Sunny dreamt of a forest, or rather what was left of it.
Wooden remains, both burned and decayed, littered a giant plateau. Around the plateau there were trees half as high as skyscrapers, reaching out until the horizon.
The whole world was colourless,no sun and moon and not a single sign of life anywhere.
Suddenly, the leaves of still trees began to sway. With every second the swaying intensified until a sudden light appeared. The Sun, or rather what was left of it began to clump together, until the ball of fire every human loves and cherishes was complete. Light rose from the left, streaked across the sky and disappeared in the east.
Leaves began to lose their colour and fall to the ground. A few seconds later new leaves began to grow on the trees. The next second they fell again. Destroyed chunks of wood reformed into trees and filled the empty plateau with colour.
In an instance hundreds of years have passed. The forest which was so barren and dead just minutes ago now looked as if untouched again.
Time slowed and then resumed its usual pace.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]
'What … What was that?'
Sunny heard the sounds of leaves rustling in the wind, birds chirping, and much more. Sunlight gleamed against his skin and filled him with an unnatural warmth. He's wearing a soft, comfortable green tunic which reaches down to his knees and a pair of light brown leather pants, one or two sizes too big for him. On his right hand a robust walking stick is clenched into his fist.
'What is this supposed to be?'
Sunny still didn't know what the hell was going on. But the fact he saw a huge part of the forest he's placed in get destroyed, didn't really raise his morale. But that wasn't even the worst part. He was pretty sure someone or something had destroyed the sun. After all, he didn't see the sun for the first few minutes when time began to reverse. And the whole reforming thing of said sun didn't comfort him either.
How was he supposed to stop something like that? But was he even supposed to stop this calamity? The Nightmare Spell was supposed to be harrowing, but also fair. It created trials, not executions. So maybe he wasn't supposed to prevent whatever was about to happen. Just survive…
But wondering what he was supposed to do now wasn't his first priority. He had to figure out what his role inside the nightmare was.
"Let's see… How do I do this?"
Remembering popular webtoons he read as a child, Sunny concentrated and thought about words like "status", "myself" and "information". Indeed, as soon as he focused, shimmering runes appeared in the air in front of him. Once again, although he did not know this ancient alphabet, the meaning behind it was somehow clear.
He quickly found the rune describing his Aspect and started to read through them.
'Huh? That's not as bad as I expected'
***
Name: Sunless.
True Name: —
Rank: Aspirant.
Soul Core: Dormant.
Memories: —
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Fated], [Vitality], [The Heart].
Aspect: [Prophet].
Aspect Description: [The Prophet is a wonderous being connected to Fate itself. He can see visions of the future and prophecies certain events.]
Staring at his runes, Sunny tried to imagine what his aspect could do. He was a Prophet, so maybe he had to somehow prevent the destruction of the forest by influencing the beings inside the forest.
Deep in thought he suddenly felt a gaze looming over his body. Cold sweat began to pour down his back. The gaze was intense, powerful beyond his comprehension and worst of all, hostile.
'Is… Is that the thing destined to destroy…' he thought, before fear overtook his senses.
A big, round creature, towering with a height of seven meters above Sunny approached.
The creature was bipedal, having two long and bony legs. They were sparsely covered in black ragged feathers and ended in long, thin claws that seem designed more for tearing flesh than walking. Connected to the Legs is a hunched body, covered in messy feathers of the same colour. While the feathers made the beast appear round and fluffy, having a diameter of at least five meters, the body beneath was unnaturally thin and gave it a gaunt and skeletal silhouette. In front, where the face should be, lay a long, narrow beak that looked especially sharp. But above that, staring straight into his eyes, as if intently watching something that he could not, was a mass of 17 yellow eyes as varying in size.
The sight would have made anyone tremble in fear and back away but Sunny was completely taken over by fear. He did not tremble, he did not breathe and he didn't even blink. He did not dare to. Scared for his life, he stood still for what felt like an eternity until he heard a low screech.
'WHY HAVE YOU COME BACK?'
Even though he didn't understand the screech itself, he felt as if the meaning of it had been forcibly pushed inside his mind.
His head hurts. The voice itself was too much to bear.
Sunny did not know how to respond. It was his first time meeting this Thing. But even if he knew it, he couldn't say or think about it. His mind was still blank from the fear that Thing incited in him.
Ignorant to his fear the vaguely bird looking beast spoke again.
'HAVE WE NOT PROHIBITED YOU FROM ENTERING?'
'DID YOU COME FOR THE PROPHECY?'
Still trembling from the fear, Sunny decided to answer anything. He didn't know what history he and the Nightmare Creature had, but he dreaded what would happen if he said something offensive to the beast or didn't talk at all.
"Yes, I have come because of the prophecy." He said in an almost panicked tone. "There will be destruction falling upon this forest. A huge part of this forest will be destroyed." Sunny said with a hint of urgency and fear hiding inside his voice.
'THEN WHY HAVE YOU COME HEAR AGAIN?' Asked the bird.
"I've come to warn you about this disaster. I want to help you stop the creature I saw in my vision!" Sunny lied.
He knew nothing about the creature in front of him, the forest or the Thing that will destroy the forest. That's why he wants to find any information about whatever is going to happen. And what place is better to look for information than the crime scene?
"Can I enter the forest to find out when the monster will appear?" He asked and added quickly, explaining himself. "I can't see any visions about the cataclysm if I'm not near it."
Sensing the honesty of his request the abomination of feathers responded.
'FIRST YOU HAVE TO GET THROUGH JUDGMENT TO ENTER THE FOREST.'
As if waiting for its sign, another bipedal feathered creature came from the bushes. Sunny didn't know how he failed to notice another one of those Monsters in his proximity. Maybe it was pressure he was experiencing, maybe it was his fear. Maybe it was just the huge difference in ranks. He didn't know.
The bird resembles a tall, black crow cloaked in dark, tattered feathers like a judge's robe. One wing forms a massive wooden gavel, and its sharp beak and cold eyes convey stern authority. Perfectly balanced on his long, thin and hunched neck was a golden scale radiating a weak, golden light, shining no more than a few centimeters.
As if an automated process, the hunched neck of the taller bird began to lower to the height of Sunny's Head. Suddenly two balls of light appeared on each side of the scale, on the left a vibrant blue, while the right was colored a deep, crimson.
Simultaneously Sunny felt the eyes of the avian piercing the deepest parts of his soul, as if judging every action he ever has done.
At that moment he felt naked. Not in the sense of one's body being exposed but something much more
'If this Thing will judge me, which it probably will, I really am going to be fucked.'
During his life in the outskirts he has done several, serious crimes. He stole money and food from several people and even was involved in one or another murders. He was by no means a righteous person.
To his disbelief the scale tipped in favor of the blue light and he was given passage into the forest.
'Does this thing even work? Why did they let me through?' Sunny thought
'Maybe it didn't judge my sins, but rather the sins of this body's original owner. He was a prophet after all. And which prophet would ever hurt anybody?'
Not thinking any further about sins or this strange scale, sunny made his way further into the forest. Even though light illuminated the forest it still felt dark and oppressive wherever he went. Or maybe it was just the ever present stare of the round bird sending shivers down his spine.
'It seems he's still watching me. But there is something strange about this forest. Shouldn't there be more animals? I know I'm not familiar with them, after all there are almost no real trees in the outskirts and no forest even a tenth this size in the entire waking world. But shouldn't there be any other living creature except the stalker and scale bird?'