His eyes fluttered open, taking in the blinding lights that shone above him. Surprisingly, he didn't feel dazed despite being asleep for months. In fact, he felt more refreshed than ever, hell even better than refreshed. The feel of his body was a stark contrast to the mangled mess that was the body of the scholar sage.
Nyiko attempted to lift himself but found that he was unable to do so. Looking down at his prone body he saw himself being completely strapped down to the reinforced medical bed.
'I shouldn't be shocked nor disappointed, yet I am.'
With a sigh and a frown, he looked around the room he was in.
Calling this place sterile would be an understatement. It was mostly barren, with empty, white, reinforced walls, bright fluorescent lights hanging above his bed, and medical equipment beside it that monitored his vitals. It was a cold, unfriendly place. The opposite of a warm welcome after surviving hell, but to him it was a lovely sight; it told him he was really home.
He let that feeling sink in. He took a deep breath of the familiar filtered air and bathed in the artificial light before turning his head to the only other person in the room. That person, an older, incredibly good-looking man, was holding a sword. Ready to cut him down where he lay.
Nyiko's eyes widened while his body strained against the restraints, instinctively trying to get as far away as possible from the man.
"If you are human and not some fiend pretending to be one, summon a memory in your hand, right now." The cold steel of his sword pressed against Nyiko's neck.
Barely daring to breathe against the edge of the blade, Nyiko opened his palm, letting the copper ring of the Evershine weave itself into existence.
"S-s-see, human," Nyiko said with a nervous smile.
The man's eyes narrowed a little more, studying Nyiko till his expression eventually relaxed.
"Good," his blade disappeared into a flurry of sparks before an easy smile appeared on his face.
"Congrats on surviving the first Nightmare, young man. You are now among the few privileged enough to face the horrors that your parents scared you with." And with those words and a chuckle, he loosened Nyiko's restraints.
"My parents never scared me with stories of Nightmare Creatures," He said as he stared and touched his forearms, half thinking that his skin would still be scarred and burned.
"They did that with my sister, but not me. I think they saw me as better behaved."
The Awakened nodded absentmindedly as he picked up a file from the side table next to him.
"Whatever you say, kid. I guess we should start with introductions…" he plopped down on his stool before opening the file.
'Is he really going to brush past the fact he was going to kill me?'
"...I am Awakened Kel," he pointed to the insignia on his shoulder, showing two bright stars.
"And you are, presumably, Tinyiko. You look a little different from your file, even with your recent glow-up taken into account."
"I-is that so?" Nyiko said, his head hanging a little lower.
Nodding, Awakened Kel carried on with his introductions, informing Nyiko that his trial had taken three months. It had started in the early summer, and now the summer was almost over.
'Huh, I missed my sweet sixteen.'
After the thought popped into his head, he began to tune out Awakened Kel. The only things of note he heard were that his family was being contacted and that he should shower since he 'smelled like nightmares,' apparently.
The shower was nothing short of glorious.
The hot water that cascaded on him washed away all that grime that had stuck with him over the months, both actual and imaginary. When he was done, he skipped checking out his dreamer body and quickly got dressed in a government-issued tracksuit that Awakened Kel gave him.
While drying his hair he noticed just how much it had grown over the three months.
'Goodness, people envy this sort of hair growth!' As he picked at his wet fro, now at a volume that surpassed the size of his own hair.
'I'm going to have to get this sorted somehow, because I'm not doing all that combing.'
He found Awakened Kel waiting for him outside the locker room, leaning on the wall idly looking at his communicator. When he heard Nyiko's footsteps he looked up from the digital screen, did a double take before a smile crossed his face.
"Funny, thought you weren't you for a second. Anyway, are you ready Sleeper… Tinyiko!" That pause was concerning but Nyiko still answered with a nod.
'That's fine, perfectly fine. Nothing I have to worry about.'
Though he thought that, his body couldn't help but to react to his anxiety, feeling all too warm in his track suit. Clearly, his flaw was already having an effect on people, and if someone with an awakened mind like Kel was having trouble recognizing and remembering him, what would be the effect on normal people? What would be the effect on his family?
The two of them arrived at the station's foyer and there they were, waiting for him. His siblings were absent, likely busy with school and work, but his parents stood right before him. They were older than his peers' parents, having him and his sister later than most. Nyiko didn't inherit his parents' stature, though they weren't too tall either way.
To describe them, Nyiko would say his mother looked like a strict teacher while his dad looked like a sitcom dad. Not to say that their personality types matched those stereotypes.
When he had entered Nyiko thought he saw his mother's eyes light up before that light quickly vanished when she saw him, lowering in disappointment.
'She's disappointed to see you alive.'
Nyiko pursed his lips.
'No, she… the both of them just don't recognize me.'
That fact, though obvious, still stung.
There was an awkwardness as his parents continued to wait for the awakened officer to bring their son, while that very officer was standing there confused, expecting a tear-filled reunion between family members. Nyiko was just afraid to say something. Eventually, Kel felt like he had to say something.
"Ms Esther, Inspector Edwin. May I happily introduce you to your son! Ta Daa!"
Utter silence.
Not a word was said between the two parties for what felt like an entire minute. His mother's eyes looked between him and Kel incredulously while his father held a more concerned expression. Nyiko himself avoided eye contact with his parents.
"Not to question your abilities Awakened Kel but, they don't look like my son at all." She said
"Um yes, I'm quite sure that this is your son. I have two eyes very good that feel very questioned at the moment, I can see the resemblance between this boy here and your son"
"But I don't!" She Argued
"I gave birth to Tinyiko and raised him for 16 years! I would tell who my was, no matter how the change his awakening could bring"
Before his mother could begin a fiery debate with the awakened, Nyiko spoke up.
"It's my Flaw!" He blurted out before Kel could say something, causing all three adults to turn to look at him.
"I-it's my flaw, specifically the spell said that it was hard to recognize and remember me" He explained in a quieter tone.
Awakened Kel looked at Nyiko with pity, his mother looked at him with quiet disbelief while his dad just looked at him blankly.
"I-Its true mom!" He pleaded before turning to Awakened Kel, grabbing onto the man's government jacket
"Officer Kel there must be some way I can prove it, right?"
Kel nodded as he deftly removed the sleepers grip from his jacket's sleeve.
"We can work something out kid, just follow me. And please do it without hanging onto me,"
He turned to address his parents.
"Ma'am, Inspector, please be patient as we sort this issue out" He said before hurriedly ushering Nyiko back into the depths of the police station, giving Nyiko one last sight of his parents' confused and concerned faces before the doors closed on him.