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 really wanted to drink coffee today at least, but fate had other plans. Real coffee—plant-based coffee—is usually available only to higher-ranked citizens. He could have bought a cup with his savings, and while he had thought to treat himself today, he decided to leave the money for better purposes. After all, you can't miss what you don't know, right?
Anyway, his life was coming to an end.
Yep, that's special today.
And no, he was not going to be executed by the slum gangs to increase fear in others, nor would he lose himself to a disease.
Well, it's a disease—just not of the physical kind.
He was infected by the Nightmare Spell.
Rich people living in this part of the city rushed past the small park on their way to work, staring at him with strange expressions. Looking haggard in his cheap clothes and from lack of sleep—unhealthily thin and pale—Sunny was indeed out of place here. Also, everyone seemed so tall. Watching them with a bit of envy, he sighed and stood up.
Just then, a little girl and her parents passed by. She threw something on the ground, complaining about not wanting to eat it. Her parents scolded her but didn't pick it up and went on their way.
Having a single meal a day is already a luxury in the outskirts—let alone three meals.
He picked up the piece of food the girl had dropped. It was a bun with something red and white inside along with some vegetables.
"Hmm, red, huh? Must be radish; I heard about that."
He tossed it toward a garbage bin.
"I guess that's what three full meals a day would do to you."
It 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—not noticing a small figure with pink hair hiding in the corner and watching him.
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.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" the officer snapped.
Sunny cleared his throat. "Uh, no." Then he scratched the back of his head and added, "As demanded by the Third Special Directive, I'm here to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell."
The officer's expression instantly changed from irritated to wary. He looked the young man over once again, this time with piercing intensity.
"Are you sure you're infected? When did you start showing symptoms?"
Sunny shrugged. "A week ago?"
The officer became visibly paler. "Shit." Then, with a hurried motion, he pressed a button on his terminal and bellowed, "Attention! Code Black in the lobby! I repeat! CODE BLACK!"
The Nightmare Spell first appeared in the world a few decades ago. 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 to complain about constant fatigue and sleepiness did not attract much attention. But when people started to fall into an unnatural slumber, with no sign of waking 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 began dying in their sleep and their bodies turned 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 by the Spell. But as far as Sunny was concerned, none of it had anything to do with him—not until a few days ago, when he first started having trouble staying awake.
For an average person, being chosen by the Spell was as much 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, the better your chances of surviving and becoming an Awakened.
But for Sunny, who had no family to speak of and spent most of his time scrounging for food and annoying his "cute disciple" instead of going to school, being chosen by the Spell offered no opportunity at all. To him, it was basically a death sentence.
He didn't care much about his life in the first place, but—nah, no use thinking about it now. He'd already said goodbye to her, and, well, he was on his way to death.
Of course, he was talking about his "cute disciple," a girl of twelve he had saved and taken under his wing some five years ago.
That's why he didn't buy coffee today—the measly sum he'd saved, he left for her.
But really, if someone had told him he would save someone and take them under his wing, he would have spat and laughed at them. But who would have thought, huh?
After all that happened six years ago, those words still left a mark on him—not that he'd ever admit it aloud, of course.
"Do you know why you are so wary and cruel, Sunless? Why you are not kind? It's because—"
Well, the past is the past. No use thinking about it now. Though, thinking of the "goodbye" he'd just said—his disciple isn't cute at all. Aren't goodbyes supposed to be tears and hugs? At least that's what he read in webtoons.
But his disciple? She had just snorted and said in her always-indifferent tone, "What? You're going to die? Hmm, good. Now I won't have a skeleton corpse annoying me all the time!"
And when he had tried to hold her, she'd gotten all red and angry and beaten him up. Really, her temper was as fiery as her bright pink hair.
He sighed. His shoulder still hurt, but did she have to kick him so hard?
Of course that didn't mean he was a pushover. If anything, he considered himself one of the best in the outskirts—whatever that meant anyway. He could deceive and trick better than most. And since she had graduated from Sunny's School of Lies and Trickery, she would probably be fine. He had tried to help other kids too, but they'd been too wary, some even stabbing him in the back. The only reason his so-uncute disciple hadn't was that she was not in a state to betray him back when he had met her first.
