I have never done a recap before, so please be lenient with me if it’s not up to your expectations. I’ll recount the events of the first twenty chapters according to their relevant timelines.
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Events Relevant To Nathan
The first five chapters of the story (which I consider to be the introductory part) are pretty straightforward.
Starting off with Nathan’s nightmare, a creature from the spirit world haunts his dreams on a daily (or rather nightly) basis. Whenever he tries to sleep, he always finds himself unable to move from a bench in the middle of the street as the creature kills him (in the dream) again and again.
Suffering from severe sleep deprivation, the following chapters portray Nathan’s daily life as he struggles to balance college and work at the same time. All while searching for a way to put an end to his nightmarish problems.
Be it through luck or fate, he discovers a shady thread online that will provide assistance with his ‘night’ problems. Reading the full thread will cost him a pretty penny though, so he instead chooses to follow the initial instructions before making a purchase.
Through trial and error, Nathan discovers the information to be true and doesn’t hesitate to buy the rest of it. This has a butterfly effect though, as it causes the thread’s author Elliot Goodsky to know of his situation.
The following days portray Nathan’s attempts to regain control of his dreams as he tries to escape the nightmare’s influence. Sadly, when Friday of that week comes, his boss Henry fires Nathan from the mini-market he worked at, leaving him helpless as he rushes back home.
Uncaring of the consequences, Nathan falls asleep and enters the nightmare once again. By that time he could flail his arms and legs thanks to both the thread he had read online and his attempts during the week, but it still wasn’t enough to free himself. Had it not been for the creature’s first words, it would probably end there with him dying like usual.
Fortunately, the creature’s words sparked a fire in Nathan’s eyes, as he finally managed to break his limits and fight back.
Having defeated the nightmare, the dream shatters and Nathan finds himself surrounded by hundreds of silver and black threads. Upon touching one of them, he starts blinking through what appears to be a collection of memories, his memories.
Only that, different from memories, he also sees things that he had no recollection of. Including his sister Hannah's crying form after he left for University, as well as the birth of a black and sinister-looking blob.
This was also the first contact Nathan had with soul threads. Having witnessed the blob’s birth, Nathan doesn’t move on to the next memory and instead awakens into what appears to be an endless white room.
With only a door and little to no information to go with it, he decides to check what’s hidden behind the door, making his first ever contact with the spirit world, Erion.
Appearing in the same street that had tormented his dreams for one too many nights, Nathan couldn’t help letting out a loud ‘fuck’ as the door closed behind him, attracting the attention of some dogs on the way.
Running desperately for the houses in the distance, he ends up entering one of the residences after an intense encounter with what appeared to be bloodthirsty, seven-eyed dogs. (Cute, I know.) Following the path upstairs, he ends up in a small library, where Nathan meets Ayla, the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes upon.
Being tricked (or not) to ask her three questions, Ayla forces Nathan to repay her on the spot. Not knowing what he was dealing with, Nathan ends up dying at Ayla’s hands as she decides to simply take a look at his soul threads.
And that is where the first nine chapters end. Following that, Nathan wakes up only to realize he has slept through Saturday and it is now Sunday. Having left hurriedly from the mini-market on Friday, he had yet to receive his final pay. Therefore, since it was Sunday and most shops were closed for the day, he decided to go there. Both to get paid and shop as a customer for once.
Alas, after a heavy fight with his Boss Henry regarding his final paycheck, Nathan decided to go somewhat crazy with his revenge, and purchased an amount of groceries equal to his pay cut. Needless to say, he didn’t pay for them, considering them part of his final paycheck. In the end, he left as a happy customer, after telling Henry what a dick he was.
Back home, Nathan had a sumptuous meal and went to take a shower. After being interrupted by his best friend Roger who was worried (since he had gone missing all day yesterday) and his gorgeous professor, Ms. Lexie, who was concerned about his department application form, Nathan finally had the time to relax and contemplate the past day’s events.
