Days flew by.
Aether was attending several classes such as the combat class and the wilderness survival class that was recommended to him by Sunny.
Yes.. Sunny. Sunless himself had insisted that Aether should call him Sunny.
Their lessons ranged from comparatively simple, like various ways to produce fire, to much more obscure and esoteric, like celestial navigation.
Aether was already aware of some of the materials Teacher Julius thought them, he had been an excellent student in the past. However listening to this knowledge from an experienced awakened was different than reading it from a textbook.
Teacher Julius had a habit of going much more in-depth when explaining his subject. Thanks to this time-consuming habit of his, They not only learned about the "what", but also often gained glimpses into the "why". This nascent understanding of the underlying principles of the Dream Realm environments gave him the ability to face any situation with at least some measure of readiness.
Other than the wilderness class, Aether made sure to socialize with his fellow sleepers to keep up with the rumors circulating around. He was not doing this mindlessly, he was gathering information about several figures. Such as Theola, Nephis and Caster.
These figured would most likely be the new powerhouses the moment they became awakened.
Aether even tried to investigate about Sunny, but he just heard random rumors about him that did not even make sense. He made some effort to help his acquaintance get a better reputation, but failed spectacularly.
That guy had corrupted his reputation from the roots.
During his investigations, he also learned many juicy rumors.
Romance was in the air. After all, there were a hundred beautiful young people locked underground in close proximity to each other, with the added spice of a deathly threat hanging above their heads. Many felt that life was short and it was their time to seize the day. Passion bloomed in the shadow of approaching danger.
Aether had even seen a girl enter a boys dorm!
'How scandalous!' He mocked.
***
Aether had gained the privilege to be Changing Star's sparring partner after Instructor Rock had carefully examined his abilities. This privilege was both a burden and a blessing.
Blessing because he was sparring with a person who had real experience in killing. It was a conclusion he had come to after observing her carefully.
Burden because he was always sore all over after their sparring sessions!
Currently, he was dodging an incoming attack. And then avoiding an immediate counterattack that followed after. He had avoided the attack out of sheer luck.
Aether was being overwhelmed by Changing Star. He had created a mental link to her, he could sometimes anticipate her moves but could not always react to them.
She fought like someone who had a lot of experience in killing. But what could a seventeen year old teenager have experienced to be like this?
Changing Star attacked him once again. Her practice sword slashed in a wide-arc against him, Aether stepped out of the trajectory and lunged to her side as he anticipated her move of lunging towards him.
Nephis seemed a bit startled as she was him move to the other side just before she even lunged his way. Was she that readable? No, it most likely had something to do with his aspect.
It had been long before Aether had deduced her battle style was about adaptation and counterattacks. Her defense and offense were both formidable. He himself had trained rigorously, and was considered talented. But there was a big gap in their techniques.
Aether had yet to form his battle style and engrave his aspect into that style. But Nephis already had a battle style that was very deadly even if she did not use her aspect. It seems a mentor too affects ones growth. Aether had learnt from an awakened while Changing Star had been trained by Broken Sword.
Holding the short-sword in one hand, he swung it to parry an incoming attack. The clash of the practice swords reverberated through the class.
And then finally..
It was the moment he had been waiting for. His innate ability activated. Aether saw an invisible thread connecting to her shoulder, it was her weak point at that moment. Without wasting any second, Aether gathered all his strength and thrust his short-sword at her shoulder.
Then ended up falling on his backside.
'Shit!'
"Your technique has improved greatly."
Giving her an awkward smile, he got up to his feet. She spoke so plainly and her sentences were always cut short. It was hard to converse with her even for someone like Aether.
"Thank you for your kind words, Lady Nephis."
Without saying anything, she turned to walk away. Putting the practice short-sword into its place, he smiled to himself. He now had a basic understanding of her battle-style thanks to his aspect. If he trained more with her, he would be able to anticipate her moves faster and get a better understanding of her mindset.
If they ever met again that is. Because the solstice was nearing.
***
On his way out of the combat class, Aether paused to watch Theola and Caster sparring. Normally, these bouts forbade the use of Aspects, forcing the students to rely only on their technique.
