The sun shined brightly in the sky, beating rays of heat down on the population below. Today was going to be another average day for Endroll city, but the clock on a certain boys life continued to tick, waiting for it to reach 0.
Duration: 32:45:24
Nero breathed a heavy sigh. He was currently leaning against the lamp post of a fairly busy area. People walked past him without a second thought, and he could do nothing but watch the few amount of cars drive down the street.
He wasn't particularly worried. If Cyrus was really going to help him like he said, then he should be fine up until he left for the dream realm.
'He's not oversleeping is he?'
Thinking about it now, that was obviously his flaw. Yet he was able to awaken him by shaking his body. When an awakened sleeps they are sent to the dream realm, so outside interference shouldn't be able to awake them.
'I wonder how it works in the dream realm..'
Would he really just tell him if he asked? He didn't think so.. flaws were very personal, no matter how obvious they were.
And then a few moments later, an armoured jeep pulled up onto the side walk right next to him. The windows were incredibly tinted, so Nero could not see who was inside. The drivers window then gradually began to roll down though.
It was a beautiful women who looked to be in her twenties, with long purple hair and violet eyes. She was wearing a purple sleeveless jacket, and military trousers.
Sitting next to her in the front passenger seat, was Cyrus who was still wrapped in the same blanket, sleeping without a care in the world.
'Typical.'
The woman then called out to him, in a rather aggressive tone,
"Are you Sleeper Nero?"
"Yeah?"
He could hear the faint click of the back door open.
"Get in."
She was awfully blunt and straight to the point. Nero could feel that he had no control of that conversation, and that if he were to say anything other than yes or no, he'd get shouted at by a drill sergeant.
He quickly hopped inside the armoured Jeep, which was just as cold and metallic on the inside as it was on the outside. The second he buckled his seatbelt, the Jeep took off.
The woman then punched Cyrus in the shoulder, Jolting him awake.
"Ow, you didn't need to hit me did you!?"
"Waking you up while driving is a chore."
Cyrus just grunted. He turned his head to the back of the car to look at Nero, who was a little surprised.
"Her name is Awakened Kalane. She will be helping us out for the next couple days, so try to be respectful towards her."
Cyrus and Nero couldn't drive for obvious reasons, so having someone else present was essential. But an awakened? Wouldn't a normal person be enough? Nero was starting to get worried.
"Where are we going exactly?"
"An infinite Soul Shard mine..."
Nero's eyes glowed. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing, his ears had never been blessed with such miraculous words for all his life. He didn't know what kind of quality Soul Shards would be there, but he could at least guarantee easy safety for a long while.
"...called a Nightmare Gate."
His heart sank.
"Why did you say it like that!?"
Nightmare Gates were infinite Soul shard mines in a sense. They were one way portals that spewed Nightmare creatures into the real world, and couldn't be shut unless the corresponding Nightmare seed in the dream realm was conquered.
Until it was shut, waves of Nightmare creatures would periodically swarm out of them. Those creatures could still be killed, and their Soul Shards can be harvested from them allowing for a steady flow of shards.
"Wait... why do I have to come then?"
Cyrus quickly fell asleep.
"..."
The Jeep continued to drive through the downtown of the city. Despite her aggressive nature, Kalane was a rather relaxed driver. Eventually, they made it to the very border of the Endroll colony, which would've taken an hour or three to get to by foot even for awakened.
The border was just one great massive, singular wall that went around the entire colony in a circle. This wall was the starting point of the dome that shielded them from the outside.
Once they made it, there was heavy security consisting of both armed humans, and awakened waiting for them.
With The Red Sons roaming around, even just leaving Endroll was quite an issue. But Nero was in a vehicle with at least 1, if not, 2 government associated awakened. There shouldn't be any trouble.
Thankfully, there wasn't. The moment they passed through though, Kalane opened the glove compartment of the jeep, and pulled out three half face gas masks. She threw one at Cyrus's head, waking him up, and passed another to Nero.
The air on the outside world was poisonous, even to awakened, so travel outside of it was uncommon unless you were slightly suicidal. These gas masks were essential for staying out here for long periods of time.
The outside world in question wasn't really a sight for the eyes either. It was just an ocean of grey barren land with the occasional tall mound every couple meters. Now and then you could see something move in the distance, but you could never quite tell what it was.
After driving through these lands for a bit, Kalane stopped the car, and woke Cyrus up with her usual punch.
"Your gonna kill me one of these days."
"Get out."
Nero and Cyrus got out the car, but Kalane stayed behind to protect the vehicle. Even if there weren't many Nightmare creatures for a long distance, you never know what could happen.
Cyrus led ahead as he walked with Nero.
"So we're not going to directly fight a swarm, right?"
Cyrus said with exhaustion.
"No!? I don't why you thought that. There should be a category 2 Nightmare gate, 600 metres away from here though."
Nero shivered.
"Don't worry. Unless there are large groups of humans nearby, all of them won't come for us.. at least I think."
"All of them?"
"We will be fine as long as I'm here anyway. The only ones that stray from the herd, are the weaker creatures that can't keep up with the rest. When awakened periodically kill all the Nightmare creatures too close to the colony, the weaker ones tend to escape. If they get close enough, they'll notice our presence and come for us since we're lower in number. Those are the ones that you will kill."
'Right... hang on!?'
Nero yelped,
"I'm killing them?"
Cyrus turned around and stood right in front of him. His presence suddenly grew heavy and chilling, but he was still very much calm.
"Nero, I'm going to give you a choice. There is an academy in the NQSC for sleepers like you. While your there, you can learn how to survive in the dream realm, but the government will have to procure Soul Shards for you, and you'll forever be indebted to us."
Nero had never been to school once in his life. Everything he knew came from the streets which he naturally picked up, or from his father. Right now, the opportunity to go to school was right in front of him. He could make more friends his age, and talk to others that weren't competitors trying to survive the streets, but companions that would help each other out.
"...Or, you could fight for your life with your own hands. You can kill Nightmare creatures not just to satisfy your flaw, but kill even more to gain power before you leave. Once you reach the Dream Realm, you'll have more of an advantage than anyone else. I can help you learn the basics of survival, but not as good as the academy."
Surviving in the streets, and surviving in the dream realm were two different things. In the streets, one had to learn how to steal, trick, and lie to survive, but in the dream realm, you had to know how to cook, hunt, navigate, and endure a multitude of environments without issue.
The Academy in the NQSC promised him all of these things, but...
"I'll fight."
Nero simply wasn't interested. Learning the basics from Cyrus was more than enough for him, but obtaining Soul Shards early was simply an opportunity he couldn't pass up.