The days blurred together for Lumian. With only a few weeks left before his Winter Solstice, he needed to master the basics. As a human rather than a nightmare beast born for killing, he had to learn how to fight and defend himself.
He also needed information to survive in the Dream Realm. The amount of knowledge Julius provided was astonishing. He didn't just explain what things were—he explained why they were that way.
What fascinated Lumian the most were the dead languages and their layers of meaning. If he could learn the runes, he could perform sorcery and enchant objects or people.
Even if he woke up, by using Essence he could learn to weave memories of his own. Being able to create memories would be incredibly valuable, but for that he needed Weaver's fragments—the Soul Weave and the Bone Weave. If he managed to collect them, mastering memory-weaving would become much easier.
But if he couldn't obtain them, Lumian would have to learn to weave his memories through other methods.
As for his classmates, Lumian didn't quite know what to think. Julius gave them so much information that he sometimes assigned reinforcement exams—complex questions about the Dream Realm that they discussed among themselves to find the best solutions.
This, in a way, brought them closer, enough to recognize and trust each other, even if only a little.
During combat training, Lumian was placed in the novice class, where he quickly rose to the intermediate level within a week.
Thanks to his Aspect, his mental speed was higher, and after training with Asael to refine his techniques, reaching the intermediate class came easily to him.
He also trained with Eva. The girl was a deadly Combatant—she was the only one who had fought Asael for a full minute.
Meanwhile, Lumian barely posed a minor threat to either of them.
He grew frustrated. Even though his Aspect was meant for combat, Asael and Eva shut him down effortlessly. They were prodigies trained since childhood by their families.
Asael belonged to the Night Clan, where Awakened instructors and a few masters had molded his fighting style.
Eva, on the other hand, was related to a high-ranking official in the NQSC government, though she never said who. She had access to private tutors and powerful masters with extensive combat experience.
Compared to them, Lumian was just a fish—
But a fish that grew quickly, according to both Sleepers.
His learning speed and adaptability were impressive, proof of great but unrefined talent.
It was worth mentioning how exhausted he was—physically and mentally.
Adding more to his plate, Lumian constantly used his Aspect. He had managed to get used to the disorienting sensation he felt every time he stopped using his ability.
He also noticed something amusing: the Sleeper Center had turned into a nest of romance. With a hundred young and attractive Sleepers, all confined underground, living close together, and the constant threat of dying at any moment… it made young people want to "enjoy life to the fullest."
Sometimes Lumian heard far more than he wanted. Whenever he used his Aspect, his senses sharpened so intensely he could hear moans coming from a room two hallways away as if they were right beside him.
Of course, Lumian didn't feel jealous—he refused to feel such things, thanks to his Defect.
His Defect was something he studied thoroughly.
In general, his Defect acted as an emotional damper, making him detached from situations.
He could watch someone die right in front of him and feel nothing.
He could watch someone beg for help and not feel even a shred of pity.
He didn't feel happiness, anger, sadness, hope, or despair.
He was like a machine—forced to pretend emotions, something he had become better at ever since the Defect appeared.
His "Non-Human" Defect now made sense to him:
he lacked what made humans human.
He resembled a psychopath who didn't understand emotions and faked them to avoid being labeled a monster.
As for his Aspect, Lumian still hadn't had the opportunity to test it properly. He would have to try it once he was sent into the Dream Realm against nightmare creatures.
His days became a cycle of learning survival knowledge from Julius, combat training, and extra training with Asael or Eva to continue strengthening himself.
A month and a half passed quickly, and the Winter Solstice finally arrived.
---
On the morning of the solstice, Lumian woke up later than usual. After yawning, he went to the bathroom to take what would be his last hot shower.
He put on the academy uniform and headed to the cafeteria. When he arrived, it was packed with Sleepers—some anxious, others scared, and others excited or restless.
After drinking his coffee and tasting absolutely nothing, he felt a second wind hit him, helping him wake up a bit more.
He grabbed a tray and served himself a large assortment of dishes.
Looking for a seat that wasn't too crowded, he spotted Asael and Eva at a table with a few other Sleepers and walked over to sit with them.
Lumian began eating calmly. Even if the food tasted like nothing, he needed the energy—if this was going to be his last meal, it needed to count.
"So," Asael asked, breaking the silence, "are you ready for the Dream Realm?"
"A little," Lumian admitted, taking a sip of what should have been orange juice but tasted like plain water to him.
"Yes," Eva said, sipping her coffee.
"And you, strongest Sleeper?" Lumian asked, feigning amused curiosity.
Asael grinned.
"Of course I'm ready. I hope neither of you die in the Dream Realm. If you do, I'll hunt you down in the afterlife and drag you back."
"Same here," Lumian muttered as he returned to his meal.
Because it was the Winter Solstice, all Sleepers had the day off to appreciate life, prepare memories for the Dream Realm, or do whatever they wished.
Lumian discovered that some Sleepers were gambling memories in quick card games.
He needed memories, so he joined. He bet his Fisherman's Outfit against a level-four awakened sword owned by a Legacy kid.
The game was poker—and Lumian won.
The Legacy boy was shocked at losing his clan-inherited weapon and demanded a rematch. Lumian agreed and won again, gaining a memory that let him breathe underwater—a level-two awakened memory.
The boy, after losing twice, withdrew before losing anything else.
As Lumian expected, gaining two memories, a level-four weapon, a tunic of the same level, and a useful water-related memory attracted the attention of several greedy Sleepers who challenged him to various games.
One game was a nightmare-beast version of chess. After learning the rules, Lumian played—and lost his underwater memory.
He recovered it in the next game. In the third and fourth games, he gained two more awakened memories of level two and three.
The first allowed him to unleash a burst of fire.
The second was a leather armor called the Soldier's Armor—a level-three memory.
He also won a crimson level-four awakened spear by betting the sword he had taken from the Legacy boy. The weapon was called the Blood Spear.
Eventually, Lumian got bored and stopped gambling.
In total, he obtained two useful memories, a memory-armor, and two level-four weapon memories.
He wanted to get a memory that let him bring things from the Dream Realm into the waking world to sell for points. But for that, he needed to travel to the Chained Isles, hunt the Mimic, and obtain Noctis Coins to strengthen his monstrous core, which was still stuck at 20.
---
After a few hours, the sun began to set. The Sleepers were gathered by Stone, the Awakened. Lumian could feel the stink-eye from every Sleeper he had beaten in card games, but he ignored them completely.
Stone led them to the academy's medical center.
Lumian saw the hollow people—those who had died, leaving their empty shells behind while their spirits remained trapped in the Dream Realm.
Finally, they were taken to their capsules.
Lumian sighed. He stared at the open machine and felt absolutely nothing. He was dressed only in a white hospital gown to avoid being completely naked.
He silently thanked his Defect. If he had any other Defect, he would have been shaking with fear, terrified of what awaited him.
He had prepared as best he could—he had a memory that let him breathe underwater in case he landed on the Forgotten Shore, armors and level-four weapons in case he appeared in some other inhospitable region.
If he was thrown into unexplored territory, he would be screwed.
If he was lucky, he'd appear near Ravenheart or Bastion.
If he was extremely unlucky… he'd end up in the Death Zone known as Godgrave.
Lumian pushed those thoughts aside. Drowsiness was overtaking him.
He stepped into the capsule as it closed slowly around him.
Once sealed, he closed his eyes.