Caspian lingered near the edge of the hall, his sharp red eyes sweeping across the crowd with measured calm.
That was when he noticed it.
Or rather… them.
He was the only one standing anywhere close to the three pale, slender figures tucked away in the far corner of the hall. Sunless. The black-haired girl with bandaged hands. The porcelain-skinned blonde who looked like she might shatter if someone spoke too loudly near her.
The space around them felt wrong.
Not empty—avoided.
Some Sleepers glanced their way with fleeting sympathy, quickly looking away as if afraid that compassion itself might be contagious. Others didn't look at them at all. Their gazes slid past the trio as though they were already absent, already erased.
Already dead.
A corpse corner.
Caspian frowned.
He didn't like that.
He had seen that look before— in places where people unconsciously decided who was worth saving and who was not. The Spell had a way of accelerating those judgments, stripping away civility and leaving only instinct.
And instinct was cruel.
They weren't weak.
They were marked.
Caspian exhaled softly.
No. Not on my watch.
He had already decided to speak to them—to dismantle the invisible wall the crowd had built—when the atmosphere in the hall suddenly shifted.
A presence descended.
The chatter died almost instantly, as if someone had reached out and squeezed the air itself.
Caspian turned.
A man had appeared on the stage.
Not merely tall—massive.
He stood like a living monument, nearly a giant among humans, his dark blue uniform stretched across a frame that looked carved rather than trained. Broad shoulders. Thick arms. An athletic build that carried weight without sluggishness. A full, well-groomed brown beard framed a face that radiated calm authority.
A bear.
The comparison struck Caspian immediately.
Bears had gone extinct long ago, but he had grown up seeing countless images. Documentaries. Preserved footage. Even a plush toy he'd slept with as a child—a ridiculous, oversized thing his father pretended not to notice.
This man looked like all of that given flesh.
His eyes were steady and serious, scanning the hall slowly, deliberately, as though counting souls rather than people.
When he reached the center of the stage, he stopped.
Silence reigned.
Then, in a deep, reverberating voice that seemed to resonate in Caspian's chest, he spoke:
"I am Awakened Rock. Sleepers, welcome to the Academy."
No one made a sound.
"In less than a month, you will be summoned to the Dream Realm. Some of you might think that you are well prepared. You're wrong. The Spell is merciless and cunning. The moment Awakened begin to think too much of themselves, they die. I've seen countless Sleepers like you lose their lives. I've also seen experienced Masters lose theirs. Even Saints are not assured to survive."
The hall felt colder.
"In the following four weeks, we will do everything in our power to increase your chances of survival. You will receive training from the best instructors in the world. However, don't be misled by their fame: in the end, whether you return from the Dream Realm alive depends only on one person — you. The responsibility to survive is yours, and yours alone."
Caspian watched the crowd carefully.
Fear bloomed like frost across unfamiliar faces. Only the Legacies remained composed—trained masks hiding nerves they had learned to bury early.
"You are not children anymore. It's a shame, because you ought to be. But the Spell has decided otherwise. You have been to the First Nightmare, so you already know what it's like. Your parents, your teachers and your friends can't help you anymore…"
Caspian sighed quietly.
He's right.
His father couldn't help him now. Not with strategy. Not with strength. Not with protection.
Only Caspian himself could.
He understood the purpose of the speech clearly. Rock wasn't trying to inspire them. He was trying to terrify them.
Because fear kept people alive.
Finally, Awakened Rock paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in.
"Now we will talk about the difference between Nightmares and the Dream Realm…"
"Most people are aware of what Nightmares are — because they have an impact on the real world and their lives. All of you have been warned before entering the First Nightmare that, should you perish there, a Nightmare Creature would be allowed to cross the threshold and enter reality."
That memory stirred uneasily.
That was why his father had waited. That was why he had watched. That was why he had been ordered to stand by, even as Caspian fought for his life, but it still was very cruel to make a father watch his own son fighting for their life.
"First Nightmares are unique, because each of them is individual. That's why only a single Creature can appear. However, starting from the Second Nightmare, things become much more dangerous. These Nightmares are not tied to an infected person. Instead, they are born in the Dream Realm. While the Seed of the Nightmare is growing, any number of Awakened can attempt to conquer it."
