10: Awakening

When he regained consciousness, a sense of helplessness overwhelmed Grey. His body reacted, and suddenly, a superhuman strength surged through him.

The metal bed restraining him shattered with a loud screech as Grey leaped up and landed on the stone floor.

He looked around, confused by his surroundings, finding himself in a steel-walled room with two reinforced beds—one broken and destroyed, the other empty.

His gaze fell upon the room's door, where he saw...

A beautiful woman with hair as black as raven feathers, pale skin, and cold, icy blue eyes.

Beside her stood a young man with dark, somber hair and eyes. Both looked at him, surprised for a moment, before the woman smiled.

"It seems you're quite awake, child. Calm down, and we'll talk soon." The woman had a cold aura that made Grey's soul feel a bit chilled.

'What is this? Why me... What's happening?'

The boy behind the beautiful woman looked at him in surprise and seemed fascinated for some reason.

"Go with this officer, he'll show you the showers. I'll talk with your sleepmate for a moment."

The boy left with an officer, and the woman remained standing by the door until they were gone. Then she turned and looked directly into Grey's eyes.

For a moment, she too seemed surprised before evaluating Grey from head to toe.

"It seems you've turned into a flower boy. Sit down, you need to calm down; your nightmare is over, and now you're in the real world."

'What? Wait, I'm back, that's right. I just had the spell evaluation and... Flower boy?'

Grey looked down and noticed something that left him both surprised and deeply puzzled.

"What... What happened to me?"

She looked at him for a moment before replying.

"Don't be so surprised. Sometimes people change after their nightmare. It's usually not such a... shocking change, but it can happen."

Still confused, Grey turned his attention back to the woman and looked into her cold, icy blue eyes.

"Who are you?"

She looked at him with amusement.

"I am Ascended Jet, but you can call me Master Jet."

He nodded.

"Master Jet, now that I've come out of the nightmare, what should I do? I don't remember anything since I woke up in front of the police station."

It might seem strange, but something about her made him feel oddly warm. It was strange—the only thing that had made him feel "warm" before was an explosion that killed dozens of people.

She looked at him with what seemed like pity and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I'll explain your options when we meet in a little while. For now, you can go take a shower—you smell like a nightmare."

***

In the shower, Grey was finally able to relax for the first time since he could remember and enjoy a small moment of peace.

'It's nice not to be running for my life.'

As he enjoyed the hot water, he couldn't help but think about everything that had happened to him in these past few days.

Suddenly, he had woken up in front of a police station with no memory, disoriented, scared, and confused, only to be taken beneath the station and chained to a steel bed.

Then, without warning, he was thrown into a nightmare where he endured nothing but suffering from the moment he entered. His will was tested, and he even sacrificed himself to kill a corrupt terror. He had been through so much.

'I guess I can relax now.'

Calm filled him, and he spent ten minutes under the hot water, washing away the smell and grime from his changed body.

With a long sigh, he turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing a towel provided by the police along with a set of clothes that included a police tracksuit. Before changing, he stood in front of the mirror.

He examined himself closely; his hair, once a dirty brown, was now a deep black that reflected the light from the fixtures, making it shine even more.

His skin, which had once been somewhat sickly and darker in tone, had changed significantly and was now a shade of white, as pure as the cleanest snow.

He raised his hands, looking at them with curiosity, as his fingers, black as night, opened and closed.

Both his forearms and hands were of a dark, sinister color. Looking further down, his legs, from his hips to his toes, were the same ominous black.

His stomach, chest, back, face, and from the end of his forearms upward were the color of snow-white.

He moved his hand and touched his cheek, soft and smooth, without imperfections. His face was almost perfect—a small nose, lips neither thin nor thick, just the right size for his beautiful face.

Raising his gaze a little higher, he encountered the most fascinating part of his change:

His eyes were a mesmerizing sight, a testament to his awakening and the qualitative change in his life.

They shone with a silver glow, as if they held the light of a thousand moons. The black pupil at the center seemed like a deep abyss, absorbing everything around it and giving his gaze a hypnotic intensity.

The irises, a metallic gray, reflected light in an almost supernatural way, creating glimmers and shadows that seemed to dance on their surface. Each blink revealed a different flash, a spark that captured attention and wouldn't let it go.

Surrounded by dark, long lashes, his eyes held a depth and mystery that even he couldn't fully understand.

A soft whisper escaped his lips:

"Fascinating."

He stared at his appearance for a few more seconds before thinking of something he hadn't experienced due to the abrupt expulsion from the spell.

"Let's see what those words mean."

With a thought, Grey began circulating a pure, warm energy through his body that embraced his entire being in a majestic way.

In the reflection of the mirror, he saw how his forearms changed color slightly.

Suddenly, the world seemed different. He didn't know exactly how, but he instinctively knew that something had changed.

He felt different.

A soft whisper reached his ears.

"I heard that those two kids managed to pass their nightmare; they're really lucky."

"Yeah, even though they're from the outskirts, they still managed to pass the spell's test. What were the odds of that?"

"Whatever, I'm happy for them. Besides, we didn't have to deal with a nightmare creature, so I don't mind congratulating them."

'What is this?'

It wasn't just his hearing that had changed; his sense of smell, touch, and vision had also increased considerably.

He could smell the aroma of some kind of meat-based food, and the scent of the shower had intensified. His vision seemed sharper and more detailed; he could distinguish even the slightest details of the bathroom.

He also felt... faster.

His movements changed. Now they were more delicate and graceful, more fluid and precise.

It was fascinating.

'This is... this is incredible. All my senses have been heightened, and I feel like I've become stronger.'

He lightly touched the skin of his arms, now a more grayish color in the previously black areas, and frowned.

'But also more sensitive, it seems my resistance has decreased.'

With a thought, the pure, warm energy stopped flowing through his body, the previous tones reappeared, and his arms returned to their sinister black color.

'Let's see what the other one does.'

When he began circulating the strong, violet energy from his soul, enveloping his entire being and filling every inch of his body, Grey felt very different.

Different from when he used the pure, warm energy.

His body, his entire body, began to change slightly. His white skin turned more grayish, and his arms grew darker.

He raised his hands and opened them, noticing that instead of nails, they now resembled the claws of some wild animal.

His dark skin seemed tougher and more resilient. He also felt stronger, much stronger than before.

But also slower than when he used the purity.

He opened his mouth and could see how his teeth now looked more like fangs than human teeth.

His once square teeth now ended in slight points.

'So, it makes me more "beastly," strong, and resilient. The purity gives me speed and greatly enhances my senses; the dark and brutal one makes me stronger and tougher, but it takes away speed.'

He stopped the flow of darkness from his soul, and everything returned to normal—the change occurred the instant the chosen energy reached his being.

'I should head out now; I've spent too much time here.'

Walking over to his clothes, he quickly got dressed, and before leaving the bathroom, he looked at his reflection one last time before heading out to the cafeteria.

***

Well, here's their awakening. I must say I liked the chapter. However, I'll also wait for your opinions to see if I can improve anything, whether it's descriptions or a character's personality that doesn't fit with what's established.

Don't forget to give power stones to help more people see the fanfic 😁