Lunar sat down next to Shade, crossing his legs and watching intently. As Awakened Thatch spoke, the crowd listened, their interests piqued and their eyes locked onto him.
"You've all survived your First Nightmares, and that's already impressive. But you are not kids anymore. You should be, but you aren't. The Spell would never allow that. Some of you might feel confident, and some of you might believe in yourself — don't."
It was harsh, but the crowd understood. Arrogance was deadlier than even the sharpest of weapons.
He continued.
"You are not strong, and you are not ready. It doesn't matter if you're a Legacy, and it doesn't matter what your Aspect is. Whether it be from treacherous environments or from their own peers, I've watched more people die than live in the Dream Realm. In fact, the very people around you — right now — could lead to your demise."
The crowd stirred, their gazes shooting around. Many settled their eyes on the strongest Sleepers, wondering how they'd survive if a Legacy tried to kill them. The mere idea made them sweat.
Though, the dark-haired lady chuckled, amused by their reactions — a sentiment Lunar shared. Why did this of all things surprise them? It was old news.
Ignoring their displeasure, Awakened Thatch continued, his voice loud.
"In two months, you will lose consciousness and travel to the Dream Realm. And as you know, to return home, you must search for a citadel and anchor yourself."
He paused, letting the previous statement sink in.
"Not all of you will find one."
Awakened Thatch sighed.
"Unfortunately, we have not documented the entire Dream Realm. In fact, we haven't even documented half. In other words, there's a fifty percent chance you won't know where you are. If we take fate into account, that lowers to thirty."
The man watched their faces dull. His eyes scanned the crowd, settling on the few unsurprised individuals. Then, he shook his head — his demeanor uncaring.
"Assume that you'll be unlucky."
—
—
—
When Lunar was young, school professors taught their kids everything humanity knew about the Dream Realm — whether it be locations, runes, gods, or historical knowledge.
However, humanity didn't know everything.
There had always been a hole in the story — one that even the Saints of humanity couldn't fill.
It was… an unreachable location on the other end of an empty expanse. On the edge of what humanity knew, the land stopped, falling infinitely below. Nobody knew what existed beyond, but they knew that it was impossible to reach.
This location was known as Null's Valley.
Nobody knew why it was called that — or who "Null" was — but the name was written in ancient scripts, so humanity decided to call it that. In fact, with those same scripts, humanity learned even more.
On the other side of Null's Valley, an undocumented part of the Dream Realm existed. It was larger, more complicated, and had far more history than anything they knew.
Worst of all, it was predicted that — every winter solstice — thirty percent of Sleepers were sent there…
…and none of them returned.
Which is why Lunar sighed, listening as the hearts of every Sleeper dropped. At even the slightest mention of this unholy continent, the room's vibe instantly shattered.
"Yes, thirty percent. The same number of Sleepers who were predicted to have been sent across Null's Valley. Yet, do not fear. They might have been stranded, but they are not dead. Even if you end up there, hope is not lost."
Awakened Thatch cleared his throat.
"In the following two months, we will do everything in our power to prepare you for the Dream Realm. But do not be misled. Whether you return or not is entirely dependent on you."
Except for the Legacies, Sleepers were looking around with growing fear in their eyes. He had to make them afraid, as fear was the only thing that would keep them alive.
"Now we will talk about the difference between Nightmares and the Dream Realm."
That was something Lunar was interested in. Everything Awakened Thatch said before was common knowledge — information taught within general education. However, first-hand experience was difficult to come by, even with the growing number of Awakened.
Which is why Lunar wanted to know what the Dream Realm was actually like, separating truths from myths.
"You were all warned before entering your First Nightmare that, should you perish, a Nightmare Creature would cross the threshold and enter reality."
Yeah, it was the same reason why Master Selene had watched over him. She was there in case Lunar failed — not that he ever would.
He wouldn't allow himself to.
"First Nightmares are unique, because each of them is individual. That's why only a single creature can appear. However, starting from the Second Nightmare onward, things become much more dangerous. They are not tied to an infected person. Rather, they are born from the Dream Realm. While this seed is growing, any number of Awakened can attempt to conquer it."
After all, hunting down Nightmares was the main responsibility of an Awakened — though, many Awakened shamelessly avoided it.
"Should they die or fail to find the seed before it matures, a Gate will open in the real world, letting through countless monsters."
Lunar heard the girl beside him chuckle.
"Awakened will be forced to withstand the onslaught of your failure. This can create massive losses for the civilian population and destruction to property if not handled. So beware."
Awakened Thatch's voice grew solemn.
"It isn't wrong to assume that the purpose of an Awakened is to enter the Dream Realm, seek out maturing Nightmare Seeds, and close them before they can swallow the real world. From this, you can see that the Dream Realm and Nightmares are connected, but are not the same."
"How very romantic…" Shade whispered, a faint smirk tugging at her pale complexion.
"Simply put, the Dream Realm is an alternate world — one connected to both Nightmares and our own. It is mysterious, and mostly unexplored. There is no life out there except for Nightmare Creatures. But it wasn't always dead. We can tell that once, a long time ago, the Dream Realm was home to several primitive civilizations."
Well… those civilizations weren't actually primitive. At least, not in the way Awakened Thatch meant. They were mostly civilizations that relied on soul cores rather than advanced technology. People didn't know their names, or how they fell. They only knew that they once existed.
Some even theorized that the Spell destroyed them.
'I wonder…'
—
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Author's Note:
– Did you enjoy the chapter?
– Feel free to point out things you don't like.
– Since the setting for this fanfiction will be very unique, what kind of location do you think Lunar will be sent to?
– 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. The person I've already drawn may or may not be the black-haired girl.
– 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: [1208]