***
Author's Note
I know the writing is bad, I'm not very good at this, so if you have any suggestions or issues, please let me know.
Thank you for reading.
***
When Klein opened his eyes, the found himself in what appeared to be an old-fashioned office space. It looked right out of a history book. The architecture, the furniture, the clothes, everything was reminiscent of ancient Europe. A time before the Spell existed. There were two people conversing urgently in front of Klein. One seemed to be a poet, with black hair, green eyes, and a flowy dress shirt accompanied by an open black vest. The other man had deep gray eyes, and receding gray hair. Both him and Klein were dressed in typical Victorian suits. Whatever the two men were discussing seemed very important, but Klein was busy with other thoughts.
What? This isn't what the books described.
All the books Klein had read stated that at the start of a nightmare; one would witness the setting of their nightmare rewind in time to the moment the nightmare would start; however, Klein saw no such thing. He had also never heard of any first nightmares taking place in such an ancient time period.
Maybe the books were wrong or is there something wrong with my nightmare. Maybe other first nightmares are like this, and I've just never heard of them. It's very plausible since I'm from the outskirts. For now, I should calm down and check my runes.
Thankfully the novels were accurate when it came to opening runes, and soon Klein had the glimmering letters in front of him.
***
Name: Klein Moretti
True Name: --
Rank: Aspirant
Soul Core: Dormant
Memories: --
Echoes: --
Attributes: [Fated], [Seer], [Clown], [Magician]
Aspect: [Transmigrator]
Aspect Description: [You are not where you should be and yet possess unlimited potential.]
Klein stared at his runes blankly for a few seconds, shocked. What really threw him off was his aspect. Klein had no idea what it meant but was sure his aspect was somehow related to the weird nature of his nightmare.
Not where I should be? What does that even mean? Is it saying I'm not in my first nightmare? That doesn't make sense, where else would I be?
Ignoring his aspect for a second Klein began investigating his attributes. Having four of them was a huge boon, though their descriptions were puzzling to say the least.
[Fated] Attribute Description: "The strings of fate wrap tightly around you. Unlikely events, both good and bad, are drawn to your presence. There are those who are blessed, and there are those who are cursed... but rarely both."
[Seer] Attribute Description: "Your soul is able to feel the Spirit World. You have great talent for divination, and a strong affinity to fate and revelations; however, one should be humble towards fate. For divination is not all powerful."
[Clown] Attribute Description: "A clown is above all things nimble. You have incredible agility and coordination, never losing your balance. As a clown your flexibility is unbelievable, and intuition is your greatest ally."
[Magician] Attribute Description: "You are above all things a performer one with excellent showmanship. You can easily direct attention and preparations come easily to you, for a magician never performs unprepared."
[Fated] and [Clown] were pretty easy to understand. The first meant Klein would attract unlikely scenarios, while the second was a physical buff that made him agile. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant about intuition being his greatest ally, but it wasn't as confusing as [Seer] and [Magician].
Klein had never heard of the Spirit World, nor did he know what divination was. So, for now the [Seer] attribute was useless. As for [Magician], Klein could more or less assume it made him a better planner. He didn't know how useful it would be but wasn't unhappy with it.
Klein turned his attention back to the two men. The conversation seemed important and therefore was probably tied to completing the nightmare. So far, all Klein had gathered was that lambs would be slaughtered, and that there was a bomb in the city. There was also information about rituals, creators, and some guy named Lanevus. None of which made any sense to Klein.
Why is it my nightmare that ends up so weird. I just got [Fated] and it's already messing with my life.
Klein's lampooning was cut short by the sound of a door opening. Walking into the lobby was a young pregnant woman with golden hair. Klein didn't know who she was but something about her screamed danger, telling him to stay away from her. Glancing to the men beside him, Klein saw they responded the same way. With fear. However, none of them showed it openly, keeping their faces calm and collected despite the terror they felt. Klein masked his emotions as well, finding it surprisingly easy to control his facial muscles.
It's probably due to my [Clown] attribute. I'm also guessing this sense of fear came from the intuition it mentioned. Why is that lady so scary? The poet is talking to her, and she seems normal, but my instincts tell me to get far away.
Eventually the poet led the woman to, what appeared to be a waiting room of sorts, before hurrying back to Klein and the gray eyed man. At this point Klein lost all idea as to what was happening. They started discussing descent rituals, creators, and even evil gods!
Do they mean an unholy creature? That can't be right. Why would there be an unholy creature in a first nightmare!? Then again, if my aspect means what I think, then this might not even be a nightmare. Curse my [Fated] attribute.
Eventually the gray eyed man, who seems to be in charge here, and was referred to as Captain by the poet, begins giving orders.
"One of you go keep her company and buy time. Ill contact the Holy Cathedral, Mandated Punishers, and Machinery Hivemind for reinforcements. Our job is to stall for as long as possible."
Klein, against all reason, volunteered.
"I'll stay with her."
They both gave him serious yet worried looks.
"Alright."
"Be careful."
Klein headed to the waiting room while trying to keep his nerves under control. he heard Captain and the poet talking behind him. Something about sealed artifacts, nothing he understood. Which is why he was choosing to keep the walking bomb company. At first glance this might seem like a horrible choice, and it was, but it is also where Klein was most useful. There were clearly several preparations being made right now, none of which Klein understood or could help with. If he stayed back, he'd only be a hinderance. Plus, his [Magician] attribute said he was good at directing attention, so he should be suited for distracting the pregnant lady.
At least he hoped he was. Truthfully Klein was still in a serious state of confusion. His aspect and half his attributes are confusing. Nothing anyone has said made sense, and now he has to stop the descent of an unholy abomination.
At least it's a baby Klein Lampooned.
It wasn't hard to figure out the fetus in the woman's womb was the evil god everyone was talking about. The sense of danger she radiated plus the fact the abomination hasn't descended yet all pointed towards the unborn child. The fact it hasn't been born yet is probably the only reason this nightmare is possible, if it even is a nightmare.
If we need to stop it being born, can't we just kill the lady. Stab her through the stomach or something? I'm sure they've already thought of that, so if they haven't done it then I'm sure there's a good reason. Killing an unholy nightmare creature, unborn or not, can't be that simple. They're probably getting help from someone stronger. That's why we're stalling for time.
Taking a deep breath Klein sat next to the blond woman and struck up a conversation.
"It's a nice day, isn't it?"
"Yes. He definitely thinks so."
Her voice was calm and gentle, seemingly talking to her unborn child. An act that made Klein's hairs stand on end, as he struggles to remain calm.
"W-Why did you come visit us? Shouldn't you be at home resting? I'm sure moving around while pregnant isn't very pleasant."
"Oh, it's because he told me to. He said today would be a good day for a visit, so I decided to stop by. He's been very talkative lately, it's quite wonderful. I really am a blessed mother."
"I'm sure you are... What kind of things does your child tell you?"
"Many things... great things. How he loves me, how he can't wait to get free, he's eager, very eager. He wants to be free, to be born. He says the lambs are waiting for him."
The woman's behavior started to turn erratic. Tugging at her hair, scratching at her skin as she kept monologuing child's desires. Her voice turning louder and panicked.
"He's coming! He'll be born! All the lambs, all the lambs, lambs for the slaughter. Hahahaha, my child, beautiful child. I'm his mother, He loves his mother! You're all going to die for my child!"
She was ripping hair out of her scalp, tearing skin off her face. Klein knew time was up and bolted from the room terrified, his back drenched in sweat. He ran into Captain and the poet in the hallway and opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off.
The sound of a baby's wailing rang throughout the building, coming from the woman in the room.