His world seemed to have collapsed at that moment.
The realization that he was most likely… the most harmless Sleeper in the history of humankind was not very promising.
It was one thing to be incapable of killing things. He could still incapacitate them or, I don't know, knock them on the head to make them sleep indefinitely.
Giovanni simply could not fight, at least by most conventional methods. After everything that had happened in the first nightmare, it was hard to believe that things could look even worse, but the world is a box full of surprises.
Who would have thought? On the very same day he had to fight and kill to survive, he was also forbidden from repeating that brutal display of violence.
'I killed a corrupted demon, and now I'm incapable of hurting a butterfly!'
And to be clear, the last thing Giovanni wanted was to go around hurting and dismembering things. The problem was that in a few months, he would be sent straight into the wild depths of some place in another world.
The realm of dreams is not populated by fairy-tale magical beasts that offer tea and cakes. Everything there is bloody, hostile, and generally inhospitable to human life.
With the exception of a few safe spots where the Awakened gathered, called citadels, wherever Giovanni set foot, death would follow him.
'Am I a wandering soul? Maybe I'm really dead, and this is purgatory.'
He lowered his head, feeling his strength drain away. He wanted to complain more, but his time in that space was over. With a brief phrase, the spell ended the magical process.
[Wake up, Light Seeker!]
***
After several nights of sleep, Giovanni's eyes opened.
The familiar ceiling of the police station seemed strangely out of place, as if it had been displaced from the world. After so long staring only at rocks and sand while resting, even the faintest trace of modernity was refreshing.
His body was still firmly restrained, but that did not prevent him from perceiving the environment.
'I can feel… everything?'
In the short time he had lived with and learned to use the ability [Earth Domain], his capacity to expand his senses to reach the surrounding terrain had been invaluable.
However, along with his first awakening, it underwent a considerable change, becoming almost instinctive rather than a conscious effort.
Giovanni felt every vibration originating from the environment, something that could only be described as a "seismic sense," allowing him to clearly see and feel the contours of his own body, the stretcher he lay on, the smooth walls, and the presence of another moment sitting beside him.
"Uhn…"
The slightest sound was enough for Omar to open his eyes. Tasked with killing anything that might emerge from the boy, his sleep was so light it could hardly be called sleep.
For a moment, nervousness and fear painted his eyes. The adult feared witnessing yet another child transforming before him, but all he found was a pair of delicate green eyes staring back at him.
That brief moment of weakness lasted only an instant. Confidence returned to Omar's eyes as he rose in a quick, energetic movement.
"You really took your time, kid! Do you know how torturous it is to sit around for three days?"
His words were light and complaisant, but his tone was cheerful. One could detect a hint of pride mixed in.
"Sir… there were the best sunbaths you could find. I had to enjoy it a bit."
He was starving, and his smell was unpleasant, the result of so much time without bathing. That might have been the worst part for the young man. Giovanni was not a vain creature, but he hated being dirty.
His restraints were undone in a hurry, and within seconds, he was free to move. He did not get the chance to take his first steps, as he was pulled off the stretcher into an even tighter hold from the adult.
It was a simple hug.
Even so, when the tears began to fall, it was impossible to hold them back. All that time, Giovanni had been terrified, believing that the next moment would be the end. The worst part was being completely alone, with no one to guide him.
He still depended on Margaret and Omar to live, knew little of the bureaucracies of adult life, was a terrible cook, spent most of the day playing around, and had barely begun his first job as a day laborer.
To the world, Giovanni was merely a child. To what awaited him in the future, he needed to be much more.
He wrapped his arms around his mentor's neck and locked his legs around his waist. His words came out tangled, nothing but sobbing babble. Omar did not mind, letting the young man vent his feelings while gently stroking his brown hair.
"You did well, Giovanni. Welcome back…"
A dozen or so minutes later, the boy had finally calmed down enough to speak and act normally. His eyes were still red and slightly swollen, sniffing lightly every now and then.
The first thing he did was spend an unnecessary amount of time in the shower, simply enjoying the luxury of water and the relief of feeling cleansed of all the blood and rot that had covered his body in the nightmare. His body had been healthy before.
