A few minutes later, Sunny was wearing a clean, police-issued tracksuit and heading to the cafeteria. Master Jet was waiting for him at one of the tables, with two trays full of steaming synthetic food in front of her.
"Help yourself."
Sunny glanced at the cheap gruel, which wasn't so different from the stuff he used to eat in the outskirts, and sighed. Somehow, he'd expected his first meal after becoming a Sleeper to be more… lavish.
Still, it was food.
He sat down and began to wolf down the gruel ravenously. He was very, very hungry.
As he ate, his thoughts began to wander. Sunny stole a glance at Jet and frowned slightly. The Spell had told him to find a master… and here was a woman calling herself Master, sitting right in front of him. He tried to imagine being an obedient slave to someone like her.
Weird thoughts started to appear in his mind.
'You know what, Sunny,' he thought with dry irony, 'knowing your luck, this would be a perfect moment for her to ask—'
"What are you thinking about?"
Sunny choked on the gruel. He felt his mouth beginning to open and poured all his will into keeping silent. A second passed… then a strange pressure built up in his mind, quickly escalating into blinding pain.
He endured it for a few more seconds before giving in.
"I was thinking that it would be a perfect moment for you to ask me about what I'm thinking," he finally said.
Jet gave him a weird look.
"Alright. Are you almost finished with your food?"
Sunny nodded.
"Then I'll begin. As per protocol, I'm obligated to inform you of a few things. It's mostly a formality. First of all, concerning your Nightmare..."
She glanced at him and sighed.
"You are entitled to receive free psychological counseling. No matter what traumatic experience you've encountered, there is no shame in asking for help. Your mind is as important as your body — it's only right to keep it healthy. Are you interested?"
Sunny shook his head.
Jet shrugged and continued, "As you wish. You can also talk to me. Was it very hard?"
How could he possibly answer?
"It was simultaneously much worse than I expected… and exactly as bad as I expected."
She nodded, apparently satisfied with that.
"That's a good attitude. I won't pry any further. Us outskirt rats are way more resilient than people think."
Sunny looked at her in surprise.
"Master Jet… you grew up in the outskirts?"
She grinned.
"What? You can't tell because of my exquisite manners and polished exterior?"
He blinked, surprised.
"I couldn't tell at all."
After thinking for a while, he added:
"Are there a lot of people like us among the Awakened?"
Jet's smile disappeared.
"No. There's not. In fact, they can be counted on one hand."
As expected. The odds were truly stacked against people like them. That made the three stars on Jet's insignia all the more exceptional.
'One day, I'll be a Master too.'
'If she can do it, why can't I?'
"So… what happens now? What else are you obligated to tell me?"
Sunny honestly had no idea what he was supposed to do next. The winter solstice was just several weeks away.
Jet leaned back and answered:
"That's basically it. There are some additional hoops to jump through, mostly concerning your family, but… well. I've read your file, so I know it doesn't apply. The only thing left is to decide how you'll prepare for your first journey into the Dream Realm."
She looked at her communicator and grimaced.
"I must say, your luck is exceptionally bad. There's not a lot of time left. First of all: you're free to do what you want. No one is forcing you to make a certain decision. That is to say, you can choose to prepare on your own, or not prepare at all. Party until the lights go out."
Sunny was not particularly well-versed in partying.
"However, I'd advise against that. As a Sleeper, you're entitled to enroll in the Awakened Academy. You'll be provided with food, lodging, and a wide choice of preparatory classes. This late in the year, you won't be able to learn much… but it's better than nothing."
She paused for a few seconds, then added:
"More importantly, you'll get acquainted with most of the people who'll be entering the Dream Realm with you. Some of them might become your companions for life."
'And some may end up trying to end that life once we're inside the Spell,' Sunny added internally, reading between the lines of her words.
"So, what do you say? Do you want me to take you to the Academy?"
Sunny thought about it. Strangely, his Flaw was silent — not forcing him to answer one way or the other.
'Is it because I haven't made up my mind yet?'
