"hu , what happened"
Last thing remembered was dying at the end of his fifth nightmare after that cursed bastard killed in front of him
But now he was suddenly being held by a beautiful young women with raven black hair and onyx black eyes which contained overwhelming motherly affection in them and a young man in his early twenties was standing beside her in ragged clothing, the the reality of the situation dawned on sunny
He has regressed to the past when he was born
Sunny was overjoyed at first but then he started to remember his fifth nightmare, how everyone died in front of him , how everything fell apart in front of him and how helpless he was
Now that he was given a second chance he was going to make most of it
He has to grow stronger, far stronger he ever was of if he every hoped to save everyone
But for now, there was something more important
---
Today, his father was supposed to die.
When his father left for work, he would be killed in an industrial accident at the factory. Sunny had chosen this moment in time because he intended to change that.
He could have gone back to just before the First Nightmare, but that wasn't enough. He wanted to save his parents. They were perhaps the people he cared for the most—right after Nephis and Rain. And that was only because they had died before he had ever truly known them.
With the last embers of his supreme will, Sunny reached out and changed his father's soul.
Or rather, his shadow.
---
His father was an upright man who had continued to do honest work even in the bleakest conditions of the Outskirts. A rare thing.
He was a curious case—never given a name by his parents. He had lived namelessly until he met his wife. His wife or rather my mother named him Ezra
Their lives had been anything but poetic. Ezra had died in a factory accident. Sunny's mother had succumbed to an unnamed disease. Their children had been left alone in the world.
But not this time.
---
Before Ezra could leave for work that morning, his body suddenly collapsed. When he woke hours later, disoriented and drenched in sweat, his mother was hovering over him in concern.
"Are you alright?" she asked, handing him a glass of water.
Abel drank deeply before waving her off. "Just a headache. I'll be fine."
"You've never collapsed like that before," she pressed. "Do you think you could have been infected?" Her voice laden with anxiety.
"You mean with the spell?"
"Yes?"
"People our age don't get infected."
"But still—"
"Okay, okay," he relented with a chuckle. "I'll go to the police station and get checked. Now, don't worry about me, dear, or Rain will start crying. She needs you more than I do."
"And what about you?"
Abel smiled, turning to his son. "Sunny will take care of me, won't you, son?"
The toddler, usually blunt and clumsy with his words, responded with perfect clarity.
"Yes, Dad. I'll take care of you. Don't worry."
They both blinked in shock at their son's sudden eloquence.
"Are you sure you're not the one with a fever?" Ezra asked with a perplexed face.
Sunny simply smiled, overwhelmed by the sweet, sweet sound of his parents' voices.
'Everything will be fine. I promise.'
---
The next morning, Ezra reported to the police station.
A tired officer barely looked up from his desk. "Ugh… what do you want? Look, if you lost your kid, we can't-"
"As per the Third Special Directive, I'm here to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell."
The officer immediately straightened, his tired eyes sharpening.
"You're infected?" He scrutinized Abel. "You don't strike me as the young kind… When did it happen?"
"Yesterday," Ezra admitted. "I wasn't sure at first, but after waking up still feeling exhausted, I'm sure of it now, there is a growing feeling inside me, as if my very soul is being gnawed at."
"Alright. You'll spend the next few days here until you enter your Nightmare. I'll contact your family."
Ezra was shown to a room, where he received basic combat and survival training for six days. Then, the Nightmare took him.
When he woke, something about him had changed—something invisible, yet undeniable. everyone could tell that he had changed but no one could see the changes take place. Afterall peaking into someone else's soul was vile and treacherous, befitting a daemon more than a human.
He had awakened.
A rare case—an adult awakening long past the usual age. The government was immediately notified.
---
Awakened Bolt was assigned to oversee Ezra's case.
A veteran of the government, he had once served in Master Vandal's cohort, back when Vandal was just an Awakened. Bolt had a soft spot for non-legacies, and it was his first time seeing an Outskirts rat survive the First Nightmare.
He felt strangely responsible for him.
Ezra was granted a room in a government building near the Academy, where he would live with his family. He would only enter the Academy for training. He didn't mind being surrounded by children—if it meant securing a future with his loved ones, he would endure anything.
This favourable treatment was because he made a simple, innocent mistake.
He told the government about his supreme Aspect.
Instantly, they took interest. If he survived long enough to return from the dream realm, he would be recruited into the government without question.
It wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him, but the government had essentially recruited him similar to jet in the original timeline without giving him time to choose.
Unaware, Ezra trained harder than ever, determined to prove himself by the Winter Solstice. He formed a fast friendship with Bolt, and soon, another with Professor Julius when studied under him, courtesy of bolt's advice.
When the Winter Solstice arrived, he was sent to the Chained Isles, where he remained among the government Awakened stationed there.
And with that, Sunny's entire life changed.
His mother's disease was treated with ease. His family moved to a better district, a far cry from the misery of the Outskirts.
Ezra could have chosen to live among the elite, but he refused. Perhaps because of his nature.
"Or perhaps, because there's nothing as beautiful as my wife!"
Three scoffed, trying to push him away. "Let go of me! You're an Awakened now—you'll squish me!"
Ezra loosened his grip dramatically, pouting. "I'll be careful..."
My mother rolled her eyes. "You should be paying more attention to our son. He keeps glancing at the neighbor's daughter."
Ezra followed her gaze. "Well… he is a boy, so—"
A sharp elbow to the ribs cut him off, followed by soft laughter.
"So what? You think he's like you?"
Ezral's arms tightened around her. "Mhm. What do you mean like me?"
---
Of course, Sunny hadn't been looking at the girl next door out of infatuation.
He had recognized an old friend.
Cassie sat in her mother's arms, a two-year-old mesmerized by the world. Even at that age, there was an innate curiosity in her gaze, as if she longed to explore.
Oblivious to the fate that awaited her.
"Of course Fated can't stay still… That thing is probably drawn to me even without my Aspect. How did I end up next to Cassie, of all people?"
He exhaled.
"Well, it's a good opportunity. If I gain her trust before the Forgotten Shore…"
Hope flickered in his mind.
"We only fought because she had to choose between me and Neph. This time, that won't be the case."
His fists clenched.
"And this time… I wouldn't sit in the background watching the events unfold, I will take matters into my own hand, conquer the forgotten shore, and bring every single of the sleepers back."
The pictures of gunlaug and his cruel guards flashed in his mind. For a moment the shadows around him grew darker.
"Or at least...most of them