The Talk

The Nightmare Spell first appeared in the world a few decades ago. Back then, the planet was just starting to recover from a series of devastating natural disasters and subsequent resource wars. 

At first, the emergence of a new disease that caused millions of people to complain about constant fatigue and sleepiness did not attract a lot of attention. But when they started to fall into an unnatural slumber, with no sign of waking up even days later, governments finally started panicking. Of course, by then it was already too late - not that an early response could have made any difference. 

When the infected started dying in their sleep, their bodies turning into monsters, no one was ready. Nightmare Creatures quickly overwhelmed national militaries, plunging the world into complete chaos. 

No one knew what the Spell was, what powers it possessed, and how to fight it. 

In the end, it was the awakened - those who survived the first trials or nightmares of the Spell and came back alive - who put a stop to its rampage. Armed with miraculous abilities earned in their Nightmares, they restored peace and created a semblance of a new order. 

Of course, it was only the first of catastrophes brought upon by the Spell, but as far as the teenager was concerned, none of them had anything to do with him until a few days ago. 

For an average person, being chosen by the Spell was as much of a risk as an opportunity. Kids learned survival skills and fighting techniques in school, on the off chance of being infected. Well-to-do families hired private tutors to train their children in all sorts of martial arts. Those from the Awakened clans even had access to powerful legacies, wielding inherited Memories and Echoes in their first visit to the Dream Realm. 

So basically, the richer your family was, the better your odds of coming out as an Awakened. 

For the teenager who had no family and grew up in the slums it seemed like a death sentence but personally this teenager saw this as an opportunity.

*** 

A few minutes later, while the teenager was yawning, waiting for the officers or special agents or whoever the government sent to come, several policemen walked in and put him in restraints. 

The policemen carried him into the vault of the place, putting him in a special room that existed quite underground. Honestly, he felt a little cold in the underground basement, but he understood the precaution. People who failed turned into monsters sometimes and it was better to handle it here rather than somewhere else. He was sleepy, a little too sleepy to walk there again. 

Talking with Julius and Ronald made him sober up a little and acting like an idiot goofball, playing around helped staying awake but it was getting considerably harder and harder to remain awake. If he wanted staying awake wasn't too hard but the spell was inevitable and running from the inevitable was illogical.

The door in front of him opened allowing the cold air inside to get out creating a movie like entrance scene. The teenager was quite impressed with the entrance and gave him a thumbs up in his mind. 

After the vault door opened, a semi-gray-haired policeman walked in. He had a seasoned face and stern eyes, looking like someone who had seen a lot of terrible things in his life. After checking the restraints, the policeman glanced quickly at his wristwatch and then turned to the teenager. 

"What's your name, young man?" 

The teenager blinked a few times, trying to beat down the psychological need of sleep he was having at the moment. 

"Raian. " 

The old policeman raised an eyebrow. 

"Raian? That's a strange name." 

Raian raised an eyebrow. "What's so strange about it, having a name is something to brag about you know…. Or at least in the outskirts it is." mocking the officer a little

The policeman did not reply.

"I don't know why I was named Raian, maybe I was born during a heavy rain. " Raian continued the conversation because he would sleep the moment he stopped doing something. 

" Maybe my mother wanted to name me Rain but decided it was a bit arbitrary, that would be an interesting development though." 

The policeman looked toward Raian and pulled out a small notebook with a pen and clicked the pen. "family?" 

"None " 

"How long can you stay awake? " 

"Not for long, I think I might be daydreaming already. " 

"How much do you know about the spell?" 

"I did my research, I'm going to be sent into my first nightmare for a trial, as soon as I pass it I become a Sleeper. " 

"I guess there is no need to explain further, Goodluck young man." said the old man and prepared to leave the vault. 

Raian raised an eyebrow again. "Wait." According to the information he got, the policeman should explain things a little bit more. Things not following his plan or procedure didn't fit right with him. 

" Mmm? "The half gray haired man turned back, staring at Raian intently. 

"Shouldn't you explain things with a little more depth, you know it's my first time here after all." Raian tried to continue the previous conversation, he didn't care about the explanation because he already knew what was coming, what he had to do and what aspects were. 

The semi gray-haired policeman looked Raian in the eye. "Young man, I am a government police officer. You should be thankful that I am allowing you to enter the Dreamland in the first place right in my police station" looking at Raian right in the eye. "I don't give my kindness to killers." 

Raian heard the words nodded to them "Understandable. " 

He relaxed his body, closed his eyes and fell back slowly, lowering his head, getting comfortable. 

The darkness shrouded his eyes, at the start it was no different than trying to sleep with lights on but slowly the darkness overcame the light turning pitch black. 

And then, in the darkness, a faintly familiar voice rang. It was the voice of one of his favorite characters in fiction.

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]