After spending an unnecessary amount of time in the shower, simply enjoying the luxury of water and the relief of feeling cleansed of all the blood and rot that had covered his body in the nightmare, Giovanni realized he had never been an undernourished child, so even before the nightmare, he already had a healthy body.
But now? His hair displayed a new shine, becoming softer and silkier; his skin seemed to have shed some more severe imperfections; and his musculature had become more pronounced.
That did not make him more masculine, to his disappointment. The features of his face grew more delicate and smooth, while his body… only a brief glance at his chest was needed.
'All my hard work thrown in the trash. Great.'
He snorted in dissatisfaction and got dressed to meet Omar again in the cafeteria.
The food Margaret had prepared for the young man had already spoiled and was unfit for consumption, so he had to discard it with some regret. On the other hand, the preservative-filled sweets survived without any trouble.
Along with the food made there, the meal, though less tasty, still served to replenish the energy of a hungry young boy.
Silence dominated most of the time, with Omar occasionally asking about the food. It must have been a little past noon when Giovanni finally felt ready to talk about everything he had experienced inside.
He was not forced to, but he truly wanted to, from the bottom of his heart. He was lost and somewhat desperate for guidance.
His narration from the beginning to the end of the nightmare was a roller coaster, and even as a master, Omar grew more incredulous by the second. The initial conditions were more than challenging; they were truly cruel.
Surviving in arid environments was not the most common type of knowledge, and even with proper equipment, it was dangerous.
As if the ingenious tricks the boy had to invent to move forward were not enough, the creatures straight out of a horror film and the apocalyptic landscapes seemed like far too much for a mere aspirant.
The description of the final part made Omar put his hands on his head, struggling to believe what he was hearing.
Even he, an Ascended man, had encountered a corrupted nightmare creature only a handful of times, usually in extreme situations such as his own second nightmare or during the opening of higher-rank gates in the awakened world, and when he fought one, he was accompanied by other competent Awakened.
Giovanni standing there in front of him was more than a stroke of luck; it was truly a miracle, an event so rare he could not even imagine the odds. No ordinary human should survive corrupted demigods.
After pausing to drink a cup of coffee, he spoke:
"I honestly don't even know what to say. My first nightmare compared to this looks like a walk in the park."
Prompted by the remark, Giovanni leaned closer, as if eager to hear the latest gossip.
"And what was it like?"
His pleading eyes would not accept a vague answer. Not wanting to upset the boy, he told it all at once.
"I took the place of a servant of a noble family. An empire had begun a great expansion, conquering everything in its path in the name of the god of war. I was sent along with the daughter of the house in a carriage to escape through obscure trails, while the parents and the rest of the servants went along the main road."
When recalling the past, Omar seemed to grow strangely melancholic.
"They were a distraction, meant to ensure that the imperial soldiers would chase after them instead of the heiress. Only a few soldiers, myself included, accompanied her to ensure her safety. It made little difference. We were ambushed while traveling along the coast, the work of a group of raiders. The driver lost control, and we ended up plunging into the icy sea off a cliff."
After a few seconds, carefully choosing his words, he concluded:
"I had to save and escort Lady Loren to the meeting point arranged between her parents and the lord of a neighboring land. She was a good girl, so it was strange to say goodbye to her at the end of the nightmare."
Giovanni remembered his mentor's words about the people in the nightmare. That everything there was a grand fantasy; no one was real. Perhaps it was better to believe that, for better or worse. It made losing someone you considered a partner or even a friend less painful.
"But the stories of an old man matter little. Your focus should be on dealing with what comes next. To be honest, just the story of your nightmare will already be enough to cause quite a stir. How was your appraisal?"
That was the part that made Giovanni the most anxious.
He knew that revealing one's own flaw was risky and that people usually preferred to hide such things for safety… but he felt that his would be impossible to keep secret forever, and it was better to have people willing to help than to get screwed alone.
"My final appraisal was glorious, if I'm not mistaken. My new ability is basically transforming the things I touch. As for the rest…"
He could not continue. He was too nervous, unable to form the right sentence. Omar was perplexed, but he could see why the spell had given that grade. Everything that happened in that desert was an anomaly.
"Look, don't feel pressured to say everything at once. We can talk it through over the week."
