It was dark…
No matter which way I look, it's always the same never ending scene of colorless black.
Where am I?
Oh right! I was binge reading novels while eating instant ramen before I fell asleep!
So that means…
Looking around; is this what they call lucid dreaming? But why is it all black?
Do I have to imagine some kind of dream? But what do I even dream about?
A troubled expression appeared on his face. As he floated in the endless darkness, he thought for a moment.
Hmmm, yes, let's try that; as an idea flashed in his head, he smiled raising his right hand.
"Cassie!"
Snap!
The sound of his snapping finger echoed through the black never ending void.
A moment passed, then two. Nothing.
"Cassie!" he roared with a snap.
Again
Nothing happened.
Seeing nothing had happened; he covered his face with hands, as his ears burned red.
"That was too embarrassing! What am I even thinking!"
He gave a helpless sigh. As he rolled around without direction.
After the initial embarrassment ended, "well I am kind of disappointed".
"I thought you could do anything in a lucid dream; I feel like I got a temu version of lucid dreams".
He outstretched his clenched fists and screamed at the black void.
"Can't a guy just lucid dream about spending time with his fictoromantic crush!!"
He crossed his arms with his eyes closed, disappointment still brewing.
Well if I can't do that, should I at least be able to dream about something? Staring at the black void is starting to annoy him.
Raising his hand, he snapped a couple times as he tried to create something; anything!
"a heavenly pavilion made of imperial jade!"
Nothing.
"You know what!, let's keep it simple; all I want is 10 acres of self sustained farmlands, a nice 2 story house with endless supply of cheese."
"That should be reasonable", snapped his finger impatiently.
Still nothing; by now his mind was starting to enter in mild panic mode.
"Come on! Come on!!" he attempted several more times, but nothing changed, everything felt black and dreary, as if he was stuck in nothing, absolute nothing!
"This is bad! This is soo bad! Please work! something, anything! Just once"
But no matter what he tried, nothing changed. The black expanse remained unchanged as though mocking the efforts of the dreamer.
He tried to move, but with nothing to give him friction or to pull on so he could not move, as he tried he felt something, looking around, he started to feel as though the black expanse was… closer? No closer didn't sound right.. NO! A terrible premonition surged in his mind.
He instantly turned around and tried to claw on to something
Huff! huff!!
Short jagged breaths filled the black expanse which was starting to contract.
He tried and tried but he could not move.
"PLEASE! SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP ME!" he cried out in tears and despair as the black expanse had now shrunk enough to squeeze him into oblivion.
"I don't want to die.. I don't want to disappear.."
A screeching pain surged in his mind replacing any semblance of rationality out the void.
A fear he didn't know he had, began gnawing at his mind as though something had snapped and began to tie itself around his brain like a parasite, draining him of everything.
But despite the despair he still desperately clawed in the nothingness as he silently prayed, "Please end this dream.. I don't want to dream anymore…".
Tears began to swell and trickle down his face. The warm feeling of the tears gave some comfort in this black void of nothingness.
All of a sudden.
"Huh!?"
He turned his head, behind him there was light.
The light wasn't bright enough to cast away the black void but it was enough… the ever increasing fear that has nearly consumed him began subsiding.
As his find finally calmed he felt something tugging on him.
"What the hell!!", he cursed. But;
Before any thoughts he felt it; like gravity pulling on objects towards the source, the light began pulling him.
Slowly at first but soon the pull became stronger as his descent towards the light sped up.
"Wait! Wait! I changed my mind!!! Stop!!!!"
Now hypocritically, he found himself clawing towards the darkness fearing the light.
But with every attempt to pull up the stronger he gets pulled down.
As the darkness began fading, replaced by the light, he was consumed by the light.
"Fuck! Fuck! Am I really going to die in my dream!" He cursed as he braced for a certain end.
But instead of agonizing pain or even anything, he felt strange, his body and most importantly his mind..
"Huh??"
"What just happened?"
All he was left with was utter confusion.
He didn't know how to describe anything, his surrounding was no longer the ever burning bright light nor the ever consuming black void; but rather now it was replaced by a unique shade of midnight blue or black?
He couldn't say; He felt something, the kind of feeling one would feel when one laid down flat and felt rain or snow slowly embrace him.
though, it was strangely comforting to say the least.
"Just what on earth am I dreaming?" He asked himself, more confused than ever.
He calmed down immediately, possibly thanks to the strange feeling of something raining down on him.
"Is this really a lucid dream? No, I am lucid right now but I can't control anything here.."
"Am I having sleep paralysis with extreme hallucinations?"
As several theories formed in his mind; it was abruptly interrupted.
"What now!!"
The same gravity-like force began pulling him down, as he was being pulled no rather it felt like he was being peeled off something like tape being peeled off after a spray paint.
A massive surge of drowsiness began enveloping his mind; he cursed a few times, fighting against the urge to close his eyes.
But all efforts were futile as his eyes closed and he briefly saw a silhouette of himself?
[ Wake up, Dreamer Ivan. ]
***
In an armor enforced room at a police station.
GASP!!!
Cough! cough! cough!!
A boy with pale skin and blonde hair jolted awake. Gasping for air,
"Where…where am I?"
He tried to get up, however he was unable to as his hands, legs and body were tied up to the reinforced medical bed.
"What the hell!! What is this?! Why the fk am I tied up!??" he cursed in a low voice.
Clung!!
"Huh?!" He turned his head; a young woman dropped a metal cup beside a water dispenser, looking at him in shock.
They both stared at each other with shock and confusion.
"H-hey!" He tried to call out.
but before long the woman dashed to the metal door, opening she shouted, "Code black!! Code black has awakened! Call the master!!".
"What the hell? Code black? What's going on???", reeling in confusion, he called out.
"Hey! What's going on here? Why am I tied up?!" He asked frantically, a bad premonition surging in him.
The young woman turned leaving the door open and she dashed to the side of his bed.
"Sir, I apologize! My name is Tracy, you're currently in the west siege police station" she informed.
"West siege police station?? Where the hell is that? And why am I in a police station and tied up too??" Questions.. endless questions.
But before he could voice it, the next words made his scalp tingle.
"Oh! And… congratulations on awakening!" She congratulated me with a bright smile.
