The early morning light filtered through the sterile digital window of the Academy, but Blaze had been awake long before the artificial sun rose. The silence of the room was too loud, allowing the echoes of his first Nightmare to resurface. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt the phantom weight of iron hooks in his shoulders and the sickening crawl of magical maggots. The PTSD was a jagged glass shard in his mind, a reminder that "surviving" was not the same as being "whole."
Needing to outrun his own thoughts, Blaze washed up quickly in the private bathroom. Despite the mental exhaustion, his body was bursting with a strange, restless energy—the byproduct of his soul's rebirth. He dressed in the Academy uniform and hurried toward the cafeteria, determined to drown his memories in the mundane act of eating.
The cafeteria was already bustling. The air was filled with the clinking of trays and the low hum of hundreds of Sleepers discussing their shared fate. After piling his plate with an assortment of high-calorie food, Blaze scanned the room.
He spotted two familiar figures sitting together: Sunless and the blind girl, Cassia.
Blaze walked over, his boots clicking rhythmically on the polished floor. Sunny looked up, his dark eyes instantly darting to Blaze with a look of intense, guarded scrutiny. Blaze simply nodded at him—a silent acknowledgment between two "outskirt rats." Sunny returned the nod, a curt, sharp movement.
Blaze sat opposite Cassia. As he looked at her pale, delicate features, the memories of the "Shadow Slave" novel he had read in his previous life surged forward. He remembered her role in the future—the choice she would eventually make, the betrayal of Sunny's trust in favor of Nephis. Initially, he had planned to remain distant, to avoid the drama of the "main cast." But as he sat there, a more rational thought took hold.
Every coin has two sides, Blaze mused. I'm in this world now. It's easy to judge a character from a book, but I need to understand her reasoning. If I'm going to survive, I need to know the players.
"Hey," Blaze said, his voice soft to avoid startling her. "My name is Blaze. What's yours?"
Cassia paused, her head tilting slightly as she processed the direction of the voice. "Are you speaking to me?"
"Yeah," Blaze replied, offering a small, ironic smile. "Sorry, I should have been much clearer."
"No problem," she said, her voice melodic but tinged with a quiet melancholy. "My name is Cassia. But you can call me Cassie."
"Sure, Cassie."
Before the conversation could deepen, a sudden commotion erupted near the center of the hall. The large holographic display on the wall flickered to life, displaying the preliminary ranks of the Sleepers based on their Nightmare performance and initial evaluations.
Blaze's eyes traveled down the list and stopped.
5. Name: Blaze
True Name: ---
He had intentionally hidden his True Name from the system during registration. Until he understood the metaphysical weight and the potential dangers of a True Name in this world, he wasn't about to hand it over to a government database. He glanced at the others: Nephis was at the top, naturally. Cassie was ranked high due to her unique utility. Sunny, however, was ranked much lower.
Sunny leaned over, his eyes narrowing as he saw Blaze's name in the top five. "It seems you're stronger than I thought."
"I hope so," Blaze replied neutrally. "Are you contented with your position?"
Sunny let out a small, huffing breath of amusement. "No. But that is what they assumed I am. It's better this way."
Blaze nodded. He noticed Caster approaching Nephis nearby, their conversation beginning just as it had in the story. Knowing the hidden nature of both individuals, Blaze found the exchange almost comedic—two master actors playing their parts. He didn't intervene. He had his own path to forge.
*******
Blaze had registered for two primary courses: Wilderness Survival and Combat. While his new body felt like a high-performance engine, he knew he was a novice behind the wheel. He needed to know exactly how he measured up against the "elites" of this world.
The Wilderness Survival classroom was a vast, circular room, tastefully decorated with holographic maps of the Dream Realm… and it was completely empty, save for two people. Blaze entered and spotted a gloomy-looking instructor behind a massive wooden desk, with Sunny already seated in the front row.
Upon seeing Blaze, the instructor perked up as if he'd just found a rare artifact.
"Come in, young man!" the instructor chirped. He was a lively old man with messy grey hair and bushy eyebrows that seemed to have a life of their own. "I'm Awakened Julius. You can call me Teacher Julius. Sit down, sit down! What's your name?"
Blaze took a seat next to Sunny. "It's Blaze."
"Ah! What a weird name? But that is good! Unique names stay in the mind!" Julius leaned forward, his eyes twinkling. "Say, young man… why did you choose Wilderness Survival, of all things? Most kids your age are off trying to learn how to swing a sword fancy-like."
"Well," Blaze replied honestly, "my survival skills are currently at zero. I figured if I don't know how to find water or a hole to hide in, the sword won't matter much."
Julius let out a boisterous laugh. "A wise decision! Don't worry, young man. In a month, I will make you immortal!"
The "month" felt like it began that very hour. Julius was a workhorse, a man possessed by an infectious, overwhelming enthusiasm for the minutiae of the Dream Realm. By the time the class ended, Blaze and Sunny stumbled out into the hallway, their brains buzzing with exhaustion.
Blaze felt overwhelmed. Runic languages, the classification of Nightmare Creatures, food sourcing in toxic environments, celestial navigation—the list was endless. Luckily, Blaze found that his mind was as "rebuilt" as his body; he was a fast learner, absorbing the complex runes like a sponge.
He barely had time to return to his room to splash cold water on his face before it was time for his next class: Combat.
*****
The Combat Class was held in a massive dojo that could have housed a small aircraft. A long line of Sleepers sat in disciplined rows, including Caster and Nephis. Blaze even spotted a strange shadow lurking near the corner, which he knew was Sunny's "spy."
Awakened Rock stood at the center of the dojo, gesturing toward a large, high-tech machine. "We begin with raw power. One by one, step up and strike the sensor. It will measure your kinetic force."
The line moved slowly. Most Sleepers averaged a score of twelve to fifteen. When Nephis stepped up, the room grew quiet. She took a deceptively simple stance, her movements fluid and economical. She punched the machine with a dull thud.
Display: 16
The students whispered in admiration. It was a high score for a girl of her build, proving her technique was flawless.
"Next! Blaze!" Rock bellowed.
Blaze stepped forward. He felt the eyes of the Legacies on his back. He didn't use his flaming skeleton form—that was a trump card for the Dream Realm. He simply stood before the machine, closed his eyes for a second to feel the "star" in his chest, and threw a straightforward, heavy punch.
The machine shivered under the impact.
Display: 20
A heavy silence descended over the dojo. Blaze stared at the number, slightly stunned himself. Okay, that's higher than I expected, he thought. Even Sunny, watching through his shadow, seemed to freeze in surprise.
Caster was the next to follow. He stepped up with a smirk, his movements a blur of superhuman speed. He struck the machine with a loud crack, and while his score was impressive, he kept his eyes locked on Blaze with a challenging glint.
'Why is he smirking'? Blaze wondered. 'Is he trying to measure me, or does he think he's already won?'
Awakened Rock surveyed the room, his eyes lingering on Blaze for a second longer than the others. "Not bad," he grunted, though his expression suggested he was deeply intrigued. "Now, we move to the real test. We will move to sparring to evaluate your general level of training and instinct. I need two volunteers to begin."