A fairly-lean looking young man with pale skin and dark circles under his eyes stood in front of a police station. A cold breeze had tinted his cheeks with a faint touch of red. The thought of sitting on that rusty bench across from the station had crossed his mind, but he chose to do otherwise.
Sunny gazed at the sky, lost in the crucible of his thoughts. His heart was pounding, heavy with countless emotions.
Around him, the idle chatter of passersby filled the air, while in the distance, children played carefree in a public park.
After a long moment, he sighed.
"So... the Nightmare begins, eh?"
The cold bit at his words, sending a small white cloud of vapor from his mouth every time he spoke.
'It's been seventeen years already since my reincarnation. Time truly flies.'
A hint of melancholy clouded his dark eyes. So far, this life had not been merciful; it had made him realize just how lucky he had been in his previous one. Despite his past knowledge and experience, things hadn't gone well. It would be more accurate to say he had survived—albeit barely.
Looking back, Sunny was a completely different person at the start.
Believing he had what it took, he had faced this world with nonchalance and arrogance. The Outskirts had taken care of breaking that naive character of his.
By now, one could even say he had accumulated enough sins and scars for a lifetime—two lifetimes, actually.
However, he was still whole, and at the end of the day, that was what really mattered.
Of course, running away from the orphanage at the age of six, living in poverty, and joining a gang hadn't exactly helped. Perhaps... But what other choice did he have?
Life in that hovel passing itself off as an orphanage was anything but wonderful. After his younger sister, Rain, was adopted, Sunny had waited another year, but no one wanted him. Running away had felt like his only option.
Even with the mind of an adult, he had never lived on the streets before. These years had been a constant, grueling struggle just to see the next dawn.
Joining a gang hadn't been a choice, either; he had been forced into it. That was simply how street gangs bolstered their numbers. Luckily, Sunny had met a kind soul during his early days with the crew. One might even say she was his first love, if not for... well, that was a story for another time.
Reflecting on everything that had happened to him so far, Sunny had only one thing to say.
"I'd like to say I did my best, but in reality, I just did what I could to survive," he muttered to himself.
However... that wasn't the whole story.
Growing up in the world of Shadow Slave as Sunless, he eventually noticed significant deviations from the story he remembered reading.
It was as if some mad writer had taken the lead and shuffled the deck just for the sake of it. [A/N: 👌]
First of all, Sunny's father was not dead as he was in the original timeline. The bastard had simply abandoned the family shortly after Rain was born and hadn't been heard from since.
'Scumbag.'
Second, the Sovereigns were no longer hiding. Their existence was well-known to the masses, who worshipped them like deities. Also, Broken Sword is alive.
'The more I think about it, the less it makes sense.'
And finally, as Sunny had recently discovered, Rain had been adopted by Supreme Ki Song. She was now officially one of the princesses of the Song Domain.
'I knew the Queen of Worms used to adopt orphaned girls, but still... if she was already there, why didn't she take me too?'
None of it added up. What else had changed? Was he the cause of these variations, or had he perhaps been reborn into an alternate timeline?
"It's not like I can do anything about it anyway. For better or worse, I'm here. He who stops is lost, so I might as well move on and see what happens."
With that, Sunny pulled a communicator from his hoodie pocket and dialed a number.
"Hey, little devil. Still alive and kicking?" a woman's voice answered playfully. She sounded calm, but Sunny could detect a flicker of concern.
"Of course I am. Why? Did you miss me that much, Master Jet? Aah, how lucky I am to have such a cute girl who cares about me."
"Shut up!" Jet snapped, failing to hide her embarrassment. Sunny could tell she was secretly pleased by the teasing. "So, what's up this time?"
Sunny failed to suppress a yawn. "I started showing the first symptoms of the Nightmare Spell a week ago. Now I'm standing in front of the police station where we dropped off those thugs a while back."
Jet's voice turned sharp and serious.
"How long can you stay awake?"
"A couple of hours at most." he said, yawning again.
"I'll be right there." She hung up.
Sunny pocketed the device and entered the station to turn himself in, following the protocol for those infected by the Nightmare Spell.
***
One hour later.
Sunny sat in the basement of the police station, yawning as several officers secured him with restraints. The room was reinforced with thick armored walls and a formidable vault door. Other officers stood guard against the walls, automatic rifles in hand and grim expressions on their faces.
"Are you sure it's not just a lack of sleep, kid?" one of the officers asked as he tightened a strap.
Sunny looked at him, expressionless. "I'm sure."
The officer sighed and stepped back.
Finally, the vault door hissed open. A young woman in her early twenties with raven-black hair and blue eyes entered. She wore a blue jacket and scanned the room, her gaze moving from the armed guards to the young man tied to the chair like a puppet.
A small smile of relief touched her face. "I'll take it from here," she told the officers. "You can go."
Once the room cleared, only the two of them remained.
Approaching him, Jet patted his head. "You're always getting into trouble, aren't you, little devil?"
"We both knew this would happen sooner or later. Luck has never been on my side." Sunny replied.
He paused, then flashed a bold smile.
"But don't worry, though! I wouldn't dream of leaving a beauty like you all alone."
"Shameless as always." Jet smiled, long since used to his antics.
"Always." he replied. Her smile warmed his heart.
For the past three years, Jet had been like a guardian to Sunny. Whether their meeting was fate or if she had been looking for him was hard to say, but his life had taken a complete turn since that day. Over time, Sunny had developed feelings for her. Even though she likely saw him as a younger brother, he never missed a chance to tease her just to see her smile.
'No wonder the original Sunless felt this way. Jet really is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen... at least so far.'
"Saa-my! Saa-my!"
"Crow-Crow!" Sunny replied cheerfully.
Only now did he notice a black bird with intelligent eyes and a sharp beak, perched on his right arm.
"See? Even Crow-Crow came to wish you luck." Jet said.
If Sunny hadn't been tied up like a sausage, he would have petted the bird; Crow-Crow seemed to sense the sentiment anyway.
"I'll be fine, you'll see!" Sunny promised.
"Saa-my! Saa-my!"
Jet sat down on a plastic chair and crossed her arms. "Is there anything I can do for you before...?"
Sunny cut her off. "No need. You've already given me too much. Thank you for the training, Jet. Seriously. I'm ready."
Then, his lips curved into a mischievous grin.
"Actually... while we're at it, you could give me a kiss. You know, for motivation? But if you're too shy—which I totally get, I'm a very flowery boy after all—you can save it as a reward for when I beat the First Nightmare. Or both! I won't complain."
Jet pouted, crossed the room in two strides, and flicked Sunny's forehead with two fingers. "Don't overdo it!" her cheeks flushed a deep red.
"Saa-my! Saa-my"
Sunny's forehead turned a matching shade of red.
This routine was familiar, a genuine way for them to show affection.
After the banter, a heavy silence fell over the room. Sunny's eyelids began to sag. In the company of the "dead beauty" and his feathered friend, sleep began to claim him.
Just before he slipped away, he felt a cold hand gently caressing his cheek and heard Jet's worried whisper: "Come back soon, Sunny. Please."
And then, the dream began.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your first trial...]
'Here we go.'