But he didn't smile, rather his eyes widened and his face fell, the lingering sense of dread had escaped.
"A-awakening? Wh-w-what do.. do you mean?", his jaw was shaking and voice appeared broken.
Tracy's face dimmed as worry surfaced on it, "you just completed your first nightmare, you are now a sleeper.. sir are you ok?".
Dread.. his heart felt heavily and empty at the same time, he didn't know how no his mind had snapped..
"No… this is a Comicon or some kind of cosplay set? No…" he tried to cope with the revelation but it was no use.
"get me out… Get me out!!" He shouted.
Tracy shuddered, "oh! Yes yes, please hold on".
Tracy proceeded to undo the restraints.
He got up letting his legs rest on the metal floor while his head hung low, "mirror…"
"Huh?"
"Give me a mirror or anything!" He asked, his voice shaking.
Tracy was taken aback but quickly took out a small make up mirror.
Without formalities he snatched the mirror from her hands, opening it, he looked at the reflection.
A face with soft features, sharp pale blue eyes, his messy wheat blonde hair draped down over his eyes and down his neck.
His jaw trembled, he bit his lip, as he recognized the face that was reflected.
Of course why wouldn't he, it was his face; other than his blonde hair which was previously black as he remembered. Other than that it was exactly his face except, it was more handsome.
Tracy was standing beside his bed watching him tremble, worried she asked, "sir, is… everything alright?".
He didn't say anything for a few moments, she was starting to find it uncomfortable, just as she was about to ask.
"How… How long have I been sleeping?" He asked, it was unclear if it was a question to Tracy or to himself.
Just as she was about to answer;
"Three months..", a voice cut in.
They turned towards the doorway, a handsome man with black hair and brown eyes was standing there pushing the door open, he walked in with a soft smile.
"Three whole months, Mr. Ivan.. or no? I should call sleeper Ivan…"
He paused before speaking.
"Welcome back.."
Silence followed the warm welcome.
Tracy was the first to break the silence; "you are..".
"Oh? Sorry I forgot to introduce myself"
"I am awakened Borsha, I am here to take off the new sleeper".
Tracy appeared confused, "but wasn't the master jet supposed to be here?"
"Yes, however there is business at HQ. so she won't be present." He explained
'Jet?…" the name was the same, he had confirmed his suspicion.
"Oh.." Tracy fell silent.
"Well we don't have to worry, since he is already awake, I can take care of the rest, you should prepare the paper work" Borsha instructed.
Tracy nodded then turned to Ivan, but he was lost in thought, his gaze down to the floor.
Worried, she turned to Awakened Borsha; "don't worry, it's common amongst the awakened , the trauma from the nightmare… takes getting used to".
Hearing the assurance, she nodded and left for the doorway but before she left, she cast a worried glance once more before leaving.
Seeing the young women leave, Borsha grabbed a chair and placed it in front of the boy with the chairs back facing him.
***
He studied the boy with the same warm expression.
The boy in front of him appeared average, a bit good looking but compared to other sleepers, he appeared and felt just average. Even to his awakened senses.
'How peculiar', Borsha thought to himself.
Looking at the boy who had his gaze cast down, probably reeling from the effects of just waking up from the nightmare,
He was about to say something to offer some comfort to the boy, when he was interrupted before he could say anything.
"Give me your phone..", suddenly the boy spoke out.
"Huh? P-hone?", he stuttered in confusion.
"Oh right! Communicator, give me your communicator!"
He was utterly baffled by the situation and the strangeness of the boy, but hid it behind a calm carefree smile, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular shaped item.
As he was about to hand his communicator, he briefly paused…
Ivan tilted his head and asked, "what's wrong?"
He pursed his lips, his earlier carefree smile now replaced by a hesitant one.
"Wasn't your eyes blue?.. So why is it gold now?", he replied, but his reply was no longer like replies from before.
"Huh?" instinctively lifting the make up mirror in his hand, he brought it close to his face.
And just as Borsha said.. His earlier pale blue eyes were now replaced by a sharp hue of gold.
And he had an idea on why that had happened.
Turning his gaze back at Awakened Borsha, he could see wisps of glowing colorless smoke rising from different parts of his body.
No.. it isn't smoke, it's more like colorless motes or specks slowly floating around parts of the body.
In a brief moment, Ivan scanned Borsha's entire body, the colorless specks moved smoothly across the body, never remaining in one place for too long, as a bunch of it moved they all clustered towards Borsha's feet, shoulders and briefly but rapidly jumps from his shoulders to his fist holding the Communicator.
Without needing to ask, Ivan instinctively knew what was going on. The specks near his feet highlighted something, the feet were pointing away from him, and the specks hovering near his shoulders were clustered tightly together, his shoulders stiff and the specks that briefly jumped from his shoulder to fist and back… increased vigilance..
Altogether it formed a sentence in Ivan's mind, 'Borsha is unnerved and uncomfortable, he has increased vigilance and is ready to take action at any unforeseen changes.'
All this happened in the span of a second or two, without effort Ivan spoke, lifting his hand to his face and near his eyes as though caressing them, "ah these are just my aspect, don't mind it.."
Saying that Ivan watched the colorless specs disperse and move down from borsha's shoulder and spread across his body, while some lightly hovered over near his jaws.
'His jaws relaxed slightly and he has calmed down, the earlier anxiousness has dispersed.. But remnants still remain.'
As this sentence formed he moved his hand and grabbed the communicator from Borsha's hand.
"Haha, sorry I was caught off guard by the sudden change, it's not very common for people's eye color to change, i hope you don't misunderstand", Borsha explained his usual smile returning.
But the specks say otherwise.
Ivan didn't say anything, he glanced down at the black rectangular device. It had unusually big bezels on it, and three buttons on the bottom. It looked like a very cheap phone bought from a sketchy seller on the internet.
Turning it on, he was greeted by a very old user interface.
On the middle top was the date and time.
—------------------------------------------
[ 21 / 11 / 2250 ]
[ 02 : 50 : 32 : 545 ]
—------------------------------------------
Down to the nano seconds, just as the novel described..
Ivan sighed deeply.. As though trying to exhale his stress.
"Is everything alright?" Borsha asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yeah.. yeah.. I am alright.. Just.. I will be fine.." Ivan replied slowly and with heavy breaths.