Theola's weapon of choice was a longsword. She shifted seamlessly between one-handed and two-handed grips, each transition so fluid it seemed rehearsed yet unpredictable. Her movements carried a refined elegance, yet there was something disquieting about their precision. Nothing was wasted, not a single step or swing—a kind of beauty sharpened into something unnatural.
If she combined her technique with her aspect, she would be a difficult opponent to deal with.
As expected, Theola ended the match swiftly, her blade cutting down Caster's defense without hesitation. Aether was about to turn away when her head snapped toward him. An elegant smile touched her lips, poised and deliberate.
Aether forced a smile, and turned away from her. Even as he turned away, he felt her gaze linger like a hook in his back.
'Creepy.' were his thoughts as he walked away to his dorm.
***
Days passed like that. Everyone trained to the best of their abilities.
On the day of the winter solstice, Aether woke up feeling tired and drowsy. No matter how much he tried to shake off this listlessness, it wouldn't go away. In the end, he just stayed in the bed for a while, wrapping himself in a blanket.
It was similar to what he had experienced while being affected by hypothermia on the snowy forest.
Aether shivered at the thought and decided to get up.
This was his last day on Earth… at least for a while. By nightfall, the Spell was going to take him away once again, this time to challenge the vast expanse of the Dream Realm.
'I wonder where I will be sent to.'
He went along with his morning routine. He took a warm shower for almost an hour, he wanted to enjoy it.
***
The cafeteria was full of Sleepers, but 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.
He poured himself some coffee, other than that he actually had no appetite. Approaching Cassia and Sunny, he sat in front of them and exchanged greetings.
Then he noticed that the blind girl was staring at Sunny strangely.
"Happy Birthday."
Aether raised a brow. He had never seen them talk, since when she knew his birthday?
'Is she a seer?'
He decided to congratulate Sunny too. It seemed the guy had been born on the solstice day. What great luck.
Sunny and Aether finished their coffee and got up to visit the wilderness class. There was no reason to, but Sunny wanted to say goodbye to Teacher Julius. The old man got pretty emotional when sending them off.
After that, Aether decided to have a small chat with Theola. He was about to call out to her when she turned his way, she had sharp senses.
"Great Performer." Theola gave him a charming smile.
"Lady Theola. I wanted to bid farewell before we left."
"A farewell? I think it is too early for that, isn't it? "With your skills, I imagine you'll survive," Theola said lightly, then let a small pause linger, her smile never wavering. "Unless fate chooses otherwise."
Theola let out a melodical chuckle, Aether himself too chuckled politely, though something in her words sent a chill through him.
"It was a pleasure to meet you. May we meet again, when we are awakened."
"Farewell, Great Performer."
***
When the sun was close to setting, Instructor Rock gathered them in the foyer of the Sleeper Center and led them outside.
In the snowy 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.
Instructor Rock took them to the medical center to show them the hollows. Many sleepers had low morals, this action lowered them even more.
Half an hour later, Sleepers had been led to their personal rooms and were preparing to enter the pods.
In one of the rooms, the blind girl, Cassia, was helplessly trying to orient herself in the unfamiliar space, touching the walls and strange pieces of machinery with her hands. Tears were streaming down her beautiful, doll-like face.
In the other room, proud Legacy Caster was staring listlessly at the floor. His lips were moving, repeating one strange phrase over and over again. He was trembling.
In a different room, A Night of Affection, one of the descendants of the Song clan, had entered her sleeping pod with no hesitance. Theola was falling asleep, perhaps for a long time.
Somewhere else, Changing Star Nephis, the last daughter of the Immortal Flame clan, was looking down at her hands. Underneath her skin, soft white radiance was slowly growing brighter and brighter. Her face was contorted in a grimace of harrowing agony.
And finally, there was a room where The Blasphemer, Aether was inspecting the saber in his hand.
'May you help me even beyond the grave.'
With that, he stepped forward and climbed into the pod.
In the vast echoing darkness, he heard:
[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Aether!]