Leon's smile froze on his face.
'No way this is happening....'
He took a deep breath as he continued to stare at Sunless. He was sitting where it had all begun, where Sunny had began his journey.
"Are we in NQSC?"
Leon asked with a shaky voice.
Sunless showed him an annoyed look.
"Did the outskirts make you lose your mind?"
Leon stayed silent, as he slowly leaned on the bench with a look of disbelief. Looking at the police station across the road, as his thoughts went wild.
'Shadow Slave...'
He couldn't believe it, he didn't know what to think.
Everything fit, the scenery, the man beside him that resembled the main character. His unusual state right now -- he had never felt so tired and sleepy.
'Nightmare Spell...'
He had been infected...
He didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or cry. His emotions felt mixed together.
Leon opened his eyes with a lot of effort. His thoughts were like a hurricane, not remaining at one place.
His quiet and boring life became this....
After a while, the noises of vehicles moving around, people passing by, and the sipping of coffee died down. He heard ringing in his ears.
Even death hadn't freed him. Of course it didn't.
He didn't care anymore. His life never seemed to get better, problems kept appearing one after another...
His eyes felt wet, his throat was dry. His stomach hurt because he was hungry.
Sure, his life wasn't as bad as people like Sunny who's whole life was in the outskirts. But your life always seems unfair no matter who you compare it with.
He sighed — It didn't matter anymore. So what if he was in shadow slave? His life, or the life of the body he was in, also was miserable. He had realized this body was from the outskirts. The glares he had gotten from those people made sense.
Plus he was infected by the spell. Even though he wanted to think he would beat the trials, become an awakened, there was no saying he would survive.
Shadow Slave was ruthless, he remembered all the events that could kill someone like him easily. Antarctica, Realm War, and especially the dream realm.
'What if I end up on the Forgotten Shore? Worse, what if its Godgrave, or the Nightmare Desert?'
His body shuddered in fear. But he knew the biggest problem was the first nightmare, there was no saying he would survive that either.
After a while, his thoughts had calmed down. If he was dying anyway, why worry? There was no point in crying or venting out his stress.
'If my guesses are right, then I am sitting next to a gold mine.'
Leon's thoughts shifted in hope as he looked at Sunny, what if he could survive the first nightmare? What if he could a Master? or a Saint? Sunny could do it, he was from the outskirts, so why couldn't he?
At death's door, everything felt like a possibility. When you were so deep down, the only way left to go was up after all.
Leon looked back at Sunless and replied after so long that it felt too unnatural.
"The spell did."
Sunny turned to look at him with an expressionless face. He simply turned back and started sipping his coffee again.
Leon did not know what to think, in his past life, he had always been the lazy one who constantly dove into anime and manga because they were an escape, so naturally he had come across the novel Shadow Slave. He loved it, and read through most of it.
He tried to remember as much as he could.
'Ah, maybe I shouldn't have let it marinate.'
He didn't really have any connections he'd cherished back on Earth. No parents, no friends, no real wealth to enjoy either, and neither had he tried to achieve something big back there.
He shook his head. There was no point in thinking about the past, he had to think of what he could do here. There were so many major events that spelt death for Leon.
'No, now that I think about it, this could be amazing, I know the future!'
A smile slowly stretched across his face.
Then he started laughing.
He couldn't stop.
Sunny shuddered hearing his laughter as he moved away from Leon. Leon could guess what Sunny's thoughts were right now.
'This guy is definitely crazy...'
Leon stopped laughing as he rested his face on his palm.
'But if it is true, then I need to befriend this guy as soon as possible, only I know his untrusting, cunning nature more than anyone in this world right now.'
"The spell got you too?" Leon asked.
"Yea." He heard Sunny reply.
Leon got up and raised his hand
"Well then, I hope we outskirt rats can survive this together."
He said as he smiled.
'Was this too friendly?'
Leon thought as his hand hung in the air awkwardly.
Sunny continued to look at Leon and hesitantly shook his hand. He then threw coffee cup.
The cup missed the bin by a wide margin and fell on the ground. Sunny rolled his eyes in exasperation, but before he could do anything, Leon walked over to the cup, picked it up and threw it for him.
"Let's go surrender ourselves then shall we?"
Leon said with a smile on his face.
Sunny frowned slightly looking at Leon's face.
"Sure."
The two walked into the police station.
Inside, a tired looking officer gave him a quick glance and frowned with obvious distaste.
"Are you lost, boys?"
The two looked around curiously noting the armored plates on the walls. Leon had never entered a police station in his past life, so this was his first time.
"Hey! I'm talking to you two!" The officer said with an annoyed tone.
Sunny cleared his throat.
"No."
He scratched the back of his head and added
"As demanded by the Fourth Special Directive, I am here to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell."
'Wait....Wasn't it the Third Special Directive?'
Shaking his head, he thought he must have been mistaken.
The officer's expression immediately changed. The officer looked at Leon, prompting Leon to speak.
"What he said."
He looked at the young men once again, this time with piercing intensity.
"Are you sure you two are infected? When did you start showing symptoms?"
Sunny shrugged
"A week ago?"
Leon simply yawned as the officer understood the gravity of the situation, his face paled.
Then, with a hurried motion, he pressed a button on his terminal and bellowed:
"Attention! Code Black in the lobby! I repeat! CODE BLACK!"
***
Leon yawned as the officers continued to restrain him. He saw a few officers standing a few meters away from him, holding guns.
His thoughts continued to become hazy and unclear.
The drowsiness made him calm and not panic to the sudden shift in worlds. Even though he could feel the First Nightmare marching toward him, he couldn't feel dread because of how tired he was.
'What a waste...'
Leon thought about how his life was so worthless back on Earth. But here there was so much he could do. He could become an explorer, he could become the savior of humanity if he cleared all nightmares. He could also just settle down somewhere quiet and enjoy life.
On Earth, money was everything, if you needed something or someone, money was the answer, and so money was infinitely harder to earn. But in Shadow Slave, you become an Awakened and the respect you receive would be multiplied ten times.
'Oh well, that is if I live past the first nightmare. I guess this might be goodbye...'
The vault door opened as a gray haired policeman entered.
"What's your...."
The old man paused and cleared this throat.
"Do you have a name kid?"
"Leonar, but you can call me Leon."
The old man nodded.
"Any family we need to contact?"
"None." Leon added
The old man sighed,
"How long can you stay awake Leon?"
But he didn't get a reply
The officer asked again. "Leon?"
The officer leaned towards Leon and narrowed his eyes
"Shit."
Leon had already fallen asleep.
***
Leon opened his eyes, he saw a beautiful woman holding him. His body felt tiny and weak. He looked at the woman holding him.
Her smile was gentle. Too gentle. It carried a warmth Leon had never known and yet, somehow, he felt it had been missing all his life.
"Leonar..."
she said softly as if she had spoken his name countless times before.
The moment she smiled, Leon felt safe.
And for reasons he couldn't understand, that terrified him. These feelings he felt were unnatural and foreign, and yet he loved them. The warmth he felt in his heart was soothing, he wanted to stay in this moment forever.
'Is this....The nightmare?' Leon thought, but before he could analyze the situation...
Everything went dark again. The woman disappeared....
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial...]