Four hours had gone by since that strange encounter earlier in the morning.
Jet, strangely, had plenty of free time.
She was using her communicator, sprawled on the sofa with some snacks beside her. It was a rare occasion, and she wouldn't complain.
That was until a message popped up. As soon as she read it, she tumbled off the sofa and landed on the floor.
'You're kidding, right?'
The boy's name was Sunless, and somehow, they were now siblings?
'This… this makes no sense.
What in the name of the dead gods is that Old Man doing? Why is he going to such lengths for that scrawny kid?
We don't even have anything in common!'
She began counting on her fingers.
'I mean, sure, we both come from the outskirts, we both have black hair, we both have pale skin, but that's it, for spell's sake!'
The message also mentioned that a package with a few items was on its way to her home.
She was expected to take him to his new place and explain how things worked there.
'How am I supposed to do that?! He doesn't even own a communicator!'
Jet couldn't believe any of this. Now she understood why she'd been given four hours off, poor Cor, if he thought that would be enough to calm her down.
Meanwhile, Sunny was sitting on a bench, in front of him, a frail tree was growing, its branches struggling to reach the sky.
The tree lacked sunlight. What little light reached the outskirts of NQSC wasn't enough to sustain its growth.
Still, it was resilient, just like the people who lived here.
Two lines were carved into the trunk—his parents' makeshift resting place. He walked over and added a third line.
Last time, he had done it after finding out about his infection. He had believed he was going to die and so wanted to rest alongside his parents.
This time was different. The third line stood for everyone he'd lost in that cursed reality. It was both a grave for them and a reminder to himself of what was at stake.
"Sah-less Sah-less"
He turned around and saw a familiar crow watching him.
"It's not fair for you to know my name while I don't know yours. What is it?"
"Crow Crow," he said, flapping its wings.
"I see, well, you can call me Sunny."
"Sah-nee Sah-nee"
Sunny gave the bird a mischievous stare, trying to scare it.
"You know... I hate birds; one of your kind ruined my life not once but twice. Perhaps I should kill you too."
Crow Crow tilted his head, not threatened by him.
Sunny sighed at his own lack of presence; still, a genuine smile found its way onto his face. He was glad to see the little Echo.
A few minutes later, Jet showed up. She didn't look happy; in fact, she seemed pretty stressed.
'Oh come on, I haven't done anything yet.'
She glared at him.
"Why the fuck are you here? How was I supposed to find you?"
He knew exactly what to say.
"Wake of Ruin just said you'd find me; had I known better, I would have stayed around the perimeter."
Sunny had learned that the best way to deal with Jet when she was angry was to blame it on someone else.
"Is that so? Just one more thing that I'll have to talk to him about."
'Her eyebrows are literally twitching. What the Spell did that man do to her?'
Jet glanced around, unsure. It had been years since she'd last visited her old neighborhood.
"Why come here?"
Sunny pointed at the tree.
"That's my parents' grave, the only one I could afford.
I came here to remind myself of who I am."
Jet looked at the tree, noticed three lines instead of two, set aside that information, and decided to keep quiet. She wasn't one to ask about things that weren't her business.
"I understand, coming here myself also made me wistful."
A comfortable silence settled between them. Both had grown up in the outskirts and knew how lucky they were, and how hard they'd worked, to leave this place behind.
"Well, what are you waiting for?
Stand up, brother! I'm starving, and we have a lot to discuss."
Sunny turned his head and raised an eyebrow.
"Brother? What are you on? Did you visit the street dealer before coming here?"
"HA! I wish." She then handed him a government-issued citizenship chip.
"You have officially become a citizen of the fifth rank, not only that, but we are siblings now."
After hearing it, he fell off the bench and hit the ground.
"Wh… what?"
Jet burst out laughing.
"You know… I had the same reaction."
***
Before anything else, Jet insisted he take a shower. She refused to put up with the smell any longer.
Sunny agreed; it was reasonable. Now, standing under the hot water, he enjoyed the moment. It had been ages since he'd had a proper shower, especially in this body.
'I have so much to do.'
He looked at his body again. None of the muscles he'd spent years building, none of the flexibility he used to have. His hands felt clumsy, nothing like the dexterity he had with [Bone Weave].
'First physical training, continuous combat rounds, endurance sparring, flowing movement patterns, Increase range without sacrificing control.
Secondly, well-being, protein-rich meals for muscle toning, carbs for energy, 6–7 hours sleep minimum, and meditation for mental sharpness.'
That was the easy part. He spent the rest of the shower planning. It wouldn't be easy, but if he pulled it off, humanity would be far ahead by the time he ascended.
Speaking about ascending... There was Mordret to deal with; a headache was already starting to form just by thinking about him.
'Not now, I already have enough on my plate.'
