Luckily for Eric, or rather due to something already established, the place where he had appeared was not far from a police station; he only had to walk a few minutes before coming across one. Without hesitation, he walked straight to the entrance; his sleepiness was only increasing, and he felt that he would fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes.
Once inside, a tired, pale-faced officer looked at him, and instantly he could see his expression twist, not with disgust or repulsion, but with fear. With broken words, he asked him.
"H-hey, don't tell me…"
Feeling that he was about to fall asleep, Eric replied with what little strength he had left.
"Yes... I... Spell."
The officer wasted no time, pressing a button on his terminal and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Attention! Another code black in the lobby! Hurry up!"
Within seconds, several officers grabbed him and took him away. Before he lost sight of him, he could hear the officer who had given the warning cursing.
"Damn it, one right after the other?"
It didn't take long to reach an isolated room underground; they tied him to a bed with strong straps, something that brought back bad memories and discomfort but was almost instantly ignored by his growing drowsiness. A gray-haired man with a weathered face approached him and tried to talk to him.
"What's your name, kid?"
"I..."
He tried to answer, but his eyes could barely stay open. Giving in to his growing drowsiness, he closed his eyes and let himself be embraced by the sweet embrace of dreams.
Oh, in this case, a terrible nightmare.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial...]
***
Eric dreamt of a massacre.
Men in armor carrying red flags attacked another group dressed in white robes with white eyes. Both sides clashed violently, leaving the ground littered with mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.
Buildings burned in flames while the bodies of the armored men and white-eyed people lay scattered everywhere. In the distance, a deformed monster dressed in elegant robes roared sadly at the full moon, its body covered in wounds and weapons stuck in it.
The scenes passed one after another as time spun around, finally arriving at the present.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
"Wake up, trash! Everyone go to the courtyard right now or you'll be punished!"
Eric opened his eyes, startled by the sudden sound. He looked around and saw that he was in a room decorated in the style of ancient Japan, with several letters made of bamboo. Since he was at the top, he was able to get a better view of the situation.
There were children who appeared to be between 16 and 17 years old; they were all dressed in hakamas, with white tops and black pants. But if there was one thing that stood out, it was that everyone's eyes were white, as if they were blind.
He tried not to get lost in his thoughts as he quickly followed the other children and formed a line in front of the man who had awakened them, who, like them, had white eyes, but unlike them, wore completely white robes. Without saying another word, the man turned and began to walk, and the children followed behind him. Seizing the opportunity, Eric concentrated, and soon a group of runes appeared before his eyes, something only he could see.
***
Name: Eric.
True Name: -
Rank: Aspirant.
Soul Core: Dormant.
Memories: -
Echoes: -
Attributes:
[Moonlight Essence] Attribute Description: "The light of the stars runs through your blood."
[Mark of Divinity] Attribute Description: "You bear a faint scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by it once, long ago."
[Celestial Body] Attribute Description: "Your body is different from normal people; your ability to control your soul far exceeds that of others."
Aspect: [Sogan] (Pale Eye)
Aspect description: "Your eyes are strange; they are capable of perceiving a little more than an ordinary person."
***
Eric studied his runes carefully and was surprised to see that he did not possess the Byakugan, but rather an as-yet-unawakened version of it; he would probably have to overcome this first nightmare in order to be able to use the Byakugan properly.
He also paid special attention to the [Moonlight Essence] attribute. He knew that the Hyuga were descendants of the Otsutsuki, who were, in fact, the reason they possessed the Byakugan, and the Otsutsuki were literal aliens, or more poetically, beings from the stars, closely related to the moon in the story.
'If I remember correctly, the Byakugan can evolve if it comes into prolonged contact with a member of the Otsutsuki clan.'
Was this the gift they had prepared for him?
The fact that he also possessed the [Mark of Divinity] attribute only reinforced this theory; after all, the Otsutsuki were technically gods in the world of Naruto.
"The [Celestial Body] attribute also seems to be extremely useful; unfortunately, my Soul Core is still Dormant, so I can't test it... Wait, what?"
As he thought about this, Eric could feel something moving inside his body; it was very faint and extremely limited, but he felt that if he tried hard enough, he would be able to control it. He immediately identified it as his Soul Essence. But that shouldn't be possible; Sleepers were only supposed to be able to interact with their Soul Core once they had overcome the first Nightmare and become Awakened.
'This attribute could be more exceptional than I thought.'
He made his runes disappear when he noticed he was reaching an open space, acted naturally, and simply followed the children until they were all neatly lined up outside a large courtyard with many trees that had palm marks on them, as if they had been hit over and over again, as well as containers filled with small stones.