Especially in the situation sunny had found her.
Though she had called him retarded, dumbass, and all other colorful words afterward, it made him realize her vocabulary might even be better than his.
Whatever vocabulary was anyway.
City dwellers would probably be surprised by her, but it was common here in the outskirts.
Kids really mature too fast ,when they shouldn't lose their innocence so early, Sunny thought darkly.
A few minutes later, Sunny was yawning while several policemen put him in restraints. Soon he was fastened into a bulky chair that looked like a mix between a hospital bed and a torture device. The room was in the basement of the police station, with thick armored walls and a formidable-looking vault door. Officers stood near the walls with automatic rifles and grim expressions.
Sunny didn't care about them. The only thing he could think about was how much he wanted to sleep and how a certain pink haired girl was gonna live from now on along with what a black haired girl similar to him in appearance must be doing now.
Finally, the vault door opened, and a gray-haired policeman walked in. He had a seasoned face and stern eyes, like someone who had seen terrible things in his life. After checking the restraints, the officer glanced at his wristwatch and then turned to Sunny.
"What's your name, kid?"
Sunny blinked a few times, trying to concentrate, then shifted uncomfortably. "Sunless."
The old policeman raised an eyebrow. "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."
Even his disciple didn't have a name when he met her, so he had given her one. She had agreed while gritting her teeth and insulted him with a look of pity while telling him that he had no naming-sense.
'What's wrong with 'Autumn' as a name ? I met her in autumn anyway'
After another yawn, he added, "It's because I was born during a solar eclipse. My mom had a poetic soul, you see."
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 poetic imagination or simple laziness, he did not know.
The old policeman grunted. "Do you want me to contact your family?"
Sunny simply shook his head. "There's no one. Don't bother."
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."
The policeman sighed. "Then we don't have time for the full procedure. Try to resist for as long as you can and listen to me 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?"
"Not the fancy stuff you see in dramas and hear in propaganda broadcasts. I mean, how much do you really know?"
Sunny hesitated. "Don't I just go into the Dream Realm, kill a few monsters to complete the First Nightmare, receive magic powers, and become an Awakened?"
The old policeman shook his head. "Listen carefully. Once you fall asleep, you will be transported inside 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 to test you."
"How do you know?"
The policeman stared. "You might have to kill them, kid. So do yourself a favor and think of them as illusions."
"Oh."
It didn't matter to him, though—he had already killed quite a few, especially that day.
The old policeman waited, then nodded and continued. "A lot about the First Nightmare depends on luck. Generally, it shouldn't be overwhelmingly hard. The situation you're in, the tools you have, and the creatures you must defeat should be within your abilities. After all, the Spell sets up trials, not executions. You're a bit disadvantaged because of your circumstances, but kids from the outskirts are tough. Don't give up on yourself yet."
"Uh-uh."
Sunny was growing more and more sleepy. It was becoming hard to follow the conversation.
"About those 'magic powers' you mentioned… you will indeed receive them if you survive until the end of the Nightmare. What those powers will be depends on your natural affinity and what you do during the trial. But some will be at your disposal right from the start…"
The old policeman's voice grew distant. Sunny's eyelids were so heavy he struggled to keep them open.
"Remember: the first thing you must do once inside the Nightmare is check your Attributes and your Aspect. If you get a combat-oriented Aspect, like Swordsman or Archer, things will be easier. If it is reinforced by a physical Attribute, that's even better. Combat Aspects are common, so the probability of receiving one is high."
The armored room was growing dimmer.
"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. There are no useless Aspects—well, almost. So do everything 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 my colleagues and I will have to deal with it. So… please don't die, Sunless."
Half-asleep, Sunny felt touched by the policeman's words. "Or at least try not to die right away. The nearest Awakened won't arrive for hours, so we would really appreciate it if you don't make us fight that thing ourselves…"
'What?'
With that last thought, Sunny finally slipped into a deep slumber. Everything went black. Then, in the darkness, a faintly familiar voice rang:
"Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…"
Elsewhere, a skinny pink-haired girl sat with her face pressed into her knees, tears streaming down her face ,she whispered to herself, "Sunny…"