"Hey man! You still reading that dorky novel? C'mon out to beers with us bro, it ain't fun without you."
Riley felt a slap against his back, his overgrown bangs turned around to meet the gazes of three of his coworkers. Each housed a cocky grin and lecherous smiles, clearly the alcohol was secondary to checking out girls.
He sighed and shut his laptop.
"Yeah I am still reading 'that dorky novel'. And it has a name damn it! It's Shadow Slave! Much better than harassing girls and getting the cops involved."
Riley shook his head as he turned to leave.
7:27
'Best time of the day! Home time.'
He pushed through his three 'friends' and left the main room. Though he didn't get far as he felt a pressure building up.
'Bathroom time. But will I make the next train?'
He didn't even bother checking, this was clearly a bigger issue than getting home on time.
The light's turned pitch-black, his steps changing from muffled carpet to echoing stone. An extremely faint scent of copper filled his nostrils, something he hadn't quite smelled before.
"Where the hell am I? Is this not the bathroom?"
No matter how much he searched, he never once bumped into a wall. Instead, he grew sleepy, his shoulders slacked down and eventually his knees could no longer prop him up.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]
Riley's eyes snapped open, a vast plain of sapplings stretched farther than the eye could see. In the centre of it all was a small gazebo of sorts. It towered higher than their surroundings by several meters, and in it was an extremely handsome man.
His delicate features and soft smile only added to the fear Riley felt. They had only been sitting about a meter apart, separated by a table with a set of chess upon it.
"Your move? Why do you seem so spaced out?"
His voice was enchanting and otherworldly, like a choir of children in a large cathedral, but it was unsettling nonetheless.
'Why does he feel familiar? Extremely handsome, fear, board game…'
All colour drained from his face as the final piece clicked in the puzzle.
"Ariel?!"
The handsome man stared at him in confusion, almost as if he had sprouted seven more heads and started talking to a strange rock.
"Yes? I don't think petty strategies like seeming scared would help you win this losing game."
He chuckled lightly to himself, even his taunts were ethereal.
'Wait losing?'
Riley looked down at the chess board. He was no pro, but even he could tell the situation wasn't in his favour. Even so…this must be his first nightmare. Which by extension means that…
'…this is the world of Shadow Slave…I have fanboyed so hard I've been sent here…'
He rubbed his temples, even thinking of smacking his head against the jade pillars of the gazebo.
Ariel however was growing much more confused, and a drop of suspicion forced his next question.
"You are not -unknown- are you? Strange."
Riley looked at Ariel, a deep feeling of dread consuming his being. He could feel his heart pumping excess blood to his legs, hoping to escape.
But he bit himself, his tongue already bleeding.
'Come one Riley. You've read every chapter of the damn novel! You should know running away is not an option here. And it seems Ariel has already figured out he is not talking to the original host of this body.'
With a deep exhale he smiled back at the beautiful demon of dread.
"You are correct. I am in fact not whoever you thought I was. This is my first nightmare, ah, but you might not know what that is-"
"I might not know what that is? I may not be omniscient, but I am the ruler over the domain of truth. I am plenty knowledgable on what you mean. This is Weaver's little toy. But to think…"
Ariel vanished in his own thoughts, the pressure of his aura softening slightly, enough for Riley to breath normally.
In the short pause, Riley took in the surroundings. While most plantlife here were still sapplings, there was a large tree already sprouted. It reached for the heavens above, the top completely out of view.
"I understand the situation. This is the first nightmare he had mentioned once to me. That damn heathen managed to finish it. And I am your first trial, so you must alter history in some way."
Riley didn't know whether to be scared or impressed by his deductions.
'I don't remember Ariel being so quick on things before. However that makes it easier. It looks like I am losing this match right now, so to alter history I would have to win? Actually, a better question is, why are we playing chess? This game wasn't around during the ancient times…'
Riley completely immersed himself in the game, analyzing every possible angle that could be used to win the match, but it all seemed so hard. Chess was all about either winning or losing, and Riley was a very sore loser.
A smile spread across his lips, at last, he had come up with a plan.
"If you win the match, well, you win. However, if you don't win, then I wish for you to bestow upon me your lineage."
Ariel stared at the youth, then burst into laughter, breaking the beautiful mask apart.
"Ah sorry, forgive me. I did not wish to make fun of you, its simply that we demons are forbidden from creating a lineage-"
"Weaver did it."
And a deep silence nestled into the small world of the nightmare.
Ariel's face had darkened into one of a gothic beauty. The world shook as his fists clenched, deep gashes ripped through the earth surrounding them.
"He did? I see. Doing all of this while we are prepairing for war against the gods? I guess its my fault for believing he was a stickler for rules."
With a band of silk he wrapped his long hair up into a ponytail and picked up one of the captured pieces, twirling it around his fingers.
"Very well, but allow me to add a condition to this. If I do create a lineage, then you my future heir, will have to throw a wrench in that demon's plans."
Riley shook his hand. Finally he could breath a sigh of relief, but everything turned still.
"Well, that's assuming that you can beat me."
Riley smiled softly, chuckling in his mind.
'He took the bait!'