"I will be waiting outside. If you are ready, just call me, I will drive you to the academy."
And with that Borsha excused himself out, once the metal door closed Ivan lay down on the bed.
His mind felt heavier than it ever felt and rightfully so.
"Shadow slave… shadow slave… ahh that damned novel, not in a million years would i ever expect transmigration to a novel, i read like a bible…"
Looking around the room, and remembering the weird glow colorless specks. He knew that it wasn't some elaborate roleplay performance in some Comicon.
He put his hand on his chest feeling his heart beat. His face crumpled down, it looked like he wanted to cry but at the same time there were other emotions.
"What do I even do? This is a hellscape, a world forever doomed by nightmares. I could barely cook for myself and now I have to live in this forsaken world? What a joke…"
Putting the communicator on the side, he rubbed his face while entering deep into his thoughts.
"21st November of 2250, that's 2 days before sunny's enters his first nightmare and awakens as a sleeper. Borsha briefly mentioned Soul Reaper Jet, so that means we are in NQSC, that much is certain, and the fact the Jet was apparently supposed to look after me, suggests that this is where she is usually active."
Removing his hands from his face. He turned to his side. He opened the Communicator, there were apps, thankfully, scrolling down the selection of apps, he found one that looks like a map.
—---------------------------------
Contacts
Gallery
Maps -<
Global Net
Storage
—----------------------------------
Clicking on the Map Icon, He was greeted with an extremely detailed map of the surroundings near the police station.
But that wasn't what he wanted to see, zooming out, until he could see the entirety of the NQSC, and looking at it, he couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle.
"My god.. The novel did say that it was an enormous mega city, but this.. Is insane.."
NQSC was big and enormous and that would be an understatement, nearly 14,000 square miles.
"Reading words really makes you underestimate the true size of these things." Swallowing hard, he continued zooming out.
Until he could see the map of NQSC's surroundings.
He recognized where it was located, NQSC seems to have been built on top of the old city of Omsk, Russia, while the outskirts brushes over the Kazakh Border; although the borders are no longer there anymore.
Putting down the Communicator, he turned back and looked at the ceiling.
"Sunny around this time must be looking for his sister's whereabouts right now? Yea that's about right.. Now that's settled, I am about 2 days in before the story starts. But what about the future?"
He recalled everything he knew of the novel events.
"The last thing I remember reading was the war against the sovereigns, with sunny the lord of shadows and Nephis of the immortal flame achieving natural supremacy and swiftly killing Anvil and Song. but what about before that."
As he recalled as much of the novel's plots and details as he could, he mentally jotted them down.
"Forgotten shore, the chained isle training arc, the Second nightmare, Antarctica arc, Battle of Black skull, The nightmare Desert, the third nightmare arc, and then the war for the throne of humanity."
Tch! He finally realized a deep problem.
"I can't remember the minor details everything is so vague"
Even though he knew most things to know about the novel, he couldn't remember minor details, like what sunny did in between the chained isles and the second nightmare, nor can he remember details of when Nephis was living with sunny except that "Broken projector" scene.
Haaaa!.. "Now I am up for some real trouble."
"If I act recklessly, there is no saying what might happen, the story might diverge and the future would change drastically.. No matter what, I can't allow that to happen."
Just as he thought of that, he was introduced to a new thought.
"Wait? Why am I concerned with whether the story would diverge or not?"
"Hmm the thought isn't unusual, as a transmigrator, I would love to have a comfort and safety of knowing the future, that way it would be easier for me to navigate through it and keep myself safe, but if i were to cause the story to change, then the future would change, taking away whatever strength and comfort I had knowing the future.."
Getting up from the bed and letting his legs touch the cold floor.
"After all the Oldest and Strongest emotion of mankind is fear and the Oldest and Strongest of fear is the fear of the Unknown."
Thinking that, he got up, letting his weight settle on his feet.
Haa.. letting out another sigh. He was about to walk to the door when he suddenly stopped as his face crumpled.
"I had just awakened as a sleeper, but to awaken you need to go through the first nightmare.. Yet I just woke up as a sleeper."
Thinking that his eyes widened..
"I can't remember the nightmare… No! I can't remember anything from before.."
His breathing began to pace.. His head began to spin, he couldn't tell why but something was wrong.. Deeply wrong.
He walked back, he tried to grab the chair, but missed it a few times, then finally grabbing the chair, he slumped on it. He let his moderately long hair drop down over his eyes.
Breathing heavily, he went into deep thought, trying to piece together everything he can find in his mind and from the clues around him.
"OK! Ok! I was orphaned as a child in my old world, then I was raised by my uncle and aunt, I had a decent life, an average high school life, and an unhealthy obsession for ramen and webnovels, I then found shadow slave, became unhealthily obsessed with it, then a random night, while my uncle and aunt were on an outing i was cooking ramen for myself preparing to binge read the volume 10 and then… then…"
He paused, that was it, that was all he could gather from his memories, thankfully that was all he needed to calm down. At the very least he didn't forget everything, but there was something causing him great unease.
'Three whole months, Mr.Ivan.. or no? I should call sleeper Ivan…'
That was what Awakened Borsha had told him.. That gave him enough evidence to suggest that he had not transmigrated a few moments ago, but rather much earlier.
And that was enough to put him in a dilemma, firstly he had absolutely no memory of anything before waking up on this bed. And second, he had completed his first nightmare, which by itself is an important factor to consider, it's in the first nightmare where all your problems begin.
"I am so confused.. What do I even do about this? Start as if my past didn't exist? No! If I had transmigrated before the first nightmare that would mean I had to have survived in this world somehow and have an established base to continue from.."
He pondered for a few moments but his head always went blank.
"Tch! I can't think of a viable plan right now.." saying that, he looked down at his own body.
He was wearing a brown polo shirt and olive colored trousers. Surprisingly touching it, it was good quality. And then an idea came to mind.
The quality of one's clothes tell a lot about a person's standing in society. And his clothes told him just enough about his past in this world.
He had good clothes that meant he was not from the outskirts and had decent money to spend on clothes but most importantly, information about him should exist in the government database.
And luckily there was just the right person who could help me.
Looking at the metal door ahead, he formed a basic plan on what to do next.
