Racing Against the Dream Alarms
In the dim glow of his apartment in Virginia Beach, twenty-eight-year-old Ethan Harper kicked off his shoes and fell face-first onto the unmade bed. The day had been a marathon of spreadsheets, traffic jams, and one too many cups of lukewarm coffee. He reached lazily toward the nightstand, fingers brushing the sleek black alarm clock he’d bought months ago, but exhaustion won. His eyes fluttered shut before he could press a single button. Within minutes, Ethan drifted into the deep, velvety embrace of sleep, unaware that the alarm clock sat silent and forgotten. The dream began with the scent of pine and woodsmoke. Ethan stood on a mist-shrouded hilltop in a medieval kingdom, clad in leather armor that felt surprisingly light. A silver-haired king thrust a glowing sword into his hands. “The dragon of Eldrath stirs in the Crystal Caverns,” the king boomed. “You must retrieve the Heartstone before the Midnight Alarm sounds, or the kingdom falls into eternal shadow. Time is your greates...