Early in the morning, Lunar washed himself off. After slumbering for far longer than he should have, he was bursting with energy, ready to conquer the day.
He had a few plans, but before that, he was in the mood for some breakfast.
The cafeteria was a bit crowded, but he didn't mind. After filling his plate with whatever he could find, he plopped himself down at a random seat. After a couple of minutes, a few random people sat nearby. He tried to pretend that they didn't exist, but they kept talking, so he gave in.
"—what's your name?"
Lunar shifted his position, facing the Sleeper who had asked for his name.
"Lunar, you?"
"I'm Ghast! It's nice to meet you!"
The Sleeper shook his hand, his expression reflecting that of an excited child. It was a little shocking at first, but Lunar adjusted.
"It's nice to meet you too."
He chuckled, a warm smile tugging at his even face. After a short exchange of words, the conversation came to a close and the Sleeper approached somebody else.
This pattern repeated until a sudden commotion drew their attention.
'Oh?'
He looked up and noticed a gathering of Sleepers huddling around a large screen. Their faces were filled with excitement and awe.
How curious.
On the screen, a list of names was displayed, ranking the new batch of Sleepers from weakest to strongest. It was not entirely accurate, as there was no way to know without sparring, but it was a decent placeholder.
Lunar wasn't all that interested in the ranks since he already knew where he'd be, but he was no better than the cat who Curiosity killed, so he read it.
Within moments, he quickly found his name at the top of the list.
"No… no way!"
"How can this be!?"
"What kind of monster…"
Navy was placed third. Two ranks above, a model-like portrait of Lunar could be seen, and to the right of it, there were two simple lines of text.
"Name: Lunar"
"True Name: Blessing of an Endless Night"
He was in first place.
Sleepers in the cafeteria were dumbfounded by the revelation. They were staring at the screen in astonishment, their mouths agape as they cursed in jealousy. He even watched as the dark-haired troublemaker chuckled in amusement, hiding amongst the crowd.
She seemed to be holding herself back from saying something.
…
His original plan was to reveal his True Name naturally during conversations, hoping that it would spread through gossip.
But this… this was much easier.
With the Academy spreading his True Name, his credibility was confirmed and his social status had skyrocketed. In other words, his social life would be a breeze from now onward.
He looked around, half expecting the Navy guy to stare at his beauty. But instead, the Legacy's expression was dim. Lunar followed his line of sight, soon discovering where he was looking. He seemed to be glaring at the leaderboard's second spot, his face filled with disappointment.
Ah, it was a rivalry between the second and third spot!
…a rivalry that he had no business caring about.
He was thinking about a lot of things, but Navy was not amongst them. For now, he planned on spending the rest of his day learning about his Aspect Ability — the one he still had no idea how to use.
So, after gobbling up the rest of his plate, he swiftly forgot everything that had just happened before making his way to his dorm room.
—
—
—
Smack!
"Ah!"
Lunar's face slammed into the mattress, cushioning the otherwise agonizing fall. He slowly rolled off the bed, falling back-first onto the hard floor and groaning.
With sore limbs, he pushed himself back up to his feet and decided to try again.
Starting with deep breath, he jumped upwards, activating [Axis of Illusion] to halt his momentum midair. Then, once he was frozen in space, he redirected his momentum onto the mattress, sending himself flying downward at the same speed he jumped at.
"Agh!"
The nurse was going to hate him.
Lunar injured himself hundreds of times, building muscle memory for using his Aspect Ability. Eventually, rather than jumping, he tried punching his arm forward, storing that momentum and distributing it across his entire body.
Unfortunately, the momentum of a single arm was not enough to move his entire body, so it merely knocked him off balance, leading to a devastating collapse!
Bang!
He slammed his head against the bed frame, knocking him unconscious.
He one final thought as his vision was enveloped by darkness.
'Curses...'
Well, at least he now understood his Aspect.
—
—
—
The next morning, Lunar woke up again, his temples pounding and his body aching. He thought that his body would regenerate quicker… but he was sorely mistaken. While it did heal faster, the difference was, by no means, large.
As he thought, he'd have to rely on the Academy's nurse.
Lunar cleaned his body, dressed himself, and brushed his teeth before wandering the halls. He passed a few Sleepers on the way but didn't spare them any attention. They, however, did stare at Lunar for a while after recognizing him as "Blessing of an Endless Night."
Not that he cared.
Once he arrived at the Nurse's Office, he stood between the doorway, his arms crossed as he tried grabbing the nurse's attention with a series of snaps.
She hummed softly, resting her delicate chin on the palm of her hand. With each passing moment, her head bobbed more and more to the rhythm of her tune.
Then…
"Hmm… mm… mhm—oh?"
She noticed him, raising her head from her desk and regarding the young Sleeper.
"Ah, hello."
Lunar bowed politely before entering her office. He sat down, aware of the standard protocol, and introduced himself.
"I'm Sleeper—"
"Sleeper Lunar, yes. It would be hard not to know the name of the Sleeper who received a True Name after their First Nightmare."
—
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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 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: [1109]