He got out of the shower, dried off, put on a simple gray sweater pants, and a black t-shirt.
As he left the bathroom, he tried to shape the shadows into an elastic band and tie his hair.
Then he realized how silly he must have looked from the outside.
He didn't have long hair, and of course, no shadow appeared. Jet watched him, clearly confused and a little amused by his antics.
Old habits die hard. He coughed awkwardly and sat back down.
"So what's this story about siblings?"
"From what I understood, it's purely for convenience matters.
A new identity has been forged that will allow you to reach anywhere a common citizen would need to go.
It also gives us a reason to support you without being suspicious.
I don't really have a stellar reputation, so no questions will be asked."
She pulled a box from a small storage memory and set it on the table.
"Inside it are the keys for this apartment, a brand new communicator with my number already saved, the badge that I showed you before, and a pile of documents.
A bank account was also set up in your name. Contribution points and credits will be sent to it.
You'll receive a bi-weekly allowance of credits sufficient to cover living expenses and buy groceries.
A considerable amount of contribution points will also be sent; this is not being done out of the kindness of our hearts but because of whatever information you gave the Old Man today."
Sunny was stunned. This was far more than he'd ever expected.
The building was a large complex about thirty minutes from the central plaza by public transport. It stood eight stories tall and took up a good part of the street.
There were about two hundred individual apartments inside. Since it was government housing, he was sure a few spies lived among his neighbors; he'd figure out who they were later.
A large underground facility held about thirty dojos, which could be booked through a simple app or even from the intercom at his door.
There was a 24-hour gym open to all residents, and a rooftop swimming pool available during summer mornings and early afternoons.
The apartment itself was simple.
When you opened the door, the kitchen was on the right. A modern L-shaped kitchenette made of synthetic wood and something that resembled marble. It had everything you'd need.
An island separated the kitchen from the living room. It worked as both a place to set things while cooking and as a dinner table with stools.
The living room had a gray sofa that fit three people, and an entertainment system projecting onto the right wall. While a door leading to the bathroom could be found just before the large window at the end of the room.
To his left, a small hallway led to two rooms. One with a full bed and a desk nearby, and a smaller room with a standard-issue sleeping pod.
'Not only that, but he's gonna pay me for the half-nonsenses I said this morning!
Jackpot! Whatever that means.'
He'd learned a lot of words by now and wasn't the uneducated kid he used to be, but gambling never really interested him. Still, he'd heard Aiko shout that word all the time, so it had to mean something good, right?
"Keep in mind that I'm a busy woman, so do not call me without a reason. I also live in this establishment, a couple of stories high from yours."
"Sure thing, big sister." Sunny winked, being sarcastic.
Jet smiled and headed to the door. The pizza had finally arrived.
They spent the next hour eating and joking around, mostly making fun of legacies. Afterwards, she said goodbye and left him to clean up. It had been a good evening.
***
Eight months had passed, and Sunny finally managed to unlock the first step of his aspect legacy, at least that's what he thought.
He already knew how to perform the elusive dance, and now that his body was getting stronger, he was making progress quickly.
'It had taken me all of the Forgotten Shore, more than a year that was, and an extremely difficult battle atop the Crimson Spire last time.'
During these months, he noticed an increase in gate activity, which was worrying. Corruption was getting stronger, and he still hadn't touched Fate.
He wished to keep regressing should all go to shit, unfortunately it seemed Corruption would keep getting strong if continued.
This was his last chance.
Today, he was looking for a sparring partner. He wanted to reach the second step, so he needed to keep testing his moves in true battle.
That was easier said than done.
'Jet is too damn strong for me now, and besides her, I don't really have anyone to ask.
There's Wake of Ruin, of course, but I'd like to remain alive, thanks.
I need to find someone who won't suspect me and at the same time is good enough to keep up with my routine.'
In the end, he had no choice; he'd have to go back to the Dreamscape, even if he didn't want to.
It was all but impossible to track a person entering the illusion if they didn't wish to be tracked.
He would fight the Awakened in the amateur arena. Last time, it had been so easy that even the 'Elite Arena' disappointed him, but now he was just an ordinary human. This was the perfect challenge; he might even lose sometimes!
'All I need to do is make sure no one finds out about me not being awakened.
AND STAY FAR AWAY FROM STREAMERS!
The last thing I want is another Mongrel incident.
Yes, sure, this can be done.'
He went to the store and bought the latest model available, spending his entire bi-weekly allowance. He also had to buy cosmetics for his character and a sword that could only be used inside the artificial "realm", since he didn't have any memories yet.
'Ridiculously expensive'
After the technician set everything up at his place, he took a deep breath, changed every little habit that might give him away, and got into the pod.
A string of shimmering letters appeared in front of him.
[Enter Dreamscape?]
