"I get to have another of those creepy eyes? How is this fair? And how will this help me fight abominations."
Dizziness started to form in his head. It was difficult to see out of one more perspective then normal. The third eye together with its enhanced abilitys gave him a sensory overload.
It was not very strong but uncomfortable to have.
Remembering the sensation he felt when summoning this eye, he made it disappear.
Reenacting this feeling with a different body part in mind made the eye appear somewhere else.
'It still feels wierd. Like something is missing.'
Closing both his normal eyes he focused only on his new one. It was located on his head, right above his normal eyes.
'its strange to see from so high up.'
He felt like he could go deeper. Like there was something hiding from him.
'They said the furrball could see things normal peaple could not. It also observed every single thing about me when I entereed the nightmare.'
His vision changed with a click. Everything around him felt fainter, weaker. Like a silhouette you would see when your eyes were covered by a thin piece of cloth.
'everything is so pale.'
looking inside the mirror he saw himself. Only it was different from the surroundings. Instead of his body he saw a white mist in his shape.
'Thats my mind.' He thought with astonishment.
Instinct told him.
'Is that what my aspect does. Make me able to observe the minds of others?'
He knew it was not all, Sunny did not know how but he knew he could see more, eventually.
But it put more of a strain on his mind. Looking with this mind allone would be no problem. Observing with all three could cause trouble.
A few minutes after that, he was wearing a clean police-issued tracksuit and heading for the cafeteria. Master Jet was waiting for him at one of the tables, with two trays full of steaming synthetic food in front of her.
"Help yourself."
Sunny glanced at the cheap gruel, which was not so different from the stuff he used to consume in the outskirts, and sighed. Somehow, he had expected his first meal after becoming a Sleeper to be more lavish.
Still, it was food.
He sat down and began to wolf down the gruel ravenously. He was very, very hungry.
In the process, his thoughts began to wander. What could his eyes allow him. Seeing the mind was cool and all, but what could he do with this, see if someone was insane or not?
Then an Idea popped in his head.
'What if I observe master jet.'
"What are you thinking about?"
Sunny choked on the gruel. He felt his mouth beginning to open, and put all of his will into staying silent. A second passed without him saying anything. Then a weird pressure appeared in his mind, which soon turned into blinding pain. He endured it for a couple more seconds before giving up.
"I was thinking about my eyes."
Jet gave him an understanding look. Sudden changes such as this were rare.
"Alright. Are you almost finished with your food?"
Sunny nodded.
At the same time he tries something new.
Cocentrating on his eye an itching sesation filled it. The plane of mind once again revealed itself to him.
He did not summon an additional eye but projected it onto his existing one.
'The mind of master Jet is much brighter then mine. Most likely because of her rank.'
Her mind was composed of innumerous white strings. Some of them seamingly destroying themself and some being newly created.
'Are those thoughts?' He asked himself.
"Then I'll begin. As per protocol, I am obligated to inform you of a few things. It is mostly a formality. First of all, concerning your Nightmare…"
She glanced at him and sighed.
"You are entitled to receive free psychological counseling. No matter what traumatic experience you have encountered, there is no shame in asking for help. Your mind is as important as your body — it's only right to keep it healthy. Are you interested?"
Sunny shook his head and quickly deactivated his eye. Jet shrugged and continued:
"As you wish. You can also talk to me. Was it very hard?"
How could he answer?
"It was harder than anything I could have ever imagined. Bit in some twisted way also a bit to simple."
The black forest was harrowing, way to harrowing. But he did not even haver to concisely kill anything.
'Only the fox, and I did not even realise I killed it.'
She nodded, satisfied with that explanation.
"That's a good attitude. I won't pry any further. Us outskirt rats are way more resilient than people think."
Sunny looked at her in surprise.
"Master Jet… you grew up in the outskirts?"
She grinned.
"What? You can't tell because of my exquisite manners and polished exterior?"
He blinked a couple of times, surprised.
"I couldn't tell at all."
After thinking for a while, he added:
"Are there a lot of people like us among the Awakened?"
Jet's smile disappeared.
"No. There's not. In fact, they can be counted on one hand."
"I must stay, your luck is exceptionally bad. There's not a lot of time at all. First of all: you are free to do what you want. No one is forcing you to make a certain decision. That is to say, you can choose to prepare on your own, or not prepare at all. Party until the lights go out."
Sunny was not very well versed in partying.
