Yves was walking down a hall, currently on his way to the cafeteria. The morning light filtered through tall windows, casting long shadows across the polished floors. His footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. He was honestly starving due to the fact that he didn't attend dinner last night, since there was no reason to leave his room. All of his information was already given to the academy through someone from the Song clan, which also included his aspect, so he didn't really need to go and give that information himself.
'They probably only gave the information on my aspect which allowed me to create illusions and told them about my true name.'
Of course they wouldn't try to purposely undermine Yves' abilities. There was no reason to hide his capabilities since it wasn't like anyone could touch him anyway, and doing so would be unbecoming of a Great Clan such as Song. Besides, he would always be in the spotlight just from the fact he was part of the Song clan. But it wasn't like they had to tell them much, just the fact that
he had a true name was enough since getting a true name in your first nightmare was unheard of. Although that had changed since him and Nephis existed.
'They should be displaying the rankings of the sleepers right now. Wonder where I placed?'
He had woken up late this morning. Well, not just late. Very late. The alarm had gone off at some point, he vaguely remembered that, but turning it off and going back to sleep had seemed like the better option at the time. And then when he finally did wake up, he'd taken his time getting ready, not seeing the point in rushing.
Others would probably call him a lazy bum, but is that really what he was? He preferred to think of it as being efficient with his energy. 'I'm just being energy efficient if anything.'
The corridors were mostly empty now, everyone else already having made their way to the cafeteria. His footsteps echoed through the quiet halls as he walked at a leisurely pace. He passed by a few windows, the morning light streaming through and illuminating the polished floors. The air was still and quiet, almost peaceful compared to what was likely waiting ahead.
He turned another corner, getting closer to the cafeteria. The faint sounds of conversation and movement could be heard in the distance, growing louder with each step. The energy in the air shifted. Excitement, curiosity, maybe even fear mixed together. Looked like everyone was already there, probably gathered around those rankings like moths to a flame.
Well, they were about to get quite the show.
———
Early in the morning, Sunny washed up in his private bathroom and, bursting with energy, hurried to get breakfast in a happy mood. The cafeteria was a bit crowded. After filling his plate with all kinds of delicious stuff, he quickly realized that the only place he could sit was near the blind girl from yesterday. Her table was empty, since no one wanted to be close to her.
Sunny grimaced. It seemed that the two of them were doomed to be outcasts together for the remaining four weeks. He also felt uncomfortable in the company of someone who was practically a dead person, but there wasn't much of a choice. Losing his good mood, he sat at the blind girl's table and gave a precursory nod to the social worker who was helping her get around. After that, he tried to pretend that they didn't exist and concentrated on his food.
However, before he could finish, a sudden commotion drew his attention.
'What's going on?'
He looked up and noticed that a lot of Sleepers were gathered around the large screen hanging on the wall of the cafeteria, their faces filled with excitement and awe. On the screen, a list of names displayed, ranking the new batch of Sleepers from weakest to strongest, most likely deduced from the results of the interviews.
Not particularly interested, he quickly found his own name near the bottom of the list. The only Sleeper who the academy judged to be less likely to succeed than him was the blind girl. Turns out, her name was Cassia.
But the commotion was a bit too loud to just be the result of the ranking. Curious, he moved his gaze up. The Sleepers were restless.
'How… how can this be?!'
'This can't be real…'
'Are they some sort of monsters?'
Caster was placed third. Above him there were two different portraits. The first one being of an ebony skinned boy with short coily black hair, and above that was one of a silver haired girl.
Next to the portraits were lines of text that read:
"Name: Yves"
"True Name: Wandering Dream"
"Name: Nephis"
"True Name: Changing Star"
——
Yves walked into the cafeteria. The noise hit him immediately. Overlapping voices, the clatter of trays, chairs scraping against the floor. It was in quite an uproar. Well, that was to be expected. Two people had just been revealed to have gained true names from their first nightmare. That was something that had never been seen.
His eyes landed on Nephis. The silver haired girl sat with perfect posture, a cup of coffee before her, steam rising lazily into the air. Even from across the room, there was something commanding about her presence. Aloof and untouchable, Caster stood beside her. Yves recognized the conversation from the original novel.
