13 Chapter Thirteen: The Winter Solstice.

On the day of the Winter Solstice, Jack woke up feeling tired and drowsy. But even though his listlessness was fierce, he went about his daily activities with a spring in his step.

After all, today was a culmination point in his plans. A new beginning that might validate all his efforts, or scrap them and force him to go to the drawing board again.

It was the day the last day their batch of Sleepers would see on Earth... at least for a while. And it was also the day when their lot in life would be determined by something they had absolutely no control over: Their contact point with the Dream Realm.

Whether they found themselves near one of humanity's Great Citadels or in a dead zone, such as the Forgotten Shore, would be substantial - not to say decisive - to their survival.

'If people heard I'm hoping to be sent to a dead zone covered in a dark sea full of corrupted creatures... I guess they wouldn't care that much. Most Sleepers are not completely sane anyways.'

Once Jack entered the Cafeteria, he felt the atmosphere was completely different than normal. Even though it was full of Sleepers, no one was talking. Everybody was in low spirits and seemed to be uncharacteristically introspective. There was no usual laughter or boisterous conversations - only the Legacies remained calm and collected. However, even they kept to themselves.

As he neared his group's usual table, he saw Sunny and Cassie sitting opposite each other, though none of them spoke. The same solemn mood could be seen in them.

Sunny silently grimaced while drinking a beverage that could only be bitter coffee. Jack couldn't help but smile at the familiar scene.

"Why don't you put cream and sugar in it?"

The young man eyed him over the drink. "Cassie told me only children put sugar in their coffee and that it ruins the flavor, so I gave it another try. I deeply regret it."

Jack laughed. "She's not wrong, you know. Maybe after a few more tries you'll get better used to it."

Sunny eyed him incredulously. "There is no way in hell I'm drinking this without sugar again. You two already make me suffer enough."

Jack shrugged. "Suit yourself.

Cassie chuckled with both hands over her mouth. Her eyes no longer seemed so gloomy. 

"Ah!" She suddenly said. "I almost forgot. Happy Birthday, Sunny!"

The young man in question seemed to halt at that statement as if coming to a sudden realization.

"Wait... It really is my birthday. How did you know about this?"

Cassie thought for a moment, then responded with a strange expression on her face. "How else? I read it on your file." 

There was a sudden silence at their table.

'Did Cassie... just make a blind person joke?"

Jack laughed rowdily. "I think you're spending too much time with me, Cassie. Do you see that too?"

She giggled. "I think I do see it, Jack."

Sunny looked between them, flabbergasted."How did you contaminate Cassie of all people?" 

Through such joyful banter, the spirits were kept high in their small group and the impending journey to Dream Realm was forgotten for a brief moment. But soon, it was time to face the music.

After Sunny finished his coffee, they left the Cafeteria and went their separate ways, to finalize their pendencies.

'Sunny is probably going to say his goodbyes to Teacher Julius. Although you won't catch him dead saying it, he really adores that old man. Cassie probably needs some time alone. Even after all we talked about this, she likely regards this as a final farewell.' Jack sighed. 

'I hope we get positioned in the same area of the Dream Realm. Although I know she has Fate's protection, nothing is certain. I'd feel better being able to provide immediate support, should any unexpected perils arise.'

Alas, there was nothing he could do about that. Jack could only prepare industriously and hope for the best.

While lost in his thoughts and reflections, Jack aimlessly wandered the Sleeper Compound, occasionally finding isolated Sleepers in its corners. Some wept, others looked ahead despondently, but all of them seemed to be in deep misery.

'It is not easy to face your own mortality.' Jack contemplated in silence.

When the sun was close to setting, Instructor Rock gathered his Sleepers in the foyer of the Sleeper Center and led them outside.

In the parks that surrounded the white building, other Awakened were leading their own batches of Sleepers to the same destination. It was the Academy's medical center.

The center looked more like a shrine than a hospital. Its interior contained both highly advanced technology as well as some of the best Healers among the Awakened. For the duration of their first journey into the Dream Realm, the bodies of Sleepers would be kept safe in specially designed pods and sustained by the magical powers of those Healers if anything unfortunate were to happen on the other side of the Spell.

Of course, whether or not they would wake up in the end wholly depended on the Sleepers themselves.

Before going to the wing containing the Sleeper pods, Awakened Rock separated from the other batches of Sleepers and took them to a comparatively desert floor. In it, there were rows upon rows of wheelchairs, all occupied. These people were all completely silent, motionless, and still, with strangely blank expressions on their faces. They all seemed to be... empty

In the eerie silence, Awakened Rock looked at the empty people with solemn eyes.

"There is a reason I brought you all here. Some of you may know who these people are... for those of you who don't, they are called Hollow."

He gritted his teeth.

"Each one of them was once either a Sleeper or an Awakened. Some of them were weak, others were incredibly powerful. All of them have perished on the Dream Realm."

'These are all soulless husks.' Jack thought in fury. Although he didn't think himself to be an altruist, he was still human. To see his kind fight and perish against this alien opponent... It was enough to ignite a blaze in a man's soul.

"If you're lucky, once your spirit is destroyed, your body dies with it. But if not, you'll become just like them. Hollow."

Instructor Rock glanced at them, and then added:

"So don't die out there."

-x-

Half an hour later, Sleepers had been led to their personal rooms and were preparing to enter the pods.

Jack took a deep breath. 'It's time.' 

After a roll of his shoulders, he stepped forward and climbed into the pod.

Inside the pod, he closed his eyes and let his drowsiness slowly take him away...

In a vast and starry darkness, he heard:

[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Jack!]