Caspian's jaw tightened.
One creature?
Outdated. Laughably so.
Over five hundred kills. More than a hundred Nightmare Creatures. Human or not, blood was blood, he liked it or not
"Should they all die or fail to find the Seed before it matures, a Gate will open in the real world, letting through countless monsters. You all know the consequences. Other Awakened will be forced to withstand the onslaught on this side, but then there can be massive destruction or losses among the civilian population."
Gates.
The word alone carried dread.
Not long before Caspian's birth, a Rank 5 Gate opening had rendered an entire continent uninhabitable. The memory of that catastrophe still haunted the world.
"So it is not wrong to say that the purpose of the Awakened is to enter the Dream Realm, seek out maturing Nightmares and close them before any harm could befall the real world. From this, you can see that the Dream Realm and the Nightmares are connected, but are not one and the same. If Nightmares are the destination, then the Dream Realm is the road. But it is also so much more."
"The bear man has a poetic side" Velpam commented lazily in his mind.
"Simply put, the Dream Realm is a world. It is vast, mysterious and mostly unexplored. It is also dead. There is no life out there except for the Nightmare Creatures, corrupted ecosystems… and now us. But it wasn't always dead. We can tell that once, a long time ago, the Dream Realm was home to several primitive civilizations. There are a lot of ruins buried in its soil."
Primitive my ass, Caspian thought.
Verdam's citadel had magic holograms.
"We don't know if the Dream Realm exists inside the Spell as one of its illusions, just on an unimaginably larger scale, or if it's real, with the Spell only serving as a pathway between two realities. However, we do suspect that the illusions conjured up inside the Nightmares are based on its history. They are replicas of past events, somehow reconstructed from the depths of time."
Caspian remembered the three citadels rising from ruin, something he only remembered after waking up. Moon. Sun. Stars. One after another.
How had the war ended?
Surely the Tyrant should have won, he was inmortal, until Caspian arrived, but his citadel still fell, what did it?
"There are four main differences between the Dream Realm and the Nightmares. Firstly, it doesn't have a "story". There is no predetermined conflict you are forced to resolve. You can move freely and explore, provided that you have the strength to stay alive in the wilderness. Most people tend to stay close to one of the human Citadels."
"Secondly, as I have already mentioned, there are no people in the Dream Realm except for those who came from the real world. There are only monsters. Some of them can mimic human appearance, though, so be mindful of that."
Sunny shifted uncomfortably.
"Thirdly, unlike the First Nightmare, no Nightmare Creatures will appear in the real world if you die in the Dream Realm. It may sound cruel, but that's a good thing. Awakened forces are already spread thin. If we had to monitor every Sleeper, we wouldn't have resources to handle more important matters."
Cruel.
True.
"And lastly, and most importantly. Unlike Nightmares, which are bound by the rules of fairness, there is no limit to what kind of Creature you can meet in the Dream Realm. During its trials, the Spell won't pit a dormant human against an opponent many ranks above them…"
Caspian's veins pulsed.
Liar.
"... But in the Dream Realm, no such restrictions exist. Theoretically, you can stumble upon an Unholy Titan and die before even realizing what happened. So be careful and stick to the regions with enemies on par with your own rank. It's not an ironclad guarantee, but at least there will be less of a chance of you biting off more than you can chew."
Good advice.
"When the solstice comes, you will be drawn into the Dream Realm. The exact location of where you will appear can't be predicted in advance, but there is a high chance that many of you will find yourselves in close proximity to each other. Band together and proceed to the nearest human Citadel. Each Citadel is built around a Gateway. Once you reach it, you will be able to return."
Awakened.
Like his father.
"If you can't locate or are unable to reach the nearest human Citadel, search for an unclaimed Gateway. It will usually be inside or near the most prominent landmark of the region. Work together to defeat its guardians and come back alive."
A heavy look.
"That is all for today. Next, follow the instructions sent to your communicators to find your assigned dormitory. Once settled, you may proceed to the cafeteria for some late supper. There will be a round of interviews after that, to prepare your suggested curriculums. Get a good night's rest. Your training starts tomorrow."
Caspian felt hunger claw at him, luckily he could keep it under control until having some blood.