Coupled with the feelings of lethargy and drowsiness he had woken up with, Yoru felt terrified.
All the painstaking hard work and the terrible setbacks he faced, led up to this fated day. Thousands of Sleepers would be thrown into random regions of the dream realm. Some would find themselves right next to Gateways or better yet, one of the three Great Citadels. Those who were far less fortunate could end up in death zones, places where even humanity's strongest Saints dare not to approach.
The winter solstice was a testament to mankind that surviving the tyranny of the Nightmare Spell, required more than skill or preparation. The deciding factor had always been luck. At the end of the day, fate would decide who lives and who dies. And who would dare defy fate?
The halls of the Sleeper Compound were now desolate and quiet, lacking its usual cadence. Sleepers were seen here and there with with their heads hung low, dreading their inevitable journeys to the Dream Realm.
Yoru was in a similar position and yet at the same time, his feelings of dread wrestled with excitement. Sure, from everything he read about the dream realm, it was absurd for him to feel such an emotion, but he was nothing if not an adventurer.
In that regard, he was quite similar to Sunny.
Still, he couldn't say that he was particularly thrilled about facing abominations that the mind struggled to fathom and environments that actively tried to kill you.
It was breakfast but Yoru had no appetite. There were still some things he had to do before entering the dream realm so he found himself in the Cafeteria. Despite the abundance of sleepers in there, it was just as silent as the halls. It seemed the winter solstice had stripped everyone of their desire to talk as well as their appetites.
Looking to the familiar corner of the cafeteria, his eyes locked onto the exact person he hoped to find. Donning his usual grin, Yoru strode over and took a seat next to Sunny and Cassie.
"Fine day isn't it?"
Sunny stared at him blankly and Yoru swore he could see a hint of pity lingering in his eyes.
"Why're you staring at me like that?"
"I was just thinking how unfortunate it is that an idiot like you contracted the Spell." Sunny said flatly, "Its a shame... you had no chance of surviving the dream realm."
"Hey! Don't say "had" like I'm already dead!"
Cassie let out a giggle at the two bickering.
The sound of her melodious laughter rang throughout the silent cafeteria, garnering stares from everyone. The watching sleepers expressions ranged from annoyance to intrigue and...acceptance?
"Why the spell is the blind girl laughing?"
"Ah, let her be. She's dead anyways"
"Did she finally break? Poor girl..."
It wasn't clear whether she heard the words or not but if so, Cassie chose to ignore them.
Wearing a wistful smile, she addressed Yoru and Sunny.
"It amazes me that you two can afford such bickering on a day like this." She turned to Sunny, "Besides, Yoru is a divine miracle you know? He cant die."
Sunny just shook his head and took another sip of his coffee. He grimaced at the taste and set the cup down.
"If you don't like it, why bother drinking it?", Yoru asked.
Sunny took a moment and simply said:
"Tradition."
"Right... Anyways, Sunny, there's a couple things I want to tell you."
Sunny glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "You're not about to say something strange again, are you?" Sunny asked flatly. "I haven't had enough coffee for that."
Yoru grinned. "Tempting, but no. First thing - tell me, do you know how a shadow fights?"
Sunny blinked.
"That was one of the strangest things you could've said - and no. I don't know how a shadow fights."
"Well you should learn." Yoru leaned back in his chair, tapping a finger on the table. "All I'm saying is to just fight like your shadow would."
Cassies brows creased and she frowned at this.
"I don't follow. How does a shadow fight? They're in incorporeal. They can't interact with the physical world."
Straightening up, Yoru assumed the role of lecturer and put on his best imitation of a professor he could muster.
"You'd be correct Sleeper Cassia. Shadows are incorporeal and therefore cannot interact with the physical world. However that is not the same case for shadow creatures."
Yoru didn't miss Sunny's hand twitch at the mention of shadow creatures. Still, Sunny seemingly listened with piqued interest.
Yoru continued:
"I used the academy's terminals to find out more info about the different nightmare creatures we might face in the dream realm and stumbled upon Shadow creatures" , Yoru continued lying through his teeth.
"They're troublesome beings might I add - There's really no way of harming one unless you have some sort of memory or charm that can inflict soul damage. That, or they assume a physical form."
"But that's something else entirely. My point is - shadow creatures have a completely different way of fighting."
Cassie's brows rose as she wore a look of understanding. Her cerulean blue eyes lit up in that moment making her look quite cute.
"Oh! So Sunny too must have a unique fighting style, since he is also a shadow creature?"
"Ha- Hang on!"
Sunny practically jumped out of his seat, his outburst once again garnering the attention of the entire cafeteria.
Why was it that there table was so lively on such a twisted day?
"Wh-why? How do you know that?" Sunny asked Cassie as he quietly sat himself back down.
Cassie's cheeks turned pink and she sheepishly smiled.
"Oh…I never said before did I? My Aspect. It allows me to see others' attributes...of course I could never be completely sure but it wasn't very hard to piece together."
Sunny froze. Then, slowly, turned towards Yoru.
"And you?"
Yoru snickered and leaned backwards.
