Fang Yuan stood in the center of a collapsing sky, blood dripping from his fingertips, his cold eyes gazing across the ruined battlefield. The heavens themselves seemed to crack and bleed with the intensity of the fight. His enemies were closing in—Giant Sun Immortal Venerable and Stellar Constellation Immortal Venerable—two forces of nature, wielding powers that had dominated the world for ages.
Yet, none of this unnerved him. Fang Yuan had long since transcended fear.
He had become a demon venerable, a master of refinement path. Through endless trials, betrayals, and sacrifices, he had molded the world to his will. His enemies called him a monster, a fiend, a madman obsessed with power. And perhaps, they were right. But to Fang Yuan, they were nothing more than obstacles on the path to his ultimate goal: immortality.
Fate itself was his enemy. Heaven itself was his enemy. He broke fate itself. He bended heaven to his will. But now, it seems his end is nigh.
Giant Sun's golden flames licked the edges of the sky, and Stellar Constellation's endless calculations seemed to weigh down every inch of reality, forcing time and space to bend. The combined might of these two ancient forces was impossible to overcome. Fang Yuan on his last breaths knew that his end was near, but he would not be broken.
"Do you regret your life and every thing you did?" Giant Sun asked.
"Hahaha!.... Well, played, Giant Sun and Stellar Constellation. And no I don't regret anything."
"Vast skies and boundless heavens, Fang Yuan seeks his dauntless dream. This life or another I shall never falter."- Fang Yuan.
Stellar constellation and Giant sun made their move-
Ancient, forbidden killer move, designed not to kill but to imprison. To rip his soul from this world and hurl it into the depths of oblivion. Not Spring Autumn Cicada can save him. Fang Yuan felt it latch onto him, its tendrils sinking deep into his very essence, wrenching him from the reality he had once controlled.
The last thing he saw was the sky fracturing above him, the stars dimming, before his consciousness was torn apart.
---
When Fang Yuan awoke, he was not in a battlefield. He wasn't even in his world.
He was lying in a cold, dark alley, his small body shivering against the biting wind. He blinked, his mind sluggish, memories fragmented and scattered. Slowly, he sat up, his fingers brushing against the damp, cracked stones beneath him.
For a moment, he didn't know who he was. His mind was a fog of broken thoughts and fading images. But as the minutes passed, something stirred inside him—a deep, unrelenting drive. The soul of Fang Yuan, the demon venerable who had once challenged heaven and earth, was still intact, though hidden beneath layers of confusion.
It took days, maybe weeks, for his memories to return. They came in flashes at first—fleeting images of battles fought, worlds conquered, enemies slain. The memory of his death came last, the pain of that final betrayal burning into his mind. Yet, what disturbed him most wasn't the recollection of his defeat, but the realization of where he was now.
A child. No more than four years old. His limbs were weak, his body frail. He had been reborn, not as the immortal figure of power he once was, but as an orphan on the outskirts of a city he didn't recognize.
He was no longer Fang Yuan, the demon venerable. But the hunger for power, the desire for immortality, burned just as brightly within him. This new world—whatever it was—would not hold him back for long.
---
Years passed, and Fang Yuan the Heaven Refining Demon Vernarble —now simply known as Fang Yuan in this new world—grew up on the outskirts, a harsh, unforgiving place where the weak were left to fend for themselves. The city was an imposing labyrinth of steel and stone, its people hardened by poverty and survival. It was a world without cultivation, without the Gu worms or magical forces he had once commanded. But power still existed here. And Fang Yuan, even as a child, knew how to find it.
He spent his early years watching, learning. The people of this world were weak, but the mechanisms of control were the same. Strength ruled here as it had in his old world, though it took different forms. Yuan spent his days scavenging for knowledge, piecing together the structure of this new reality. His hunger for understanding led him to libraries and the whispers of old men who spoke of the early days of the calamities.
By the age of twelve, he had discovered something important- his blood. He can feel it. His blood is special and different from a common person. He felt his blood had an...otherworldly feeling to it. Yet it felt like it was damaged.
