The sudden wind in the winter air surged through a dilapidated building, the metal sheet serving as an improvised roof, almost flying off the shack it rested on. The interior was just as sorry as the exterior, the concrete floor dirtied by empty tubes of synth paste.
The only area of the shed not covered by the horrid invention was a dirty mattress, on which a humanoid shape could be seen resting.
He was a rather young boy, his frail body shivering in the cold as his mid-length onyx hair covered his face.
He shifted around on his mattress, trying his best to find a good sleeping position. He wanted to look his best on his deathbed after all.
After a few more minutes of switching sleeping positions, the young boy finally relented and stood up groggily. 'It'd be selfish of me to open a gate here, I wouldn't want the Awakened to dirty themselves by coming here.' His thoughts were rather bitter as he pushed open the door of his home.
"I might as well turn myself in..." Muttering to himself, his breath would turn into smoke in the chill air. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single police station near his area in the outskirts, in fact, he doubted there even were police men in the outskirts.
"I can't believe that I'll be dying today…what a bummer."
**
Luckily, it wasn't all bad! With what little money he had stolen over the last few months, he had been able to afford two of these bun things. 'I think the nice lady called them chili dogs?' That was the first time he had been in an actual store, too; it was a rather strange experience.
The old lady behind the desk was nice enough and showed him where the good stuff was, but he didn't quite like the looks everyone else was giving him. At least the chili dogs were worth it.
Speaking of the chili dogs. He was currently scarfing them down like a hungry dog, not caring much for the mess he was making of his clothes. Although they were already so dirty that they might as well have been considered rags.
'I should be pretty close to the nearest station.' Just as he thought that, a large hand pushed him out of the way, causing him to fall onto the ground and drop the last few bits of his precious chilly dogs.
"Out of my way, outskirt insect." A gruff voice commanded as heavy footsteps walked past the fallen child. Looking up, the so-called outskirt insect could only glare at the older man's back and grit his teeth. 'Egg-shaped villain! I don't even think the snobs in the richer districts wear stupid red suits like that!'
Slowly getting up, he'd watch as the rude older man continued walking away before huffing as they disappeared around a corner. "Tsk, there goes my lunch..."
Luckily, his nightmare was finally over, just at the corner that the egg-shaped idiot walked past was the NQSC police station. 'Finally, my legs were just starting to hurt.'
**
The interior of the NQSC police station was pretty nice, way better than anything the impoverished boy had ever seen. He would have felt sad if he wasn't so nervous; this was his first time in a building like this after all. 'Oh gods, what if they arrest me for theft or something? Everything I own is stolen!' He gulped as he glanced up at the poorly hidden turret nests on the ceiling.
Skimming around the area, he'd spot the two figures talking: a poor-looking older boy with black hair and a rather gruff-looking police officer. Trudging his way over to them, the black-haired boy took his time to examine his older twin.
'His clothes are almost as bad as mine. Is he from the outskirts as well?' Beyond that, the older boy seemed unreasonably short. He was only a few inches older than the younger boy after all.
Finally noticing him approaching, the pair of men turned to face him, the officer's pale face staring at him as if asking, "What the hell do you want?" The older boy just looked more bored than anything.
"I, Lec, am here as demanded by the Third Special Derivative...wait, that's not right." The now named Lec just stood there frozen, his smug face slowly dropping into one of confusion. 'W-what was the word again?'
The teen and cop pair just looked in bewilderment as the scrawny kid in front of them racked his brain, desperately trying to remember the right word. It took a few moments before the disgruntled cop finally snapped. "Brat!"
"Oh, yeah!" Suddenly yelling out, the cop just snapped back in surprise, while the older black-haired boy just looked at Lec, completely unimpressed.
"As I was saying, I, Lec, am here as demanded by the Third Special Directive, to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell, post haste."
Despite himself, the officer became even paler than before, if that was even possible. "Another one!?" Massaging his temple, the gruff looking police man waved them over and pressed a black button on his terminal, bellowing:
"Attention! Code Black in the lobby! I repeat! CODE BLACK!"
**
The Nightmare Spell first appeared in the world a few decades ago, or that's at least what people told him. Back then, the planet was just starting to recover from a series of devastating natural disasters and subsequent resource wars.
At first, the emergence of a new disease that caused millions of people to complain about constant fatigue and sleepiness did not attract a lot of attention. But when they started to fall into an unnatural slumber, with no sign of waking up even days later, governments finally panicked. Of course, by then it was already too late, not that an early response could have made any difference.
When the infected started dying in their sleep, their dead bodies turning into monsters, no one was ready. Nightmare Creatures quickly overwhelmed national militaries, plunging the world into complete chaos.
No one knew what the Spell was, what powers it possessed, or how to fight it.
In the end, it was the Awakened, those who survived the first trials of the Spell and came back alive, who put a stop to its rampage. Armed with miraculous abilities earned in their Nightmares, they restored peace and created a semblance of a new order.
Of course, it was only the first of the catastrophes brought upon by the Spell. Lec felt sympathy toward those infected with the Spell, but it didn't matter much to his poor situation, and even if it did, a person like him was incapable of saving anyone...although most of this ideology was absolutely trashed when he discovered himself having trouble falling asleep.
For the average person, being chosen by the Spell was as much of a risk as an opportunity. The rich and snobby kids learned survival skills and fighting techniques in school, in case of being infected. Well-off families hired private tutors to train them 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.
But for Lec, who had no family that cared about him, being chosen by the Spell had no gains at all. To him, it was simply death.
**
The walk to the area he was currently in had been rather uneventful; no one said a single word, although that was probably for the best.
