[ A frail-looking young man with pale skin and dark circles under his eyes was sitting on a rusty bench across from the police station. He was cradling a cup of coffee in his hands—not the cheap synthetic type slum rats like him had access to, but the real deal. This cup of plant-based coffee, usually available only to higher rank citizens, had cost most of his savings. But on this particular day, Sunny decided to pamper himself. ]
There wasn't a single person in these rooms that had failed to understand who that was. The subject of these viewings, the Fateless One, the Lord of Shadows.
Sunny.
[ After all, his life was coming to an end. ]
And this was the start of everything. His First Nightmare. For those who were familiar with the process of awakening, this trial was going to be the head start of his journey.
No one was expecting it to be an easy trial, considering the kind of titan that came out of it, but only two people, most of their variants, and a blind witch who meddled with memories truly knew what to expect.
They knew that a Divine Aspect user came out from trials that could only be considered impossible with the best rating.
[ Enjoying the warmth of the luxurious drink, he raised the cup and savored the aroma. Then, tentatively, he took a small sip… and immediately grimaced. ]
[ "Ah! So bitter!" ]
Somewhere a few Jets chuckled, unfortunately, they had been in a similar spot themselves. It turns out that rich people don't tend to drink their coffees as is.
[ Giving the cup of coffee an intense look, Sunny sighed and forced himself to drink some more. Bitter or not, he was determined to get his money's worth—taste buds be damned. ]
An unfamiliar sight to a lot of those watching, a lot of them had the luxury of simply choosing not to eat or drink something they didn't like, thankfully, they had grown a lot by surviving the darkest parts of the Dream Realm.
You couldn't exactly choose between eating the berries and the animal, if both were trying to kill you, could you?
[ "I should have bought a piece of real meat instead. Who knew actual coffee is so disgusting? Well. It's going to keep me awake, at least." ]
Besides Nephis, Jet chuckled, drawing her attention.
"What?"
"Why did you laugh?"
"Haha, I just remembered having a similar thought when I first tried coffee."
Nephis looked at her silently for a moment and then looked back at the screen.
[ He stared into the distance, dozing off, and then slapped himself in the face to wake up. ]
[ "Tsk. What a rip-off." ]
They watched as in his frustration, Sunny threw the cup at a nearby trashbin.
[ The cup missed the bin by a wide margin and fell on the ground. Sunny rolled his eyes in exasperation, walked over, and picked it up before carefully putting it in the trash. Then, with a slight grin, he crossed the street and entered the police station. ]
[ Inside, a tired-looking officer gave him a quick glance and frowned with obvious distaste. ]
[ "Are you lost, boy?" ]
[ Sunny looked around with curiosity, noting reinforced armor plates on the walls and poorly hidden turret nests in the ceiling. The officer, too, looked scruffy and mean. At least police stations remained the same wherever you go. ]
Without much thought, the Awakened in several rooms couldn't help but feel that his station was oddly fragile-looking.
[ "Hey! I'm talking to you!" ]
[ Sunny cleared his throat. ]
[ "Uh, no." ]
[ Then he scratched the back of his head and added:
"As demanded by the Third Special Directive, I am here to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell." ]
Some people raised their eyebrows.
Needless to say, a lot of the awakened in these rooms belonged to prestigious clans or were raised in peculiar ways. Most of them hadn't gone through the process a normal civilian typically went through before their First Nightmare.
In Changing Star's cohort alone, only Jet and Cassie had grown through this process.
Nephis was part of a legacy clan, although a fallen one.
Kai was a celebrity, his agency could easily hire an awakened.
Effie couldn't really go through the normal process due to her physical condition.
There were other examples in the other rooms.
Like Rain, who hadn't go through her First Nightmare.
The Nameless husband of Effie who went through the First Nightmare in Antarctica during the Chain of Nightmares.
Mordret, whose childhood was as fucked up as one could imagine.
Among other examples.
[ "Are you sure you are infected? When did you start showing symptoms?" ]
[ Sunny shrugged. ]
[ "A week ago?" ]
Hearing this, Rain pondered how much time had passed between the first viewing and this one.
[ "Shit." ]
[ "Attention! Code Black in the lobby! I repeat! CODE BLACK!" ]
[ For an average person, being chosen by the Spell was as much of a risk as an opportunity. Kids learned survival skills and fighting techniques in school, on the off chance of being infected. Well-to-do families hired private tutors to train their children in all sorts of martial arts. Those from the Awakened clans even had access to powerful legacies, wielding inherited Memories and Echoes in their first visit to the Dream Realm. ]
[The richer your family was, the better your chances of surviving and becoming an Awakened were.]
Hearing the narrator, those who did not have any experience with the Nightmare Spell focused, intending to catch everything that it could reveal.