One day while sleeping, he had a dream. He saw a middle aged person seating in front of him. Some of his facial features were familiar to him. Candles were illuinating the small room.
The man spoke, "If you are seeing this dream, we, the Gu Yue clan are probably dead. We have lost the race. The Songs have gained a Supreme. They shall take our Beast God blood to complete their Beast God blood. Don't trust the Songs. You are the last scion of Gu Yue clan. May you live a long life, my son...Child of the Moon...
The dream started to break and soon Fang Yuan woke up.
---
As the years passed, Yuan's knowledge and hunger for power grew. He understood now that he was in a different world, far removed from the one where he had once been a Demon Venerable. But this world, too, had its way to power. And he is about to walk the path of ascension.
At the age of sixteen, Yuan had grown into a young man, cold and calculating, driven by the same ambition that had once defined him in his previous life. He sought power wherever he could find it, learning the intricacies of this world's systems. He had no friends, no allies—only himself.
And there was one thing he had foreseen.
The Nightmare Spell.
It is now on his doorstep. The infection had come suddenly. He had noticed it was getting harder to stay awake. A sign of infection of the nightmare spell.
---
The police station was as bleak as the rest of the city's outskirts. Its walls were cracked, its windows covered in grime. Inside, the air was thick with tension, officers and civilians alike moving about in a haze of stress and exhaustion. Fang Yuan's gaze swept over the room, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of another young man talking to an officer nearby, his posture tense, his expression guarded.
Yuan ignored him, approaching the front desk. The officer behind it barely glanced up, his expression one of apathy.
"As demanded by the Third Special Directive, I am here to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell."
The officer's expression instantly changed from apathic to wary. He looked the young man over once again, this time with piercing intensity.
"Are you sure you are infected? When did you start showing symptoms?"
"At least week ago?" Fang Yuan answered.
The officer became visibly paler.
At this moment, another officer shouted, "Attention! Code Black in the lobby! I repeat! CODE BLACK!"
The first officer pressed a button on his terminal and bellowed:
"Attention! Code Black! We have a second Code Black. Double Code Black."
***
Over the years Fang Yuan came to know about this world. A broken, post-apocalyptic, grim dark world.
The Nightmare Spell first appeared in the world a few decades ago. Back then, the planet was just starting to recover from a series of devastating natural disasters and subsequent resource wars.
At first, the emergence of a new disease that caused millions of people to complain about constant fatigue and sleepiness did not attract a lot of attention. But when they started to fall into an unnatural slumber, with no sign of waking up even days later, governments finally panicked. Of course, by then it was already too late — not that an early response could have made any difference.
When the infected started dying in their sleep, their dead bodies turning into monsters, no one was ready. Nightmare Creatures quickly overwhelmed national militaries, plunging the world into complete chaos. No one knew what the Spell was, what powers it possessed, and how to fight it.
In the end, it was the Awakened — those who survived the first trials of the Spell and came back alive — who put a stop to its rampage. Armed with miraculous abilities earned in their Nightmares, they restored peace and created a semblance of a new order.
It was only the first of the catastrophes brought upon by the Spell. But not the last...
For an average person, being chosen by the Spell was as much of a risk as an opportunity. But it is the key to his dream for Fang Yuan.
***
A few minutes later, Fang Yuan was spacing out while several policemen were busy putting him and the scrony boy from the lobby in restraints. Soon he and the boy, was fastened into a bulky chair each that looked like a weird mix between a hospital bed and a torture device.
The room they were in was situated in the basement of the police station, with thick armored walls and a formidable-looking vault door. Other officers were standing near the walls, with automatic rifles in their hands and grim expressions on their faces.
Fang Yuan did not particularly care about them. The only thing he could think about was how to pass his first nightmare trial.
Finally, the vault door opened, and a gray-haired policeman walked in. He had a seasoned face and stern eyes, looking like someone who had seen a lot of terrible things in his life. After checking the restraints, the policeman glanced quickly on his wristwatch and then turned to the boy.
What's your name, kid?"