[Yes] [No]
He sighed and focused on [Yes].
Dreamscape was a place that existed somewhere between part of the real world and the Dream Realm.
It did not have the harrowing yet beautiful tapestry of fate; only stars jolted around, with no meaning beyond being aesthetically pleasing.
[Challenger! Welcome to the Dreamscape.]
Sunny took a moment to summon his cosmetics: plain black armor and a simple black mask. He also changed his hair color to white, just for old times' sake.
[Before proceeding further, please choose an alias.]
'Right. An alias…'
He was not going to make the same mistake.
"Nobody"
"Welcome, Nobody. Please, choose a dream of your liking."
'Sweet is not taken yet.' He had prepared a list of twenty names just to be safe.
After that, he chose the arena and fought seven people, nearly losing five times.
He only managed to win because of his sublime swordsmanship, earned through years of experience.
His body was exhausted after fighting people two ranks above him.
The power gap between higher ranks was much larger than that between lower ranks.
So, an Awakened wasn't much stronger physically than a Sleeper.
He was used to fighting stronger opponents. He'd even killed a Great Beast while being a master! But Sunny was a simple human with no aspect, so it wasn't easy by any means.
-He made sure to study their fighting styles as they battled.
-He was extra careful not to say a single word.
All in all, it was good practice.
"It's not enough."
He barely whispered it to himself. He'd have to keep this up if he wanted to unlock the second step in time.
He logged off and went to sleep without giving it much thought.
What Sunny didn't see was the crowd of Awakened in the arena, all staring at the spot where he'd just been.
They all had searched his nickname in the database and saw the same thing:
Name: Nobody
Rank: Mundane
Victories: 7
Losses: 0
Status: Offline
One clip was shared, then another, and soon it was on everyone's For You page worldwide.
Was there even a real person behind the mask? Was it skill or just luck? Was it on purpose or by accident?
No one had the slightest idea.
Was he a famous duelist in disguise? Or the son of a powerful legacy clan?
Many claimed he was Awakened, but he wasn't. It was clearly stated on his profile.
After watching the clips, they came to a shocking conclusion.
He was toying with them, using their own fighting styles against them.
All of that without making a sound, not even one word, as if nothing in the world could impress him.
Now, it was the experts' turn to shiver.
Only one thing had the masked man said.
"It's not enough."
As his only quote, it quickly became a hot topic online.
No one knew exactly what Nobody meant, but everyone had a theory.
The only thing everyone agreed on was that his brief statement hid deep wisdom.
#Nobody
#Not enough
#Who's not enough?
#Masked man
#Wisdom
#Pure aura
Sunny woke up to a bright sky, light streaming into his living room through the window.
He prepared breakfast while humming a little tune; it was scrambled eggs and synthetic bacon with a glass of water and some coffee. They were nothing compared to what the Beast Farm and his emporium could come up with, but it was good. He was still the same Chef in the end.
As usual, he checked the news to see what was happening.
The ceramic mug dropped to the floor and shattered.
"No no no no, PLEASE!"
He'd have to keep up with the nonsense for at least another three months.
***
A communicator had been ringing atop a dinner table. The owner was deliberately choosing not to answer it.
'It's my free day! I get seven of those a year!'
She finished her lovely bath early and went towards the living room, not bothering to put on any clothes or even dry off.
'Sunny? I told him not to bother me! Especially today.
What does he even want? We saw each other yesterday.'
She had grown attached to him, as if he had truly become her brother; he was like-minded, and despite being only seventeen, it was clear he was much more mature than he appeared.
That boy was an endless pit of mysteries.
"What is it, Sunny? Did you lose something? Pretty sure you haven't left anything on the PTV this time."
'He has this obsession with emptying his pockets everywhere!'
Of course, Jet had no idea that Sunny kept doing it because he was accustomed to holding everything in his soul rather than in his pockets.
"No, I did not leave anything.
That happened once! Once!"
He sighed and composed himself.
"I'm feeling the symptoms."
Jet turned serious.
"I see, I'll brief Cor, wait for me there."
An hour later, Sunny was strapped to a "bed"; in reality, it was more like a torture device or something you'd strap a human guinea pig to.
Jet was sitting beside him; she looked tense and did not joke as usual.
"Be careful, Sunny. I know you're capable, but never let your guard down.
Do you know why the first nightmare is different?"
Sunny pondered.
"It is because it highly depends on the attributes you are given."
Jet shook her head.
"No. It is because you're alone.
In the Dream Realm, you might win some battles, but in the end, no one survives alone.
So make sure this is one of the battles you win."
Sunny looked at her and nodded.
"No person in two words is more prepared than I. I'll be back. I promise you."
With that, he succumbed to his dreams and heard the voice of the spell again.
[Aspirant! Welcome back to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]