[Your flaw is: Voices of time]
Ray opened the runes a last time, as after he viewed them he should be able to wake up again.
Flaw: [Voices of Time]
Flaw Description: [You will at times hear and see memories of the people that around you, uncontrollably. These memories can be from the past, present, or even the future]
Ray, would be lying if that was something he even remotely expected. From what he knew, Flaws were something fundamental, and in basically every case something that was as bad as it may come.
In school he learned, that Flaws can materialize as more or less everything, but often a change in temperament, loss of senses or even body parts. This, meanwhile, nearly seemed like an extra ability, but Ray wasn't about to complain.
Shaking his head, he nearly frantically awaited the end, and it soon reached his ears.
[Wake up, Lost Witness]
—-
Upon waking up back in the room, Ray didn't immediately sit up, he rather laid down for a moment longer, with his eyes closed. He heard some voices, but didn't care right now. Then, after taking a deep breath, Ray opened his eyes and sat up.
Ray blinked a few times, shaking off the lingering haze from his awakening. His body felt... different. Stronger, but also strange, as if something fundamental about him had changed.
His gaze swept the room, quickly locking onto the two people inside. One of them was the boy from before - the same one he had seen before entering his Nightmare. He now sat upright, an annoyed scowl on his face, and a red handprint standing out starkly against his cheek.
The other person was a woman. She was lounging casually in a chair, her short black hair slightly messy, and her piercing gaze observing both of them with mild amusement.
She raised a hand in a lazy wave, letting out a tired-sounding chuckle. "Yo. Looks like you finally decided to wake up, sleepyhead."
Ray exhaled and stretched slightly, ignoring the stiffness in his body. "Guess so." His voice was hoarse, but steady.
The woman - Jet, he recalled vaguely, his aunt told him about her a few times - leaned back against the chair, crossing one leg over the other. "Well, congratulations. You two actually made it."
Ray's eyes flickered back to the boy, who was still rubbing his cheek in irritation. The scowl on his face made it clear that Jet had been the one to give him the extra mark on the face.
The boy - Sunless, as Ray just got to know - glanced at him, sizing him up. "You took your time," he muttered.
Ray simply shrugged. "Did I?" He wasn't exactly in a hurry to wake up after everything that had happened.
Jet sighed, rubbing her temple. "Tch. You two are way too relaxed for people who just survived the First Nightmare."
That made Ray pause. Yeah... I survived. He had fought, bled, and clawed his way through that hellish place. The weight of what he had accomplished still hadn't fully settled in.
Jet stood up and stretched. "Whatever. You both passed, so I don't care. Just don't start thinking you're invincible." She gave them both a sharp look. "From today on, both of you can be called Sleeper Sunless and Sleeper Ray Brown."
"Now go shower," after she said those words, her face scrunched up slightly and gestured towards the shower area, "you both reek of Nightmare, that is by no means an likable scent."
Both boys slightly offended by this smelled for a moment on their respective clothes, and really smelled something new. Both looked at each other at the same time, then after Jet completely removed their bindings, went towards the shower area silently.
As they stood there in their respective showers, Ray couldn't help but voice his thoughts to escape the awkward silence, "So… you're called Sunless. Quite poetic, I think. Who gave you that name, if you don't mind me asking?"
The other boy responded very soon after. "I don't really mind, it was my mom that gave me the name. Apparently I was born during a solar eclipse, she was always quite poetic with such things."
Hearing this, even though Ray didn't look over, he could feel multiple things coming from the other.
"But say, Sunless, while the name is cool and all, is there something easier to call you?"
"Sunny. Just call me that," the response from the boy was short, but it felt different, though, Ray wasn't sure how.
Ray chuckled, letting the warm water wash away the last remnants of exhaustion clinging to his body. "Sunny, huh? Yeah, that works."
For a moment, the conversation settled into a comfortable silence, the only sound being the running water. But just as Ray was about to make some offhand comment, something flickered through his mind - a sudden, overwhelming rush of images.
It wasn't his memory.
A dimly lit street. A lone figure standing in the shadows, watching a house. The warm glow of light spilling through the windows, silhouettes moving inside. A girl. A sense of longing, of something lost.
And then-
"Rain…" The word left Ray's lips before he even realized he had spoken.
The reaction was immediate.
The water kept running, but the air in the room seemed to shift. Ray turned his head slightly, seeing Sunny staring at him, his eyes sharp and unreadable.
"How do you know that name?"
Ray blinked, his mind catching up to what just happened. Shit. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. But now that it was out there, there was no taking it back.
He hesitated for a second, but lying felt pointless. It wasn't like his ability was something that could be weaponized against Sunny anyway.
"…It's my Flaw," Ray admitted, exhaling. "I seemingly sometimes see… random memories. Not just my own - other people's too. Things that have happened in the past, current thoughts, or how it says possibly even the future." He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the weight of Sunny's gaze. "I didn't do it on purpose. It just… happens."
Sunny didn't respond right away. He just kept staring at Ray, his expression unreadable, before finally looking away. He seemed deep in thought, his fingers curling slightly at his sides.
