Kaelis stared at the runes in silence, his eyes burning beneath heavy eyelids. There was something unbearably cruel in that soft, flickering light, as if the mocking glow of the incandescent letters knew a joke of which he was the punchline.
"I don't believe it..."
"This can't be real..." — he murmured, fingers pressing against his temples.
The words before him didn't vanish. They pulsed. Breathed. And spoke everything he feared.
Flaw: [Choir of the Silent. — What should have been a divine gift has become a curse. The world speaks to you... And you hear it all.]
[Your flaw is to hear the pure or impure intentions of those around you and be affected by the emotions of the crowds.]
The description was even worse. Cruel. Unchangeable.
[You are doomed to hear and feel what others hide. You hear the deepest intentions — desires, guilt, impulses. You are affected by the most fervent emotions from those around you. Among crowds, the cacophony may distort your mind… and break you.]
He read it. Once. Twice. Five times. Ten. Trying to understand. Trying to deny. What did it mean? That he would always be vulnerable to the ugliest truths of others?
"Hear everything... feel everything... until you break inside."
The memory of the floor of living flesh in the Inverted Cathedral slashed through his thoughts like a serrated blade. That place pulsed. Wept. Screamed. And Kaelis... Kaelis had felt every lost soul there.
Pain.
Hatred.
Lust.
Despair.
Euphoria.
Guilt.
All at once. As if a thousand hearts beat within his own. As if every nerve in his body were a string stretched to the brink of snapping.
He shivered. Felt the chill down his spine. The metallic taste of memory. That had already been unbearable, and now he knew it hadn't just been that place — it was him. An extension of his own Flaw.
The very idea of living surrounded by people was now a sentence of suffering. How to survive in the Dream Realm like this? How to remain sane? How to… breathe?
Kaelis felt small. A fragile bird thrown into a storm he could neither see nor predict.
There, in the silent sea of his soul, he could still pretend he was whole. But he knew... as soon as he returned, as soon as he opened his eyes, the real world would scream again.
And then, as if the Spell itself answered his despair, a firm voice tore through the void:
[Awaken, Angel of the Broken Vow!]
The world around him shattered like black glass, spinning into spirals of shadow until it vanished completely.
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Dim light. Dry air. Metallic silence.
Kaelis opened his eyes slowly. The gray, sterile ceiling of the police station's containment room felt... comforting. Absurd, considering everything. But for one who had escaped the abyss, even cold steel could feel like a hug.
He never thought he'd feel this way, but… that cell, buried in the underground of a gloomy station, now felt like home.
No glassy-eyed priests.No mad devotees whispering prayers in forgotten tongues.No deity hiding behind smiles and veils of light.
Only concrete. Silence. Life.
Kaelis closed his eyes again, and he felt. Felt his own body. The softness of the mattress beneath him. The warmth of breath. The… wings.
His wings.
The right one, the more developed, rested beneath him like a protective blanket. The soft feathers brushed his skin with tenderness. The left one was still weak and uneven, causing slight discomfort… but still, it was a part of him.
He smiled. A fragile smile. Real.
"I… survived." — he whispered.
And then, a voice.
"Yes. Congratulations on completing your First Nightmare, novice Awakened."
Kaelis turned his head and saw a woman sitting nearby. And for a moment… the air seemed to stop.
She was beautiful. Of a rare and dangerous kind. Hair as black as a raven's wing, light blue eyes that seemed to see through him. Her dark blue uniform contrasted with pale, flawless skin. The silver badge on her shoulder displayed three stars.
Three stars. An Ascended.
Kaelis's heart skipped a beat.
"A-An Ascended!?"
He tried to sit up in a rush — and failed. The cuffs and metal straps still held him to the bed. Worse, he realized he was shirtless. Shreds of torn fabric lay around him — the clothes his family had given him had been destroyed during the birth of his wings.
"No… my shirt… my father's coat…"
The pain was unexpected. The loss of two simple pieces of cloth should never hurt this much… but it did.
Something inside him was… different. His feelings were on edge. Before, he would have known how to hide. Control. But now… everything overflowed.
The woman watched him with a half-smile.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Dormant Kaelis.I'm Ascended Jet. You can call me Master Jet."
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Dormant. That was what he'd be called… at least until the winter solstice. After that, he would return — or not — from the Dream Realm.
Dreamer was the official term. But humans had their own words for those infected by the Nightmare Spell. Dormants were those whose bodies remained in comas while their spirits wandered through the Dream Realm.
If they survived, they awakened — becoming Awakened.If they continued… and survived again… they would become Ascended. Masters.
And beyond the Masters… were the Saints. Transcendents. Few. Powerful. Demigods.
But Kaelis was far from that.
Jet stood up, walked to the bed, and began to free him from the restraints.
"I've been on duty the past few days, watching over you and another boy also facing his First Nightmare.It's rare… but you both survived."
Kaelis remembered: had he died, she herself would have killed him, before he became a Nightmare Creature.
Jet observed him for a moment.
"I need to ask a few questions, as per protocol."
"You can ask." — he responded.
She sighed.
"First, about your Nightmare. You have the right to free psychological support. No matter what you faced in there, there's no shame in seeking help. Your mind must be as sharp as your body. Are you interested?"
Kaelis remained silent.
The memories returned. The pain. The blood. The guilt. The destruction.
His eyes wavered, and tears fell before he even noticed.
"N-no… I… I'm fine."
Jet remained silent for a while until she looked at him with compassion. Just a few words… and he was already crying.
He himself was startled.
"Huh?! Why am I crying?"
Before the First Nightmare, Kaelis could hide his emotions very well. Now… he couldn't hold anything in.
Jet held his hand gently.
Her skin was cold and smooth, a contrast to the pain he felt. The touch was real. Human.
"It's okay, Kaelis. I understand. I was marked by a Nightmare too. If you need to talk… I'm here."
He took a deep breath, wiping away the tears.
"Thank you… but this is something I need to face alone."
Jet saw. She saw the pain and said nothing. She simply approached and held his hand. Her palm was cold, yet soft.
"It's alright. I understand. If you change your mind, I'll be here. I've been through it too."
Kaelis nodded, wiping the tears with the back of his hand. There was gratitude in his gaze.
But when Jet turned to grab something… he heard her.
A ghostly voice, whispered like death's wind. And it was her voice — but distorted. Cruel. Painful.
"He is too emotional… He won't survive long. He might die quickly and in a painful way."
Kaelis's blood ran cold.
His eyes widened. He looked at her — and she was just smiling, calm.
"Is everything okay?"
He hesitated… then nodded slowly. The shock still burned.
Jet handed him a towel.
"You can take a shower now. We will meet at the cafeteria when you're done. And new clothes… with space for your wings. Be quick, we have much to discuss."
She left the room.
And Kaelis was left there. Alone. Soaked in sweat. And fear.
That voice…
It wasn't a memory.
Nor an illusion.
It was real.
And it was the first time the Choir of the Silent spoke to him.