Chapter 27

Every part of her was charred, her steel armor melding into her flesh. She stood ahead of her soldiers, facing a horrifying creature. Dark flesh the color of blood and a throat wreathed in flames snarled down at her. She raised her sword weakly, trying to shield herself from the fire.

Blurry figures with faces covered by cloaks moved through the night. Their destination was a circular dais with a wide iron ring submerged into its stone surface. Around the ring, a beautiful pattern of runes shimmered with light.

A monstrous hybrid between a man and a wolf cut through the darkness with terrible strides, its eyes filled with wrath as fire and smoke filled its eyes.

A corpse lay on the stone battlement in colors of gray and black, wearing the emblem of a mounted knight wielding a spear surrounded by a swirl of wind. The fire burned through the coat of arms. The knight was the first to go, and then the spear.

"Uncle…," the woman whispered, shivering as the fire burnt through her. The monster's mouth clasped around her figure, leaving nothing of her but footsteps burned into the bleak stone for ages and ages to come.

Blood seeped out of the creature's mouth, set in a grin.

The cloaked figures vanished as they passed through the gateway.

The wolf-like human leaped, piercing the drake's scales with claws from behind.

All that remained of the proud seal was ash and a swirl of gray.

Eliana's pained voice echoed, "...Dane!"

He woke up with a scream. He clutched his chest with his hands. It was all he could do. His head swam dizzily, and his breath refused to stay with him. He was so cold, shivering. His teeth chattered, and cold sweat slithered down his back like a thousand needles.

He whispered in the suffocating darkness, "Eliana!"

He lay in bed awhile, hyperventilating. It was a dream. Only a nightmare…her death couldn't have been so painful…could it?

Eventually, he could breathe properly. His heart rate slowed to an even rhythm. The dizziness faded, leaving him drenched in sweat. The darkness was oppressive. Dane wiped his face with his hand, gritting his teeth. "Why did you fight…why couldn't you have run?"

He got up and threw the blanket off of himself angrily. Dane walked to the table and pulled the string on the lamp. He used too much force, and he yanked it down. He caught it before it fell. Exasperated, he slowly placed it back. He pulled the string again, slowly this time. 

Warm yellow light blinded him for a moment, but it was welcome. Anything was better than the darkness.

Dane had slept late last night. He found out two things. First, his transformation could last a total of five hours. It had a set limit that would not be increasing until he Awakened. Second, his Aspect drained his mind severely. Halfway through the five hours, his mind felt like wading through tar. Just before he was forced out of his transformation, it was mentally akin to being a block of ice with a hundred surface cracks. When he had flesh again, he could barely get himself to move.

He had passed out like a brick when he plopped down onto the pillow. Now, he felt refreshed, if a little tired. But there was nothing he could do about it. He did not want to sleep anymore, not after that nightmare. He summoned the Myriad Vial. A glass teardrop vial the size of his palm manifested out of specks of light. He wished for the water to be sufficiently hot and brought it to his lips.

Soothingly warm water streamed down his throat.

***

After freshening up, Dane went to the cafeteria. He was not in a good mood. Sleepers were all around, standing and talking or eating at the tables. Dane spotted Sunless sitting at an almost empty table, with only a blind girl and her assigned social worker.

He got himself a coffee, eggs, a sandwich, and a bowl of berries. He hesitated a moment and also grabbed a hot chocolate. He sat opposite Sunless, who was eating with a soft scowl.

He linked his mind to his and said, "Interesting seat of choice."

Sunless's scowl deepened. "Not my choice," he said, glancing at the blonde girl to his side.

Dane poked fun at him. "Why do I get the feeling that no one likes you?"

"Because they don't."

Couldn't he crack a joke or something? He was funnier yesterday. Dane was about to say something when a sudden commotion drew his attention. Sunless looked up from his food, and Dane turned in his chair to see what was happening.

A lot of Sleepers had gathered around a screen hanging on a wall. Just like in the dramas and the webtoons, a list of names was displayed, ranking the Sleepers from strongest to weakest, based on the information from the interview or any information they had on the Sleepers.

"How…how can this be?!"

"I'm not seeing this, right?"

"What kind of monsters are they?!"

Instantly, he spotted Sunless's name at the second last place, above a 'Cassia.' That was probably the girl at his table. At the very top were Nephis, Caster, and himself.

The scion of the Han Li clan was in second place.

Right above him were two portraits of Nephis and Dane, with their names to the left and right of their portraits, respectively.

He glanced at hers.

Name: Nephis.

True Name: Changing Star.

…she had a True Name. Dane wondered what she had done to earn hers.

Dane's mouth opened involuntarily. He closed his mouth immediately and turned back to his food. Sunless was staring at him. "You didn't tell me you had a True Name!" he said.

Dane smiled sweetly, finally, some fun. "You didn't ask. Why are you ranked so low? It's unbefitting of your appetite."

Sunless remained silent for a moment and spoke, his voice strained. "I guess they thought I was weak."

Dane bit into his eggs.

Sunless returned to his food.

"Do you think you'll survive?" he asked the Sleeper.

"I don't know."

"How full is your core?"

Sunless looked up at him. "Barely," he paused, "I'm from the outskirts."

Oh. The outskirts. Awakened from the outskirts were few and far between. Most did not pass their Nightmares, and those that did were usually weak. It was an oddity that Sunless had even survived.

"...do you need soul shards? I have a lot," he offered. He didn't need to, but he felt like he should. It wasn't set in stone that Sunless would be in the same region as him. So, it was a gamble. But even then, he didn't want to see him die. Dane liked the rude guy.

He gasped. Shock filled his eyes, and the blind girl turned to place the short sound to a location. He shook his head. "I don't need them," he refused.

Dane was incredulous. Sunless was perhaps the weakest Sleeper in the batch, Cassia excluded. Yet, he refused an easy out to gain strength. Either he was crazy or just ballsy. But…it made Dane curious. He reminded him of Eliana, who, fueled by her teenage arrogance, entered the Dream Realm without accepting a single soul shard from the Clan. She returned with a saturated core…maybe he would be like her.

"If we end up in the same region, I'll try my best to help you," he promised Sunless.