Crystal was tired. Well, she was always tired, but it felt different now. The lethargy seeping into her mind was more like an outside influence, whispering in her ear. The coffee she had started drinking wasn't even helping the situation. Which meant that, for her entire life, she had been lied to about coffee, or the lethargy was really weird.

She chose the second option. She figured as much anyways, mostly because of the news talking way too much about a new disease popping up worldwide.

It was pretty strange that the disease had just… descended. It didn't spread around the world, it didn't start slow and then take over. No, it simply infected millions of people, struck them with unnatural fatigue, and then proceeded to develop zero new cases. 

In any case, she thought the news programs talked about it too much. There were more important things going on. Probably.

The world was still picking up after the wars, after all. Her area was fine, obviously, how could it not be? No one would touch the neutral countries out of fear of their power. But a lot of the world was still in ruins. She was sure there were some smaller wars still ongoing, but the scariest part of the grander war was over. Maybe they would call this the third World War. What a thing that would be!

She would be able to tell her descendants that she lived through a World War. They wouldn't have to know that nothing had changed for her, they would just think of how brave she was! 

She snickered at the thought, before yawning, and unconsciously raising her hand to her mouth. She let her arm down, before repeating the motion for another yawn.

"Are you doing okay?"

Her dad's concerned voice washed over her, bringing her back to some semblance of awareness.

"Uh… yeah? It's getting worse, I guess. I don't know how much longer I can stay awake."

Her voice was casual, but she was a little scared. After all, they didn't know what this new disease was. She could just die after falling asleep, for all she knew. However, she didn't really think that would happen. That would be really unfair… right?

"Okay Crystal, just stay awake for as long as you can, yeah?"

"Sure. That's what I was planning to do anyway…"

She turned her attention back to the news on the TV, where they were talking about some victims of the fatigue. Apparently, some of them had already succumbed to the disease. A short video played, displaying a young man simply sleeping. Attempts were made to wake him up, but he simply remained still. At least he wasn't dead.

"Hey. You still awake?"

Her dad called to her, holding something in his hand.

"Hm? Yeah."

"Dinner's ready."

She got up from her spot on the couch, yawning as she did so.

"Kay. Coming."

They ate in silence, watching the broadcast. The reporters were in a sort of hospital room, filled with rows and rows of beds. In about a quarter, people of all ages were peacefully sleeping. Doctors wandered the aisles with facemasks, taking notes on clipboards. 

The other beds weren't all taken, but were rapidly being filled up. Patients staggered in from an open doorway, finding the closest bed, and collapsing into them.

The reporters were interviewing a patient who looked like he was about to fall over.

"When did you start feeling tired?"

"Um… about a week ago? It's gotten really bad the past day, though."

That matched up with what Crystal felt. It still felt strange to her, that everyone caught it at the same time.

"What does it feel like to you? We've been told it doesn't feel like natural fatigue."

"Yeah, that makes sense… More like something is trying to force me asleep… Or something like that. It's hard to describe."

Crystal's eyes widened, before going back to normal. It was surprising that she wasn't the only one feeling that the fatigue was strange, but then again, maybe she should have expected that. Everything else about this disease was strange too.

The interview continued, with the reporters asking some seemingly irrelevant questions, until the poor man fell over onto his bed. He was asleep. A passing nurse made sure he was comfortably lying down before the reporters moved to the back of the room. By the time they were out of the way, the entire hospital room had filled up, most of the patients sleeping.

"There you have it folks, an exclusive sight of the sleeping sickness. Millions of folk around the world are falling asleep during this epidemic. No one has woken up yet, but it has only been a few hours. We'll be back in five minutes for an update."

Crystal picked at her food for a few minutes, but gave up soon enough. She stood up, stumbling over to the couch.

The news segment came back on, showing the hospital room again.

"Welcome back viewers, we-"

The man cut off, glancing to his side. The camera panned away from him, focusing on a young boy who appeared to be spasming in his sleep. From off the screen, the reporter started talking again.

"There appear to be some developments with the patients…"

No less than four doctors rushed to the boy, taking his vitals. One stayed back, taking notes on his clipboard.

"Oh. He… oh my god."

The reporter's stunned face could not be seen by Crystal, who was too tired to tilt her head to see the screen, but his voice was… concerning. He sounded like he was about to faint.

The reporter's steady voice had quickly turned into quiet babbling that was incoherent. Luckily… or, unluckily, for Crystal, her father was not so weak-hearted.

"He- His arm… it's growing…"

"...what?"

Her voice was slurred, and her father's voice was growing further and further away. 

"That's… that's not even a boy anymore… his face… oh god…"

The words were concerning, sure. But Crystal couldn't really focus anymore. She closed her eyes, letting the fatigue wash over her body.

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]