The moment I entered the room, a chill ran down my spine.
I was seated on a narrow, cold bed, my wrists and ankles bound by thick, rough straps that bit into my skin. The mattress beneath me was hard and unforgiving, leaving my back aching immediately. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic mixed with damp stone, a combination that made my stomach twist. One of the guards stationed there stood in the corner, his face shadowed and unreadable.
He finally moved toward me, his boots clicking against the stone floor. When he spoke, his voice was low, calm, almost bored.
"Listen up, kid. You probably don't have much experience in real combat, judging by how you can afford a cushy place like this as your likely grave."
I blinked. I wasn't sure if I should have been insulted or intimidated. I opted for neither, letting him continue.
"There are countless horrors in that Nightmare," he said, pausing as though savoring the words. "But just so you know, Nightmare creatures aren't the only terrifying things there."
I stared at him, leaning forward slightly, trying to measure how serious he was.
He yawned, almost lazily, rubbing at his eyes. "I'll cut the speech short. Humans are the most terrifying thing there. So if it comes down to your life or theirs… just know that only one of you has a family back home."
My stomach sank.
"What?"
Was that supposed to be my last advice? My last words before entering the abyss?
I didn't have time to argue. My mind went blank as the world around me dissolved, replaced by darkness and the dissonant hum of something unreal.
---
When I awoke, I was lying on grass — except it wasn't normal grass. The blades were black, glinting faintly in the strange, unnatural light of a sky permanently hung in night. I pushed myself up, eyes scanning the surroundings.
Next to me stood a horse. At first glance, it looked ordinary. But a slow, creeping realization hit me. Hairless. Completely hairless. Its pale skin stretched over lean muscles, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air. My stomach churned. A hairless horse? Really?
I blinked, shaking my head. Setting the horse aside for a moment, I took in the rest of the scene.
I was in a garden, but not a garden that belonged in any normal world. The plants were black, red, and dark purple, twisted into unnatural shapes. Some had thorn-like appendages that quivered as though alive. Others dripped a viscous, dark sap that glimmered faintly under the blackened sky. Every step I took seemed to crunch against brittle leaves that whispered under my boots.
Encircling the garden was a fence of black iron, jagged and rusted, giving off an aura of menace.
And beyond it loomed a castle that made the rest of the Nightmare feel small. Massive. Towering like it had been carved from the void itself. Its walls were jet black, and the windows shimmered in a sickly purple. A single, gargantuan red glass window dominated the center of the façade, shaped like a watchful eye. Its gaze felt alive. The sheer size of the structure was intimidating — it could easily fit a million people inside, yet I had no idea who would need such a fortress.
I forced myself to focus and opened my aspect interface.
[Aspect ability: halfing vampire]
I let out a bitter laugh. "Haha, very funny, Spell. Really? Now you're mocking me for my looks too? Great."
[You are a creature that has angered the rath of sun god]
I groaned. Fantastic. I already had a god after me from the start. Perfect.
[You are under the protection of shadow god and he protects you from sun gods rath as long as you are under his domain]
I blinked, processing. "Okay… so I have a god chasing me, but another one is protecting me? Alright. Guess that's… something." I rubbed my temples. Vampires in novels always came with sun-related headaches, and now I had to survive a Nightmare while avoiding a literal god's wrath.
[Attributes]
Hopefully these were useful. I scanned them quickly.
[Undead]
[You are an undead most undead creature's view you as one of their own and won't attack you unless provoked]
"Useful, I guess," I muttered. A whole category of enemies I didn't have to fight? That was… actually comforting. Except, of course, that I was technically dead. Always fun.
[Mark of divinity]
[You bear a faint scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by it once, a long time ago.]
I scowled. "Rare, but useless. Great."
[Halfbreed]
[You can directly absorb a portion of the soul essence of any Nightmare Creature destroyed by your blood, as well as of any human.]
I froze. My mind raced. "Wait… how did I not know about this before? This is ridiculously overpowered! This is basically a second Awakened Aspect." Then I frowned, realization hitting me. "Wait… I have to destroy it with my blood? Ugh. Of course. Nothing in life is ever simple."
I sighed, gazing at the garden and the castle beyond. The world was beautiful in a horrific, twisted way — darkly symmetrical and terrifying. The air smelled faintly of iron and decay, as if the Nightmare itself had exhaled onto the landscape.
I ran a hand through my hairless horse's coarse skin. "Alright, then. Let's see what kind of Nightmare we're dealing with."
Every muscle in my body tensed, my senses on high alert. The grass beneath me seemed almost to shiver, the shadows between the black-and-purple plants stretching unnaturally long. The air hummed with anticipation, as if the world itself was watching me, waiting.
It was cold, it was alien.
And there was no turning back.