“More!” “More!” “More!” Inside of a luxurious looking house, a rather obese young man with greasy light brown hair, tanned skin and greasier hands was devouring plate after plate of a variety of dishes given to him.
His hooded eyes were a vibrant blue, aside from all the fat, he was actually quite attractive.
It was the 17th of November, Koda’s 16th birthday and the day he expected to get infected by the nightmare spell.
The maids in his house were all drenched in sweat and clearly very overworked, having to bring him one lavish dish after another.
Normally, Koda would never treat others like this… well, maybe a little, but after he had begun showing signs of being infected by the spell, he decided to spoil himself.
It wasn’t like the maids liked him anyways, they just needed his money.
After all, he had no hope whatsoever of surviving the first nightmare, nor did he plan on even trying.
Both of his parents had died a few years back in a gate incident.
The Nightmare Spell appeared in the world a few decades ago.
Back when the planet was just starting to recover from a load of wars and natural disasters.
In the beginning, the new disease caused millions of people to complain about constant fatigue and sleepiness, governments had their research personnel to look into it, but any findings they came upon were ultimately inconclusive and unreliable.
But when they fell into an unnatural slumber, with no sign of waking up even after multiple days had passed.
Of course it was far too late by this point, but even if they knew, it wouldn’t have made a difference.
When the infected died in their sleep, their corpses would transform into monsters.
Nightmare creatures quickly overwhelmed the world.
No mundane weapon could harm them, there was no hope.
Until… The Awakened came along.
The awakened were those who survived the first trials of the spell and came back to life, to then come back and stop its rampage.
Armed with unique abilities gifted to them in the nightmares, they restored peace and created a new world.
For the average person, being chosen by the spell was as much of a risk as an opportunity.
Kids learned survival skills and fighting methods in school, on the small chance of being infected.
Well off families like Koda’s could hire private tutors to train their children in all sorts of martial arts.
But they didn’t.
They weren’t alive, and the money they left to Koda was all spent on wants, rather than needs..
Koda exhaled deeply and patted his bloated stomach, letting out a loud burp that made all of the maids stare at him in disgust.
They were only here because Koda had promised to give out his money evenly to them after he died in the first nightmare.
He didn’t particularly treat them well.
Koda was greedy and arrogant, believing the world owed him some great debt for the sole reason of bringing him here without his permission.
Sure, he was born into a rich family and could potentially lead a fulfilling life in the future if he so wished to, but his profound lack of motivation led to an unwillingness to do much of anything but await his end and satiate his gluttony.
And so, he gained plenty of weight.
Then, a loud ringing took him out of his stupor.
The doorbell chimed three times and Koda’s blue eyes narrowed before they relaxed in realisation.
As someone who had been showing symptoms of being infected by the spell, Koda had hired an Awakened to come and observe his entrance into the first nightmare.
Well, he should’ve probably just committed suicide before entering, that way there wouldn’t be a monster that would come and wreck the house his parents had left to him.
But… he was quite interested in seeing what it felt like to enter the first nightmare after seeing multiple comics and stories about it.
And so, he made sure to hire someone quite strong, with very high ratings.
He raised his head to look at the person that had just entered the room.
His eyes narrowed as a tall man with long black hair and a scruffy black beard walked in with a tired expression on his face.
Koda’s face scrunched up as the stench of nicotine invaded his nostrils.
The man, who was wearing a dark leather cowboy hat and a simple black button up shirt with dark blue jeans.
The man looked around before his gaze landed on the tubby boy sitting at the dinner table, making his sharp turquoise eyes widen slightly before he regained his composure.
The tubby boy met his gaze, appraising the man who had come to guide him., noticing what looked to be an antique… gun strapped to the man’s waist?
‘Who the hell even uses guns anymore?
There ain’t a singular type of bullet that can leave as much as a scratch on the ordinary nightmare creature?
I don’t think there are even gun type memories…’ he ridiculed internally.
Before Koda could criticise anything else, the man coughed and introduced himself.
“Alright… kid, my name is Gabriel.
You can call me Master Gabriel or just Gabriel I don’t really care.
You’ve gotten yourself infected by the spell aye?” The man spoke, his voice deep and gruff with a slight rasp to it.
Koda nodded and introduced himself too.
“M-master?
I only hired an Awakened… My name is Koda.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
“Do you really think a mere Awakened is fit for a job like this?” He asked rhetorically.
Koda coughed awkwardly and shook his head.
‘This guy… he’s an Ascended!
What on earth… These guys are super rare and yet he’s standing here in my house?!
I can’t just go and die now… that’d be so embarrassing!
What the hell?!
Right after I’d gone and promised my life savings to these damn servants… shit shit shit!’ While Koda’s mind was spiralling, the gruff man asked.
“How long do you think you can stay awake?” Koda rubbed his chin and replied.
“Not very long, maybe an hour?
Now that you’re here and I’m full, I’m actually quite sleepy.” The Master sighed.
“How much do you know about the spell?” Koda thought for a moment before replying with a grin.
“As much as anyone!
I think… I will go into the dream realm, go through a trial and kill a bunch of monsters and then come back with a super power!” The cowboy sighed and shook his head.
“Listen up.
Once you fall asleep, you will be sent inside your First Nightmare.
Nightmares are trials created by the Spell.
Once inside, you will meet monsters, sure, but you will also meet people.
Remember… These people are not real.
They’re just illusions conjured up to test you.” Koda nodded, rubbing his eye as he yawned, suddenly feeling even more tired than before.
“I… should probably get to bed.” He said, yawning again.
Gabriel sighed and followed Koda and his servants into a large bedroom.
“Remember, kid.
The first thing you must do once inside the Nightmare is to check your Aspect and your Attributes.
If you get a combat type Aspect, something like a martial artist or a mage would help you out big time.
If it is reinforced by a physicality enhancing Attribute, then that’s even better.
Combat Aspects are the most common, so the probability of receiving one is high, but not guaranteed.” As Koda laid down, his vision began to blur.
“If you’re unlucky and your Aspect has nothing to do with combat, don’t worry too much.
Healing and utility Aspects are useful in their own ways, you’ll just have to be very smart about it.
There are really no useless Aspects.
Well, almost.
So just do anything in your power to survive.” Koda sleepily nodded.
“If you do manage to survive, you will be halfway to becoming an Awakened.
But if you die, you’ll open a gate for a Nightmare Creature to appear in the real world.
Which means that I will have to deal with it.
So… please don’t die, Koda.” Already half-asleep, Koda nodded again.
“Oh… speaking of a new sleeper, I heard they’re going to make a movie about those Forgotten Shore lot…” Gabriel said, humming in thought.
Koda’s eyes widened slightly, he had been following the story of the Forgotten Shore for ages now… and they were making a movie?!
He definitely wasn’t going to purposely die anymore.
Well, he’d try not to die anyway… And as he thought about the survivors of the Forgotten Shore, his mind went blank and he was swept up into a deep slumber.
And that’s when he heard a strange, almost familiar voice ring in his ears.
[Aspirant!
Welcome to the Nightmare Spell.
Prepare for your First Trial…] CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Rikud0u a lot of people on TikTok saw an introduction to the main characters of this… so I just had to write about it.