But there was another problem, "what about my aspect and abilities?"
He had yet to check his own aspect, even though he went through a nightmare and didn't remember anything, he felt quite fortunate, "he didn't want to deal with the PTSD."
"Uhh.. how did you see the runes again? Right.. You just had to focus for the runes to appear."
Just as he focused his gaze, there like hazy shimmering text floated in front of him.
—------
Name: Ivan
True Name: Adam
Description: ???
Rank: Sleeper
Class: Devil
Soul Cores: [ 4/7 ]
Soul Fragments: [ 23/4000 ]
Attributes: [ Spectator ], [ Secrets Supplicant ], [ Sailor ], [ Bard ], [ Reader ].
—------
Aspect: [ Visionary ]
Aspect Rank: [Divine], ???
Description: [The Visionary is the master of the mind, You are one of a kind in the ever changing world, you are he who brings ideals into shape and casts imperfection onto oblivion. ]
Innate Ability: [Envision]
Ability Description: [You possess the power to shape reality by envisioning it. What you see in your mind will come to life.]
—------
Flaw: [ Unraveling Mind ]
Flaw Description: [ The more you create, the more you lose control ]
—------
Aspect Legacy:
[ Unwanted Attention ]
—------
Memories: [ Blessing of the Holy Ground ]
—-----
He took in a sharp breath and leaned back against the chair, covering his mouth, letting the sound of his sharp breathing echo in the room.
He didn't know what to think, should he be ecstatic or scared…
But then he noticed a peculiar detail..
—-------
True Name: Adam
Description: ???
—-------
"Adam? What kind of true name is that? And a mundane name at that??"
This confused him a bit, in general true names were poetic and were bizarre in most cases, but he never expected that a true name could also be a mundane name.
But more bizarrely was that the description were all question marks.
Putting the strangeness aside he looked at the next set of runes which caused him to give a nervous smile.
—------
Class: Devil
Soul Cores: [ 4/7 ]
Soul Fragments: [ 23/4000 ]
Attributes: [ Spectator ], [ Secrets Supplicant ], [ Sailor ], [ Bard ], [ Reader ].
—------
Biting his lower lip as he digested the absurd runes floating in front of him.
"Ha… Ha…" he let out a shaky laugh.
"Just what kind of Godly feat did I pull in the first nightmare to get not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 entire cores! Just how many nightmare creatures did I kill.. No! Just, How did I kill so many??"
He didn't bother to estimate the kill count required to get 4 cores, he was trying to figure out how to pull such a feat before becoming a sleeper,
"the core only formed after completing the nightmare, so that means…"
His eyes widened in shock and he lightly repeated the words echoing in his mind.
"I became a sleeper in my first nightmare…"
Hahahahahaha!
His laugh echoed in the enclosed room, giving a very unnerving vibe.
"Just what kind of insane bastard was I inside the nightmare.."
As he said that his smile vanished leaving a strangely sad expression.
"It must have been a nightmare… gosh.. I am glad I don't remember the first nightmare, who knows what kind of traumatized demon would have come out of that hell.."
As the thought passed, he was suddenly thankful for losing his memories, being a reader he knew how terrible the post nightmare trauma can be. Not everyone was like sunny or nephis.
He then moved to the next section, the attributes, this one felt just like his true name but unlike his true name, he knew the potential it held.
—------
Attributes: [ Spectator ], [ Secrets Supplicant ], [ Sailor ], [ Bard ], [ Reader ].
—------
All these attributes while mundane at the moment, each were comparable to divine aspects.. No! even above that.
He didn't know how he knew but he knew intrinsically that, each of the attributes are sequence names, and sequences can go from 9 to 0. And each of the attributes right now were at sequence 9 level.
Individually they would not have been very useful but together they could be life changing.
"Attributes are described as… well attributes of a person, characteristics that describe individuals.. So that means 5 of these attributes describe me? A jack of all trades… perhaps?"
But regardless of all that, the fact that his attributes held such an advantage, gave Ivan a sense of confidence he didn't have.
And not to mention the most important part.
—------
Aspect: [ Visionary ]
Aspect Rank: [Divine], ???
Description: [The Visionary is the master of the mind, You are one of a kind in the ever changing world, you are he who brings ideals into shape and casts imperfection onto oblivion. ]
Innate Ability: [Envision]
Ability Description: [You possess the power to shape reality by envisioning it. What you see in your mind will come to life.]
—------
A divine ranked aspect.. And the ability to imagine anything into existence..
"This has to be the most ultimate cheat ever! Compared to this the divine aspect of Sunny, Nephis and Mordret are not worth anything at all."
He could already imagine how useful this is, from food, to tools and weapons, the possibilities are endless!
Soon his smile froze, of course such stupidly unfair abilities didn't come free.
—------
Flaw: [ Unraveling Mind ]
Flaw Description: [ The more you create, the more you lose control ]
—------
This put him on edge..
"Well it's to be expected.."
The description was self explanatory, his use of his aspect was severely limited by the risk of losing control.
But that didn't bother him as much, even if limited he could find ways to adapt around it. Like the [ Spectator's ] Ability to minimize the risk of losing control.
So there was a bright side to it.
He then had an idea.
"Let's try out my new abilities!"
Just as he was about to..
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Mr. Ivan? Are you ok? Can you come out now?"
It's awakened Barsha's voice.
"Yeah! I am coming right now.." Ivan replied promptly.
He turned to look back at his runes, specifically the last ones.
—------
Aspect Legacy:
[ Unwanted Attention ]
—------
Memories: [ Blessing of the Holy Ground ]
—-----
An aspect legacy was also a good surprise to him, most never get it, but he did, and as a sleeper too, He thanked whatever Dead godlike figure that gave him such blessings.
And the memory [ Blessing of the Holy Ground ].
The name invoked a strange feeling of familiarity to him, but he decided to keep this aside for now.
"I will explore these at the academy.."
Deciding not to keep Awakened Borsha waiting any longer, he approached the alloy enforced door and opened it.
It was a dark hallway, exiting the room he noticed Borsha waiting at the end of the hall.
Noticing Ivan exiting the room, he approached him.
"Everything alright? I heard you were laughing there?", he asked in a worried tone.
"I am alright for now, where should I go now?".
