In Somnia

“In Somnia” tells the story of how an African tribe discovered access to the multiverse through dreams and déjà vu. In this world, dreams are windows into other universes — some similar, others vastly different. When they dream, they experience memories or current events from their alternate selves across different realities. Déjà vu occurs when a version of them in another universe is dreaming of the moment they are currently living, causing the experience of living the same event twice, across different universes, simultaneously. By understanding this phenomenon, the tribe were able to communicate with their counterparts and build a man-made island that existed identically, in the same location on Earth, across multiple universes. This created a space within the astral realm known as Somnia — a place where all the islands across all universes could converge. In Somnia, multiple versions of themselves could meet and interact within this created dream world. Fast forward to the present timeline, where we are introduced to Delijah, a dreamwalker. Dreamwalkers, also known as lucid dreamers, are individuals who can not only create their own dreams but choose which dreams they experience. They can view any alternate universe they wish. We follow Delijah and his friends as they enroll in the Academy of Nexus Studies, where they learn to use runes to align themselves with the laws of other universes. For example, in a universe where human flight is possible, a rune can channel that law into a universe where it is not, effectively granting the ability to fly. The more runes a person possesses, the more superhuman they become. After completing the three-year course, students earn the title of Nightwalker — a goal Delijah and his friends strive to achieve. However, history shows that the last dreamwalker to attend the Academy brought chaos. Delijah will be no different. By being accepted into the Academy, he steps into a cursed cycle that has haunted multiple versions of himself across the multiverse for what could be described as infinity. Before his first year even begins, Delijah’s dreams are infiltrated by another version of himself — a version seeking to pass on the curse through deception. THE CURSE: In one of the earliest universes, a version of Delijah mastered the art of dreamwalking to a dangerous degree. Through his abilities, he learned how to create a pocket universe — a hidden realm where he and his closest friends could escape for pleasure and exploration. But their freedom was short-lived. One night, while their souls wandered through astral projection, a fire consumed their physical bodies. With no vessels to return to, their souls were trapped within the astral realm — imprisoned in the endless void for what felt like an eternity. Over time, despair festered into cunning. One day, a surge of déjà vu connected Delijah’s lost soul to another version of himself living peacefully in another universe. Seeing an opportunity, the trapped Delijah befriended his alternate self and, through manipulation, convinced him to attempt a forbidden act: projecting his soul at night — a time when the body is most vulnerable. In doing so, the original Delijah and his friends possessed their new bodies, trapping yet another version of themselves inside the pocket universe they had once created for fun. The curse continued, with each new cycle repeating the same tragedy: trapped souls deceiving new selves, stealing their lives to escape eternal damnation. Each cycle is triggered by the same pull of déjà vu — a cosmic thread linking versions of Delijah across realities, setting the stage for betrayal and sacrifice, again and again, for as long as the multiverse exists.