Chapter 12: The Nightmare begins.

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]

Bari dreamt of a temple atop a mountain.

It rose like a monolith beneath the heavens—cruel, jagged, impossibly tall. Moonlight draped its flanks in a cold, spectral sheen, revealing a narrow road etched into its slope like an ancient scar.

Above, the stars blinked and shimmered.

Below, shadows writhed and crawled.

Then—without warning—the stars reversed their course.

The moon plunged from the sky as the sun burst over the horizon, racing backward in its arc. Snow retreated into the clouds. Rain un-fell into mist. Flowers curled shut, their colors draining back into the soil.

Time flowed backward.

Centuries unraveled in the space of a breath.

A ruined village at the mountain's base—still burning like a pyre—sprang to life. People flickered in and out of existence, moving with impossible speed. Bari understood it wasn't speed at all, but the grotesque elegance of time reversing itself.

Where the mountain path had been buried under centuries of stone and decay, bones surfaced—bleached, picked clean, scattered like seeds. Then they too dissolved into nothing.

In their place came a caravan.

Chains rattled. A cage wheel creaked. Voices barked in a dialect almost—but not quite—human. The figures moved backward down the path toward a small village glowing faintly with torchlight, nestled at the base of the mountain beside a grand stair carved into the slope.

Time slowed. Halted.

Then lurched forward again.

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]

***

Bari woke to a sky so vividly blue it looked painted by a god's steady hand. Golden-brown trees swayed lazily in the breeze, their leaves whispering like an audience waiting for the curtain to rise. The grass beneath him was impossibly green, each blade so sharp and vibrant it put New Sun Quarter City's best parks to shame.

Around him, the forest pulsed with life—birds trilling, insects buzzing, leaves rustling in a shifting wind.

He stayed still for a long moment, listening.

Insects chirping. Birds calling. That meant no nearby predators—at least, not the kind that silenced the wild.

When satisfied, Bari scanned the area again, slower this time, mapping possible cover, elevated positions, and choke points. Only then did he check himself.

His clothes were wrong.

Gone was his worn street gear. In its place: a loose, knee-high, dark red yukata—the kind samurai wore in half-remembered histories—paired with wooden sandals.

A black-sheathed katana rested on his hip. He drew it, the steel whispering as it left the scabbard. He wasn't a blacksmith, nor a collector, but even he could tell—this was no common blade. The edge shimmered faintly, the grain of the metal flowing like water frozen mid-current.

He exhaled, heartbeat steadying, and slid it back into its sheath. That was when he noticed the weight on his back—a light pull at his shoulders.

Reaching around, he pulled free a small rucksack. Inside: a jug of water, three neatly folded packs of silk—probably bandages—and a rectangular stone with a faint greenish hue.

"A… stone?" Bari murmured, turning it over in his hand.

It was bent from long use, smooth under his fingertips, carrying the faint scent of old steel. He recognized it instantly—a sharpening stone, worn but serviceable.

He smirked.

"Solid. Pun intended."

The smile faded as he drew in a slow breath. It was time to check his runes.

Focusing on the thought, the air in front of him shimmered—symbols and text forming out of nothing.

***

Name: Bari

True Name: –

Rank: Aspirant

Soul Core: –

Memories: –

Echoes: –

Attributes:

[Strong Willed] – Abnormal willpower and focus. Strong resistance to mental attacks.

[Singularity] – This soul is untethered from the Threads of Fate. Its path is uncharted, its end unwritten.

[Traces of Divinity] – Sparks of divinity allow you entry to places barred to others.

[Enhanced] – Sharpened mind and body alike.

[Forbidden Knowledge] – You possess knowledge and experience from beyond this world.

[Keen Eyes] – Acute perception of anomalies; able to discern the details of Memories, Attribute, and echo's.

[Storm Affinity] – An unusually strong attunement to wind and air. 

Aspect: Scent of Wind

Aspect Description: "Strong-willed are the winds, and so are you. You are able to sense and manipulate the winds around you to a minor degree."

***

Bari let out a low whistle. It was… impressive.

Four things stood out—the two most unusual attributes, and his Aspect.

[Singularity] – This soul is untethered from the Threads of Fate. Its path is uncharted, its end unwritten.

Was it because he was a transmigrator? Or something else entirely? And more importantly—would people forget him the moment he returned from the Trial?

The thought lingered. He'd lived over twelve years in this new life. Returning to a five- or six-year-old body… that would be strange. Even if Sunny from the book had called it "freedom," Bari had already earned his freedom the moment he arrived here.

He wasn't going to obsess over fate like Sunny did. He'd do what he wanted, when he wanted. If someone stuck their nose in his business, he'd make sure they remembered who they were talking to.

He wouldn't bow. Couldn't. His will wouldn't allow it.

He was Bari—a man of two worlds.

…Or was it three now?