He decided to not reveal his memory loss just yet, looking past Borsha he could see more people in the police station. Some working and some talking, and more people going in and out of the main exist.
Better to be safe then be sorry.
"Ahh about that, Just sign your name with the clerk from earlier and i will drive you to the academy."
Instructing Ivan he pointed at the clerk from earlier.
The process went faster than expected, all he needed to do was write his name and signature and that was it. During the process he asked if he could ask for his personal information but unfortunately, there was none available to the police station.
Apparently he came without notice and as a code black, he was immediately put into the enforced room, the only information they had was his name and age.
He was 15 years old, about 2 years younger than his original age before transmigration.
And that was all the available information. Not expressing his disappointment he returned the make up mirror to the female clerk and walked out the main exit.
Just as he did, he felt a wave of air blow against him, it felt heavy and sterilized.
Breathing in again, the air felt strange to breath, it also left a strange after taste.
Right this must be the air purification system of NQSC at work.
Swallowing uncomfortably, he looked above and only stared in awe.
Structures towering over the horizon completely blocking it off from view, and amongst them a tower threatening to cover the sky.
These structures were covered with a multitude of bridges connecting each of the buildings to one another.
In comparison the police station looked like a humble cottage in the middle of a bustling metropolis.
Borsha who was beside him pointed in a direction.
"There- that's my PTV, come on lets go.."
A few dozen meters away was a Car.. or nowadays referred to as PTV. but it was a car…
The PTV modern sedan and a classic beetle..
Ivan approached the PTV and took a moment to appreciate the beauty of it.
Reading about PTV in the novel and seeing it in real life was a Giddy experience for him.
Borsha walked to the left side of PTV and gestured to Ivan to get in.
Without delay he got on the right to the driver's seat. It had leather seats, though he suspected it to be synthetic rather than real leather.
Borsha sat in the driver's seat and started the car.
"Should I tell him now?"
He contemplated for a moment before turning to Borsha on his left.
"Hey Borsha?"
"Yea? You forgot something back there?" Borsha replied absentmindedly while steering the PTV to get on the road.
"Yeah.. well kinda.. I lost my memories…"
Ivan revealed hesitantly.
Screech!
The PTV came to a sudden halt just as it was about to get on the road.
With both of his hands on the steering wheel and looking straight forward with a shocked expression.
Slowly he turned to look at Ivan.
Ivan focused his attention on the colorless motes floating around Borsha's head.
All of them were frozen and only vibrating at a fixed position.
The particles reflected his expression and emotions of the moment. He was clearly shocked, and strangely more than expected.
'Borsha is quite an expressive person' Ivan concluded.
"Why didn't you say it early?" Borsha finally asked.
At that Ivan pondered on how to answer the question.
"I don't know, I didn't feel safe revealing it back there..", he answered honestly.
Borsha looked past me and through the window on my right at the police station.
"Then why me?" he questioned.
"I felt like you were a good person and.. Well you seemed friendly."
Ivan answered while rubbing the back of neck, acting embarrassed.
"Haaaaa", Borsha sighed deeply.
Just as he did, Ivan noticed the motes floating around Borsha change.
The previously colorless motes had now taken a tinge of greenish yellow hue.
He could immediately interpret it,
'Borsha was pleased and calm'.
A sudden realization hit him, he then focused on 2 runes.
[ Spectator ] & [ Reader ].
Both of these runes were working passively, the spectator allowing him to analyze emotions and physical cues while the reader allowed him to interpret his observation.
He was internally amazed at the result.
"So.. you didn't wait until now to speak about it, so what do you want?" Borsha became serious and asked.
"What I want is simple, I just want all the information regarding me, any that you can find, the sooner the better."
'I must have left something behind, having spent so long here, I need clues of my own past.'
Borsha, hearing what I want, seemed slightly disappointed as the greenish yellow motes lost some of its color and slightly hovered down.
Turning his attention back on the road, the PTV accelerated forward, as he steered, he spoke.
"You know, for someone who lost his memories, you don't seem like you did… what's up with that?"
Ivan also leaned back resting his head on his right hand looking out the window.
"I guess, I am just good at hiding it, but to be fair, I was scared, everything felt unfamiliar and foreign."
Borsha listened as the PTV approached an intersection, turned left and entered a flyover.
"Yet you adapted so fast, and acted familiar with everything around… I must say, you are a strange one.."
"Yea, I suppose I am.. That aside, are you going to help me?"
Ivan finally turned to look at him.
Borsha only gave him a glance.
"I will do what I can, but I don't have a high rank in the government. But I will see what I can do."
"Thanks…"
Turning his head back at the window, he watched the enormous dystopian skyline, the novel never described such a scene.
It was truly a sight to behold
The silence prevailed for several minutes, none of us spoke up nor asked questions, Borsha was busy driving the car, while Ivan simply enjoyed the scenery outside, although it was all just dark and dystopian.
Eventually Borsha broke the silence.
"So you don't remember anything from the moment you woke up on that bed? Am I right?"
He asked as if to confirm something.
"Yea, that's about it", Ivan confirmed it absent mindedly still gazing out into the sky line.
"And yet you don't seem to have any problem adapting to the world ruled by the nightmare spell?"
As he said that his eyes met mine.
Ivan's face remained calm and composed but internally he kept cursing.
"I probably read a lot of web novels before all of this.."
Silence ensued as the answer settled in…
'What kind of answer was that!!!??' Ivan internally screamed.
Borsha shifted his attention back to the road, as he did he scoffed lightly.
"Got it…"
And with that he focused his attention on the road.
***
"You're not going to question me more?".
Ivan found the situation a bit strange.
"Not at all, I am not so dense as to not realize how much you distrust the government… and.. Well I am a government awakened so.. yeah"
Borsha briefly replied before steering the PTV on to another elevated expressway. He then continued.
"From the beginning you have been wary of the government's presence.. And its nosey attitude.. So I do understand how you feel.."
It felt like he was misunderstanding something.
Ivan didn't realize his body had gone stiff, so he leaned back and relaxed his back against the seat as he considered how to continue the conversation.
"It almost sounds as though you're not very fond of the government yourself?"
He finally asked without turning to Borsha.
Without looking Borsha hummed then spoke.
