The city blurred past the reinforced windows of Master Jet's personal transport vehicle, a smear of neon, steel, and smog. Blaze leaned his forehead against the cool glass, his eyes tracking the towering spires and the humming mag-lev rails that crisscrossed the urban sprawl. The sheer scale of the technology was staggering compared to the gritty reality of the outskirts.
I wonder, Blaze mused silently, if they still have motorcycles in this world, or if everything has moved to these silent, floating pods.
Beside him, Sunny remained a tense ball of nerves and shadow. The silence in the cabin was heavy until Master Jet broke it. She didn't turn around, her eyes fixed on the path ahead, but her voice carried that same chilling, cracked authority Blaze had noticed earlier.
"Since you both come from the outskirts, I'll give you three pieces of advice," she said. "Whether you listen to me or not is your business."
Both Sunny and Blaze turned their heads, their attention sharpening. In a world this hostile, advice from an Ascended was a lifeline.
"First," Jet began, "once you're registered in the Academy, they'll offer you psychological counseling again. There will also be a valuable reward for sharing your experiences in the Nightmare and the details of your Appraisal. They'll offer you a soul shard—maybe even several of them."
Sunny frowned, his defensive hackles rising. "Are you trying to convince me to visit a psychiatrist again?"
Jet shook her head, a dark smile playing on her lips. "No. I'm telling you to refuse."
Sunny's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Why? Isn't the government supposed to help us?"
There was a long pause before Jet answered, her voice dropping an octave. "You're too green to understand, but out there in the Dream Realm, Nightmare Creatures are not the only danger. Once you grow powerful enough, humans will become an equal threat. The less they know about your Aspect, the better."
Blaze nodded slowly. Better to keep secrets, he thought. If they know how you fight, they know how to kill you.
"The easiest way to defeat a powerful Awakened is to use their Flaw," Jet continued. "That's why young fools in the Academy are encouraged in various ways to share the details of their Aspects. I'm not saying the government will intentionally leak your information, but once two people know a secret, it's no longer a secret. And there are a lot of people working for the government."
"Thank you," Blaze said sincerely. "We appreciate the warning."
She gave him a curt nod. "Second: there will be a lot of courses to choose from. Combat training, deep dives into Nightmare Creature vulnerabilities, sorcery, artifact study... Disregard all of that. The only course you have time to attend is Wilderness Survival."
Sunny blinked. "What? Why that? I thought we needed to learn how to kill things."
Jet glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "It's different for city kids. They learn all sorts of useful things in school and from tutors. But we don't have that advantage, do we? Think back. What was the biggest threat to your life during the Nightmare?"
"The cold," Sunny answered immediately.
"Secrets," Blaze added, his voice low.
Both Sunny and Jet shot a confused look at Blaze. He didn't elaborate, merely meeting their gaze with an intensity that brooked no argument. "Trust me," he said. "I'm speaking from personal experience."
Jet held his gaze for a moment before turning back to the road. She dropped them in front of the Academy gates, leaving them with one final, unspoken piece of advice in her eyes before her vehicle sped away into the traffic.
******
Blaze and Sunny stood before the massive, seemingly indestructible red gates of the Awakened Academy.
The Academy was more than a school; it was a fortress-city within the city. High walls made of a specialized hard alloy rose into the sky, surrounded by a deep moat and bristling with large-caliber turrets. The defense systems were designed to create a deadly air-suppression dome, meant to repel even the most colossal titans.
It's like a mini-city inside a cage, Blaze thought.
As they approached the gate, they weren't alone. A girl was standing there, her presence so commanding that the air seemed to still around her. She had white hair and eyes that held a terrifying, quiet fire.
Nephis, Blaze recognized her instantly. The Changing Star. The Main Character's greatest ally and master. 'Now... should I walk beside her, or stay out of her way?'.
As he looked at her, a strange, jarring sensation rippled through his chest. It wasn't the heat of the star or the chill of the Angel's pact. It was a sense of... familiarity.
'Why do I feel like we belong to the same species? 'Blaze wondered, his mind spinning. 'Don't tell me I've been infected with her brand of social detachment?'