The boy blinked a few times, trying to concentrate, then shifted uncomfortably.
"Sunless."
The old policeman raised an eyebrow.
"Sunless? That's a strange name."
Sunny tried to shrug, but found himself unable to move.
"What's so strange about it? At least I have a name. Back in the outskirts, not everyone even gets one."
After another yawn, he added:
"It's because I was born during a solar eclipse. My mom had a poetic soul, you see."
The old policeman grunted. Then turned to Fang Yuan.
"And what is your name?"
"Fang Yuan."
The policeman continued-
"Do you want me to contact your family?"
Sunny simply shook his head.
"There's no one. Don't bother."
"I am an orphan." Fang Yuan said.
For a second, there was a dark look on the policeman's face. Then his expression turned serious.
"Alright, Sunless and Fang Yuan. How long can you stay awake?"
"Uh… not long."
"Few minutes."
The policeman sighed.
Then we don't have time for the full procedure. Try to resist for as long as you can and listen to me very carefully. Okay?"
Not waiting for a response, he added:
"How much do you know about the Nightmare Spell?"
Sunny gave him a questioning look.
"As much as anyone, I guess? Who doesn't know about the Spell?"
"I know everything I need to know." Fang Yuan replied.
The old continued for the sake of Sunny.
"Not the fancy stuff you see in dramas and hear in the propaganda broadcasts. I mean how much do you really know?"
"Don't I just go into the Dream Realm, kill a few monsters to complete the First Nightmare, receive magic powers and become an Awakened?" Sunny answered.
The old policeman shook his head.
"Listen carefully. Once you fall asleep, you will be transported inside your First Nightmare. Nightmares are trials created by the Spell. Once inside, you will meet monsters, sure, but you will also meet people. Remember: they are not real. They're just illusions conjured up to test you."
"How do you know?"
The policeman just stared at him.
"I mean, no one understands what the Spell is and how it works, right? So how do you know that they're not real?"
"You might have to kill them, kid. So do yourself a favor and just think about them as illusions."
"Oh."
The old policeman waited for a second, then nodded and continued.
"A lot of things about the First Nightmare depend on luck. Generally, it shouldn't be overwhelmingly hard. The situation you're in, the tools you have at your disposal and the creatures you have to defeat should be within the range of your abilities, at least. After all, the Spell sets up trials, not executions. You're a bit disadvantaged due to… well… your circumstances. But kids from the outskirts are tough. Don't give up on yourself just yet."
"Uh-uh."
Sunny was getting more and more sleepy.
"About those "magic powers" you mentioned… you will indeed receive them if you survive until the end of the Nightmare. What those powers will be, exactly, depends on your natural affinity as well what you do during the trial. But some of it will be at your disposal right from the start…"
The voice of the old policeman sounded more and more distant to Sunless.
Sunny's eyelids were so heavy that he was struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Remember: the first thing you must do once inside the Nightmare is to check your Attributes and your Aspect. If you get a combat-oriented Aspect, something like a Swordsman or an Archer, things will be easier. If it is reinforced by a physical Attribute, then that's even better. Combat Aspects are the most common, so the probability of receiving one is high."
"If you're unlucky and your Aspect has nothing to do with combat, don't despair. Sorcery and utility Aspects are useful in their own ways, you'll just have to be smart about it. There are really no useless Aspects. Well, almost. So just do anything in your power to survive."
"If you survive, you will be halfway to becoming an Awakened. But if you die, you'll open a gate for a Nightmare Creature to appear in the real world. Which means that my colleagues and I will have to deal with it. So… please don't die, Sunless and Fang Yuan."
"Or, at least, try to not die right away. The nearest Awakened won't be able to get here for a few hours, so we would really appreciate it if you don't make us fight that thing ourselves…"
Sunny finally slipped into a deep slumber.
Fang Yuan had remained silent throughout the process. But now spoke up,
"Good Luck to you."
Fang Yuan closed his eyes. He succumbed to the slumber.
Everything became black.
And then, in the darkness, a faintly familiar voice rang:
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]