"It's pretty obvious, huh? Well you are right.. I don't like the government as much..", He trailed off.
"Yet you became an awakened under the government? Any reason for that?"
Curiously asking that question, Ivan once again noticed the colorless motes as they began to form a rotating disk before spreading out and repeating the action.
'Melancholy? Regret?, it's getting harder to discern it.. It seems his emotions are quite complex at the moment'
Ivan deduced from the sudden change in Borsha's mental state.
"...I never really had a choice. No i had a choice but i simply made the wrong one, i was inspired the wrong way.. I don't know if that makes sense." Borsha replied in a rather wistful manner.
"Was it that Master jet?"
The chilling silence returned almost immediately, Borsha had a shocked expression but his eyes remained fixed on the road.
Before he spoke softly, "How did you know?". As he did the colorless motes began to move around frantically.
"When you entered the room back at the station, your briefly mentioned master jet, at the time you had a strange expression though only for a very moment.."
Ivan explained honestly.
"Wow… you noticed such a minute detail? You sure have a very good memory.." Borsha commented while contemplating something.
"You're not wrong, I was inspired by her, not too long ago I was actually a fan of her.. Though I doubt she ever noticed.. Haha"
"So how were you inspired the wrong way?"
Borsha deliberated for a moment then spoke.
"Oh well, my flaw makes it so that I end up choosing the path of the person who inspires me.."
This time Ivan reeled back in shock..
"Is it ok for you to say that? What ab-"
"It's an open secret, though I don't tell this to just anyone, but it's not like it's a huge secret anymore.. Nor can anyone use it against me that much.."
Borsha said it in such a way that it made Ivan question if this was the shadow slave he knew. Who on this dead earth goes around talking about flaws like that.
***
In the brief silence, Ivan considered what he had just learned..
'If I think about it, isn't this just slavery without the chains? He can't choose his own path and his flaw makes it so that he is forced to follow the path of the one who inspired him.. So even if he never wanted to be a government awakened, being inspired by jet made it so that he ended up choosing her path..'
"I am sorry.." Ivan finally apologized, but it felt more like pity.
"Why are you sorry about it? I am the one who told you, so there is nothing to be sorry about, take it as me venting or whatever.." Borsha shot back while the PTV descended the expressway.
"Right…"
Soon Ivan fell silent. He wasn't very good with conversations to begin with.
"I am sure, I don't need to tell you but I will explain the procedure.. Once you enter the academy they will ask many questions for you know why, you don't need to answer them. Also they will provide free therapy, whether you want to take it or not is up to you.."
Borsha explained the basic introductory information for new academy students, this was already mentioned by jet in the novel so Ivan simply let it pass through his ears.
"As for your memory loss… will you reveal it?" Borsha asked.
"No.. I don't plan to, I would appreciate it if you could keep it a secret for me..".
Borsha nodded.
"Sure that won't be a problem.. Since you don't have any memory, you likely don't remember what was taught in school, so I will have someone recommend a few courses that you should take to survive the dream realm."
Ivan Nodded. "Thanks for the help…".
To which Borsha simply smiled and lightly nodded without looking at him.
***
"Oh! Look, we are here!".
At Borsha's words, Ivan looked ahead where he was greeted with a 60 to 70 metre high wall…
"Holy sh*t" a curse slipped out of his mouth.
"Hahahahahaha!!" Borsha laughed at that as if witnessing a country boy seeing a metropolis for the first time.
'I swear the novel really sucks at representing the true scale of these giant structures..', Ivan said to himself.
Ivan looked at the time in the center console of the PTV..
—------------------------------------------
[ 21 / 11 / 2250 ]
[ 03 : 42 : 20 : 54 ]
—------------------------------------------
Close to an hour had passed since he woke up in this world.
Ivan got out of the car, and stood on the road, the air still left a strange aftertaste in his mouth, which he found rather unpleasant.
He looked around.. It was fairly empty.
"I am guessing this is the road where Sunny saw nephis for the first time.."
Recalling that scene, he glanced back to where Borsha was exiting the PTV.
"Come on, Let's go, I will handle the process, you just follow along."
They soon arrived at the gate and were greeted by another awakened person there who was about to enter..
Borsha and the other awakened had a small talk while entering, soon after that, Borsha and Ivan entered an office, where Borsha handled a few paper works, and told a person working there about the courses he mentioned earlier.
After the talks and exiting the office, Borsha gave a key and number plate on to Ivan's hand.
"That's the key to your room, you will be here for a month until the winter solstice. And this is the sleeping pod, I put in a good word, and this is one of the better pods, unlike the normal ones which are extremely uncomfortable.", he trailed off as usual.
Looking at the key and number plate, Ivan nodded.
Putting the key and plate into his pocket, he extended an arm to Borsha.
"Thanks for everything.."
Borsha shook his hand firmly, "Don't mention it.. As for your request, I will see what I can do.. I will let you know, give me your contacts."
At that, He patted my pockets and gave a slightly bitter smile, "I don't have a communicator…".
After a few exchanges, Borsha suggested he would contact him through the academy, which was the easiest solution at the moment.
After giving their farewell's Ivan was finally left alone..
He walked outside the main complex of the academy, appreciating the architectural behemoth.
Everything here seemed to have been upscaled a few times.
And most surprisingly was the fact that there were plants and trees in the outer complex.
'I thought plants were rare here..'
He eventually arrived at a fairly congested part of the academy and a few things caught his eye..
'There is quite a bit of diversity here..'
As he said, people of every ethnic background seem to be present here. From east to west, north to south, all kinds of people were present. But to him it seemed more mixed.. People with mixed features were numerous.
'How interesting…'
He didn't talk to anyone yet, he simply moved around and explored details the novel had never bothered to explore.
Eventually, he entered a large hall room, he could immediately guess where this was.
'Wasn't this where that instructor who looks like a bear held his announcement? Did his mother really have a promiscuous relationship with a bear?'
He smiled at the thought and inwardly apologized to the instructor, 'was it instructor rock?'.
"Excuse me?"
A girl's voice excused itself in the middle of his thoughts.
Turning around.
"Hm? Yes?"
There was a girl of average height and a boy who was as tall as him. The girl had black hair and round brown eyes and dark skin, and had a soft facial features, while the boy had brown hair black eyes and had sharper and fairer features compared to the girl.
