A frail-looking young man with pale

skin and dark circles under his eyes

was sitting on a rusty bench across

from the police station. He was

cradling a cup of coffee in his hands

- not the cheap synthetic type slum

rats like him had access to, but the

real deal. This cup of plant-based

coffee, usually available only to

higher rank citizens, had cost most

of his savings. But on this particular

day, Sunny decided to pamper

himself.

After all, his life was coming to an

end.

Enjoying the warmth of the

luxurious drink, he raised the cup

And savored the aroma. Then,

tentatively, he took a small sip...

and immediately grimaced.

"Ah! So bitter!"

Giving the cup of coffee an intense

look, Sunny sighed and forced

himself to drink some more. Bitter

or not, he was determined to get

his money's worth - taste buds be

damned.

"I should have bought a piece of

real meat instead. Who knevw actual

coffee is so disgusting? Well. It's

going to keep me awake, at least."

He stared into the distance, dozing

off, and then slapped himself in the

face tO wake up."Tsk. What a rip-off."

Shaking his head and cursing, Sunny

finished the coffee and stood up.

Rich people living in this part of the

city were rushing past the small

park on their way to work, staring at

him with strange expressions.

Looking haggard in his cheap

clothes and fromn the lack of sleep,

unhealthily thin and pale, Sunny was

indeed out of his place here. Also,

everyone seemed so tall. Watching

them with a bit of envy, he tossed

the cup into a garbage bin.

"l guess that's what three full meals

a day wNould do to you."

The cup missed the bin by a wide

margin and fell on the ground.Sunny rolled his eyes in

exasperation, walked over and

picked it up before carefully putting

it in the trash. Then, with a slight

grin, he crossed the street and

entered the police station.

Inside, a tired-looking officer gave

him a quick glance and frowned

with obvious distaste.

"Are you lost, boy?"

Sunny looked around with curiosity,

noting reinforced armor plates on

the walls and poorly hidden turret

nests in the ceiling. The officer, too,

looked scruffy and mean. At least

police stations remained the same

wherever you go.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"Sunny cleared his throat.

"Uh, no."

Then he scratched the back of his

head and added:

"As demanded by the Third Special

Directive, I am here to surrender

myself as a carrier of the Nightmare

Spell."

The officer's expression instantly

changed from irritated to wary. He

looked the young man over once

again, this time with piercing

intensity.

"Are you sure you are infected?

When did you start showing

symptoms?"

Sunny shrugged.

"A week ago?"

The officer became visibly paler.

"Shit."

Then, with a hurried motion, he

pressed a button on his terminal

and belowed:

"Attention! Code Black in the lobby!

I repeat! CODE BLACK!"

***

The Nightmare Spell first appeared

in the world a few decades ago.

Back then, the planet was just

starting to recover from a series of

Devastating natural disasters and

subsequent resource wars.

At first, the emergence of a new

disease that caused millions of

people to complain about constant

fatigue and sleepiness did not

attract a lot of attention. But when

they started to fall into an unnatural

slumber, with no sign of waking up

even days later, governments finally

panicked. Of course, by then it was

already too late - not that an early

response could have made any

difference.

When the infected started dying in

their sleep, their dead bodies

turning into monsters, no one was

ready. Nightmare Creatures quickly

overwhelmed national militaries, plunging the world into complete

chaos.

No one knew what the Spell was,

what powers it possessed, and how

to fight it.

In the end, it was the Awakened

those who survived the first trials of

the Spell and came back alive -

who put a stop to its rampage.

Armed with miraculous abilities

earned in their Nightmares, they

restored peace and created a

semblance of a new order.

Of course, it was only the first of

the catastrophes brought upon by

the Spell. But as far as Sunny was

Concerned, none of it had anything

to do with him – not until a few days ago, that is, when he first

started having trouble with staying

awake.