Suddenly, Nephis turned. Her gaze locked onto Blaze's, staring at him with an unblinking intensity that felt like she was looking at a mirror she didn't recognize. The gates groaned open, and the three of them—Blaze, Sunny, and Nephis—walked into the sleeper's compound.
*****
The Sleeper's compound was a cacophony of voices. Hundreds of young men and women, all survivors of their first Nightmare, were gathered in groups, their nervous energy echoing throughout the stone halls.
Blaze took a different approach than Sunny's guarded silence. He began to move through the crowd, introducing himself. Let me see who I'm dealing with, he thought.
As he spoke to the other Sleepers, he noticed their souls. Most were pale, with minimal red auras—the marks of people who had survived, but hadn't been stained by the kind of "murder" he had seen. The conversations went smoothly; Blaze had a natural charisma that Sunny lacked, and he soon found himself at the periphery of several groups.
Then, the commotion started.
"Ascended? Excellent? That's it? What's the big deal?"
Blaze sighed. He knew that voice. He turned to see Sunny standing opposite a handsome, polished young man surrounded by a group of admirers. This was Caster, a scion of a great Legacy clan.
Sunny's words hung in the air. The Sleepers looked at him with a mix of bewilderment and shock. Caster, however, just smiled politely.
"Uh... friend," one of Caster's companions said, blinking. "You must not know a lot about the Spell. Caster's results are truly remarkable. He is a Legacy, after all."
Sunny scoffed, leaning into his persona of a clueless brat. "Are you trying to pull a prank on me? You call this remarkable?!"
The bewilderment in the crowd was quickly turning into hostility. "Listen, friend," the companion snapped. "If you don't think an Ascended Aspect is remarkable, then please share with us your own amazing results! What, pray tell, was your Appraisal?"
Sunny grinned, the light of mischief in his eyes. "I'll have you know... my Appraisal was, uh... it was 'Glorious'! Yes, glorious. And the Aspect I acquired was of the Divine rank."
A few people snickered. Caster, still holding that polite, mask-like smile, spoke up. "Glorious? That is interesting. Would you mind telling us what your achievements were in the Nightmare?"
"Sure, no problem!" Sunny boasted. "First of all, I killed an... uh... an Awakened Tyrant."
Caster tilted his head. "Oh, really? How did you kill it?"
"How?" Sunny's grin widened. "Let me tell you, I didn't even have to lift a finger. I just spat, and it was torn to pieces!"
Open laughter erupted from the group. Blaze realized that if this went much further,Blaze thought,'Let me support him.'
Blaze stepped forward, moving between Sunny and the Legacy group. "I think he's shared enough of his 'experience,'" Blaze said, his voice calm but carrying a weight that made the laughter die down. "Why don't we leave it at that?"
One of Caster's men sneered. "Do you truly believe him?"
Blaze looked at the man, then at Caster. "May or may not. But in this world, it's always best to be open to possibilities. Strange things alwasys happen in the Nightmares."
Caster looked at Blaze, his eyes calculating. The polite smile remained, but his gaze was sharp. "You're right. My apologies. What is your name?"
"Blaze."
"Well, Blaze," Caster said, "in comparison to your friend's 'achievements,' mine do look rather average. I thank you for sharing. I hope you both will be just as successful once we enter the Dream Realm."
As the Legacy group moved away, Blaze grabbed Sunny by the shoulder and dragged him to a quiet corner.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sunny hissed, shaking him off.
"Protecting your ass," Blaze shot back.
"I don't need protection," Sunny muttered. "I had it handled."
Blaze leaned in, his voice a low whisper. "Look, Sunless The only person I've known since passing my first Nightmare is you. For my own survival, I need to look out for you. Nobody survives the Dream Realm alone, and I'd rather have a smart-ass liar at my back than a bunch of arrogant Legacies."
Sunny stared at him, his mouth open as if to argue, but the words died in his throat. Before he could respond, the heavy doors at the end of the hall opened, and a massive man—Awakened Rock—entered the room to begin their orientation.