"I was wondering, if you just arrived? "The girl spoke first, her voice felt strangely melodic.
'Is she a singer?'
"Why? Yes. Is there something wrong?" Ivan asked.
He also glanced at the boy who remained silent this entire time.
Focusing his attention on the girl, he began observing the colorless motes.
During his exploration he noticed a nuance to his ability, not everyone had motes floating around them, only after observing them, and listening to them long enough did the motes slowly begin appearing.
He deduced that his ability to see the motes of emotion and physical cues is directly related to his understanding of them and how long he observes them.
"Not at all, I! Uh- uh- I.." she began stuttering and began losing words.
Finally the boy beside her sighed, and tapped her on the shoulder, taking the lead.
"Haaa.. she saw that you were without a group, and was wondering if you would want to join our group?" the boy said simply.
…
Silence…
'Well he is quite frank and short-spoken..'
"Ahhh. sorry about my partner here, I am Luria and he is Hugh, as you know the dream realm is a nightmare by itself, but if you have a comrades or a cohort, your likelihood of surviving increases a lot.." Luria explained.
"You're right.." He nodded in agreement, it was a basic fact, and he for one knew it better than anyone…
Ivan glanced at the boy, there were only a few motes hovering around his face, he appeared very stalwart, is he.. From valor?
Hearing the name Valor in his own head, made him recall several more memories from a future that has yet to happen.
His eyes slightly narrowed.
"So you're asking me to join you? Did I get you?" Ivan asked.
"Yes! Yes!" Luria replied in haste, just as the motes began jumping up and down.
He didn't have time to interpret what that meant but simply made an estimate and moved to speak.
"Sure.. I don't mind, though I would like to ask for a bit more time, I have a friend who might also look to join.. So would it be alright if we talk at a later time?"
The motes stabilized and began hovering around Luria, "Sure! Where will we find you? Are they here yet?".
Luria agreed readily.
"I will be in this hall and they should have arrived a while ago, but we can perhaps tomorrow or the day after?" Ivan suggested.
Luria and Hugh agreed and then left.
Ivan was left by himself once more.
He felt a bit excited, though he didn't show it.
'I spoke to shadow slave characters.. It feels so unreal..'
Even though he already spoke and interacted with a few characters, it didn't feel the same, only around these young awakened was he reminded of where he is now..
He smiled, even though internally he felt scared and unsure of what to do.. He still felt excitement.
He then went on to explore more of the academy, he also spoke to a few sleepers along his exploration, by the end of it all, he was in an open area outside the main building.
'Man… these guys are like walking idols.. There is not a single unattractive person here.. I guess it's true when they say there is no ugly awakened.'
Finding a bench, he sat on it and leaned back letting out a deep breath.
'I almost felt out of place… well I did become more handsome so it didn't feel as bad, but I still feel like I am more or less average compared to the rest..'
He fiddled with his wheat blonde hair, narrowing his eyes and stared at his own hair.
He originally had black hair but now it was wheat blonde, from the moment he noticed the color change of his hair, he became self conscious of it.
But he didn't mind it, instead he liked it as time passed after all it was the same hair color as someone special.
Shaking his head, he looked around the corner and he could see a Clock Pole.
—------------------------------------------
[ 05: 22 : 04 : 10 ]
—------------------------------------------
It was almost time for the day to end, most of the sleepers had already returned to their respective dorms.
He looked around, the academy had a surprisingly simple structure for its size.
There were only a few building complexes, The Main Building at the center of the academy housed the Classrooms and the Main Hall, while the west side of the academy was the building that housed the sleeping pods, on the east side was the Teachers and Staff area as well as the main office area and on the north is where the Dorms are located.
All of these buildings were connected with some space in between, He was currently in the south side of the academy, in the open area.
A drop of sweat slid down his face.
'I explored almost every building yet I couldn't even find her.. Should I ask someone?'
He thought aloud while wiping away the sweat.
He was nervous, after all he was nervous and excited to meet one person.
And that person was Cassia.
His nerve and excitement had fueled his wits and resolve, which was what allowed him to maintain his calm attitude despite waking up in what most would describe as a purely fictional situation.
Ivan loved the character, Cassia.. Cassie and Song of the fallen, out of all characters, humans and everything, it could only be described as fanatical love for a fictional character but now this was reality, and he was not going let it pass.
But despite visiting most of the places in the academy, he didn't see her even once.
This had him panic for a while, he started to wonder if his transmigration had somehow replaced an existing character to balance the story? As was common in many novel tropes.
But he quickly scrapped the idea, he wouldn't even entertain the world of shadow slave without Cassie.
'It doesn't make sense.. She should be in the academy way before sunny and nephis comes.. So where is she?'
He sat and pondered and then turned to look at the main building to be more precise he tried to peer at the dorm.
'Did she not leave the dorm today?'
He thought about it and felt like it was more plausible.
His heart calmed down into a steady rhythm, He looked at the Clock pole once more.
—------------------------------------------
[ 05: 31 : 45 : 30 ]
—------------------------------------------
He decided to go explore his dorm while secretly hoping for something else.
Due to the horrendous effects of the dark times, the sky remained shrouded in dark billowing clouds, because of which, the sun which should have set gradually while letting the darkness slowly spread the sky, now it simply became dark before one could even notice it.
Before long was in the dorms, most sleepers were still passing by, but he ignored them. Following the number plate in his hands, he soon reached a door, using the key, he opened it and was greeted by a very simple room with no windows.
A single bed, a small table beside it, a clock, and a washroom.
Only the bare minimum was present.
'Well it's understandable that resources are rare in these times…'
He slumped down on the bed and laid his head on the pillow.
'I couldn't find Cassie today.. I will probably find her tomorrow.. So there is no need to rush.'
He released a deep breath, and let his body melt into the bed.. As the drowsiness invaded his mind, he suddenly remembered.
Getting up and letting his hand rest on the floor, he summoned his runes.
—------
Aspect: [ Visionary ]
Aspect Rank: [Divine], ???
Description: [The Visionary is the master of the mind, You are one of a kind in the ever changing world, you are he who brings ideals into shape and casts imperfection onto oblivion. ]
Innate Ability: [Envision]
Ability Description: [You possess the power to shape reality by envisioning it. What you see in your mind will come to life.]
