Michael dreamt of a city.
The city appeared frozen and miserable, buried under thick snow and glossy ice. The buildings were decrepit and stained with age, forlorn and forgotten. The vast city was surrounded by broken stone walls that must've looked magnificent before something terrible smashed into them. It was a sorrowful and depressing sight.
There was no life, no movement, just the sound of snow blowing in the breeze.
Time seemed to reverse as hundreds of years flew by in an instant. A terrible veil of snow passed, revealing what the city once looked like.
Michael couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it.
It was a large, lively metropolis filled with life. Thick, tall trees grew in between towering buildings made out of pale stone and colored roofs. Children played between the merchants selling goods on massive paved streets engraved with unrecognizable, gorgeous depictions of culture and art. Above the lively streets were ropes and strings connected to the buildings, each carrying vivid flags and colorful decorations.
In the middle of this grand city was an awe-inspiring cathedral that looked as if it could stand the test of time. Made of ivory stone and stained with colors throughout, it looked like the best place to worship whatever god existed once.
It was... all of it was... beautiful. He was truly speechless, he had never seen a sight like this before in his entire life. It looked completely different from the forlorn ruins he saw before.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial...]
'Spell... my head is killing me. What kind of nightmare was that...'
Michael groaned and ferociously massaged his forehead. It felt like a knife pierced his entire being, twisting his insides and playing with it. He rubbed his exhausted eyes and opened them, shocked by the sight before him.
His eyes darted around the room he found himself in. Pale, white walls that looked like it was taken from the moon and dark wooden structural beams with elegant engravings, this definitely wasn't the outskirts. Warm sunlight came in from an opened balcony, the white curtains gently flowing with the cool breeze. His eyes readjusted to the luster and felt somewhat paralyzed at the gorgeous sight before he heard a light moan next to him.
He dazedly examined around his immediate area and realized he laid on an elegant bed crafted from darkened wood, as if it came from a world tree. The milky bedsheets were clean, and the pillow was completely fluffy.
He glanced to his right, where the previous noise came from and he once gain felt paralyzed.
Laid next to him was a beautiful woman. Smooth skin, lustrous hair... Michael was at a lost for ways to describe her. He couldn't find any words in the human language suitable for someone like her, it was beyond his imagination.
Michael was stunned until the jade beauty turned around to face him and opened her eyes. Her eyes were so... picturesque. He had never witnessed eyes as beautiful as hers, like it reflected his very soul. Her voice calmed his nerves and brought him tranquillity.
"Good morning, honey. Did you sleep well?"
Her luscious lips turned into a subtle, yet jaw-dropping smile.
Something was wrong, very wrong.
Michael finally realized something, this wasn't real. This was a...
"Nightmare!"
Michael fell out of the bed and erratically crawled towards the furthest end of the room. He stood up, shaking with fear. His face was contorted in pure dread.
'No... I don't want to die to an abomination!'
The room was enveloped in a suffocating silence before the lady wearing an elegant, silky sleeping attire spoke. She raised a single eyebrow and had a bewildered expression.
"Must've been a scary nightmare, huh?"
She slowly stood up and lightly fixed the messy bed covers.
"I'll go make breakfast, go outside and get some fresh air. Don't forget to put a shirt on, I don't want you catching a cold."
With those calming words, she exited the room and walked downstairs. Her footsteps grew distant until Michael couldn't hear them at all.
'Why were those words calming? That's a nightmare creature, no two ways about it. If I walk outside, I will die. It's a trap.'
Despite thinking those words, his heart felt different. Without even knowing, his body moved towards the balcony and softly parted the curtains.
The sight was even more amazing up close.
His balcony looked over a plaza that stood in front of the grand cathedral he previously saw. The flaming sun highlighted the sparse silver clouds barely covering the gorgeous azure sky. Painted across it was a gigantic rainbow, the first he had ever seen. The chilly air soothed his muscles as his hair flowed with the wind, it was the best thing to wake up to in the morning... well, second best thing.
'...What am I thinking? What am I doing? What is happening to me in this nightmare? I feel so... weird.'
Michael was frozen solid for a few moments, astonished by not only the view, but also his memories. He couldn't remember what happened before he came to this nightmare, the First Nightmare.
'I woke up, got... fired. The... power went out and mother... Mr Daniels...'
Michael's legs went limp, barely managing to catch himself on the balcony's railing.
'There was so much blood.'
He clenched his stomach, followed by tightly grabbing his heart.
