you hold the closest tie with.

Your partner will help interpret your dreams using the reference text.” Aiden tensed.

He didn’t need to guess who his partner was.

Sure enough, Professor Mopsus nodded toward him.

“Chase, Emmeranne.

You two are paired.” Aiden exhaled through his nose.

Across from him, Emmeranne didn’t react.

She just calmly set down her quill and folded her hands.

“Beatific and Bessmertny.” “Spadille and Caleena.” Adrian groaned as he saw Shiloh glaring at him from across the room, clearly disinterested in changing seats.

One by one, the class was paired off.

Sevan ended up with Hanako, which seemed to suit him just fine, given that she wasn’t particularly talkative.

Professor Mopsus waved his hand.

“Begin.” Aiden turned to Emmeranne, who had already flipped open the interpretation book.

Without looking up, she said, “You should start.” Aiden hesitated before speaking, glancing down at his notes.

“I dreamt of a tree,” he began.

“It felt… calm.

That’s the only thing I’ve dreamt of every day for the past few weeks.” Emmeranne listened in silence, fingers idly tracing the edge of the dream interpretation book.

“There was also a black bird,” Aiden continued.

“Always perched on one of the branches.

But every time I acknowledge it, it flies away.

It never stays.

And then it comes back the next time I dream.” Emmeranne didn’t say anything for a moment.

The noise of their classmates discussing their own dreams filled the space between them: murmured words, pages turning, the occasional scratch of quills against parchment.

Across the room, Adrian was smirking at his own notes while Shiloh read them over his shoulder.

Shiloh scoffed.

“These are completely made up.” “Are they?” Adrian grinned.

“Who’s to say I don’t dream of giant rats stealing my boots?” Professor Mopsus sighed from his desk, clearly sensing the lack of effort in some corners of the room.

“You have fifteen minutes left.” Aiden shifted slightly.

“What about you?” She hesitated.

He noticed the way her fingers curled, how her usual blank expression flickered with something he couldn’t quite place.

Finally, she spoke, voice quieter than before.

“I dream that I’m a raven… perched on a tree.” Aiden’s breath caught.

His mind stalled.

They froze.

The realization settled over them like a cold wave.

They had the same dream.

Not similar.

Not vaguely connected.

The same.

Aiden stared at her, and for the first time, Emmeranne didn’t immediately look away.

She doesn’t look indifferent like she normally does, nor does she look distant.

She looked just as stunned as he felt.

Professor Mopsus’s voice cut through the tension.

“Five minutes left.” Emmeranne blinked, as if snapping out of something, and turned back to the book.

The brief crack in her composure vanished.

Her fingers, which had curled ever so slightly in her lap, smoothed out the page in front of her.

“The tree represents stability,” she said, voice measured.

“A place of grounding.

The bird… could mean perspective.

Freedom.” She paused, flipping to another section.

“Or a message left unanswered.” Aiden frowned.

“And the tree itself?” She glanced at him, then at the book.

“It also means that there are deeper things that are not seen yet.

That everything is interconnected.” Aiden sat with that thought for a moment, his dream suddenly feeling heavier than before.

Nothing about it felt like a coincidence.

Aiden narrowed his eyes.

“Are you messing with me?” he asked, his voice low enough that only she could hear.

“Or lying?” Emmeranne didn’t react immediately.

Instead, she simply opened her parchment, and slid it across the table.

Aiden glanced at her before looking down.

His fingers hesitated before gripping the parchment, his eyes scanning the page.

And there it was.

Written in her small, precise handwriting: “I dream that I am a raven, perched on a tree.” Aiden felt something cold settle in his chest.

It was real.

His grip on the parchment tightened slightly before he set it back down.

Emmeranne watched him, expression unreadable as always, but he noticed how her fingers curled slightly against the table- like she was waiting for his reaction.

He exhaled, leaning back.

“This isn’t normal.” “Of course,” she said simply, “it isn’t.” Professor Mopsus cleared his throat, bringing the class back to order.

“Now that you’ve shared your dreams with your partners, you will use the interpretation guide to decipher their meanings.” He tapped his cane against the floor, his old, clouded eyes scanning the room despite his blindness.

Aiden barely registered his words.

His mind was still on Emmeranne’s dream Professor Mopsus continued.

“Dreams are not random.

They are threads of fate, woven together in ways we may not yet grasp.

You may find that those who dream of the same things… are connected far deeper than they realize.

Dreams share something that we have yet to comprehend, but will in due time.” Aiden felt the weight of the words settle over him.

Was that what this was?

A connection?

And if so… why?