On the day of the winter solstice, Konrad woke up from a nightmare, feeling fear, tired, drowsy and... Satisfied?. No matter how much he tried to shake off this listlessness, it wouldn't go away. In the end, he just stayed in the bed for a while, wrapping himself in a blanket.
He was already familiar with this feeling of neverending, ensnaring sleepiness. It was the same in the days before his First Nightmare. Konrad couldn't help but shiver.
This was his last day on Earth… at least for a long long while. By nightfall, the Spell was going to take him away once again, this time to challenge the vast expanse of the Dream Realm. What was he going to face in that ruined corrupted world? Would luck be on his side this time, but would there will be danger.. a lot of it.
'Ugh.'
There was no point in ruminating on this issue. He already knows where he would end up. Because he just saw his future in his nightmare.
"Darkness! Endless Darkness! Some damned entity crucified on a cross in some forgotten dungeon. A river flowing silent and eternal. A crowned skeleton looking at nothing.
A dark city full of despair. A dark raven claiming a throne, skulls with crimson wings became it's blade. Stagnation, degeneration and patience.
One day a star fell from the starless heaven. It burnt down the bastion. A burning angel lead a march to siege the heaven reaching spire twisted into nightmare.
A spear woman drowning in horde of monsters, an archer piercing the falling sky, a shadow slaying seven statues. A flock of murder ran into the monster horde, tearing through them. A forgotten horror reaching out from the dark sea, the raven lunging on it. A blazing star slaying a fallen nameless sun.
Then an angel of light was drowning in a devouring shadow. A oracle crying at a side. Seeing this, the raven laughed, felt elated, felt exhilarated."
It was quite an insightful vision. But Konrad begs to differ.
Well, whatever, he had already done everything in his power to prepare for the inevitable. He studied hard, trained hard, and kept his secret safe. His Aspect was better than most, and his will to survive was long tempered by the harsh ordeal of the First Nightmare.
All in all, he was ready.
With a sigh, Konrad got out of bed and went along with his morning routine. If this was going to be his last hot shower in a very long while, he was going to really enjoy it. If it was going to be his last scrumptious breakfast for the foreseeable future…
Actually, he will eat until his stomach can't take anymore. The cafeteria was full of Sleepers, but no one was talking. Everybody was in low spirits and seemed to be uncharacteristically introspective.
There was no usual laughter or boisterous conversations — only the Legacies remained calm and collected.
A few minutes later, he had taken his usual seat between Ada and Jacob. Konrad looked at his clansmen who were equally somber as others.
Despite their compulsory closeness, they had not made a conversation with each other today. Konrad decided talk to them.
"You know."
Ada and Jacob looked at him.
"Today, I saw a nightmare. I have just seen where I will go. I will be stuck there... a place full danger and despair... For years... I will not return to this world for a long time. Maybe never... So, want you two to survive.
Because House of Night needs more Awakened. Although our unique speciality, gives our clan transcendent status. We are already being marginalized by the other two great legacy clans. We will need more masters, more saints and a ....king. if we don't want to be destroyed like the Immortal Flames."
Ada and Jacob looked at him like he had grown a third head. Konrad looked at them calmy with his black eyes.
"Trust me. I am an oracle after all. I should know."
Ada and Jacob looked at each other then looked back at Konrad. Both their expression serious.
"We understand. We will become saints."
Konrad became speechless.
"Ok. You guys have a lot of confidence."
After breakfast Konrad just took a bucket full of vanilla ice cream and went to the leisure area. Today, he is going to indulge himself in entertainment and vanilla ice cream. He invited Ada and Jacob. But both of them declined. It seems like they aren't in the mood. Whatever, Konrad is going to enjoy his vanilla ice cream. He won't be able to taste for years to come.
When the sun was close to setting, Instructor Varian gathered them in the foyer of the Sleeper Center and led them outside.
In the snowy parks that surrounded the white building, other Awakened were leading their own batches of Sleepers to the same destination. It was the Academy's medical center.
The center looked more like a shrine than a hospital. Its interior contained both highly advanced technology as well as some of the best Healers among the Awakened.
For the duration of their first journey into the Dream Realm, the bodies of Sleepers would be kept safe in specially designed pods and sustained by the magical powers of those Healers if anything unfortunate were to happen on the other side of the Spell.
Of course, whether or not they would wake up in the end wholly depended on the Sleepers themselves.
To Konrad's surprise, after entering the medical center, Instructor Varian did not take them directly to the wing containing Sleeper pods. Instead, he led them to a comparatively deserted floor and then opened the doors to a spacious gallery that was brightly illuminated by the beautiful crimson rays of the setting sun.
There, they saw rows and rows of wheelchairs. In each wheelchair, there was a person with a blank, strangely peaceful expression on their face. All these people were completely silent, motionless, and still. They did not show any reaction to the appearance of guests.
They all seemed to be… empty.
In the eerie silence, Konrad felt his hair standing up and a creeping terror sipping deep into his heart.
"They are creepy."
Instructor Varian looked at the empty people with solemn eyes.
"There is a reason I brought you all here. Look well and remember. Some of you may know who these people are… for those of you who don't, they are called Hollow."
He gritted his teeth.
"Each one of them was once either a Sleeper or an Awakened. Some of them were weak, some of them were strong. Some were even incredibly powerful. All of them have perished in the Dream Realm."
'Their like puppets without souls, like the queen of worm's pilgrims,' Konrad thought, horrified.
'If you're lucky, once your spirit is destroyed, your body dies with it. But if not, you'll become just like them. Hollow.'
Instructor Varian glanced in the direction where Konrad stood, and then added:
"So don't die out there."
***
Half an hour later, Sleepers had been led to their personal rooms and were preparing to enter the pods.
Konrad looked at the backs of his clansmen as they entered their own rooms. He sighed and entered his own. After entering the room Konrad's face became somber devoid of any emotions.
"The time has come." He muttered as he his arms before him. A pair of Obsidian claws grew out of his hands. In the dark room Konrad's face became illuminated as lightning crackled in his talons.
Konrad smirked as he looked at his claws.
"My destiny awaits... Here I come."
He stepped into the pod and laid down. He closed his eyes as slumber over took him.
***
Attribute: [Thunderheart]
Attribute Description: [You can call upon the thunder within your heart.]
***
In the vast echoing darkness, Konrad heard:
[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Night Haunter.]