Lucian awoke to a low, steady hum and the scent of antiseptic. The crushing fatigue was gone, replaced by a dull ache and the chilling memory of the Spell taking root in his soul. He wasn't in an alley or a morgue; he was on a simple cot in a small, sterile room. He had been stabilized.
The door slid open. The man who entered was not a soldier or an officer. He wore simple, durable civilian clothes and moved with a quiet confidence. He had kind eyes, a warm smile, and a long scar that ran from his temple to his jaw.
"It's good to see you lucid," the man said, his voice calm and reassuring. "My name is Elias. I'm a guide for the newly infected."
Lucian watched him, his guard remaining high.
Elias pulled up a chair. "I know you're scared and confused. Let me be direct. You've been infected by the Nightmare Spell. You are now what we call a Sleeper. It means a trial is coming for you—a Nightmare. Most people in your state don't survive the initial onset, let alone the dream itself."
He paused, letting the grim reality settle. "But you turned yourself in. Because of that, you have a chance. The government runs a special program, a compound for willing Sleepers from every Quadrant. It's called the Awakened Academy."
Lucian's breath hitched, but his face remained a stone mask. The Academy. It was real.
"Don't mistake it for a school," Elias continued, his tone serious. "It's a training ground. A staging area. We provide food, shelter, and basic combat training. We teach you everything we know about the Dream Realm, about the creatures, about the Spell itself. We do everything possible to prepare you for the hell that's coming. On average, around a thousand young men and women are there at any given time, all preparing for the same event."
He leaned forward, his kind eyes holding a deep gravity. "We can't force you to go. But I must be honest—without the training, your chances of surviving the First Nightmare are almost zero. The alternative is to face it alone and unprepared. We both know how that ends."
It wasn't a choice between career paths. It was a choice between a sliver of hope and certain death. For Lucian, who knew what lay on the other side of that hope, it wasn't a choice at all. It was the beginning of his path.
"I'll go," Lucian said, his voice firm and clear.
A genuine smile touched Elias's lips. "Good. I thought you would." He stood. "A transport is waiting. It will take you away from this place, away from the Outskirts. Your new life is about to begin. Don't waste the chance you've been given, kid."
Two hours later, Lucian was in an armored transport, watching the grey, rain-slicked labyrinth of his former life disappear behind him. In the distance, the impossibly tall, glittering spires of the city proper pierced the clouds, a world he was finally about to enter.
He leaned his head back against the cool seat, the thrum of the engine a steady rhythm beneath him. He was not yet an Awakened. He held no Aspect, no Flaw, no True Name. He was a Sleeper, a candidate, a soul balanced on the knife's edge between annihilation and apotheosis.
His journey was just beginning. He was heading towards the starting line, to a place where he would meet the other key players of this story. Sunny would be there soon. Nephis. Cassie.
A strange, unfamiliar feeling stirred in his chest. It was the hope of a gambler about to make his one and only bet, knowing the prize was the entire world.