Damiano paced around his room, unsure of what to do.
In just a few minutes he would turn eighteen, and the option that is presented to every thinking person in this world would appear before him.
[Do you want to enter the nightmare?]
Words made of blood suddenly appeared in his vision, causing his constant pacing back and forth to come to a halt.
Below the question, two options appeared.
Options that everyone has the right to choose.
[Yes] [No]
The vast majority of people in the world are sensible and choose the safe option.
No.
Why?
Because by choosing the [Yes] option, you are dragged into a nightmare world from which you cannot escape until you complete your mission.
You will face unspeakable horrors and unbelievable situations where death lurks around every corner.
If you die in the nightmare, you also die in real life, and it is even possible that you might open a door for the nightmare to escape into the real world.
It was, without a doubt, something incredibly dangerous.
So why would anyone want to go through that process?
Because if you were capable of surviving the nightmare, completing your mission, and returning… you could obtain superpowers.
What kind of superpowers?
Damiano had no idea. All information about nightmares, their mechanics, and the superpowers was a mystery to the vast majority of people in the world.
Damiano clenched his teeth, his heart racing. Drops of sweat ran down his face and his hands trembled.
This was a choice most people didn't think about for long. If you didn't believe yourself capable or were a coward, you chose to refuse.
If you were daring, capable, or even an idiot, you chose the [Yes] option.
Damiano didn't consider himself daring or capable. In fact, he had never been able to confess his feelings or even approach a girl, neither in this life nor in his previous one.
Obviously, he wasn't an idiot either… but just the idea of having a superpower.
Damiano's body trembled with excitement, and in a brief moment of courage, he chose the [Yes] option.
"Shit! I didn't accomplish anything important in my previous life, and I'm not going to let that keep happening in this one!"
Damiano's breathing became erratic as the seconds passed, and the words in his vision disappeared, replaced by others.
[Damiano Mars has accepted his nightmare]
A chill ran through Damiano's entire body when, without him realizing it, two skeletal arms appeared behind him and grabbed him like a chicken about to be sacrificed.
Damiano tried to struggle, but he couldn't move, much less scream.
The two skeletal hands held him for a second before rapidly retracting and disappearing from the room along with Damiano.
November 14th, year 997 – time: 12:04 a.m.
Damiano turned eighteen and faced his first nightmare.
Everything happened so quickly and silently that no one noticed his absence.
---
Damiano felt as if everything around him was spinning, and a powerful urge to vomit overwhelmed him.
Unable to hold it in, he got up from his seat, stepped over two other people—who protested, though Damiano paid them no attention—and walked in search of a bathroom.
Even while his head was spinning, he noticed that he seemed to be in a very narrow place, since if he moved too far to the left or right, he bumped into something or someone.
He felt around with his hands until he sensed something resembling a door, and pulling hard, he opened it.
His vision was blurry, and he couldn't stop nodding off when once again words made of what looked like blood appeared in his vision.
[Damiano Mars]
Age: 18 years
[Status: Healthy]
[Rank: Sleeper]
[First Nightmare]
Difficulty: Hard
[Mission: Survive]
When the words appeared, his vision cleared and he could see everything normally, though he was still dizzy.
The first thing that caught his attention wasn't the words—it was a face staring back at him in confusion.
The young man was handsome, and his age didn't seem much different from Damiano's. However, he looked much taller and stronger. He was wearing a strange burgundy-colored jacket and looked like the stereotypical athlete from American movies and TV shows.
Damiano touched his face, unable to believe what he was seeing. The reflection just a few centimeters away mirrored the same action, leaving him no choice but to believe it.
He was inhabiting another person's body. The sensation was strange yet familiar, making him think for a second that he had died again and been reborn into another body, rather than being in his first nightmare.
"THE DAMN PLANE IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!"
A shout and several voices snapped him out of his daze.
"If this is your idea of a joke…" Damiano turned halfway around to identify the source of the sound and realized he was in a small bathroom. In fact, he was standing in the aisle of an airplane, where several people were trying to restrain a boy who seemed to be having a panic attack.
"THIS ISN'T A JOKE! THE PLANE IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!"
"We'll throw you off the plane if you don't shut up!" A flight attendant tried to threaten the boy, but he paid no attention to the warning.
"I'LL GET OFF THIS PLANE ON MY OWN FEET!!"
Another boy stood up from his seat and punched him, causing both of them to be dragged off the plane.
But even as they were being dragged away, the boy kept screaming with urgency and panic.
"THE PLANE IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!"
"GET OUT OF HERE!!"
"THE PLANE IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!"
This scene triggered an overwhelming sense of déjà vu in Damiano. He felt like he had seen this before, but he couldn't quite remember where.
Along with the boys being dragged out, two teachers, a very beautiful girl, and a skinny guy also left the plane.
The scene became more and more familiar until he saw a blonde girl stand up from her seat and pass by him.
Her face made Damiano's entire body tremble, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
He looked again at the objective of his mission.
Survive!
At first glance, it might seem very normal, but it was extremely strange.
If those were the kinds of missions the nightmare assigned, its 80% mortality rate wouldn't be justified at all.
It was a fact that you had to survive the nightmare while also completing a mission, such as finding an object or performing a certain action.
For his mission to be simply to survive—and upon seeing the girl who was already getting off the plane…
Damiano went pale and also started running out of the plane.
"What are you doing, sir?!" A flight attendant tried to stop him, but Damiano tackled him in the midst of panic and terror.
His heart was beating wildly as several people grabbed him and tried to restrain him.
"LET ME GO!!" His voice was filled with desperation.
He couldn't stay on this plane for even one more second.
Not on this damn plane!
Pushing past the people in his way, he ran through the jet bridge and didn't let out a breath until he saw the people who had already left the plane.
The two teachers talked for a while before the female teacher decided to stay behind and the male teacher returned to the plane.
The man passed by Damiano and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"What are you doing here, George?"
Damiano shrugged, not knowing what to say.
"Come with me." The teacher grabbed him by the shoulder and tried to take him back onto the plane.
Damiano panicked and quickly pulled away, shaking his head from side to side.
The teacher looked at him strangely for a second before returning to the plane, leaving Damiano sighing in relief.
He had escaped by the skin of his teeth!
Now that he was calmer, Damiano could think more clearly.
He was holding a bottle of water and observing the people around him, still unable to believe what he was seeing.
Everything happened exactly as he remembered. They began talking about what was happening to Alex and the rest.
Until Alex himself claimed he had seen that the plane was going to explode.
This enraged Carter, who didn't hesitate to come over and mock Alex, and the two got into another fight like the one they had inside the plane.
Damiano stopped paying attention to them and stared fixedly at the airport window that showed the plane in the air.
In just a few seconds, the plane burst into flames and exploded!
Damiano crouched down and covered his face in anticipation.
Everyone was left in complete shock—everyone except Damiano, who already had an idea of what was happening… and he didn't like it.
He was living through the plot of the movie called Final Destination.