"However, I would advise against that. As a Sleeper, you are also entitled to enroll in the Awakened Academy. You'll be provided with food, lodging and a wide choice of preparatory classes. This late into the year, you won't be able to learn a lot. But it's better than nothing."
She was silent for a few seconds, then added:
"More importantly, you will get acquainted with most of the people who will enter the Dream Realm with you. Some of them might become your companions for life."
'And some may end up trying to end that life once we're inside the Spell,' Sunny added, reading between the lines of what Master Jet had said.
"So, what do you say? Do you want me to take you to the Academy?"
Sunny thought about it. Strangely, his Flaw was silent, not forcing him to answer one way or the other.
'Is it because I haven't made up my mind yet?'
Finally, he looked down, at his empty tray, and made a decision.
Free lodging and food, you say?
"Yeah. I want to go to the Academy."
Sunny was standing in front of the massive, seemingly indestructible red gates of the Awakened Academy. The Academy was, in fact, a city within the city. It was built like a fortress.
The snow was slowly falling to the ground. It was cold and silent in front of the Academy gates. Except for Sunny, there was only one other person — another new Sleeper, if he had to guess.
There was a certain vibe to the silver-haired girl. It was sort of… as though she was apart from the world. She looked confident and self-sufficient, but also a bit lonely.
Sunny wasn't going to start a conversation. Who knew what kind of situation he would put himself in due to that damn Flaw? It was better to keep to himself.
He glanced at the girl and sighed.
There was a certain vibe to the silver-haired girl. It was sort of… as though she was apart from the world. She looked confident and self-sufficient, but also a bit lonely.
Sunny wasn't going to start a conversation. Who knew what kind of situation he would put himself in due to that damn Flaw? It was better to keep to himself.
He glanced at the girl and sighed.
***
"Since we both come from the outskirts, I'll give you three pieces of advice. Whether you listen to me or not is your business."
Sunny turned his head, waiting.
"First: once you're registered in the Academy, they'll offer you psychological counseling again. There will also be a valuable reward for sharing your experiences in the Nightmare and the details of your Appraisal. You'll be able to receive a soul shard, maybe even several of them."
"Im asking you to refuse,you're too green to understand, but out there in the Dream Realm, Nightmare Creatures are not the only danger. Once you grow powerful enough, humans will become an equal threat. The less they know about your Aspect, the better."
Sunny understood. He was deeply paranoid, thats also the reason he did not tell her about his true name.
'The easiest way to defeat a powerful Awakened is to use their Flaw.' He thought.
"Second: there will be a lot of courses to choose from. All types of combat training, deep dives into Nightmare Creature categories and vulnerabilities, basics of various types of sorcery, artifact study and so on."
"Disregard all of that. The only course you have time to attend is Wilderness Survival."
He blinked.
"What?"
Jet glanced at him.
"It's different for city kids, who learn all sorts of useful things in school and from their tutors. But we don't have that advantage, do we? What was the biggest threat to your life during the Nightmare?"
Sunny thought about it, it was most definitely the monsters. So why did she say this.
"The monsters." He said.
Jet was surprised. The environment was not just in hers but in almost everyone nightmare a main problem.
'How terrifying had the monsters been.'
"The monsters sure are strong. But its a waste of time for you to learn combat in such a short time. You cant rely on a single weapon in the dream realm. But you can rely on knowlage, you can learn survival tactics. What does fighting matter if you cant even survive the environment."
After a couple of minutes in silence jet said:
"This is as far as I go," she said, looking cheerlessly at the walls of the Academy. "I've already notified them. Someone will come fetch you in a while."
There was something dark in the depths of her icy blue eyes. Sunny suddenly felt a cold feeling spreading through his body.
"What's the third advice?"
Master Jet glanced at him, then sighed.
"Remember: no one can survive in the Dream Realm alone. That's not an opinion, that's a fact. Try to get along with your peers, even if they don't treat you well. It might save your life."
hen she suddenly smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"You've done well to survive until now. Make sure to keep yourself alive in the future, too."
Then she got back into her PTV and drove off. Just like that, she was gone.
Sunny looked ahead, wondering what kind of life he was going to be living in the next four weeks.
Keep your Flaw and Aspect secret, learn to survive in the wilderness, be nice to other Sleepers. It didn't sound too hard.
But, for some reason, he was sure that these weeks were going to be as challenging as his First Nightmare. Or maybe even worse.
Seemingly free of such concerns, the silver-haired girl walked forward and stepped on the bridge.
Sunny sighed and reluctantly followed.