After spending some quiet time with his mom—mostly watching movies until both of them dozed off—Drayen woke up on the living room sofa. A sharp, numb ache shot through his back, and he let out a low grunt.
"Haaw… damn," he muttered, stretching slightly.
The living room was swallowed in dim darkness, the heavy curtains blocking out the daylight. Only the faint outline of furniture hinted at where he was as his eyes adjusted slowly.
As soon as he blinked awake, a familiar line of text materialized in front of his eyes.
[ Good morning, Drayen ]
It popped up out of nowhere—again.The same damned thing that had appeared ever since he returned from the Nightmare Realm.
He gave a long sigh as he began to think about the events of the Nightmare Realm and this window pop-up which occurred from nowhere. He had totally ignored all these things after his memory came back.
The window pop-up broke the silence.
[ Should I continue to call you Drayen, or do you prefer your previous life's name? ]
"Save it as Drayen," he said in a low tone.
"What are you?" he asked, curiosity slipping into his voice.
"What was that nightmare I had?"
"How am I able to remember things from my previous life?"
Drayen had accepted his memories as Rael. Because his instinct—or it was like his soul—was starting to remember the forgotten memories. So he didn't doubt his identity as Rael. But he still had all these questions.
[ One at a time, please ]
[ Let me introduce myself. I am an AI and was bound to Rael. As per his orders, I have rebooted your memory. ]
As Rael was dying, the AI had surfaced in his consciousness—he'd used it to trigger his own rebirth.
"I know that much already. I got the memories of Rael. I'm asking how you were able to do it."
[ The power I used to restore your memories came from a mysterious substance.
I don't know what it is—only that it has been part of me since my creation. ]
Drayen thought about the crystal in the lab and understood everything. Rael had hacked the whole lab, even the CCTVs, so he knew about the mysterious substance mentioned by the AI.
What exactly was that damned substance…?
It could even rebirth a person?
"What about the nightmare?" he asked.
[ That's the Nightmare Realm. The realm that is becoming one with this world. ]
A flicker ran across the window—almost like static. Before he could open his mouth, multiple pop-ups appeared.
[ Previous protocol failure detected. ]
[ Error corrected. ]
[ Returning to original protocols. ]
A new line formed immediately after.
[ Installing all 32 bloodlines… ]
[ 1%… 3%… 21% ]
"Wait—wait, hold on." Drayen shot upright. "Installing what? What do you mean bloodlines?
A cold chill crawled up his spine—the same suffocating cold he'd felt in the Nightmare Realm. His pulse hammered in his ears.
The progress bar continued climbing, completely ignoring him.
[ 70%… 90%… 98%… 99%… 100% ]
[ Task completed successfully. ]
[ Scanning host… ]
The window shifted.
[ Status Window ]
| Host Name: Drayen
| Age: 18
| Gender: Male
| Bloodline: All 32 Types
| Primary Bloodline: Moon Butterfly (Original)
Drayen stared at the window, unable to breathe for a moment.
All 32 bloodlines?
Moon Butterfly… superior? Original?
None of it made sense.
He was about to speak further, but he felt his soul was drained and tired as he faded out again.
Two days passed quietly.
Life felt strangely normal again as Drayen prepared for university—almost as if the Nightmare Realm, the bloodlines, and the status window had all been a dream. Almost.
He had woken up later that day feeling only drained, not different.
No sudden powers.
Nothing unusual with his body.
Just… exhaustion.
During those two days, he kept talking with the AI—now named Wing. Piece by piece, he began to understand the situation more clearly.
He waved goodbye to his worried mom as he stepped out of the house.
A window instantly popped up.
[ Are you going to look for the portal today? ]
Drayen slapped his forehead.
"Again? Seriously?"
"Fuck you, Wing."
He didn't want to think about that complex realm anymore—not today. With that thought, he blocked Wing from talking any further.
For two days straight, he'd been exhausting himself trying to understand it all, talking with Wing until his head felt cooked. The AI wouldn't let go of its obsession with that so-called permanent portal. Right now, he just wanted a breather… and a normal day. With that thought, he made his way toward his class.
Back in the classroom, Drayen headed to his usual seat.
Fedric wasn't there today, leaving the spot beside him empty.
The room felt… off somehow.
A subtle strangeness hung in the air—one he couldn't quite place. When he chatted with a few classmates, everything seemed normal.Too normal.
He had fainted on the very first day—yet not a single person brought it up. That was what felt strange.
The first period was some introductory web-related class. An old bald professor stood at the front, going through the absolute basics. Drayen sighed. "I guess this is still better than another round of introductions… I guess."
There was a knock on the door. "Excuse me."
The whole class turned around. It was their class teacher, Dordo.
"Sorry for the interruption, professor. I need Drayen Wraithwing," he said.
Drayen scratched his head as he got up.
"Bring along your belongings," Dordo reminded him.
Drayen was now totally confused. He had fainted on the first day, so it might be normal to ask about his health—but bring belongings? Still, he packed up without questioning and followed Dordo.
There was pure silence as they walked out of the Computer School building. Dordo didn't speak a word. His face was calm on the surface—unreadable.
Drayen finally couldn't resist. "Sir… where are we going?" he asked, uneasy at Dordo's strange behavior.
Dordo turned his head. "To the Mysterious School. We'll talk later—let's just go for now."Drayen followed him, even more confused.
Seeing Dordo, a guard from the pair opened the gate without question.
The Mysterious School really was… weird. The building was massive and grand compared to the others, yet its entrance was ridiculously small—barely wide enough for three people to walk through at once.
Drayen stepped inside.
A wide open space spread out before him, every wall plastered with posters—creatures from the Nightmare Realm, records of strange phenomena happening around the world, and most noticeably, diagrams and reports about bloodlines.
Drayen frowned as he looked around. Talks about bloodlines?
Seeing all the posters, bit by bit, he began to connect the dots.
Drayen followed Dordo into a room. It was a small room with a few a table and chairs.
Inside, Fedric and Zuko were already there, sitting and waiting.
Fedric immediately waved with a wide smile. "Drayen!"
Dordo took his seat opposite the desk."Please sit down."
Drayen sat beside Fedric.
"Are you okay, man?" Fedric asked with a concerned look. Zuko watched Drayen's face too, his expression a mix of fear and worry.
"Yes, man. I'm fine."
Fedric and Zuko already had a bit of information from Dordo about the Nightmare Realm. Dordo had been in full panic mode when he realized Drayen was missing, so he explained briefly to them before taking their help for the search.
Seeing their calm expressions finally eased Dordo a little.
"Good. Now, before I get into what happened in your nightmare… let me show you something."
He raised his hand.
With a soft poof, an orange flame burst to life at the tip of his finger.
All three students instinctively leaned back.
Dordo casually played with the flame—shrinking it, stretching it, making it dance and swirl as if it obeyed his thoughts.
Drayen and the others sat there, jaws hanging.
Drayen had learned a few things about awakened abilities from Wing… but seeing it with his own eyes was completely different.
And it only made him more curious—especially about the Nightmare Realm.