Chapter Text
A boy, no more than thirteen, was standing outside a concrete building. His unkempt white hair flowed in the wind, which clearly hasn't been washed for an extended amount of time. His purple-coloured eyes, which had black circles underneath them, seemed to be going in and out of focus. His skin was pale, very sickly pale. His body was shivering, partly from how cold the air was but also partly his torn clothes.
Clear signs of fatigue were all over his body.
Alex was tired.
He had walked for about a day or so, just to reach a suitable police station. He had to stave off both his hunger - the last tube of disgusting and tasteless synthpaste was eaten 2 days ago - and the drowsiness. He could also not just enter any police station too, he had to search for one that accepts any Nightmare Spell Carriers.
But finally.
Alex's eyes seemed to lit up. Or tried to anyway.
The flickering street lamp, the soft humming of government vehicles on the street and the smell of barely filtered air. What a welcoming atmosphere.
‘Ah, how wondrous.’
Although to some this environment would be bleak but to Alex it was heaven. All he had memories of living - very barely living - in the outskirts for the past few years with no recollection of his memories but his name.
So perhaps he could find something once he awakened.
If he awakened….
With much effort, he entered the ominous building.
Inside was a police officer, a tired one, sitting behind a desk, giving him a quick glance. A glance filled with disgust.
‘Nothing new.’
“Are you lost?”
Alex did not answer at first, he was too distracted by the inside of the station. It was decorated with shiny armors sitting pretty on the respective stands. Weapons of different kinds stored behind glass cases, giving a dangerous sheen in the light.
His fingers itched.
“Hey, someone is talking to you!”
Alex jumped in surprise.
“Oh, yeah.”
Then he scratched his cheek and said with a parched throat, trying to make his voice as steady as possible:
“As demanded by the Third Special Directive, I am here to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell.”
The guard’s expression turned from disgust to a cautious one in a matter of moments. He gave another quick glance of Alex’s body, before giving a more piercing gaze.
Alex held out his hand, giving no resistance if he was indeed restrained.
“When did you start showing symptoms? Are you sure 100% you are infected?”
He shrugged, his hands still held out in surrender.
“Around one and a half weeks.”
The officer's eyes seemed to explode from its sockets.
“Fuck.”
Then in a swift motion, with no wasted movement, he pressed a button behind the desk and shouted.
“We have a Code Black in the main lobby! I repeat! code black!”
~~~
The Nightmare Spell or better known as the Spell was a phenomenon that started to happen a few decades ago, during the age where humanity was entering a stabilising period of peace.
It brought about an unnatural symptom of fatigue towards a large majority of the population which resulted in sleep for them that would last abnormally long - some would say miniature comas.
People who did awaken from the slumber explained their adventures in their prolonged sleep and afterwards gaining powers beyond human capabilities. But for the people that did not wake up for the usual few days from their slumber, they weren’t so lucky.
They turned into hideous beasts of all kinds, some with a close resemblance to humans with its body parts, some closely resembling insects - which Alex had the lucky encounter of meeting one in the outskirts.
However humans adapted, like they did before. They used their powers to eliminate these dangers and now somewhat had a controlled situation.
Nowadays there were rules, protocols to be followed if one had any suspicious symptoms of fatigue, everyone, of course with exceptions, had to follow them if one observed that they did have those symptoms. And Alex had been holding on for a week and a half.
~~~
A few minutes later, Alex was continuously yawning. It was harder to hold in a yawn now. Especially since he had been restrained to a bed. A soft bed! A luxury he could only dream of in the outskirts. He didn’t really mind the restraint on his appendages, he was mentally ready for it anyways.
He was so busy yawning, that noticing the amount of police officers in the room was a troublesome task for him. He just wants to let his eyelid close.
Thankfully one of them, Alex presume was the police chief, spoke to him in a clear and stern manner.
“What’s your name?”
His face had multiple scars, some deep while some shallow - creating the image of an ex. Some of the scars were clearly made from humans while some were , Alex could only imagine, from fighting off horrific Nightmare Creatures that spawn from Spell Carriers. His expression gives an air of professionalism and experience.
“Alexander.”
“Alexander? Are your parents old history enthusiasts or something?”
He raised an eyebrow. His tone was still very stern but there was a hint of curiosity.
Alex shifted uncomfortably, slightly jolted awake from the question, blinking repeatedly at the police chief at the question.
“Is Alexander someone important in history?”
He curiously asked. He can’t really help it, he likes learning new things. His parents must have been great researchers to be able to study old history. He learned that most, if not all, old age things were not entirely accessible to the general public. They had to have a decently powerful connection.
As the moment passed, Alex turned somber.
“I don't remember anything since I lived in the outskirts for the past few years. So don’t bother about relatives.”
He said somberly. He did not like talking about his partial amnesia.
The police chief must have noticed the sadness in his voice because his eyes turned one of pity for a brief moment.
Alex hated those eyes.
‘I don’t need your pity, you old fart.’
The police chief then cleared his throat forcefully, his expression turned back into its professional one again.
“Anyways, you need to stay awake for this next part. Can you do that for me?”
“At most a few minutes. I am too tired.”
Alex tried to shrug, but forgot he was restrained.
The policemen sighed.
“Then we most likely won’t be able to give you the full procedure. You should listen to everything carefully, ok?”
His tone now was more serious than before. He did not wait for an answer to his question.
“How much do you know about the Nightmare Spell? Considering your condition and all.”
Alex gave him a deadpanned look.
“Are you serious? I came here knowing full well about these things.”
Alex was not lying. He learned a lot of things about the Nightmare Spell in the outskirts. His sources were at times, of course, unreliable and exaggerated to some degree. But he knew the basic things about it.
“No, no. Not those government prop they release. I meant like the real stuff.”
Now that was something he can’t really answer. Of course, he heard about things in the outskirts. Rumors about how the Spell works.
But that was just it. Word of mouth. Rumors. Nothing more.
“Do I not just kill a bunch of Nightmare creatures after being placed into my own place in the Dream Realm?”
Alex gave him a questioning look.
The police chief shook his head in response.
He explained that the First Nightmare is unique to the individual, a personal trial some would say. It would test you to the very limit. His voice was somber as if he experienced it first hand, which Alex deduced couldn’t be. Just because he was not an awakened - at least didn’t look like one.
“...That’s why you also might have to kill humans too. ”
Alex was now even more confused.
“Isn’t that just how the world works?”
As he said that, slight bits of his consciousness were starting to slip.
The room felt like it was now starting to spin.
The police chief gave him another pity look. Or at least that’s what Alex saw. He could not tell at this point. Faces were now getting blurrier by the second.
“The outskirts must have toughen you up huh. Nonetheless, just think about them as illusions.”
His voice was now growing distant.
He wanted to say something but his tongue was heavy already.
“Don’t die, Alexander. Don’t give up hope just because of your current situation.”
It felt like he was speaking from another room.
“Or don’t die too quickly at least. I don’t want to deal with another one of those creatures without having an Awakened nearby.”
His tone sounded like he was wary but Alex could not pinpoint on what emotion he was trying to convey. The police chief’s voice was too distant.
“Good luck.”
Alex was too tired to open his mouth to reply. He tried to give something that resembles a nod.
As his eyelids fully close and darkness envelopes his vision, the relief of fatigue finally encapsulates him.
Then a familiar yet strange voice rings in his mind:
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Preparing your first trial….]