Ray decided not to push. If Sunny wanted to talk about it, he would. If not… well, Ray wouldn't pry.
Eventually, Sunny let out a quiet breath. "That's a dangerous flaw," he muttered.
Ray huffed a small laugh. "Tell me about it."
Another pause. Then, without looking at him, Sunny asked, "What else did you see?"
Ray shook his head. "Not much. Just someone looking at a house. Focusing on a girl inside. And… the name."
Sunny didn't reply, but Ray could tell he was thinking about something. Something heavy.
After a few moments, Sunny finally spoke again. "...If you see something like that again, tell me." His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.
Ray glanced at him, then nodded. "Yeah. Sure."
The two of them talked for a bit longer, all while finishing up their shower. When both were finished, they had to change their clothes, as the stench from before still lingered on them.
The only problem, the two of them didn't bring any spar clothing, resulting in them both receiving a track suit from the station officers. Resulting in a slightly awkward scene in front of the police station.
As the two stepped out of the station, Ray tugged at the tight collar of his tracksuit, frowning. The fabric clung awkwardly to his frame, clearly a few sizes too small, while Sunny's, in contrast, was just a bit too big – still loose enough to make it clear he was unhappy about it.
Ray huffed a small laugh as he looked them both over. "Well, this is a look."
Sunny pulled at his sleeve, scowling. "This is stupid."
"Could be worse." Ray smirked. "At least we're matching. Like a team."
Sunny shot him a deadpan look. "If we were a team, I'd quit immediately."
Jet, now standing by a sleek black car parked on the curb, snorted. "You two done whining? Get in."
Ray and Sunny exchanged a glance before filing into the car. Jet took the driver's seat, and the moment the doors shut, the engine purred to life. The ride was smooth, the city slowly shifting past the windows as they drove.
For the first few minutes, there was silence. Then Jet, one hand on the wheel, glanced into the rearview mirror at Sunny. "So, how was your first nightmare, huh?"
Sunny's gaze flickered to her, something guarded in his expression. "Worse and at the same time exactly as I imagined."
Jet hummed. "Well, we from the Outskirts are just build different, we're not so easy to kill?"
Sunny hesitated for a moment before replying, "Master Jet… you're from there as well?"
Jet let out a low whistle. "Sure, while I do talk a lot about it, I wouldn't hide my origin."
"I guess, one needs something to hold on to."
Ray leaned against the window, only half-listening. He could already tell the conversation was going in a direction that wasn't meant for him, and honestly, that was fine. He didn't need to be a part of everything.
As the car rolled through the city, the two of them continued talking. Their words were casual, but Ray could hear the weight behind them.
They spoke about the slums - the unspoken rules, the gangs, the way you learned quickly who to trust and who to avoid. Sunny was less talkative than Jet, mostly giving short, clipped answers, but it was clear he understood exactly what she meant. They came from the same kind of place.
Ray let his mind drift, staring out the window at the skyline. Buildings stretched high into the sky, towering over the streets below. He could see the shift in the city as they left the lower districts behind - the roads got smoother, the air cleaner. Everything felt… different.
It was a strange thing, stepping into a new world.
Jet and Sunny kept talking, their conversation fading in and out of Ray's mind as the hum of the car filled the space between them.
After a while they reached their destination, the sleeper Academy.
Jet had given both of them, though, obviously more directed at Sunny some tips about what to do here, given the small amount of time we would be spending here, before the Winter solstice.
Ray, hearing these tips understood from which perspective they were coming from, so while listening, wasn't really paying all that much attention to their conversation.
Even then, the last thing she said was like music to his ears, apparently for the people who succeeded in clearing their first nightmare at this time, the welcoming ceremony was scheduled for this afternoon, so very fitting with their arrival. To not miss this, they were not able to get any real food till now, because then they would've been late. Now they just barely made it.
Stepping out of the vehicle, the two young sleepers were met with a gigantic red gate, and a bit away from them, another person, a girl with striking silver hair and clear features, stood, looking entirely out of place and at the same time fitting right in.
Jet told them, that someone was gonna get them, as she had already notified the academy staff of their arrival.
Before she could go though, Ray leaned in to the window on the one side and said something to her real quick, "Oh right, you work for the government and are a master, so you should probably know my aunt, Anne Brown, greet her from me, alright?"
Hearing this, Jet was perplexed for a second, before realization dawned on her, now realizing why his name ringed some bells. He disappeared from the window before she could answer him, he knew this way bringing the news to his aunt wasn't really fair, but there was not much time, and he didn't want to make her worry even more.
It was already hard enough to get her to let him do his first nightmare at an police station, now getting trained at such a location would probably be nearly impossible, still, Ray was determined that he would need to be here.
A small part of his determination could potentially come from the weird connection he shared with Sunny. Ray hadn't asked him about this yet, as it seemed weird to ask such a thing, and he expected the other to ask if he were to feel something himself.
So the duo of guys, and the lone girl waited…