Grey dreamed of a terrifying scene; a colossal monster with elongated limbs instead of arms and two thick, muscular legs to move its incredible body.
The creature's head was oval, and in the sockets where its eyes should have been, there was only a cascade of darkness from which several creatures emerged, attacking and destroying everything in their path.
All the creatures seemed to direct their irrational rage towards a specific place; a massive golden dome lying at the center of the city.
Grey could glimpse the architectural beauty of the city with its white marble buildings and all the golden-toned decorations.
The city appeared to be a kind of embellished fortress, surrounded by thick and tall walls that protected it from anything.
The wall was split in two by the passage of that creature, which shook the ground with each step and left a trail of destruction behind it.
Behind the creature, near where the wall had been broken by its powerful step, another section could be seen not far away that was completely destroyed with a gigantic crater.
Reality seemed to vibrate when everything turned blurry for a moment, and then: another scene appeared.
In the center of the grand city, a high stage was surrounded by citizens shouting things that Grey couldn't hear.
On the stage, a guillotine was about to be used to cut off the head of a boy about Grey's age.
Reality changed once more.
Now, he could see a poorly lit cell where a boy was sobbing, chained on the floor, trembling in the empty space of his confinement.
Suddenly, a blinding light began to emanate from that boy and a devastating explosion occurred, the boy seemed to be the source of the disaster.
Time reversed as it turned blurry once again.
Now, the view was of a caravan of several carriages guarding a steel prison that contained a profane and strangely warm energy.
This particular carriage was being stalked by several dozen grotesque creatures; some had teeth piercing their own jaws, others had elongated limbs, and some even had tentacles instead of arms and legs.
All were stalking the caravan in silence, waiting for the right moment to attack and tear it apart.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]
***
Grey began to shiver uncontrollably as he felt his body being imprisoned by cold metal restraints.
The icy air brushing against his mostly exposed skin and the cold metal floor felt very vivid.
He tried to open his eyes, but all he found was darkness.
His face changed, now frantic, trying to see something in the dark, anything.
Unfortunately, all he could feel were his bound wrists and the acrid smell of steel.
Grey tried to force his shackles to break, but his lack of strength only caused his wrists to hurt.
A shiver ran through him as his eyes widened more and more, and his body began to twist, trying to do something to not be tied up.
"HEY DAMN IT! YOU BETTER STOP DOING WEIRD THINGS OR I'LL CUT OFF YOUR EAR."
The loud voice of an apparently older man shouted at Grey.
Startled, Grey froze in place, his chains stopped making noise.
'What's happening? Why am I chained? Who is that man? They're going to cut off my ear... I need to escape!... But I can't break the chains.'
An even deeper despair began to form in Grey's mind as he thought of anything that could help him escape from that horrible place.
He looked around when a sudden wave of understanding hit him.
He was that boy sobbing in the cold cell and also the one being executed by the guillotine while people jeered at him.
Grey felt helpless being tied up and at the mercy of others.
"Calm down, calm down... remember: a boy in darkness exploding into blinding light, then; the same boy being taken to execution, a giant monster destroying the city and heading towards a giant golden dome... What does all this mean? What am I supposed to do?"
Grey resented the spell for putting him in such a disadvantageous and certain execution.
With a long sigh, Grey forced his mind to calm down and consider his options.
"It's not all lost, I might have a chance. Let's see... the runes, yes. The officer said I needed to see my runes."
Grey thought of the word "runes" and a screen appeared before him in a strange language but one he could understand.
Name: Grey
True Name:
Class: Challenger
Soul Core: Inactive
Memories:
Echoes:
Attributes: [Destined] [Nephilim] [Innate Talent] [Divine Flame]
"Alright, I have four. That should be good, right?"
[Destined] Attribute Description: The threads of fate wrap around you strongly. Improbable events, both good and bad, are drawn to your presence. Some are blessed and some are cursed... but rarely both.
[Nephilim] Attribute Description: There were once terrible creatures born of an impious union between the divine and the profane. The Nephilim were the most beautiful and the most harrowing of all.
[Innate Talent] Attribute Description: With both divine and profane origins, your talent is immense no matter what you try to learn. A talent worthy of such a celestial and improbable origin.
[Divine Flame] Attribute Description: Your soul burns with divine flames.
He frowned as he finished reading his attributes. Everything was so strange and confusing that he didn't know what to think.
"A divine and profane origin? Was this body born from a divine being and a profane one? Should I face that terrifying creature? But I can't even move..."
"As for being wrapped in the threads of fate, is that good? If fate wants to use me, shouldn't I not die here?"
His frown deepened.
"What is fate? If I stay here and do nothing, will I be killed, or will fate, which wraps me and wants to use me, intervene? Can my actions make a future planned by fate change because I know something I shouldn't? Or think, things I shouldn't."
The distraction from his situation seemed to alleviate some of the growing despair within him, perhaps it was conscious or unconscious, but thinking more deeply about these things somewhat eased him.
Grey was pulled out of his reflections by a noise coming from outside his steel cage.
"Make sure that damn kid doesn't cause trouble. I need to go somewhere else."
The older man's voice echoed in the darkness.
"Understood."
A young and pleasant voice was heard from the other side of the metal door.
"You'd better not bother the old man. At least if you don't want to suffer before the execution."
The same young voice entered the darkness again, causing Grey to stop reading his runes for a moment.
Hesitantly, Grey leaned his head forward and opened his mouth to ask a question. His voice was hoarse from the cold.
"Why am I locked up? What did I do to be imprisoned and to be executed?"
The young man behind the door did not answer for a while, so Grey was about to stop waiting for a response and start reading his runes again. But the young man spoke again.
"You didn't commit any crime. You were just born from that man who killed our goddess."
The young man seemed to feel pity for Grey and his condition of birth, at least that's what Grey thought, based on the tone of his voice.
"You have the lineage of a man who ascended to divinity to be corrupted and committed suicide, taking our goddess to death with him, and since you are of his descent, the king wants your execution. That's all, you did nothing wrong. You were just born from a profane lineage."
A silence settled after his response.
"I don't understand, why would the spell send me to a body like this? I want to leave..."