Scions of the House of Night and their escort stood in front of the massive, seemingly indestructible red gates of the Awakened Academy. The Academy was, in fact, a city within a city. It was built like a fortress, with towering alloy walls, a deep moat, and numerous high-caliber turrets strategically positioned to create a deadly air-suppression dome. It was claimed that no Nightmare Creature, not even the colossal titans, could breach its defenses. But Konrad knew better.
Against those ancient titans, these fortifications wouldn't last more than a few minutes. This thought sent chill through Konrad's spine.
"Nothing can stop the coming future."
The immense gates creaked as they slowly swung open, revealing the world within. They stepped through, their boots echoing against the reinforced pavement.
The Sleeper compound was relatively small and situated in the southern part of the Academy, surrounded on all sides by training fields and sprawling parks. Unlike the towering spires and underground labyrinths of the Awakened, the Sleepers' quarters were a low, modern building constructed with reinforced materials. Like most structures in the Academy, much of it was hidden below ground, leaving only a couple of floors above. With its white alloy walls and large windows, it must have looked beautiful in the summer, contrasted against the surrounding greenery.
Their escort, a tall and broad-shouldered Awakened clad in dark blue combat fatigues, led them to the main faculty building. There, a teacher awaited them—a middle-aged woman with silver-streaked dark hair, dressed in the academy's black and silver uniform.
"Welcome to the Awakened Academy," she said, her voice steady and authoritative. "I am Instructor Evelyn. From this moment onward, you will be training to increase the chance of survival in your first visit to the dream realm. You have to understand you're not just scions of a legacy clan, you are also the future of humanity. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Instructor!" The Night scions responded in unison.
Instructor Evelyn's sharp gaze swept over him but she said nothing. Their escort handed over their admission documents, exchanged a few words with her, and then departed, leaving them in her care.
Soon, they were led into a large hall filled with dozens of Sleepers—young men and women from all backgrounds. The faculty member who guided them left them to socialize. Here, gathered in one place, were scions of lesser legacy clans, children of wealthy class, promising youths from the middle class, and even a few from the slums, all hoping to get strong and survive the horrors of the dream realm.
Konrad immediately felt out of place. He was the shortest and the youngest among them. His jet-black hair, pale skin, and abyssal dark eyes stood out among his peers. A gloomy aura clung to him like a shadow.
His clansmen, Ada and Jacob, flanked him protectively, standing on either side. Their message was clear: you can't bully our little brother.
A group of lesser legacy clan scions approached them. A tall boy with slicked-back blond hair and piercing blue eyes smirked. "Did they bring a child to the Academy? Did got something wrong?"
Jacob folded his arms. "Konrad is a Sleeper of the House of Night. You would do well to mind your words."
The blond boy got intimidated and apologized.
"You guys are from the House of Night? I am sorry. I didn't meant to be offensive. I was just curious."
A girl with short auburn hair stepped forward, her emerald eyes scanning Konrad with interest. "I've heard of him. He survived his First Nightmare Trial at thirteen. That's super rare."
"Rare or not, he looks half-dead," another boy muttered under his breath.
Konrad ignored them. Instead, he activated his Clairvoyance, his vision shifting as he peered into their potential. If Cassie could do it, why wouldn't Konrad do it.
Most of them were ordinary—disappointingly so.
None bore a True Name. Most had dormant Aspects, while a few had Awakened Aspects that were unimpressive at best. He didn't want to underestimate their rank. Most commoners were mediocre at best. The legacies were better. But not by much.
His eyes flickered as he withdrew from the visions. "I doubt I'll have any real encounters with them."
"Did you say anything?" Ada asked.
"Nothing important." Konrad's voice was flat, devoid of emotion.
Suddenly the doors to the hall swung open. An instructor stepped inside. The conversations ceased immediately as the presence of authority filled the room.
The instructor was a tall man with a chiseled face and short, graying hair. His uniform bore the insignia of a combat instructor. His sharp eyes scanned the room before he spoke.
"I am Instructor Varian. You are here because you have potential. But potential is worthless without discipline, training, and hardship. Some of you will Awaken. Some of you will end up dead. It is up to you to determine which category you belong to."
He took a step forward. "Before we proceed, I want to make one thing clear: strength is everything. In the dream realm you will be tested in ways you cannot yet imagine. This world does not tolerate the weak. If you cannot endure, you will be cast aside."
His gaze lingered on Konrad for a brief moment before moving on. "Now, form a line. We will begin an interview and let you choose the courses."
The Sleepers moved swiftly, lining up as the weight of their new reality settled upon them. The Awakening Academy was not a place of comfort. It was a crucible, and only the strong would emerge unbroken.
Soon, Konrad found himself in a small office, sitting across from an administrative worker. The worker was very friendly, and started the interview right away.
As Konrad was just thirteen years old, they offered him psychological counseling. Konrad refused as if he wanted to consult a psychiatrist, they would need a psychiatrist themselves. The interview smoothly switched to questions about his Aspect. Well, he was just reaffirming what details his clan sent.
"Are a diviner and your aspect ability related to divination?" The interviewer asked.
"Yes, I am."
Konrad nodded.
"Impressive! Is your aspect rank Transcendent?"
"The clan should have send my details." Konrad said.
"Yes. We are just reaffirming it from you." The interviewer said.
"So, you have received a true name in your first nightmare?"
"Yes! I am Night Haunter."
The interviewer was very impressed and praised him a bit. Then ended the interview.
After that, he waited for his fellow clansmen. Soon, Ada and Jacob was done with their interview and meet up with him. Later, a faculty member took them to the dormitories which were situated on one of the lowest levels. To his surprise, the scions of House of Night had their rooms next each other.
Konrad entered his own room which was in the middle. It had a bed with a soft mattress, a table, a dresser, and a separate bathroom. The materials were new and aesthetically pleasing, the air crisp and sterile. It was warm inside, and the outer wall was equipped with a hidden screen that seamlessly imitated a wide window, opening to a picturesque vista of a snowy park.
There were even several sets of clothes with the Academy emblem provided to him. Konrad refreshed himself and went to the cafeteria with Jacob and Ada.
The supper turned out to be a buffet. Food was freely available to Sleepers, there wasn't even a limit to the amount each of them could eat. More than that, there were rice, bread, various side dishes, sauces, fresh vegetables, fruits, and all kinds of delicious beverages.
After taking a moderate amount of food on their plates, they were invited to a table by some legacy scions. They accepted the invitation and sat down.
Konrad only concentrated on the food while the scions conversed over the meal.
After the meal, he returned to his room, undressed, and went to sleep.
***
Early in the morning, Konrad washed up in his private bathroom and hurried to get breakfast as he was a bit late.
The cafeteria was a bit crowded. But Night scions found a place for themselves.
However, before he could dig into him breakfast, a sudden commotion drew his attention.
'What's going on?'
He looked up and noticed that a lot of Sleepers were gathered around the large screen hanging on the wall of the cafeteria, their faces filled with excitement and awe. On the screen, a list of names was displayed, ranking the new batch of Sleepers from weakest to strongest, most likely deduced from the results of the interviews.
Not particularly interested, he started eating his own meal.
But the commotion was a bit too loud to be just the result of the ranking. The Sleepers were restless.
"How… how can this be?!"
"I'm not seeing things, right?"
"What kind of a monster is kid?!"
A person named Quinn from a lesser legacy clan was placed in second place. And right above him, the portrait of the pale skined and black eyed boy could be clearly seen.
To the right of it, two simple lines of text were displayed:
"Name: Konrad"
"True Name: Night Haunter"