[A/N: the timeline setting is 9 years in the future so ILLUSION is 24 years old here]

"Will you take it?

Will you take my hand?"

-----

The rain poured down as lighting danced across the dark gray sky, casting a dreary mood throughout the city.

Normally, people would be inside, staying in bed or trying to get warm, but not you, unfortunately... You just so happened to be trapped in a waiting shed, trying to stay dry because you decided not to bring your umbrella.

"Great. Just great." You muttered under your breath, a frown on your face. You even bothered to wake up early, as you were there for a job interview at Cyros.inc, but due to the rain, it seemed like you were going to be late for it. Mind you, being late for an interview wasn't a very good first impression, especially since being late wasn't even tolerated by Cyros inc. unless you had a valid reason.

"Damn it..." You said through ragged breaths, biting your lower lip as the chilly air sent shivers through your spine.

You desperately tried to keep warm by curling into a ball on the bench and hugging your knees. The cold air was pleasantly chilly, and it made your eyelids and your entire body heavy, as if all of your energy was being sapped by it, and the fact that you woke up early didn't help the situation at all.

"Maybe I should..." You paused with a yawn. "Sleep for a bit...the rain looks like it's not gonna stop soon, anyways."

You rested your head on your knees, almost drifting off to sleep, until the rain came to an abrupt stop. The vehicles' beeps, honks, and screeches stopped, and everything was quiet. Eerily quiet. You opened your eyes and looked around. The cars were gone, the steetlights and stoplights cracked and rusty, every building in sight was covered with dust from top to bottom, their windows filthy and lusterless. The shed you were sleeping in was now cracked, as well as the street, but the sky looked as equally dreary, even without the rain and the thunder.

It looked like the entire city had been empty for years, but that was impossible, wasn't it? It was the busiest city in the country, and everything was here just a second ago, right?

"What happened? Did the rain clear up..? Where is everybody?" You asked yourself, regaining your senses and becoming fully awake again, your forehead beading with sweat at the now humid air. Wiping your forehead, you stood up, as the empty city gave you an eerie feeling, so you decided to look for someone, anyone at all in your fear.

Walking around, you searched every park, building, alley, and every street in the city for hours, and you still didn't see anyone. It was starting to get dark and your fear and worry worsened. After scouting the entire place once again, you became tired and sighed in defeat, fearfully going back to the waiting shed while keeping a keen eye. Still nothing.

After a few moments, the faint fragrance of roses was to be smelled in the area, which was odd since there were no roses to be seen; there wasn't even a single blade of grass or any sign of life to be seen other than the occasional passing bird. Soon, you started to get an odd feeling:

a feeling that you were being watched.

You heard rustling coming from behind you, so you whipped your head around, spotting an male figure standing a few meters away from you, his elbow blue hair flowing in the wind, his cobalt blue eyes scanning you, as he held an umbrella over his head, a rose-like fragrance coming from him.

"Ah...looks like it's not going to rain soon, after all." He said, looking at the clearing skies and closing the umbrella. Something was off about him and you knew it.

"W-Who are you? Where is everybody?" You asked him, backing away slowly.

He stayed silent and put down the umbrella on the bench of the waiting shed, pulling up his dark blue hoodie even more to fully cover his blue, longsleeved shirt underneath, putting his hands in the pocket of his black jeans afterwards.

"I asked you a question..!" You said, backing away even more.

"Ah...I'll tell you my name later...what's yours?" He said rather bluntly, as if nothing was wrong.

"I'm...I'm _-_____..." you said hesitantly. "Where is everybody..?"

"This city has been like this for years now...what are you doing here anyways? I thought that I was the only one who passed through this city..." He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Wh-What? That's impossible! This is the busiest city in the country!" You said.

"Huh? Nobody lives in this city anymore, nobody even passes by or goes through this city other than me." He said, leaning on one foot.

"Y-You're lying...that's not true..." You said, and he sighed.

"What are you doing here anyways?"

"I was here for a job interview..."

"A job interview in a ghost town?" He asked rhetorically.

"This isn't a ghost town!" You yelled at him in disbelief. "Or at least, it wasn't a few minutes ago."

"Which company, and why, though?" He asked, dismissing your comment.

"Cyros inc...And I wanted to apply so I could help my parents..."

"Never heard of that company." He said bluntly, his aloof expression still on his face.

"It's known worldwide! How can you not know?"

"Maybe because it doesn't exist anymore, it probably fell along with this city."

"But...that can't be right, right? I mean...before I closed my eyes, all of the things I said still existed, they can't just fade away in seconds!"

"Do you really believe that?" He asked, and you slowly nodded. "If you really do believe it, take my hand." He said, pulling his hand out of his pocket, holding it out for you to take.

"Huh..?" You looked at his hand suspiciously, being cautious around him. "Why? What for?"

"Well? Will you take it? Will you take my hand?"

You hesitantly placed your hand in his. Once your hand enveloped his, he smiled, and darkness soon took over your world.

You abruptly woke up to the honking of a car horn, and when you looked around, you were back on the bench, it was still raining, the city was as busy as ever, and the male was nowhere to be seen.

"A dream..?" You asked yourself, until you felt something warm on your back.

Trying to grasp what was on your back, your hand came in contact with a warm fabric and you pulled it and put it on your lap. It was a dark blue hoodie, the jacket of the person in your dreams, and it still felt warm and still undeniably smelt like roses, like the odd stranger did.

You looked around, spotting the black umbrella he placed earlier in the 'dream', a note attached to it. Your name was written on it, in neat hanwriting and violet ink. You grabbed the note and opened it, and written in it was:

"Dear ______,
Congratulations! You have been accepted by Cyros.inc. You start tomorrow in division 3, seventh floor, fifth room to the right. You sure are an odd one...that's interesting. The weather was terrible, so I decided to fetch you instead, since I have nothing scheduled for today. Atlas found you here, and you were sleeping, and I didn't want to wake you up so rudely, so I projected the interview into your dream. Well, use this umbrella to get home safely, it's still raining quite heavily.

If you're wondering about what you saw, well, it was all an illusion, a test made by me, and you passed! I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,
ILLUSION
(Lucian J. Cyros)
founder and chief executive officer of Cyros.inc"

"Illusion? That's his name? How weird...wait..." You nervously laughed as you read the part below his name. "Founder and chief executive officer of Cyros inc.?! Ha...ha...I yelled at my boss before my first day at work."

You stared at the rain in awkward silence.

"I'm dead. Bury me now."