For an average person, being

chosen by the Spell was as much of

a risk as an opportunity. Kids

learned survival skills and fighting

techniques in school, on the off

chance of being infected. Well-to-do

families hired private tutors to train

their children in all sorts of martial

arts. Those from the Awakened

clans even had access to powerful

legacies, wielding inherited

Memories and Echoes in their first

visit to the Dream Realm.

The richer your family was, the

better your chances of surviving and

becoming an Avwakened were.

But for Sunny, who had no family to

speak of and spent most of his time

scrounging for food instead of going

to school, being chosen by the Spell

presented no opportunity at all. To

him, it was basically a death

sentence.

***

A few minutes later, Sunny was

yawning while several policemen

were busy putting him in restraints.

Soon he was fastened into a bulky

chair that looked like a weird mix

between a hospital bed and a

torture device. The room they were

in was situated in the basement of

the police station, with thick

armored walls and a formidable-

looking vault door. Other officers were standing near the walls, with

automatic rifles in their hands and

grim expressions on their faces.

Sunny did not particularly care

about them. The only thing he could

think about was how much he

wanted to sleep.

Finally, the vault door opened, and a

gray-haired policeman walked in. He

had a seasoned face and stern eyes,

looking like someone who had seen

a lot of terrible things in his life.

After checking the restraints, the

policeman glanced quickly on his

wristwatch and then turned to

Sunny:

Screenshot has been saved to Pictures/

"Whats your n Screenshot

Sunny blinked a few times, trying to

concentrate, then shifted

uncomfortably.

"Sunless."

The old policeman raised an

eyebrow.

"Sunless? That's a strange name."

Sunny tried to shrug, but found

himself unable to move.

"What's so strange about it? At least

I have a name. Back in the outskirts,

not everyone even gets one."

After another yawn, he added:

"It's because I was born during a

solar eclipse. My mom had a poetic

Soul, you see."

That's why he got this weird-ass

name and his little sister was called

Rain... back when she still lived with

them, at least. Whether it was the

result of poetic imagination or

simple laziness, he did not know.

The old policeman grunted. n/

ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Do you want me to contact your

family?"

Sunny simply shook his head.

"There's no one. Don't bother."

For a second, there was a dark look

on the policenfaregfute. Then his

expression turned serious. "Alright, Sunless. How long can you

stay awake?"

"Uh... not long."

The policeman sighed.

"Then we don't have time for the

full procedure. Try to resist for as

long as you can and listen to me

very carefully. Okay?"

Not waiting for a response, he

added:

"How much do you know about the

Nightmare Spell?"

Sunny gave him a questioning look.

"As much as anyone, I guess? Who

doesn't know about the Spell?"

"Not the fancy stuff you see in

dramas and hear in the propaganda

broadcasts. I mean how much do

you really know?"

That was a hard question to answer.

"Don't just go into the Dream

Realm, kill a few monsters to

complete the First Nightmare,

receive magic powers and become

an Awakened?2"

The old policeman shook his head.

"Listen carefully. Once you fall

asleep, you will be transported

inside your First Nightmare.

Nightmares are trials created by the

SpelSoBpnskot has teensavedioi

monsters, sure, but you will also

meet people. Remember: they are not real. They're just illusions

conjured up to test you."

"How do you know?"

The policeman just stared at him.

"I mean, no one understands what

the Spell is and how it works, right?

So how do you know that they're

not real?"

"You might have to kill them, kid. So

do yourself a favor and just think

about them as illusions."

"Oh."

The old policeman waited for a

second, then nodded and continued.

"A lot of things about the First

Nightmare depend on luck.

Generally, it shouldn't be

overwhelmingly hard. The situation

you're in, the tools you have at your

disposal and the creatures you have

to defeat should be within the

range of your abilities, at least. After

all, the Spell sets up trials, not

executions. You're a bit

disadvantaged due to... well... your

circumstances. But kids from the

outskirts are tough. Don't give up on

yourself just yet."

"Uh-uh."

Sunny was getting more and mnore

sleepy. It was becoming hard to

follow the conversation.