I wonder if I'm still myself. Is the me in this world really me? Or a shadow? A reflection? I don't know.
Because I don't know my real self.

I didn't know what my real self was, so it could have been as well just nothingness.
But now, it feels as if something unknown is lurking in that nothingness.
And in this world, not bound by laws of reality, this something is trying to get out. If it does, all that I've thought of as "me" will be consumed by that unknown.

Eve is the protagonist of The Fragmented Dream. The story starts with her suicide attempt - her consciousness is trapped in a dark realm placed just beyond the edge of reality, while her body remains unconscious.

Eve was adopted into the Silverstern family at three years old. Although her parents tried to make her feel loved and accepted, she always felt like a misfit in her home, and longed for her biological family she never knew. As a child she used to cling to her older brother, Mark, a lot, but they grew apart later.

Eve was thought of as quiet, reserved and shy kid, but little did anyone know, it was a front for her depression which she suffered from since early childhood. Later she grows up to be seen as gloomy, reclusive and moody. Despite being very emotional on the inside, she's bad at expressing her feelings; this, combined with her keeping everyone at arm's length, has earned her reputation of being cold and standoffish. Occasionally, she breaks down, coming off as melodramatic; she's later deeply ashamed of it and becomes even more reclusive.

The story follows Eve, looking for a way out, as well as her own identity and reason to live, as she explores the warped dream world of her mother she never knew.

I think you saw enough now. Will you finally get out, and keep away from this place? You're normal people, living normal lives... I'm sorry I got you dragged into this mess. You were never meant to get involved.

Nate: a jerkass loner on the outside, a walking bundle of self-hate and issues on the inside.

Nate appears in the abandoned school soon after Karen and Mark discover the portal to the Nowhere. They're reluctant to talk about themselves or their past. Apparently, he has met Eve before, but neither of them wants to disclose how they met (although from the looks of it, they were important to each other). When asked about it, he claims to not have a home, or any family. They know a lot about aberrations and the Nowhere, but it's unknown how they obtained this knowledge.

Nate appears unsociable and rude, but it doesn't take long for it to become apparent that under this jerkassery they're hiding a lot of angst and internal struggles. They are very distrusting, and never had any close friends. While Nate does look mildly annoyed with the company of Karen, who's determined to befriend him, it's mostly the result of their fear of getting attached to anyone.

By chance, Karen and Mark learn of his connection to Lilith, the aberration roaming around the place. Nate's attempts to keep them away from both them and the Nowhere end up failing, and they find out their secret - after his escape from home and attempted suicide a year ago, Lilith turned him into an aberration. This, combined with enduring months of abuse from her, made Nate fall even deeper into apathy. Their #1 coping tactic for problems has always been to run away from them, but Lilith was the one problem they could not get away from.

Although Nate doesn't realize it right away, meeting Karen, Mark, and Eve, and being dragged into helping them on their adventure becomes a turning point for them. It gives them a sense of purpose to their existence, and the resolve to hold on to their disappearing humanity, resisting the darkness and apathy enveloping them.

Seriously, would a safe adventure be still an adventure?

We will follow you to the bitter end. Even if it turns out, like... really bitter and nasty.

Karen is the best friend of Eve's brother Mark. She and Mark have known each other for many years, and over these years, Karen has made multiple attempts to befriend Eve as well, but with no success - Eve has always disliked Karen for unclear reasons.

Karen is also the founder of the Paranormal & Supernatural Investigation Club. She's passionate about all kinds of supernatural, mysterious and unexplainable phenomena. She's also passionate about science fiction, horror, sweets, and literally any cute things (though her definition of "cute" can be unexpected.) She is very serious about aliens, and her belief in their existence is indissoluble.
She used to be one of the children able to clearly perceive the Nowhere. While this ability faded away with age, it left behind a sensitivity for paranormal occurrences, which she calls her "oddity radar".

Karen gets emotional easily, and often overreacts. Even though she is a hyperactive ball of joy around her friends, she's actually pretty shy and socially awkward, and dislikes being around large groups of people. Without anyone she can trust by her side, she quickly becomes lonely, and doesn't handle it well. People often perceive her as childish and lazy; however, if she gets really invested into something, she'll give it her all.