Finally, he looked down at his empty tray and made a decision.
Free food and lodging, huh?
"Yeah. I want to go to the Academy."
But before that...
"Master Jet," Sunny said, hesitantly.
"Hmm?"
"Actually… there's a person I'd like to meet. I wouldn't exactly call her family, but… an acquaintance of sorts. I'd like to check on her."
It was the first time he had seen Master Jet visibly surprised.
Any other person might have dismissed it with a question like Why didn't you mention this in your file? — but Jet didn't say that. She simply nodded once, her face unreadable but understanding.
After all, she too was from the outskirts.
Sunny had gone into his First Nightmare fully expecting to die. And it wasn't unusual — kids from the slums had no training, no gear, no sponsors or guidance. Just bad luck and the raw cruelty of life.
He glanced at her, curious. She must have entered her First Nightmare expecting death too, he thought. And yet… here we are. Alive. Standing.
Two survivors. Two products of a place that chewed people up and spat out nothing.
Resilience, Sunny thought. And cunning. That's what we had. Not prestige. Not power. Just our own grit.
He almost wanted to laugh in the faces of all the legacy kids who didn't survive despite all their preparation and backup.
People infected with the Nightmare Spell were rare in the outskirts — maybe two or three in the past ten months, from what Sunny had heard. None had survived.
Looking at Jet now, something clicked in his memory.
She must be that crazy girl I heard about… the one who survived. The Devil Girl. The one who blew up a gang hideout and left the survivors trapped underground for days without food or water…
As if reading his mind, Jet asked, "I won't pry. We both know what it's like in the outskirts. But are you sure this acquaintance of yours is... safe?"
Sunny understood what she meant. Deep down, her question wasn't about safety — it was about trust.
After all, in the outskirts, betrayal was as common as dust. People didn't trust someone they'd worked with for years. And now here he was, saying he wanted to go back and meet someone?
Sunny shook his head and spoke quietly. "She's a girl. Eleven, maybe twelve. I found her in… let's just say, not a great place. A few years back. I won't pretend I've taken care of her — hell, I could barely take care of myself. But I trust her. As much as I can trust anyone. She wouldn't stab me in the back. I think… I hope she sees me as a friend. Just like I see her."
Jet was silent for a moment.
Then, with a faint nod, she said, "Alright. Let's go meet this acquaintance of yours. It's been a while since I visited the outskirts."
"Eat up," she added. "Be ready to go in five."
A few minutes later, they had finished eating. Just before they were about to leave, Sunny suddenly remembered something.
"Master Jet?"
"What now?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"I had a favor to ask…"
Several minutes later, Sunny was holding an extra tracksuit and a cafeteria meal packed into a sealed container.
'I heard girls like gifts after not meeting for a while… hmm.'
Of course, he was conveniently ignoring the fact that he had just asked an Ascended into bullying the local station staff for him.
'What are they gonna do about it? She's an Ascended!'
He even pretended to know her well enough to have influence, casually throwing around her name like they were old friends.
'Might as well use her name again in the future, hehe…' Sunny thought gleefully, shamelessly clutching the packaged food and clothes like precious treasure.
They were walking along a familiar dusty road now. Jet's PTV wasn't equipped to handle the outskirts terrain — it was more loose soil and broken rock than anything resembling an actual road.
Jet sighed.
"Really, I wasn't even this shameless a few years back."
Sunny snorted. "Oh? And what were you like back then?"
She grinned. "Ah, you know. Kind. Polite. Well-behaved."
Sunny scoffed. "Right. And I'm a Saint. No way you weren't the crazy 'Devil Girl' who blew up a gang's stash and left half of them trapped in a pit without food or water for a week."
Jet laughed — a dry, unapologetic sound.
"Ah… so you've heard of me, huh?"
"Quite a troublesome kid you were, if I remember. Famous, even."
"But that craziness is what allowed you to survive, didn't it?" Master Jet added with a cold glint in her eye.
"Obviously," she said, her tone firm. "I would've rather been crazier than sane. That's what helped me conquer my Nightmare."