His mother, the one who cared and looked out for him his entire life, died. She died without even knowing what happened. And who was to blame? Well, it was obvious.
'It's my fault, she died... because of me.'
Michael felt like he was about to puke. Not only that, but his vision was also getting... crowded. As if there was a constant object located on the edge of his peripheral vision, just far enough where he couldn't make out the details. He rubbed his eyes and looked in the direction of where it was, yet it was never there, always remaining on the edge, like a phantom. Was it fatigue?
'What do I do now?'
What was there to do? He was in the First Nightmare, most people don't make it out from that. How could a starving street rat, of all people, survive when even the most highly trained legacies couldn't?
'No... am I really going to die?'
'You deserve it.'
Michael grasped his head, the headache was getting worse. It sent painful shocks throughout his whole body, maybe even his soul.
After a few moments, he took a deep breath and calmed down. The abomination was right, some fresh air really did work wonders. Panicking would do no one good, mostly him. He must find a way to escape this nightmare.
He was currently in the First Nightmare. From what he heard, all he had to do to bring up the runes detailing his Aspect was concentrate, and so he did.
Once he focused, runes shimmered before him in an ethereal glow. Although he couldn't read the dream realm's alphabet, he knew what they meant... somehow.
He scoured the inscriptions until he saw the runes describing his Aspect.
'What?'
___
Name: Michael
True Name: ---
Rank: Aspirant
Soul Core: Dormant
Memories: ---
Echoes: ---
Attributes: [Cursed], [Stain of Divinity], [Dream]
Aspect: [Blood Thrall]
Aspect Description: [You are damned by your blood, and your blood damned by you.]
___
'What... what does that even mean!? Damned by my blood... blood damned by me?'
Michael was absolutely puzzled, perhaps the meaning behind those words weren't grasped by his insolent mind. He had no idea what that meant...
'...Wait... what the fuck does [Cursed] mean?'
He was about to concentrate on that particular rune until he felt a shiver run down his spine.
'Damnation, she... it, was right, I might catch a cold.'
Michael dismissed the runes and quickly went inside. He opened an absolutely packed wardrobe, mostly filled with dresses, and found some basic tunics.
After he got dressed, he reached his hand out to open the door but froze.
'What am I doing!? Why would I walk downstairs into a nightmare creature's maws!?'
His thoughts raced, but nevertheless, his body listened to his heart and gently opened the door and walked downstairs, the wooden floor slightly creaking with each step.
'No, no!'
Michael exited the hallway and entered an extravagant kitchen. The wide counters crafted from chalky wood and colorful accents were cluttered with items Michael has never even seen before. In the middle of the room was a dark wooden table with prepped plates and cutlery, of course, he was also baffled by the cutlery.
'Three spoons? Why would I even use a spoon?'
His eyes stopped onto a woman wearing a clean apron wrapped around silky sleeping attire. Her hair cascaded down her back like a river, and the delectable smell of her cooking pierced Michael's nostrils.
Warm sunlight came in from a nearby window, illuminating the room in a soft glow.
'What... type of poison is that?'
Michael unwillingly sat down on a chair and waited for his food.
'I'm going to die, aren't I?'
This food was poisoned, there was no doubt about it. He had never smelt something like this before, it had to be spiced with something that could kill him, why else would it smell so... appetizing?
He was lost in thought for a few moments until he stared in awe when she turned around with two plates of food. She gently placed one in front of him, then settled the final one where she sat.
The food looked so... foreign. But, why was his different from hers? His must've really been poisoned.
He looked up to the woman opposite of him and haphazardly asked without a care in the world.
"What is this?"
'Me and my loose mouth! I'm going to die for sure!'
She delicately placed her utensils down and tilted her head, strands of messy hair dropping onto her shoulder. She had a similar perplexed look plastered on a face.
"Hm? I gave you your favorite, pancakes. Did I do something wrong?"
She pouted and contorted her face in a dejected expression. Why did it hurt him so much seeing that? A mind attack?
"N-no, I was just curious as to why your dish looked different..."
She stared at her plate for a few moments before peeking back up.
"Silly, that's because I love waffles. Did you really forget? What else have you forgotten..."
Although she sounded sweet at the beginning, she trailed off with a mumble that struck Michael to his core. He quickly decided to play along, for now.
"Ah, sorry. I haven't been feeling too well after waking up."
"Really? Must've been pretty scary to terrify my husband, huh? Did you dream of walking the streets with no pants on? Haha!"
Her laugh... was perfect.