It was two in the morning when I slipped back into the academy from the underground arena, practically sprinting the entire way.
When my boots touched down after vaulting the wall, I landed without a sound, smooth enough that even the patrol drones didn't notice."Perfect landing," I whispered to myself.
I didn't sleep a single minute that night.
By the time the alarm rang for the third time, I rolled out of bed like a corpse. The dark circles under my eyes could scare ghosts, but I still dragged myself to class.
The first class was Basic Theory.
Our homeroom teacher, Jane, was a blonde woman with sharp eyes and the poise of a former soldier. The moment she stepped into the room, the air tightened by a few degrees.
I laid my head on the desk, fighting to stay awake.This was going to be my routine for a while.Classes during the day, sneaking out at night to gather mech parts.
The fifty thousand commission from my first big order couldn't afford any mistakes. I thought I could manage without dipping into my forty thousand savings, but the numbers didn't lie—I still had to burn through them.
"Making money isn't easy," I sighed to myself.
Jane's voice pulled me back."Class, today's topic is A Brief History of Nightmare Academy."
A glowing emblem appeared on the screen—a black bat-shaped insignia with ancient script engraved around it:'Through fear, we rise.'
"Nightmare Academy was founded in Star Year 985," Jane began, her tone steady but proud. "It was one of the Empire's very first military academies."
Images flashed across the screen—young men and women in battle armor, instructors who looked almost divine, and massive training grounds that stretched toward the horizon.
"In its early years, Nightmare gathered the brightest minds from across the galaxy—mech engineers, psychological tacticians, strategic commanders. Back then, this academy was the Empire's sharpest blade."
The next image changed to an old black-and-white recording."In the first Inter-Academy League, Nightmare swept through the competition, taking the championship. Undefeated for ten whole tournaments, forty years of glory paused, her tone darkening.
"Until Year 1038."
The light from the screen flickered, showing a torn rift in the void, twisting space into a vortex.
"That year, the academy sent thirty elite students and five instructors into deep space—to investigate a sudden wormhole."
Her voice grew quieter."They never came back."
The classroom fell silent.
"The wormhole expanded within hours," Jane continued softly, "and swallowed everything—signals, surveillance, rescue fleets. The next day, every mission record related to it was deleted from the system."
"After that, the academy fell apart. Instructors vanished, funding was cut, and half the facilities were sealed off. The students were transferred to other planets. What's left of Nightmare now is just a hollow shell."
Whispers spread through the room."I heard the wormhole is still underground, never fully closed.""Urban legend," someone scoffed.Another frowned. "But the academy's restricted zone is real."
I leaned back in my seat, eyes half-closed.It wasn't what Jane said that caught my attention—it was what she didn't.
The wormhole.The deleted files.The entire team gone without a trace.
Quietly, I opened my mech's internal terminal and typed:"Year 1038 incident—missing team list."
A few seconds later, the screen blinked.
[SYSTEM WARNING_#11.SECTOR_CORRUPT][ACCESS DENIED: FILE ENCRYPTED BY CENTRAL ARCHIVE]
I froze.Usually, when access is restricted, the system only says "Permission Denied."I had never seen "File Corrupted."
I tried refreshing again, same result.
Someone in front turned around to glare at me, so I quickly shut the terminal and pretended to pay attention.But that uneasy feeling stayed in my chest.
Why would the academy's own history be encrypted?What are they hiding?
Jane tapped the screen, voice steady but tinged with sadness."That accident… was twenty-seven years ago."
The class stayed silent as footage of the old Nightmare mech legion rolled across the display. They stood in formation beneath the starlight, shining like legends carved into history.
"Since the 1038 wormhole incident," Jane said, "we've been stuck at the bottom of the league rankings."
A few students sighed softly.
"The next Inter-Academy League will be held in 1068," she continued, her gaze sweeping across us. "If nothing goes wrong, the ones representing us… will be you."
That woke me right up.
Jane gave a faint, bitter smile. "Nightmare Academy isn't what it used to be. Our funding was cut, training gear is outdated, and even sponsors have turned their backs. The cafeteria's synthetic meat lost twenty percent of its protein quota."
The class chuckled, though the laughter was dry.
She looked at us, her tone firm again."I just hope one day, we can reclaim what was ours—our pride, our name, and the respect we lost. I want you to have what other academies take for granted: the best mechs, the best mentors, the best resources. Not scraps built by your own hands."
Her eyes burned with quiet fire."Don't forget what our name means. Even if the world forgets, we will remind them—Nightmare never dies."