[Wake Up, Sunless! Your nightmare is over.] — from Shadow Slave / Chapter 14: Child of Shadows.
Evandro and Alexandre reacted the same way — they froze. They weren't just wearing new clothes, but armor.
Alexander was calmer and examined his first — while Evandro blinked several times, paralyzed.
He grinned from ear to ear. It seemed the "nightmare" had rewarded them for surviving its trials. [1]
He wore a suit of solid iron — matte, polished, and bluish in tone — consisting of a breastplate, smooth with bright white lines descending from the armpits to the waist.
His eyes gleamed intensely; he had never seen anything like it — in fact, he had never even touched armor in his entire life, nor even seen any, except for soldiers' gear in the kingdom.
He also had a reinforced steel bracelet in blue, with three triangular layers pointing toward the arm — and at the tip of each, a small quartz crystal was embedded — a design that gave the wrist significant flexibility.
And finally, the highlight: a short sheath stitched into a rigid fabric similar to burgundy leather — crossing over the shoulder and under the armpit, securing the sword on his back.
The sword resembled a double-edged xiphos — made of steel and entirely bluish, with six small topazes aligned on both faces of the hilt.
Between the blade edges, there was a bright, intense white glow — with no apparent source, as Alexander quickly noticed.
He became excited, briefly forgetting his surroundings — however, upon seeing Evandro sitting on the grass, eyes closed and mouth half open, he frowned.
That's when he had an idea.
Alexander smiled mischievously, baring his teeth — something he rarely did.
Still holding the sword, he strapped the sheath back on.
Evandro was adrift in search of answers — which was the most important thing to him now.
All he could see was an endless sea of clear waters and a slightly cloudy sky.
But then, he strangely began to hear an unusual sound echoing in his mind — followed by tremors coursing through his body.
Smack!
Suddenly, he fell backward to the ground.
"What?!"
Alexander laughed heartily, showing off the sword.
"Just a few taps on the armor, great Hero, HAHAHA!"
Evandro shook his head and stood up. He looked at himself — remembering why he had meditated.
'Of course… This…'
He furrowed his brow and bit his lips.
Like Alexander, he began to inspect his armor. But his face was full of confusion — and the muscles in his face were clearly tensed, signaling discomfort.
And, like Alexander's, it only consisted of a breastplate.
According to Alexander — with his knowledge of smithing — it was composed of a breastplate made of iron alloyed with other materials.
It was white and smooth like Alexander's — also having a line under each armpit, but these were blue.
Evandro frowned, still irritated by the excessive luxury of the whole set.
He had a white bracelet with three triangular layers — each tip embedded with a topaz.
A belt and a sheath at his waist — also leather and red.
The sword was identical to Alexander's, but with inverted colors — and with six small topazes on both sides of the hilt.
And of course, the glowing line between the blades — which was blue in color.
'I don't understand… Why would we be the first to survive this? Could the prophecy be related somehow?'
His face twisted.
'But Alexander isn't part of the prophecy… And what about the colors! What do you mean, inverted?! Actually, why armor?! Those wretched creatures… who are they really…'
Alexander opened his mouth to ask about the glowing line between the blades, but Evandro preempted him by pointing at their swords.
"What could be causing this effect? Any idea?"
Alexander shrugged and turned away.
At that moment, a cruel chill ran up his spine — he finally realized their backpacks were gone.
[1] Recent chapter ideas — Among Nightmares Part 1 and 2; The Regenerates — served as a tribute to the first webnovel I truly dedicated myself to: Shadow Slave — thank you Guiltythree for the inherent inspiration behind my first serious work on this platform.