"Haah…"
Lunar felt warm water against his skin.
After enduring the First Nightmare and the chilling space between, warmth was a blessing he couldn't pass up, especially when it cleaned his sweaty skin.
Liquid trailed down his body, rushing over his muscles and dripping to the floor. His gaze followed as a droplet raced to the floor, entranced by the changes in his own body.
His abs were more pronounced, his arms were much thicker, and his chest was certainly larger. He was also taller — Lunar noticed that his eyes were slightly higher and his legs had somehow grown.
Yet, he was… more feminine?
Lunar's slender fingers traced his doll-like arms, carefully studying their softness. Then, he moved his hand downward, gripping at his waist and examining its thickness. Lastly, he felt his hips, wondering why they went as far out as his shoulders.
"No…"
He had gotten curvier.
"This… This cannot be…!"
It was outrageous! He looked more like a woman than most women did! Was the Spell perverted? What kind of sick fantasy was this? Even worse, what kind of physique would he have after Ascension, or even Transcendence?
He froze, allowing the warmth to splash against his head. His muscles tensed and his mind spiraled, still processing the shape of his own body.
"Ugh…"
He quickly shook himself back to reality. He had worse things to worry about, and he couldn't waste time on useless subjects.
'Right, this isn't the worst of it.'
His first concern was less important — it was Master Selene's final words. She said: "I'm sorry for what I've already done."
What did that mean? Sorry for what she'd already done…? Had she cursed him? Why so cryptic?
Lunar pondered for a while, but couldn't find any answers, so he set the topic aside for later.
His second issue was more problematic.
He had two or so months before the winter solstice, and once it arrived, he'd fall asleep, traveling to a random part of the Dream Realm.
This was common knowledge, and the Dream Realm didn't surprise him. What troubled him was how little he knew about wilderness survival.
His previous instructors focused strictly on combat, teaching him martial arts and fighting styles… but he never learned how to craft. He couldn't handle cold weather, nor could he smoke the toxins from a poisonous abomination.
He could barely even cook.
Of course, he wasn't stupid. He knew that survival was important, he just never had the time to learn.
With a frail body and weak bones, his instructors pushed him for years to learn technique, as without it, they predicted he'd die within his First Nightmare. So now, his combat skill was monstrous, but he couldn't survive a day on his own.
Sighing, he turned off the shower, wiping himself clean with a dry towel.
While his ignorance was horrifying, he was sure that the Awakened Academy would have some sort of class for it…
…he just hoped it was worth his time.
Unfolding a clean pair of government-issued clothing, he dressed himself in a black shirt and gray sweatpants. The style was outdated, but it was much better than what he was wearing before.
…
It was about time to meet with Master Selene, an action he wished to avoid, but had to complete nonetheless.
—
—
—
In the quiet coldness of a police station, a group of individuals sat quietly amongst themselves. Nearby, a tired policeman and a beautiful woman spoke familiarly.
Selene leaned over his shoulder, wearing a mocking expression and a venomous grin..
"Isn't he beautiful?"
Her lips curled wickedly, her voice mimicking that of a child.
"He…? That was a man?"
The policeman's face contorted.
"Yes, yes!" she exclaimed, throwing her arm around his shoulder. "He's not just a man, but a beautiful one."
"I..." He paused, "...The younger generation must have some… interesting hobbies…!"
She laughed.
"Regardless, it might be a sensitive topic..."
The policeman nodded in agreement, still dazed from the strange conversation. While Lunar had a shocking appearance, it might have been rude to bring it up.
"...which is exactly why you should bring it up the moment he arrives."
…
"Absolutely not."
"You will—!"
"—not!"
"...fine, fine. You're no fun."
—
—
—
Traversing the hallways, Lunar focused on the tiled flooring, walking between each square and avoiding the cracks between. With every step, he felt himself growing closer and closer to the target location.
After a while, he turned a corner, watching the long hallway open into a large room. And across that room, he recognized a figure standing in the corner, speaking familiarly with a policeman.
It was Selene. So, he gradually approached, listening to the tail end of their conversation.
"Mm?"
Selene was the first to notice, raising an eyebrow and shifting her posture. Then, the man followed, spinning his office chair and facing the Sleeper.
Seeing this, Lunar waved with a smile, hoping to seem friendly. Unfortunately, this gesture had the opposite effect as the policeman was shaken by his expression.
"That cannot be a man."
"..."
"Well, I for one can confirm that Lunar is indeed a man." She flicked the poor man's forehead, turning back to the Sleeper.
"And how did you find that out, Master Selene?"
Lunar asked, praying to the gods that she hadn't peeked at his junk during his First Nightmare
"I looked at your government files…"
"Ah, that makes sense, sorry for questioning you."
"...and—"
"—please don't continue."
"Ah, alright."
Her smile straightened as her eyes narrowed. It seems that even Master Selene could become serious…
She briefly clicked her tongue, shrugging her shoulders and approaching the exit. Lunar sent a quick nod of recognition to the officer before following from behind.
"You have two months before the winter solstice, meaning you have two months to hone specific skills that you lack."
She opened the door, allowing him to pass through first.
"What are your skills?"
He thought for a moment.
"Uh… I have good technique."
"..."
She raised an eyebrow.
"That's all you're willing to say?"
"No, that's just all I'm capable of. Unless, of course, tenacity means anything. The Spell told me I had that."
She thought for a moment, her weirdly reflective eyes staring into his.
"Tenacity, eh? That is… very important. Heh. What about intelligence? Are you cunning?"
Lunar chuckled.
"Who goes around calling themselves cunning? Ugh. Though, I wouldn't say I'm cunning, that's too broad of a term. I'm just smart."
"Hoh, alright. And survival?"
"On a scale from one to ten… about zero."
"Zero is less than one."
"Yeah."
"Oh dear."
She chuckled.
"Put everything into wilderness survival."
"Yeah."
—
—
—
Author's Note:
– Did you enjoy the chapter?
– I'm not a fan of this chapter. In fact, I hate it. The reason I took an extra day was because I wrote it, then deleted it all, and rewrote it again. And I still dislike it! It feels so wrong, but I can't do anything to fix it. I hope it isn't too bad.
– Feel free to point out things you don't like.
– How do you feel about the plot? Should I slow stuff down or speed it up?
– Would you like any official illustrations for the characters? I can draw digital art for them, I'm not terrible. I've already, for the fun of it, made a sketch and lineart for a character I'm introducing later on.
– Please… please read the disclaimer. From here onward, it's incredibly important. If you don't read it, you'll probably have a lot of questions about lore, timeline, and characters.
– Word Count: [1258]