The crowd parted slightly as he made his way further into the room, conversations dying down as sleepers noticed him. Eyes followed his movement, whispers spreading like ripples in water. Then, as if a dam had broken, the whispers started up again, louder than before.
"Is that him?"
"Yeah it is."
"I heard he's a legacy from a great clan."
"Getting a true name from your first nightmare though? That's insane."
"Look at his eyes…"
"They're kind of beautiful, but there's something eerie about them."
"Like the moon against a black sky."
"I heard someone call him a beautiful monster."
Yves kept a relaxed smile on his face as he made his way to the counter. The attention didn't bother him much. People could stare and whisper all they wanted. After all, who wouldn't want to stare at a tall and extremely handsome young man such as himself?
He grabbed a plate and loaded it with eggs, toast, bacon, and some fruit. The smell of fresh coffee and warm bread filled the air around the counter.
Yves spotted an empty seat not too far away and made his way over. As he passed by their table, Caster glanced up.
"Hello, Lord Yves," Caster said with a polite nod.
Yves returned the gesture with an easy smile. "Morning."
"I see that you were not lying about us being in for a huge surprise. Not that I doubted you or anything."
"Well, I try to keep my word."
Caster's expression remained pleasant. "Well," he said after a brief pause, glancing between Yves and Nephis. "I'll leave you both to your meals. Farewell."
With that, the scion of the Han Li clan stood and walked away, his movements graceful and measured.
'He's really a nice guy if you're not trying to ruin his plans of assassination. Or is it just because I'm a legacy?'
Yves shrugged mentally. He didn't really care either way.
He sat down and began eating, digging into his food without much fanfare. The eggs were warm, the bacon crispy. The conversations around him continued, a constant buzz of speculation and awe.
"Two people obtaining true names from their first nightmare at the same time. What are the odds?"
"Did you see his eyes up close? Beautiful monster really does fit."
"I wonder what their aspect ranks are?"
Yves tuned most of it out, focusing on his breakfast. The food was decent, and that was what mattered right now.
As he ate, he felt a gaze on him. Not the scattered, awed stares of the other sleepers, but something more focused. More deliberate. The weight of it was different. Sharper, more analytical.
He glanced up and met Nephis' grey eyes. She was looking at him with that same cool, distant expression she wore like armor. Her face revealed nothing, beautiful and cold. The morning light from the nearby windows caught her silver hair, making it almost seem to glow.
For a moment, neither of them moved. The silence between them stretched, heavy with unspoken questions.
Then, without a word or change in expression, Nephis stood up gracefully and walked away, her silver hair catching the light as she moved. Her footsteps were quiet, measured, deliberate.
'Huh. Well that was something.'
Yves went back to his food, a faint smile still on his face. He could guess what was going through her mind behind that perfect mask. A legacy from a great clan, appearing at the academy at the same time as her. It wasn't hard to connect the dots, especially for someone as paranoid as Nephis had reason to be.
Did she think he was the assassin sent by Song? Probably. Or at least, she was considering the possibility.
His decision to come to the academy had been sort of a late call, not really planned. It wasn't like he was told not to go. He'd mentioned it to his mother and Eubin, but he didn't think they'd told anyone else about it. Then again, maybe they had and he just didn't know.
'Not that it matters. She'll figure it out eventually. Once she gets to the Dream Realm, she'll see who the real threat is.'
He finished his meal at a leisurely pace, unbothered by the lingering stares and whispers. The cafeteria's energy remained charged, but it faded into background noise. In four weeks, they'd all be thrown into the Dream Realm, and survival would be the only thing that mattered.
Yves disposed of his plate and strolled toward the exit, his mind pleasantly blank. The cool air of the corridor was a welcome change from the crowded cafeteria. He wondered if they would have ice cream at lunch, he hadn't eaten any in a long time. As he wandered through the corridors, sunlight streaming through the windows in golden beams, he tried to remember what class he had first.
It was Wilderness Survival.
'Time to go meet Sunless and Professor Julius.'
With a small smile, Yves continued down the hall, ready to start his day.
Author Notes
This was a sort of filler chapter that I wanted to drop since it's been a week since the last chapter.
I do hope you guys enjoy this one, although it was a short one.
I also have a few more chapters that I'm working on for a minor mass release.
Thank you for reading!