Sunny hesitated before asking, "If you don't mind me asking… what was your First Nightmare like?"
She was quiet for a moment, walking in silence. Then, she said simply, "It was just as you said — worse than expected, but still manageable. I had a good advantage… got lucky with my Aspect."
Sunny nodded, not pushing. It felt too personal to ask her about her Aspect directly. Besides, if she asked about mine in return, I'm not sure I wouldn't babble about my own secret.
Instead, he changed the subject.
"Master Jet… is it possible for people inside the Nightmare to be aware that they're… illusions?"
Jet glanced at him with her sharp blue eyes.
"As far as I've heard and known, no. No one's ever had a Nightmare — First, Second, or even Third — where the people inside were self-aware. Why?"
Sunny's Flaw forced him to answer. "There was a guy… called me by my name, even though I never told him anything. So I was wondering — maybe he saw my runes or something…"
It was vague, safe. After all, wondering about lies was still wondering — the Flaw didn't punish that.
Jet frowned slightly, thinking. Then she shook her head.
"As far as I'm aware, it's never happened."
"I see…"
"Fret not," she added, almost gently. "Many mysterious things happen inside Nightmares. Sometimes, even after surviving, people don't know what truly occurred. Just because the Nightmare centers around your conflict doesn't mean there weren't other things happening in the background — other forces at work."
Immediately, Sunny thought of Hero — the charismatic, strong man who surely would have survived had it not been for Sunny's intervention.
He wanted to ask more, to dig into it… but decided against it.
Increasing an Ascended's interest in me — especially when I can neither lie nor stay silent when questioned — is just asking for trouble.
He sighed softly and glanced at her.
"Did you have any family, or…?"
"None," Jet replied quietly. "Been like that for a few years."
They fell into silence for the rest of the walk.
—
Some minutes later, they arrived at an old, collapsed building — calling it a "house" would've been generous. The door hung half-broken off its hinges, and the roof was missing over the front portion, letting the sunlight pour into the room like an unwanted guest.
Sunny approached the entrance while Jet remained a few feet behind, silently glaring away the few stragglers in the area who were sizing her up. Her icy stare quickly convinced them to mind their business.
The door creaked and shifted as he pushed it open. Inside, a girl with vibrant pink hair was sitting on a slab of cement that acted as a makeshift chair. She was eating something and staring gloomily at the ground, her expression unreadable.
Sunny coughed — twice — to get her attention.
The girl instantly snapped her head up, her eyes filled with instinctive murder, ready to glare down anyone who dared disturb her.
But the moment she saw who it was, she froze.
For a few seconds, she just looked at him — silent, unreadable.
Then, she sprang up and ran toward him.
Sunny, grinning, spread his arms wide, preparing for a heartfelt reunion.
Ah, yes. Just like in the manhwa… he thought, finally a proper protagonist moment!
He opened his mouth to call her name, smiling. "Ave—"
What he did not expect was a small, furious fist flying toward his face.
He barely managed to lower his head, parrying the blow — but it still clipped him.
Sunny sighed, rubbing his cheek.
Why can't I just be a manhwa protagonist once in my life…
"You idiot!!" She shouted, fuming. "You said you were going to die, remember?! But what do I see instead? You strutting in here like some hero, all cool in new clothes and—"
Her eyes spotted the food container in his hands.
"Hmph. What's that? Food? Hand it over. I'm taking it. You owe me that much!"
Sunny handed it over with a defeated look, watching as she snatched it like a starving beast.
He glanced at her face as she sat back down, tearing open the container. She was thinner than he remembered, and her eyes still carried a guarded sharpness — but she seemed… okay. Alive.
Relief settled quietly in his chest.
She waited, he thought. Even after all this time… she didn't forget me.
He looked back over his shoulder. Master Jet stood silently by the entrance, arms crossed, pretending not to listen.
Sunny allowed himself the smallest of smiles.
He had survived.
And, somehow, he hadn't come back alone.