"I noticed a stray shadow wandering the halls quite often these past couple weeks. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me - but I'm a miracle so naturally my eyesight is the best. Then there was this one time that I noticed you didn't seem to posses a shadow. So who else's lone shadow could be wandering the Sleeper compound? The answer was obvious."
Sunny seemed stunned and had an intense look on his face. He didn't even seem to be looking at Yoru but rather straight through him. His mind was probably whirring with thoughts like, "How much do they know? Was I really that complacent?" In fact, Yoru wouldn't be too suprised if he was contemplating killing them.
Snapping his fingers to regain his attention, Yoru continued.
"My point is, Sunny. A shadow has its own way of fighting. Make sure to remember that in the dream realm."
Sunny slowly nodded. Still lagging from the fact that both he and Cassie knew about his aspect.
"Anyway - second thing. Sunny, have you ever wished you could see enchantments?"
"Well, that would be useful, but no."
"Tch! Wish for it anyways."
"Why?"
'Should I just say "Lost From Light?"' Yoru debated internally, but decided against it.
"Im giving you a free wish here. It would be rude to decline such a gracious offer from one such as myself."
"Damnation… I wish I could see enchantments." Sunny groaned begrudgingly.
"Great! When you enter the dream realm, climb a tree. A really big one. The higher the better. Be careful though… it may kill you."
Cassie tilted her head, amused. "That's your advice?"
"Of course," Yoru said, his grin returning. "Elevated perspective leads to elevated understanding. Also - if something tries to eat you, you'll die with a nice view."
Sunny stared at him, deadpan. "…You're insane."
"I'm quite sane actually. More than most. Now onto the last thing..."
Sunny braced for impact but the next words that came out of Yoru's mouth were not words of strange advice or even tales of his wondrous character.
They were two very simple words, yet they had much more of an effect than anything he had previously said.
"…Happy birthday."
"..."
After a few moments of silence, Sunny finally spoke.
"…Creepy."
Yoru blinked, visibly offended.
'Huh? Who was this brat calling a-? Actually… it makes sense. If my memory serves me right, then Cassie already told him happy birthday. If that wasn't weird enough, then here I am telling him the same thing, despite never being told. Even I'd think I was stalking me.'
Clearing his throat, Sunny stood up and prepared to leave.
"Uh…Thanks."
He took a few steps away before hesitating, turning back around. His dark eyes briefly lingered on the two of them.
"Good… good luck in the Dream Realm. To both of you."
Cassie smiled softly. "And to you."
"Thanks but I Don't need it." Yoru added.
Sunny smiled pitifully.
"There really is no hope for you."
****
Yoru spent the majority of his time left, saying farewell to his teachers and granting a couple more necessary wishes.
Since he didn't have an armour memory in his possession, not only would he be stranded in the dream realm, but he'd also be stranded naked!
That was less than ideal.
Eventually he managed to grant a wish for clothing, ensuring his pride would be retained. He also found the idea of wearing mundane clothes in the dream realm hilarious.
'Maybe I should get someone to wish for a suit,' Yoru mused.
Later that day, Sleepers were led to their personal rooms and were preparing to enter their pods.
Yoru was stood motionless in the centre of his chamber, surrounded by the sterile hum of machinery. The pod loomed before him like an open maw.
Staring at it, Yoru wondered whether he would be thrusted into the forgotten shore or some other forsaken region. When taking into account all the things that had happened to him thus far, it was obvious that fate had some plans for him. The forgotten shore probably being one of them.
But there was always the chance that he wouldn't arrive in the crimson labyrinth. Maybe he'd be near Bastion or Ravenheart, and their respective Saints would come to his aid and rescue him, or he could end up in the Nightmare Desert and fall victim to its inhabitants never-ending war.
He struggled to decide whether that chance was something he should fear or believe in.
He wore a solemn look and for a fleeting moment, he wondered what the others were doing. Sunny was probably somewhere scowling at his shadow whilst Nephis was having an internal monologue about survival, conquest, or some other noble aspiration.
Poor Cassie was probably trembling in angst. Yoru had tried his best to reassure her that she was just as likely to survive as the rest of them but ultimately…that was up to fate to decide.
And with this thought, he frowned.
'Huh? When did I become such a fatalist? Am I not the greatest sleeper to ever grace this world? Two worlds even! Someone like me shouldn't submit to such a measly thing as fate.'
With renewed vigor or…delusion - he stepped forward and climbed into his pod; the lid hissing shut.
****
In the vast echoing darkness, he heard:
[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Yoru!]
End of Volume 1!
A/N: This is just another note to say how much I appreciate the support and all the feedback you guys have given me and also like I previously said, I have a roadmap sort of planned out for the story but for it to flow well and actually be coherent I need to reread the forgotten shore arc. So don't expect the return of this fanfic anytime soon as I really want to refine it. There's tons of plot points that happen in this arc so figuring out how certain deviations effect the story will take some time.
The conversation between Cassie Yoru and Sunny was originally meant to happen earlier in the academy but it completely slipped my mind so that's my bad - rookie author mistakes😔. I only added this cuz I thought it'd be nice to see another interaction between these three as we probably won't see them for a while.