They were the ones from the mundane version and the ones from the Mirage City.
[ But for Sunny, who had no family to speak of and spent most of his time scrounging for food instead of going to school, being chosen by the Spell presented no opportunity at all. To him, it was basically a death sentence. ]
Some frowns crossed the faces of several people in the rooms.
[ A few minutes later, Sunny was yawning while several policemen were busy putting him in restraints. Soon he was fastened into a bulky chair that looked like a weird mix between a hospital bed and a torture device. The room they were in was situated in the basement of the police station, with thick armored walls and a formidable-looking vault door. Other officers were standing near the walls, with automatic rifles in their hands and grim expressions on their faces. ]
Detective Sunless watched everything with laser focus attention. As someone who worked in the police force as well, he analyzed every movement from these officers.
'They are trained differently, although I can see remnants of the typical police training they are trained for a different type of combat. I suppose if you are going to fight a monster or something, you would need to be trained in something stronger than a hand pistol.'
[ Sunny did not particularly care about them. The only thing he could think about was how much he wanted to sleep. ]
'Is he that sleepy? Thinking back, he said that he had symptoms for a week. Why did he take so long to realize it? Or was he holding himself back?'
Nephis worriedly tried to understand younger Sunny's thought process.
[ Finally, the vault door opened, and a gray-haired policeman walked in. He had a seasoned face and stern eyes, looking like someone who had seen a lot of terrible things in his life. After checking the restraints, the policeman glanced quickly on his wristwatch and then turned to Sunny:
"What's your name, kid?" ]
[ Sunny blinked a few times, trying to concentrate, then shifted uncomfortably. ]
[ "Sunless." ]
[ "Sunless? That's a strange name." ]
[ Sunny tried to shrug, but found himself unable to move. ]
[ "What's so strange about it? At least I have a name. Back in the outskirts, not everyone even gets one." ]
[ After another yawn, he added:
"It's because I was born during a solar eclipse. My mom had a poetic soul, you see." ]
Rain stilled for a moment.
'Sunny said that our mother was a poetic soul, but he never explained the reason behind our names! If he was born in an eclipse and ended up with Sunless, then, rain? Couldn't you come up with something better, Mom? Like, Skyless, Storm, or something else?'
[ That's why he got this weird-ass name and his little sister was called Rain… back when she still lived with them, at least. Whether it was the result of poetic imagination or simple laziness, he did not know. ]
'Considering your own naming sense, brother, I'm more inclined to believe that it was laziness.'
[ "Do you want me to contact your family?" ]
[ Sunny simply shook his head. ]
[ "There's no one. Don't bother." ]
Rain, who was enjoying thinking about her mother's and brother's poor naming sense, suddenly felt her heart twist. The wound was still a bit fresh.
[ For a second, there was a dark look on the policeman's face. Then his expression turned serious. ]
[ "Alright, Sunless. How long can you stay awake?" ]
[ "Uh… not long." ]
[ "Then we don't have time for the full procedure. Try to resist for as long as you can and listen to me very carefully. Okay?" ]
[ Not waiting for a response, he added:
"How much do you know about the Nightmare Spell?" ]
[ Sunny gave him a questioning look. ]
[ "As much as anyone, I guess? Who doesn't know about the Spell?" ]
After that, the officer began to explain more about the Nightmare Spell outside the knowledge the masses had.
Those who had never gone through the process that Sunny was going through watched with interest the officer's explanation, or at least some of them did. On the other hand, those who never encountered the Spell were also pretty interested in hearing more.
Noctis, Solvane, Elyas, Mundane Alters, and Mirage City's Others were part of that group.
[ "If you survive, you will be halfway to becoming an Awakened. But if you die, you'll open a gate for a Nightmare Creature to appear in the real world. Which means that my colleagues and I will have to deal with it. So… please don't die, Sunless." ]
[ Already half-asleep, Sunny felt a bit touched by the policeman's words. ]
Some people were impressed by the old officer's words. It was rare in this day and age to find someone who was kind.
[ "Or, at least, try to not die right away. The nearest Awakened won't be able to get here for a few hours, so we would really appreciate it if you don't make us fight that thing ourselves…" ]
'And he ruined it.'
Is what a lot of them thought.
[ 'What?' ]
[ With that last thought, Sunny finally slipped into a deep slumber. ]
[ Everything became black. ]
[ And then, in the darkness, a faintly familiar voice rang:
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…] ]
'Familiar, huh?'
Cassie thought.
********
Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, here is the new chapter, brace yourselves the 1st NM will last for a moment as I get used to whatever style of reaction I decide to use.
Check out my other novels and fanfics, leave your opinions in reviews and comments please.