—------
Flaw: [ Unraveling Mind ]
Flaw Description: [ The more you create, the more you lose control ]
—------
Aspect Legacy: [ Unwanted Attention ]
—------
Memories: [ Blessing of the Holy Ground ]
—-----
'Shall we start exploring?'
He muttered with a wide grin.
***
He first focused on the memory, which he couldn't explore earlier.
He tried summoning it a few times.
'Strange 'I thought awakened's can instinctively summon memories?'
It took a few more attempts before he figured it out.
'Soo, it's just like pulling on to a tight string..'
Somewhere in his body, perhaps his chest, he couldn't tell, but he could feel something he could thug on, it felt physical but also not.
Pulling on that imaginary string, he watched particles of light begin to take shape.
He marveled at how the particles began to stick together and start forming a rough outline of what seemed like a necklace of some kind.
It only took 9 seconds and what dropped on his hand was a pendant. Its chained felt like it was meticulously etched out of a single strand of gold, while the pendant looked like gold obsidian.
He regarded it for a while, but felt nothing special when it suddenly hit!
'Right there should be a description explaining the memory.. I completely missed that..!'
He then focused on the runes once more and saw new runes form.
—------
Memory Name: [ Blessing of the Holy Ground ]
Memory Rank: ???
Memory Type: Charm
Memory Enchantments: [ True Blessed Charm ]
Memory Description: [ A gem once a fragment of land and the soul, carved out by the hands of The Exalted Son then passed on to the blood stained traveller… Indeed it was a sign of trust of the king and the covenant etched across the shattered sea of fate. ]
—------
He read the runes several times, but couldn't make sense of anything..
'A fragment of land and the soul and it was carved by the exalted son and it was given to a blood stained traveller, a sign of trust and agreement etched across… fate..'
The last word felt heavy, shadow slave for the most part has always been a cruel performance under fate's gaze, Sunny who was more of a plaything to fate, nephis.. Well she is just autistic, and Cassie who was tortured and ridiculed by fate.
It's safe to say that anything that mentions fate is bound to bring some kind of trouble at the very least.
Keeping that in the side of his head, he made a few guesses.
'I definitely got this memory in the first nightmare and by some basic guesses I would assume I was the blood stained traveller…'
'Though it's curious just what kind of first nightmare did I go through?'
But there was a problem..
'How does this work though??'
'This was a charm memory, which is quite rare and valuable, but how does it work?'
He then focused on another rune.
—------
Enchantment Description: [ The Guiding Hand that supports the soul and that which brings life through the land ]
—------
'The spell sure is a poetic bastard.. So it has some kind of soul augmentation and life.. Probably means healing and strength? And land is probably the limited range…'
He marvelled at the gold obsidian gem in his hand.
'This is insane.. If my interpretation is correct this would easily make it a high ranking memory!!'
His face dimmed a little.
'So why is the memory rank a bunch of question marks??'
This was puzzling, memories runes are not usually hidden like this unless the memory is damaged.
'Is the memory damaged?? I hope not..'
That was a plausible guess after all the pendant didn't respond to anything and was just sitting on his hand. Praying that he was wrong, he wore the pendant around his neck.
He then turned his attention to another set of runes, he couldn't explore before.
—-----
Aspect Legacy:
[ Unwanted Attention ]
—------
An aspect legacy was a very important concept in the novel, anyone who had one could become a legacy rising to the ranks of the elite class.
Though there isn't anything special with getting a legacy relic early on, it's still very impressive.
'I must have absolutely aced the nightmare to get to this level.. While the lack of his memories is a problem for the future, at the moment he was very thankful for his past self'
—------
Aspect Legacy: [ Unwanted Attention ]
Unwanted Attention Description: [ When you place a mark upon someone, a direct connection is formed between you and the marked. Every mark is the beginning of a new perspective and the unsung gate to oblivion. ]
First Relic: [???]
Second Relic: ???
Third Relic: ???
Fourth Relic: ???
Fifth Relic: ???
Sixth Relic: ???
Seventh Relic: ???
—------
'Huh? What is this? It clearly said mark in the description so If i should mark someone? But what then?'
Focusing on the [???] rune, new runes began forming.
—------
Relic Name: [???]
Relic Attributes: [Mark], [???]
Relic Description: [???]
—------
[Mark]
Attribute Description: [ A mark can be placed on anyone by touch. ]
—------
And that was everything he could see..
He sighed disappointed.
'Well it was getting too good anyways, I clearly possess the legacy relic, but it's unavailable, so I doubt it would be of use.'
Dismissing the runes, he rested his head on the bed once more.
Only a few hours had passed after waking up in this new reality.
He had lost count of how many times he had pondered and contemplated his situation.
Sometimes he smiled in excitement, other times he felt nervous and scared.
And now he felt calm.
Sitting back up.
There was still one more thing he hadn't yet tried.
—------
Innate Ability: [Envision]
Ability Description: [You possess the power to shape reality by envisioning it. What you see in your mind will come to life.]
—------
The ability that makes him a god amongst sleepers and possibly awakened as well.
Grinning, he was going to do the most outrageous thing yet.
Envisioning himself as an Awakened Devil!!
Feeling inside him, he felt a thug.
…
….
Nothing?
'Great!?… now what?'
'I feel like an annoying old man asking how stuff work'
He rubbed his temple and tried to figure his way out of this.
Eventually an idea came up and he got up.
'If envisioning is bringing what I think of to reality, then it relies heavily on my ability to think clearly. Then I simply need a clear image in my mind and then apply the envisioning with it.'
With a solid plan in his mind he closed his eyes and imagined what an awakened person would be like and as he did he tugged onto something in his soul.
..
At least he tried just as he did.
A metallic taste filled his mouth and his vision and mind went black.
He collapsed to the ground with a hard thud as blood gushed out of his mouth marring the carpeted floor and filling the room with the smell of blood.
Soon silence claimed the small room.. And a certain pendant began glowing hues of gold.
------------
This Chapter and Fic is being rewritten with quite a few changes to the plot, memories, Scenes and event's and the chapter as a whole has been improved from the previous version soon more rewritten chapters will be released soon,
Chapter 2 Coming soon..
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