Karen's reckless decision to visit the abandoned school building becomes the stone that sets off the avalanche of events. Her energy, enthusiasm, and determination later prove essential on the quest of exploring the Fragmented Dream.

Mark is Eve's adoptive brother, and Karen's best friend since childhood.
He is an introvert who's good at pretending to not be one, but at a high price - it makes him easily irritable, and he hates surprises, noise, chaos and other disturbances, just liking it best when everything is in its right place.

Mark is highly intelligent, and performs well at school. Despite his perpetual irritated expression, he is actually just a big damn nerd. The main things he's nerding about are science in a broad sense, metal music and horror movies. He's a down-to-earth skeptic, reluctant to believe in supernatural phenomena.

Mark is far from being fearless and tough like he tries to seem, and in a situation where he feels threatened, he loses his cool and breaks down. He doesn't know how to deal with his traumas and doesn't express positive feelings often, but those close to him know he shows his affection and appreciation with actions rather than words.

Mark is pretty much the Team (Grumpy) Dad of the P.S.I. Club. He's the most protective of Karen, who is very dear to him. Eve also means a lot to him, and he blames himself for her suicide attempt. When the realm Eve's trapped in is discovered, she and Mark get a chance to try to mend their troubled relationship.

Lilith is one of the demonic aberrations, referred to as Fragments of Nothingness. Unlike most of their kind, they are self-aware, and very powerful compared to other Fragments. They were born out of Nothingness, and after many, many years of observing humans from the Nowhere, and devouring countless souls, they have gradually developed sentience.

Although Lilith introduced themselves with this name to Nate, and their illusionary appearance resembles an ambiguously aged girl, name, age and gender are alien concepts to them. Even though Lilith seems human-like at first glance, they evoke an uncanny valley feeling in people who meet them, because of their eerie expressions, lifeless eyes, and unnatural movement. Their true form was only briefly seen by Nate - who is traumatized just at the mention of that, and refuses to describe it.

Lilith was the one who made Nate into an incomplete Fragment, and views them as their subordinate - or rather, a chew toy. They're a narcissistic sadist with a dark (and terrible) sense of humor, and they greatly enjoy tormenting others (particularly Nate) for personal amusement. Lilith is also a childish sore loser who reacts to things not going their way with rage (and usually, attacking someone).

When Eve & co. enter the Fragmented Dream, very soon, Lilith starts following them around. Everyone quickly notices Lil's habit of appearing out of nowhere (Nowhere?) in the worst possible moments. Lilith shares everyone's goal of finding Alice, Eve's mother, in the Dream - but their purpose in it is unknown.

The only two people Lilith seems to somewhat fear are Eve - for reasons apparently related to Alice - and Anthony. Lilith and Anthony have met before, but the circumstances of that remain a mystery to everyone... for now.

Eve's deceased mother.
Most of Alice's life was shaped by the tragedy she experienced as a six-year-old - her parents died in a car crash. The only serious physical injury Alice suffered in that accident was losing her left eye - but the scars on her mind never fully healed.

The only family she had left was the son of her parents' close friends (who were also deceased at this point) - Anthony. Despite being thirteen years older than her, he treated her like his little sister from the day she was born. However, being just a poor student, Anthony was unable to take care of her, and she was placed in a foster home.

Alice was a painfully shy, lonely and miserable child. She was very self-conscious about her appearance, particularly her eye prosthesis (she usually kept it hidden under her hair). Being ostracized and bullied by other children made her even more reclusive.

Eventually, she found an escape from her life - she became a lucid dreamer, more interested in the dream world she was creating than reality. However, for unknown reasons, those dreams were leading to her being constantly fatigued and sleep-deprived. The doctors had trouble diagnosing her condition. Anthony, who couldn't stand watching her grow weaker, began his own research, but it took years before a ground-breaking event made him realize the true nature of Alice's illness...

That girl... Her life was so full of despair, she could only find comfort in the deepest darkness. Alas, she was still a fool."

A mysterious figure. Nate used to know her at some point, but nobody other than him knows that her actions have cast a huge shadow on his life. Jenny was thought to be by everyone to be a proper girl, a honor student, a good friend, a good daughter. No one knew the truth, and even Nate has realized it too late.

to be added soon...