Click
Looking down, he'd watch as the police men fastened his restraints. He couldn't help but let out a yawn. He could think of a million quips to try to lighten the mood of the current situation, but it'd probably be rather insensitive given how he wasn't alone in this situation. He'd glance at the older boy next to him as he thought that.
He had tried to interact with him on their walk here, but the only thing he had managed to learn was his name. 'Sunless, huh. Gloomy name for a gloomy person, I suppose.'
Soon enough, they were both fastened onto these freaky-looking chairs and were to await the arrival of someone who'd give them a rundown of things. Lec didn't particularly care much; in fact, he'd fall asleep right now if the atmosphere of the room wasn't so grim. "Must stay awake for…zzzZZZ...instructions." Oh, never mind, I guess he'll fall asleep anyway.
Before the young boy could fully drift off, the door of the vault they were in opened, revealing a gray-haired policeman. 'This guy is pretty serious, better lock in.'
Approaching them, the seasoned officer would give a once-over on both of their restraints. Without saying much, he'd look at both teens with a stern look. "What are your names?"
"Uhmm, my name's Lec." The other boy in the room took a few more moments to respond, the spell clearly taking its toll.
"Sunless."
Raising an eyebrow, the old policeman responded.
"Sunless? That's a strange name."
"What's so strange about it? At least I have a name. Back in the outskirts, not everyone even gets one."
After a yawn, he added:
"It's because I was born during a solar eclipse. My mom had a poetic soul, you see."
The old policeman grunted.
"Do you want me to contact your family?"
Sunny simply shook his head.
"There's no one. Don't bother."
Tired of the increasingly depressing topic, Lec directed a question to the officer. "Can you just tell us what you need to tell us? I'm struggling to stay awake here..."
Grunting, the old policeman just nodded, with the older teen giving a slight glance at him before turning back to face the old officer. Lec didn't feel all that great about interrupting their dialogue, but he'd rather get the info now rather than never getting it and dying a fool.
"Alright, you both. How long can you stay awake?"
"Uh…not long." Lec nodded at Sunless's response. His eyelids were already incredibly heavy, and combining that with the fact that the chair he was currently sitting on was getting warm and increasingly comfortable was really not helping his situation.
Sighing, the policeman continued. "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?" Without waiting for a response, he'd add.
"How much do you know about the Spell?"
Lec tilted his head. "I learned all the information I currently have on the spell from novels and stuff." He'd say immediately, as if that was something to be proud of.
For the first time, the older teens' expression towards him finally changed into one of disappointment before shifting right back into one of indifference. "I know as much about the spell as anyone else, I guess?" Sunless spared Lec a glance before changing his wording. "I know as much about the spell as almost everyone else."
The policeman just sighed at the situation before shaking his head.
"Listen carefully, both of you. Once you fall asleep, you will be transported into your First Nightmare. Nightmares are trials created by the spell. Once inside, you will meet monsters, sure, but you will also meet people. Remember: they are not real. They're just illusions conjured up to test you."
"How are you even sure about that?" Lec spoke up, a curious glint in his eyes. He had been truthful when he said most of his knowledge came from novels, novels he had…borrowed. So he still had quite a few gaps in his knowledge.
The seasoned officer stared at him for a moment before responding. "How old are you?"
"...I'm thirteen, why?"
It was everyone else's turn to be shocked, the officers lined on the wall whispered amongst themselves, the seasoned cops' eyes bulged out, and even the ever composed Sunless looked bewildered.
"Son, I don't know how to tell you this, but you may be one of the youngest people to ever be infected by the Nightmare Spell."
Lec sat there for a few moments, a blank expression plastered onto his face, before it slowly turned into one of horror. 'Huh?!'
If Lec wasn't sure he was going to die before, he definitely was now…but he honestly wasn't that scared. He came here preparing to most likely die, so what will knowing that it's a one-hundred percent chance do for him? If anything, it just made him even more prepared for the gruesome death he'll have.
'Heh, I can't wait to be in the news.'
Coughing into his hand to attract the attention of the kid he imagines is scared witless, he'd try to offer some information to help alleviate the stress. "Generally, it shouldn't be overwhelmingly hard."
"The situation you're in, the tools you have at your disposal, and the creatures you have to defeat should be within the range of your abilities, at least. After all, the Spell sets up trials, not executions. You're a bit disadvantaged due to... well... your circumstances. But kids from the outskirts are tough. Don't give up on yourself just yet."
Blankly staring at the old policeman, Lec just shook his head. "It's pointless trying to cheer me up…I've already come to terms with it anyway."
"You're surprisingly mature for a thirteen-year-old."
"I have to be."
Sunless remained silent throughout the conversation, his face not betraying much. If his eyes weren't open, one would think he had already fallen asleep. He was close, though; they both were.
Noticing their deteriorating conditions, the seasoned cop decided it was time to wrap things up.
"Remember: the first thing you must do once inside the Nightmare is to check your Attributes and your Aspect. If you get a combat-oriented Aspect, something like a Swordsman or an Archer, things will be easier. If it is reinforced by a physical Attribute, then that's even better. Combat Aspects are the most common, so the probability of receiving one is high."
The armored room grew dim.
"If you're unlucky and your aspect has nothing to do with combat, don't despair. Sorcery and utility Aspects are useful in their own ways; you'll just have to be smart about it. There are really no useless Aspects. Well, almost. So just do anything in your power to survive."
"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, both of you."
Despite the rather touching words being directed towards both of them, Lec couldn't help but feel as if they were meant solely for the older teen.
'Cruel...old...man'
With that final thought, the ever-growing darkness took hold and dragged him under.
And then, in the darkness, a faintly familiar voice rang:
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial...]