Rivel dreamt of a ruined city.
Its size was mind-blowing. From the broken towering walls to a gigantic castle and its destroyed keep.
In the city, he saw hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of skeletons lying on the paved roads of the city, stained in blood. It seemed as if all life, including vegetation, had ceased to exist in this city.
In the middle of the city stood a statue of a Goddes clad in steel, However the statue was slowly seeping blood tears from it's eyes, creating a massive pool of fresh blood under it.
Rivel's focus then went to a small manor in the middle of the city. For some reason, this manor wasn't damaged at all.
The manor's garden was like an oasis in the desert.
The garden consisted of a large field with freshly cut grass, tall trees, and a flower grove whose scent enchanted Rivel. Its stark contrast with the rest of the city was frighteningly beautiful, as if a deranged but skilled painter had made his most grotesque ideas come to life in a painting.
Suddenly, the sun began to set; however, it set in the east, and as morning came, it rose from the west. Time was reversing.
Rivel realized that time was going to reverse before even the first hints showed up. Though he didn't know why, he just felt it.
Time blew by. Hundreds of years passed as Rivel watched the skeletons slowly build their bodies back together. Watching the process of decomposition in reverse was definitely ghastly for Rivel. His body hair suddenly stood upright, and shivers ran down his spine.
'What could have possibly destroyed this entire city?'
A moment later, the city was full of life—from the homeless beggars to the rich and powerful sipping wine while socializing.
Time slowed, stopped, and then resumed its usual pace.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Nightmare...]
Rivel found himself waking up on a comfortable, almost luxurious bed.
As he looked around, he found himself in a big, unfamiliar room. The room consisted of his large queen-size bed, a desk with a mountain of books on top of it, and on the right side, another room in his room
The room had a few closets filled with expensive-looking clothes, and a large bathroom with a bathtub, toilet, shower, and sink with a large mirror.
Taking a good look at his face, Rivel felt outraged.
He punched the mirror on the wall, shattering it, causing his knuckles to bleed.
However, he was too angry to care.
'The dead gods must have cursed me or something! How did I even receive my first nightmare?'
'Normally, this isn't possible. Normally, when a mundane person contracts the Nightmare spell in someone's domain, they are protected by it. So how in the world did this happen?'
Rivel sighed as he walked back to his bed and sat down.
'I should at least check out my runes.'
Rivel remembered old shows and comics he read to pass the time back in NSQC and focused on words like status and myself.
---
Name: Rivel
True Name: ---
Rank: Aspirant
Soul Core: Dormant
Memories: ---
Attributes: [Nephilim], [Semi-Corrupted], [Heavy Soul], [Voidborne]
Aspect: Chaosborne
Aspect Description: "The Chaosborne arise from an unholy mingling of the divine and the profane, though what flows through their veins is corruption vastly outweighing any trace of the divine."
'Well, that's very interesting. That must be why that awakened examiner thought I was the Skinwalker. But wait, that was before I even had my first nightmare! So how the hell was there corruption in my soul?'
With no answers he could come up with, Rivel pushed that thought to the back of his mind and started to examine his attributes.
A soft knock from the door landed in Rivel's ears.
"Young master Auralien? It is I, your humble servant Roderic. I am sorry to bother the young master, but is the young master ready yet? My lord and the lady are waiting in the carriage."
The man behind the door held his voice with soft elegance and politeness. He sounded old yet wise.
Rivel decided to play the lost memories cliché, but realistically there wasn't much he could do here anyway.
Rivel slowly opened the door, meeting the face behind the voice.
Rivel masked his anger and used his clueless, naive face.
"Uhh... I'm sorry, Roderic, but it seems I've lost all my memories."