“Riley…?” Koda couldn’t help but mutter beneath his breath.
But the boy noticed it and raised an eyebrow.
“Who’s that?
Riley?
Do I look like someone you know?” He asked, his smile growing.
Koda shook his head.
“N-no.
It’s nothing, thank you for the compliment.
I haven’t had much time to check out what they’re even capable of, but they do look cool.” He said, opening and closing his hands.
The other boy nodded while looking at them.
“Is it your Aspect Ability?” He asked, looking directly into Koda’s eyes.
He felt a bit uncomfortable, but Koda shook his head.
“No, I’m not sure what it even is, honestly.” “Hmm.
My name is Fischer, what’s yours?” The pale boy asked.
“Koda.” He replied, noting that despite looking exactly like Riley, this guy seemed quite different.
Koda wondered what type of Aspect he had as well as what flaw he had, but he figured it’d be rude to ask.
That’s when a voice came from behind Koda, making his surroundings feel somewhat cold and uncomfortable.
“Fischer, what are you doing?” Koda turned to see the source of the voice and saw… a… boy girl?
He had no idea, it was the most androgynous person he had ever seen, he couldn’t even begin to guess at their gender.
Fischer peeked over Koda’s shoulder and sighed.
“Irene, I was just introducing myself to the newcomer.
The other one gives me the creeps so…” he said, rubbing the back of his head.
As Irene got closer, Koda felt more and more uncomfortable.
Irene had very dark, smooth skin, shoulder length dreadlocks with silver rings around a few of the locs and very striking bright blue eyes with shades of white mixed in.
Koda couldn’t put his finger on it, but something seemed off.
He felt immensely uncomfortable and almost felt compelled to avoid this person at all costs.
Irene seemed to notice this and scoffed.
“Stupid flaw.” Fischer chuckled awkwardly.
“It’s uhh… if you’re feeling cold and uncomfortable it is because of Irene’s flaw, it makes people feel cold and uneasy.
So… they tend to stay far away from us.
It’s just me and Irene in our little group, but it seems you’re affected just as much as everyone else.
What a shame.” He said with a defeated sigh.
Koda felt pretty bad.
That was a brutal flaw, especially if the person wanted to make allies or friends.
“I’m sorry.” He murmured, feeling bad, but still not comfortable enough.
Irene clicked their tongue.
“Do you reckon the baldy would be affected?” They said with a smirk.
Fischer gulped.
“You can try, I’ll stay right here though.” He said.
Irene rolled their eyes.
Koda felt a bit awkward so he just waved.
“I’ll get going now, good luck you two.” He said very awkwardly.
But neither of them seemed to mind, both of them just waved and stared at the bald guy that had entered at the same time as Koda.
“This place is filled with interesting people… I don’t really want to stand out, thankfully everyone’s attention is on that person.” Koda muttered as he walked off.
He walked off to the corner of the room, standing there and looking around at the various groups people had formed.
As time passed, a few groups of people walked up to Koda and started conversations but Koda would always shut them down when they’d ask questions about his capabilities or if he’d like to join them.
Bonds forged randomly and purely based on capabilities wouldn’t work.
He needed something more, sort of what he and Riley had.
That kind of mutual understanding and trust is what he needed, so he needed a friend.
Koda grabbed his head.
‘This is so frustrating!’ He kept thinking to himself, all the while still dealing with his hunger, waiting for someone to bring out some damn food!
At that moment, a tall man in a dark blue uniform appeared on the stage.
Not only was he tall, he was actually humongous.
The only person who could even compare was the bald guy, Koda still didn’t find out his name.
The giant had wide shoulders, an athletic build and a very nice brown beard.
His eyes were calm and serious.
After reaching the center of the stage, he gave everyone a long look before he spoke in a deep, reverberating voice.
“I am Awakened Rock.
Sleepers, welcome to the Academy.” Everyone listened in silence.
“In less than a month, you will all be summoned to the Dream Realm.
Some of you might think that you are well prepared.
You are wrong.
The Spell is merciless and cunning.
The moment you begin to think too much of yourselves, you will die.
I’ve seen countless Sleepers like you lose their lives.
I’ve also seen experienced Masters lose theirs.
Even Saints are not assured to survive.
‘Great.’ Koda thought with a tired expression.
“In the following four weeks, we will do everything in our power to increase your chances of survival.
You will receive training from the best instructors in the world.
However, don’t be misled by their fame.
At the end of the day, whether you return from the Dream Realm relies on you.
The responsibility to survive is yours and yours alone.” Except for probably some legacies and the bald guy who could also be a legacy, Sleepers were looking at each other with growing fear in their eyes.
Then, Awakened Rock continued.
“You are not children anymore.
It’s a shame, because you should be.
But the Spell has decided otherwise.
You have all survived your First Nightmare, so you already know what it’s like.
Your parents, your teachers and your friends cannot help you anymore.” Koda didn’t really care.
He’d been doing just fine all by himself for the past few years anyway.
While listening to Rock’s speech, Koda didn’t really care.
He understood the purpose behind it, he was just trying to scare everyone.
He was trying to scare people because that could be the deciding factor between whether or not they lived or died.
Finally, the speech got to the most important part.
Awakened Rock paused, giving everyone who was listening a few moments to digest his words.
Then, he continued.
“Now, we will talk about the difference between Nightmares and the Dream Realm.” Koda rolled his eyes.
He already knew all of this.
The Dream Realm was something that he would be able to enter and interact with after he returned to the waking world and Nightmares were situational events that would test him.
And so, he blanked it all out.
… Authors Note !!
I’m gonna be honest, writing a story where the characters can’t properly see their memories enchantments or tiers would be very bland because I enjoy writing each and every enchantment and attribute, so I’m gonna go against the canon.
Sorry… but I’m gonna make it so my characters can all see their Memories Enchantments like Sunny can, I think it’d be better for you guys as well since you’d be able to learn intricate details about their items and weapons!
Good idea?
Yes or No.
Leave a comment here with your opinions, I don’t mind.
I’m happy to keep it with the canon, but I think it’d be better this way 🙂 CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Rikud0u hope you don’t mind !!