The white-eyed man now had two other men beside him, both wearing black robes and veils covering their faces, on which was carved the symbol of what appeared to be a moon with a huge eye in the center. After observing them for a few seconds, the white-eyed man spoke.
"Group 1 will practice palm strikes, group 2 will train hand endurance, and group 3 will do sparring; after two hours we will rotate. Begin!"
Eric was a little nervous because he didn't know which of the three groups he belonged to, so he just followed one of the kids, hoping he had chosen correctly. He walked while discreetly focusing on the instructor's expression or any quick movements made by the men. Fortunately, he seemed to have chosen correctly, as there was no reaction from any of them.
He looked at the container full of stones in front of him, as well as the boy he had followed, who had begun to repeatedly put his hands in and out.
'Shit...'
With no other choice, he got into position, imitating the boy next to him. With a quick movement, he plunged his hand completely into the stones. He could feel them scraping him, but he could take it.
Then he continued: in the courtyard there were some who repeatedly hit tree trunks using only their palms in an improvised arena, drawing a circle on the ground; another pair faced each other, while his group was busy putting their hands in and out of the stones.
An hour had already passed, and by this point their hands were bleeding profusely and felt numb. Eric felt like his hands were about to fall off, but he continued as best he could. As he was concentrating, he heard the sound of something hitting the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the boy he had followed, kneeling on the ground, his hands covered in blood and his expression contorted with pain.
Suddenly, the air became extremely tense, and all the children in the courtyard seemed to stop for a second. One of the veiled men next to the instructor began to walk toward where the boy was. The boy looked at him with utter terror before getting up and trying to run.
But he didn't get very far.
The man with the veil suddenly disappeared, moving at extreme speed. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the boy and, with an almost imperceptible movement, struck him directly in the chest with the palm of his hand. A wave of energy passed through the boy without damaging his clothes or piercing his body. Without making a sound, the boy fell to the ground, his breathing had stopped completely, and his eyes had lost all trace of life.
The instructor watched this with an expression of disgust.
"Someone so weak does not deserve to possess the blood of the Celestials."
Eric watched all this out of the corner of his eye. He had to admit that having these special eyes was a great advantage; his field of vision had expanded considerably, allowing him to see things better. He also noticed that none of the kids had stopped their activities; they all continued training with even more dedication than before.
'If I stop... I'm dead.'
With that realization, Eric put his hands back into the container of stones and took them out again. The pain he had felt in the advanced stages of his illness had been much worse than this; he could endure it.
The hellish training continued relentlessly. After repeatedly plunging his hands into the stones for two hours, he was immediately ordered to strike the trees. The problem was that he had to follow the proper technique. However, thanks to his enhanced eyesight, even though they were not fully awake, he was able to follow and copy the movements of the partner next to him, albeit clumsily.
During this time, two other kids were killed, and the instructor's experience became darker with each passing minute.
After a long time, he finally got to sparring, completely exhausted and unable to feel his hands, although the opponent in front of him seemed to be in the same situation. They both got into position, Eric just copying the kid's pose, and after the signal, the fight began.
His opponent moved quickly and, with practiced movements, threw a palm strike at his solar plexus. Guided only by his eyes, Eric managed to dodge the first attack with great difficulty and clumsily tried to counterattack, but he had never fought in his life. and he lacked the necessary technique, practice, and energy, so it was not surprising when, in a matter of a minute, he found himself on the ground, completely beaten.
Fortunately for him, losing a duel did not seem to mean execution as it had on other occasions, but he almost had a heart attack when he thought he would die at the hands of those terrifying veiled men just after being reborn.
'I wonder if the ROBs would give me another chance if I die so quickly...'
He wasn't willing to take that chance.
Following the other kids, he sat down next to the others who had finished their duels, breathing heavily and sweat running down his face. Taking advantage of this strange moment of rest, he took the opportunity to observe the instructor and the men, as well as his surroundings.
In general, everything seemed to be based on ancient Japan: the clothing, the architecture, and the symbols. Everything looked Japanese. He had seen the symbol on the men's veils in other places; it seemed to be the symbol of the clan or sect.
Suddenly, he noticed that the instructor was starting to move and talk to one of the men next to him, his expression not at all friendly. He tried to concentrate his hearing as best he could to listen to their conversation.
"This batch seems like a failure. None of them possess enough purity to awaken the potential of our lineage. Prepare the ritual. We will meet with the Ancestor in two days."
That didn't sound good at all.