The hand that rested on his shoulder was heavy, but carried a rare gentleness. His heart calmed for a moment, just enough to strengthen his resolve.
"It's not that, I can handle it. It's just that I… I… received a flaw that makes me incapable of hurting things."
Omar's face froze. Not even he could maintain his composure upon hearing such a bombshell.
He had fought more battles than he could remember, and none of them had ended with both sides unscathed.
Perhaps saints possessed the feats and abilities necessary to defeat formidable opponents without harming them, but a mere Sleeper? That was no different from becoming a walking snack. The warrior did not allow that thought to completely disorient him.
"Shit. We need to test this urgently and see how serious the situation in our hands really is."
With a serious expression, he stood up and walked to an open area of the cafeteria.
"Attack me. Try to hurt me, however necessary."
Giovanni was caught off guard, but quickly understood the importance of this. He could not afford to find out in the middle of a real fight, as that would certainly cost him his life. Grabbing the knife he had been using to eat, he walked up to Omar and stabbed it into his chest with all his strength.
The blade bounced off harmlessly. A mundane utensil, no less, would never injure an Ascended.
"I was able to attack you all the same…"
Omar nodded positively, satisfied.
"Because you had no means of hurting me. Attacking or not attacking yields the same result."
Appearing in a small shower of golden particles, Omar summoned a metallic blue saber and placed it in Giovanni's hands. It was the first time he had seen a real weapon coming directly from the spell. Its appearance radiated danger and a mystical feeling.
"It's an Ascended-rank memory. Even I wouldn't escape the consequences of its cut," Omar commented with a smile.
Giovanni moistened his lips, anxious as he gripped the hilt and raised it above his head. He knew the attack should be impossible, yet he still feared harming his mentor.
"What are you waiting for, kid?" Omar urged him, but it was useless. His body was flooded by a feeling so sweet it was almost nauseating, filled with guilt and pity. His arms felt heavy, and in the end, no attack came.
"I can't, it's like trying to move a mountain!"
He handed the weapon back, feeling defeated. He had never imagined he could feel so little control over his own body.
"Interesting… very interesting, do you know why?"
The officer muttered, apparently intrigued.
"Uh… why?"
Giovanni asked anxiously, sensing bad news in his mentor's tone.
Omar furrowed his brows.
"I lied. That weapon I handed you was merely a Dormant rank. That is, even if you were incapable of hurting me, your flaw still acted. It is tied solely to your perception of the world around you. As long as your mind believes that it will hurt something, the action will cease immediately."
That was not good news. If it were an automatic lock, he could, for example, fight extremely resilient opponents and use his powers normally, but in the realm of dreams, it would be impossible for him to calculate a monster's exact rank with a single glance, much less its powers.
The mere uncertainty and doubt that his opponent might be hurt would make him believe in the possibility and immediately activate his flaw.
A brief silence overtook the room. While this could bring some benefits, since technically Giovanni could also be tricked into hurting something or even killing an ant on the ground because he did not notice it in his path, the outlook for his success in the dream realm grew darker.
"We'll have time to find solutions for this. Now is not the time to drown in bad news. There's someone waiting for you at the orphanage, remember, you blockhead?"
Omar picked up Giovanni's suitcase, now holding his dirty clothes. The only item left out was the black hat with the golden ribbon. After handing him his belongings, he placed the accessory on the apprentice's head with a low chuckle.
"You're… right! I need to see Sister Margaret now!"
He suppressed his downcast expression and filled himself with enthusiasm once more. No time to lament. Finishing his farewell, he made a respectful bow, pressing the hat to his chest.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you… I don't know what would have become of me without you, sir."
Omar gestured for him to leave quickly.
"Cut it out, I hate getting embarrassed!"
Giovanni let out a playful laugh and dashed out of the police station. NQSC shone as before, infested with advertisements and massive buildings, with people moving back and forth like a true anthill.
He, however, could not care less about any of it. When his eyes closed for a moment, he saw it in the distance.
It was light, a small flame that seemed as though it could be extinguished by the slightest breath.
And yet, it still burned.
The image of the light emitted by that demon's medallion flashed through his mind, but he resisted the fear, for nothing would stop him from returning to his home.
He had a promise to keep.