A disheveled and emaciated teenager with pale skin and tired eyes sits on a park bench across from the police station. Cradling a cup of warm liquid in his frail hands, he confidently takes his first sip of real coffee.
"Ah! So Bitter!"
Nearly doing a spit take, he glares at his cup before lamenting his rather expensive purchase.
"What a rip-off. I should've gotten some real meat instead."
But, it's not like he can waste the drink. He can already feel the weight of exhaustion calling him, urging him to sleep. As the boy slowly nods off, the cup tilts and the hot liquid spills onto his skin. It's not hot enough to burn, but it's enough to jolt him awake.
Realizing the perilous state he's in, the boy rises to his feet before gulping down the rest of his coffee. He attempts to throw the cup in the trash, but because fate must want to embarrass him, he completely whiffs the throw. It's definitely fate's fault, not his.
Muttering curses, he begrudgingly corrects his mistake before turning to face the police station. Now standing underneath a flickering street light, the boy looks around enviously as he sees a number of well-off citizens going about their night. He even sees a happy family of four aimlessly wandering the park; a pang of jealousy courses through his heart at the thought of what could have been.
'I miss my sister.'
Well, there's nothing he can do about that now. His death may as well be written in stone, or rather, he carved it on a tree trunk with his own hands.
Dismissing those thoughts, the boy resolves himself and begins to cross the street to enter the police station. Or, that's what he intended to do at least. Before he could take a single step, the street light flickers brightly, and he involuntarily blinks. He hears an ominous sound—like someone smacked some piano keys—
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Arc…]
Before he even opened his eyes, he could tell that his surroundings had gotten noticeably brighter, as if the sun were a little higher in the sky than it was a moment ago. But that doesn't make sense, he just watched the sunset a few minutes ago. Not only that but he noticed his unnatural fatigue had suddenly disappeared.
Hesitantly, he opens his eyes; what he sees causes his eyes to shoot wide open.
"What the fuck!?"
Looking around…was disorienting to say the least. He appeared to be in a city square, but it didn't look even a little familiar; it was medieval-looking. Scholars would say this mysterious place had vaguely European influence. All around him were people, and animals? No, they looked like humanoid animals, but he saw them wearing clothes, and some were even talking to people!
He took another moment before asking some essential questions.
'Where the Spell am I?'
'—How did I get here??'
'When…did I fall asleep???'
The boy quickly calmed his nerves to the best of his ability, he realized he had to think rationally. He looked around one more time before quickly bolting off into a nearby alleyway.
Hiding in the shadows of the alley, the boy made three revelations;
His appearance: It was exactly the same as it was before being teleported to god knows where. From the lint in his pocket to the dirt in his hair, he still had nothing to his name except for the clothes on his back.
His location: He had absolutely no idea where he was. It was late afternoon, around 4 pm. He couldn't read the language written around the merchant stalls crowding the street, but he could understand the spoken language from all the chatter he overheard. He suspected that he would be able to speak with the people here.
How he got here: This remained a mystery. He could conclude that he had entered his First Nightmare based on the voice he heard and the fact he could summon shimmering runes that hovered in front of his face. Still, he did not remember falling asleep; he would not make such a mistake.
Speaking of runes, let's check them together.
Name: Natsuki Sunless.
True Name: —
Rank: Aspirant.
Soul Core: Dormant.
Memories: —
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Fated], [Mark of Divinity], [Shadows Embrace].
Aspect: [——].
Aspect Description: [I love you.]
Sunny is speechless. Every time he looks at his runes he can practically feel another blood vessel pop behind his eyes. To Sunny, this is the biggest middle finger the Spell could ever give him.
'The hell do you mean [I love you]? If you love me so much why don't you give me a fucking Aspect!'
Eager to take his mind off this frustrating turn of events, Sunny shifts his attention to his three attributes.
'You all better be good or else I'm rioting!'
[Fated] Attribute Description: "The strings of fate wrap tightly around you. Unlikely events, both good and bad, are drawn by your presence. There are those who are blessed, and there are those who are cursed… but rarely both."
[Mark of Divinity] Attribute Description: "You bear a faint scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by it once, a long time ago."
[Shadows Embrace] Attribute Description: "Shadows embrace you…—— —— —— ——"
If Sunny were not a model citizen, he'd be throttling somebody right about now.
Fortunately for Sunny, it seems his [Fated] attribute is eager to give him the chance.