Achieving a minor understanding of soul threads, Nathan failed to sense them in the shower and decided to drop the matter, after all, starting tonight, he could go back to his regular routine. Little did he know that when he fell asleep he would drift back to that white space.
That night, Nathan awoke inside the white space as a chill ran through his naked figure. With more questions than answers, he left, heading for Ayla’s place in hopes that she hadn’t thrown away the rugs he called clothes yet.
Once there, he wore a pair of fresh clothes she had left for him and entered the library, intent on gathering intel as he slowly started to understand her rules, wasting one of his three questions while at it. However, not everything was bad as he earned himself a book called Chayum, the Book of Wonders, before leaving Ayla’s study.
Unable to read the book’s contents, Nathan’s plan was to copy its contents back to his world, and search there for references as he slowly understood the language in it. Just like that, he fell asleep in Ayla’s living room and awoke the next morning in his bed.
Monday morning, Nathan copied two pages worth of hieroglyphs and left for the University’s library. As he left the house, he found a (not so suspicious) leaflet in his mailbox with a ‘postman wanted’ ad on it. Having lost his job and only source of income, Nathan ultimately decided to give it a try since he had nothing to lose.
The day continued and Nathan was now inside the library. Having employed the assistance of the librarian to find relevant books, he began searching for clues on the hieroglyphs. But, the more he searched, the more complicated it turned out to be as more and more ancient civilizations showed similarities.
In the end, he had to make a run for it, losing one of the pages as Professor Corwell, the history department’s head, spooked him with his grumpy presence.
The rest of Nathan’s day was spent casually as he joined Roger for some drinks after the two of them were done with Ms. Lexie’s lecture.
Back to Erion, Nathan discovers the white space has a calming effect on him, for not only can he memorize things quicker, but he can also perceive the soul threads residing in his heart there. With newfound achievements on that part, he heads back to Ayla’s house for more answers.
Alas, what awaits him is a mission, as she suddenly asks him to do her a favor. Unwilling to make a mistake, Nathan first asks his second question ‘what’s the use of soul threads’; a question that has been bugging him for a while now, and receives the vague answer of ‘power, information, and food,’ from her. He then goes on to discuss the terms of the mission, and ends up having Ayla owe him one, should he succeed.
Afterward, he leaves the mansion for the first time and starts heading for the Cathedral, where the item Ayla needs lay.
Following Nathan’s leave, he has a chance encounter with a white blob, which unfortunately ends up turning into a relentless chase as he desperately tries to escape the seven-eyed dogs.
Escaping but not unscathed, Nathan managed to cross the bridge (which marked the halfway mark on the map) as the pack of rabid dogs left under their ruler’s command, unable or unwilling to cross to the other side of the river.
Nathan falls asleep there and then wakes up on the other side.
Coming close to the present now, Nathan starts preparing his stuff for university, only to realize he is missing a note. Intent on getting it back, he rushes for the University’s library, even taking the bus on the way. (Something he never does)
And that’s where the recap comes to a close, after reaching the library, he and Professor Corwell have a nice ‘chat’ resulting in an offer too good to refuse. The Professor offers Nathan a job and assistance with deciphering Chayum, as long as he ditches psychology and the beautiful Ms. Lexie, and joins the history department. Nathan picks the grumpy professor over the beautiful one. You know, bros before hoes and all that. Nathan’s cool.
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That being said, I have left quite a few scenes out of the recap. The following two are things Nathan isn’t aware of, but are also of relevant importance.
Events Relevant To Elliot Goodsky
Elliot appears in two instances. Once when Nathan buys the information, and once when he is walking down the street, searching for a specific house to leave a note.
Events Relevant To Variel
Variel, the daughter of the being shrouded in the shadows (also suspected to be the black blob’s father) scene, happens a few minutes after Nathan defeats the nightmare. Expressing her feelings of seeking revenge, her father teaches her a lesson as he refuses to hear any more of her shenanigans.
