I slowly opened my eyes, and the faint light seeped through a small window, cutting across the room and revealing the dilapidated ceiling above me. A mild headache throbbed at my temples, as if sleep hadn't granted me any rest, and my eyes struggled to adjust to the cold, unfamiliar room.
I rose from the bed, my legs trembling slightly from fatigue, and turned to my right. In front of me stood an old wooden desk, covered in a layer of dust, with a small window above it barely letting any daylight in. I had never seen a desk like this before; it wasn't mine, yet somehow it felt strangely familiar.
I couldn't hold back the question:
Where was Jacob?
The silence in the room was overwhelming, as if the walls themselves were watching me. Suddenly, a strange, sharp yet playful voice pierced the stillness:
"Adam… Adam… come play with me!"
A chill ran through me, and my heart began to race. I turned behind me, and when my eyes met the white wall scratched with random markings, a shiver ran down my arms. There was a number written cryptically: 2104, carved poorly into the wall.
A safe code? A phone number? I couldn't imagine its meaning yet, but it felt important—something that would later lead me to uncover a great secret.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I had no choice but to explore the room. I carefully scanned my surroundings, and my eyes fell on the door to my left. It seemed to be inviting me out, as if the room itself were pushing me toward something unknown.
But curiosity got the better of me, and I moved toward the old desk. I opened the drawers slowly, one by one, searching for any trace that could link me to the number or the strange voice. But I found nothing—no safe, no phone, nothing useful. Frustration rose inside me, but in the last drawer, I noticed something glinting faintly: an old sealed folder.
The writing on the cover was clear:
"From Headmaster Thedos, to Adam"
My breath quickened as I held the official seal in my hands, feeling the cold metal transfer its chill to my fingers. I opened the seal slowly, as if any movement could reveal a dangerous secret.
When I opened the folder, the words shocked my eyes:
"Congratulations on your acceptance to the Academy of Nightmare Hunters."
I sat for a moment, trying to process what I had just read. Academy… Hunters… Nightmares? Everything seemed strange, as if my life had shifted in an instant.
My mind was blank of memories. Everything felt hazy, like my life before this moment was a distant dream I couldn't recall. The folder in my hands remained on the desk, yet I felt something strange—a certainty within me that one day I would regain all I had lost.
My name was clearly written on the cover. I was the intended recipient.
But… Nightmare Hunters? Was someone joking with me? Or was this part of a fictional world I had yet to comprehend?
I pushed myself toward the door. I could no longer bear staying in that strange room.
The moment I opened the door, a wave of cold wind hit me, seeping through my clothes, stinging my body, making me shiver. I looked down: I was wearing a black shirt and light jeans—not nearly enough for this sudden cold.
Before me, the city looked like a massive maze of stacked apartments, one building rising above another with no clear order, as if the city itself was designed to confuse any newcomer. The streets were narrow, lined with piles of utility poles and dangling wires forming a spiderweb above the buildings.
The city's sounds were loud and strange: screeching cars, revving motorcycles, echoes of people in the narrow streets, and sometimes incomprehensible noises from alleys, as if the city itself were breathing.
I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. I felt helpless, utterly lost.
— Where the hell am I?
I looked around again. The apartments were packed together haphazardly, walls painted in faded colors, some covered in strange drawings and garbled writings. The small windows were protected by metal grates, and some balconies held clothes swaying in the wind. Everything seemed both familiar and alien at the same time, as if I had stepped into a world not meant for ordinary people.
A massive, crowded city, layered in chaos, filled with the scent of food, oils, and polluted air all at once… a testing ground, a place challenging everything I knew about the world—and everything I knew about myself.
With each step I took on the cracked pavement, I felt a strange sense of familiarity, even though I was sure I had never lived in this area before.
I began to wander aimlessly, guided more by curiosity than reason. The people around me spoke in a strange language; their sounds were unfamiliar to my ears. I tried to focus on the words, pronouncing the syllables, but I could not connect them to any language I knew.
It wasn't Spanish.
Nor English.
Nor French.
Nor even Arabic.
Yet… I could understand them.
I paused. This realization confused me. How could I understand a language I didn't know? How could the words reach my mind as if already translated?
But there was no answer.
I continued walking past the crowd. Many faces brushed past me: men carrying bags, women speaking quickly, children running through alleys. After a few steps, I heard a familiar noise—laughter, shouting, excitement.
I turned and saw a group of boys playing football in the street. The ball rolled across the rough asphalt, their voices growing louder each time someone neared the small goal made of two stones.
For a brief moment, I felt something warm inside… a memory, perhaps, but I couldn't grasp it.
I kept walking.
Gradually, the stacked apartments disappeared behind me. The old buildings, cracked walls, tangled wires above… all faded away.
Then I entered a completely different area.
The air felt cleaner.
The streets were wider.
The sidewalks were neat and organized.
Before me, huge glass skyscrapers reflected sunlight, towering as if trying to touch the clouds.
This was undoubtedly the wealthy district.
I paused, observing the passing cars. But they seemed… strange.
Their shapes were unfamiliar. Their designs were unlike anything I had seen before. I tried to recall any model, any company, anything… but my memory remained empty.
I muttered to myself:
"Apparently… I used to live in the poor district."
This place felt like a completely different world from the streets I had just left minutes ago.
I continued walking, passing the massive buildings, and suddenly the area opened up.
A wide natural pond lay before me, its surface reflecting sunlight like a calm mirror. Trees surrounded it on all sides, and birds' calls echoed above the water.
I stopped.
I couldn't help but smile slightly.
I whispered softly:
"Jacob should have seen this place…"
But as I got absorbed in the view of the pond, I lifted my head slightly…
And froze.
There, on the opposite mountain, stood a colossal statue of a man with arms spread toward the sky.
He wore a long cloak, his arms extended as if embracing the entire city. The statue was so enormous it seemed to watch everything from above.
Suddenly, something struck my mind.
Memories flashed.
Fragments of images.
Sounds.
Names.
Places.
I grabbed my head tightly as a massive wave of pain surged through my skull.
"Ahhh…!"
Memories poured violently, as if someone had opened a dam inside my mind.
Then I realized the truth.
I whispered in a broken voice:
"I…"
I paused to catch my breath.
"I'm in… Rio de Janeiro."
My breathing quickened.
"The capital of Brazil…"
I collapsed to my knees on the ground as the pain tore through my head. All the memories I had lost returned at once.
I screamed inside, trying to withstand the pain.
And when I lowered my gaze, I saw the one thing still in my hand.
The folder.
The acceptance folder.
I looked at the words again.
Academy of Nightmare Hunters.
Finally, I understood.
I lifted my head slightly, fear and anger mingling.
I gritted my teeth:
"Damn it…"
I clenched my fist tightly.
"The damn it!"
And the question I feared more than anything slipped out:
"Am… I going to die in this cursed world?"
And the noisy city behind me continued its life… as if nothing had happened.