And so, I slept—for the first time in this crazy world.
But I really wish I had insomnia…
In the dream
——————————
(Nekrios)
Where... where am I?
Wait, why am I tied up again and hanging upside down?
No, no…
Please don't tell me—
(???)
Welcome back. Did you miss me... and my scalpel?
(Nekrios), panicked and terrified
F*CK!!
Leave me alone, you sadistic freak!
(???)
Is that how you talk to an old friend?
That hurts me, Nekrios.
And when I'm sad... I don't like crying alone.
Hahahaha!
Come here!
Then, right after those words, the man started torturing me again.
I could feel every second of pain—
Even though I knew it was just a dream, it felt too real.
(???)
Well, your nails got too long.
How about a little trim?
(Nekrios)
F**K YOU!!
HAAAAAAAA!
He ripped out all of my nails.
I felt every nerve scream.
I just wanted to wake up… but no use.
Then, as he was laughing madly and about to cut off one of my fingers—
Suddenly, everything disappeared.
I was surrounded by complete darkness...
Until a tiny blue flame floated toward me.
It circled me like it was analyzing my soul.
Then it whispered in a strange voice:
(The Flame)
It will soon be released... and when it is, it will want what's inside you.
(Nekrios)
Wait—what will be released?
But before it could answer, I woke up—
Covered in sweat.
I looked around and—
(Kaeron) (hanging upside down, waving his sword angrily)
You crazy sleeper!!
Control your damn tendrils!
As soon as you fell asleep, they started wrecking everything!
(Raven) (from behind the table)
Dude, your tendrils were attacking everything!
I nearly died twice last night!
Kaeron even broke one of his swords defending himself!
(Kaeron) (still hanging)
I did NOT break one of my swords, you liar!
My swords are tougher than some bones, you cowardly wolf!
(Raven)
Oh really?
Then explain the broken sword in the corner.
Is it just decoration?
(Kaeron) (his face as red as his hair)
Damn you! I swear, when I get down, I'm cutting that mangy tail of yours!
I looked around to find the whole place a disaster—
My tendrils had literally torn the dorm apart.
It looked like a battlefield.
(Nekrios), staring at the tendrils
Wait, why did you do all this?
Where's the one that can write? Explain yourself.
(One Tendril, writing)
"For your information, it wasn't us.
You forgot that not all of us are conscious when you're asleep.
We dream with you.
We suffer with your pain.
But YOU moved us while sleeping, because you wanted to survive.
So really, you're the one who did all this—not us, host."
(Nekrios), sighing
Damn…
So it was all me?
(Raven & Kaeron) (at the same time)
Then YOU'RE cleaning it up!!!
(Nekrios)
Fair enough…
(Kaeron) (falling face-first after a tendril lets go)
Ughhh...
That was the worst night of my life.
I don't know how I'm supposed to attend training or classes like this.
Ugh… my back…
(Raven) (crawling out from behind the table)
Well, I'm perfectly fine.
Because I used my brain from the start.
Honestly, your tendrils are pretty tough—
Breaking swords, huh?
That's kinda awesome.
Hey, what do you say we head to the training yard later and test their strength?
(Nekrios)
Hmm… sure, why not, but—
Knock Knock Knock
(Kaeron) (standing up with difficulty)
Who the hell's knocking this early?
He opened the door.
It was Arclemos.
(Arclemos), surveying the chaos
Well, looks like your first night together wasn't exactly ideal… was it?
(Kaeron), exhausted
Yeah, who would've guessed the tendril guy fights in his sleep…
Felt like we were in the end of the world!
(Arclemos)
Hahaha!
Looks like someone had a nightmare…
And the rest of you lived it in reality.
Anyway—
Nekrios, come with me.
It's time to visit the Seer and find out which class suits you here at the Academy.
(Nekrios) (leaping up, excited)
Of course! Let's go!
Then the two of them left the dorm and headed toward the Seer…
But what she told them was…
To be continued...