After getting defeated in the World of Nightmares, Vektor wakes up inside an absolutely empty darkness, with no sound, no smell, no time, no space. The only visible thing is his own body wearing his clothes. This place can be considered his own subconscious, a world that reflects the interior of his mind.

As soon as he realizes this, Vektor feels a profound slumber falling over his soul, and with no other option, he decides to sleep. While sleeping, he has an unusual dream, as everything he sees is blurry. All the information he can absorb is that there are 3 people taller than him having fun with him, who is apparently in his infancy.

After a few moments inside his dream, Vektor visualizes something completely different, this time in detail. All he sees now is a silent city at night, which is suddenly illuminated by an explosion of flames somewhere on the streets.

After having this vision, he wakes up in the real world. His body is immobile and injured, surrounded by rubble, but his head is not buried, allowing him to breathe and look at the sky. However, his body is completely unable to move. Even after suddenly waking up, exhaustion still hasn't left his body, as he simply surrenders once again, returning to unconsciousness.

A repeating cycle then begins, in which Vektor temporarily wakes up, just to pass out again seconds later, all while seeing medical equipment and hearing ambulance sirens. After moving between consciousness and unconsciousness several times, he returns to the void of his own subconscious.

Despite being dark and empty, Vektor's subconscious provides him an unexpected level of tranquility and comfort, which makes him surrender to his slumber once again. After sleeping and restoring his body's energy, he wakes up on a hospital bed. After slowly lifting part of his body to sit on the bed, he sees a nurse, surprised:

"Amazing...! You're awake!"

"I am..."

"A- Are you okay...?"

"I think so... Where am I...?"

"You're in the hospital. You were found in the rubble of a building that collapsed earlier."

"You serious...?"

"It seems you're still confused... Wait for a while, okay? I'll bring your mom over here."

The nurse leaves the room, and Vektor spends a few moments alone absorbing the situation in his head. After a few minutes, his mother enters the room:

"Vektor?"

"Mom..."

Vektor's mother calmly approaches the bed he is sitting on.

"...How are you feeling?"

"Not really sure... but I'm fine, I guess..."

Suddenly, someone else enters the room, calmly asking:

"He woke up?"

This person approaches Vektor's bed, Vektor himself being startled to see that the person in front of him is none other than...

"Sych...?!"

"How you're doing, Vektor?"

"What's happening here?!"

Vektor's mother explains the situation:

"You were found unconscious in the rubble of the building Sych was living. Somehow, you were only mildly injured... Well, after the ambulance saved you and brought you over here, we came as soon as possible."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I see... So that's what happened..."

"Why were you there in the first place?"

"I... went to look for Sych..."

"He had already escaped the building along with all the other residents."

Sych complements while talking to Vektor's mother:

"That's right. I told about that when I was already safe. Didn't you mention it to him?"

"I told him! He said he would go back home, but then he went to the building out of stubbornness, I don't know why."

"Wait, if that's the case... Vektor, why did you went to the building?"

Confused once again, Vektor only responds:

"I saw you trapped inside the building on television... Wait..."

The "Sych" Vektor saw was just a faker. Come to think of it, it makes perfect sense that the real Sych is safe. So, in short, someone just set a trap to deceive Vektor...

Vektor's reasoning is interrupted by his mother:

"Let's get straight to the important stuff. Sych told me something earlier... 'That' happened again, didn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"..."

That was the second time Vektor's Etykiran power has awakened, the first time being during his childhood. He tries his best to describe what happened to his mother:

"At that moment, I felt something really familiar..."

"Tell us everything you remember."

"Well... After I entered the building, I came across a guy who used a Disguise Crystal to become just like Sych..."

"...!"

"He said he would test me, and then he used some strange technique against me. After that, he disappeared, and I felt so much pain that I ended up passing out... That's all I can remember."

Hearing this, Vektor's mother gets shocked. After all, Disguise Crystals are magic items known only to sorcerers. Not to mention that the energy needed to perpetuate the effect on living beings is a lot. Regarding the fact that he disappeared, there can only be 2 possibilities: either he is an Etykiran, or he used a Shadow Crystal, another type of magic crystal.

Sych, however, is thinking about that "strange technique". From Vektor's description, it seems to be a curse caused by dark power... Indeed, the fact that Vektor survived this incident almost unscathed could be considered proof that's actually the case.

The most obvious conclusion is that Vektor confronted someone absurdly dangerous. If they won't do anything, he could return, and everyone's lives, especially Vektor's, could be in danger. Once the curse has been cast, there is only one way to dispel it. Simply and directly, Sych says the solution:

"Vektor... You should go to Netern Island!"

"...Eh?"

Obviously, Vektor is taken by surprise. Well, from here, Vektor receives the basic information and instructions he must follow to dispel his curse. After that, he remains in the hospital for two more days.

During this time, he reads some random chapters of a book his mother gave him so that he could understand in more detail about his mission on Netern Island.

According to chapter 3, Netern Island is the location of the only treasure of the Drenn lineage: the Burning Silver, a legendary sword capable of nullifying dark energy if energized with enough Etykiran energy.

In chapter 4, it is written that Netern Island is protected by the Kder, a lineage of swordsmen responsible for protecting the island from evil threats. Vektor could ask Kder for help in finding his way around the island.

Finally, in chapter 16, it is explained that Burning Silver is embedded in an altar not far from the Dawn Plateau, which in turn is the base of the ancient Drenn Mountain, which was destroyed during ancient times. The short journey around Netern Island will start from this place.

Vektor's mission is simple: travel to Netern Island, obtain the Burning Silver, then energize it to dispel his curse. After being released from the hospital, he spends another day resting at home, and another day eating.

The next day, the fifth after the incident, Vektor packs his things to prepare for the journey. His luggage basically consists of a backpack full of food, water bottles and medical equipment, a wallet with his ID and a decent amount of cash, and his standard smartphone.

Vektor's clothes are simply a regular coat stored in his backpack, a regular pair of pants, a regular pair of sneakers, and a black t-shirt with the Eclipse Amulet symbol in white located on the chest, where pockets usually are.

Meanwhile, Vektor's mother spends the entire day working on activating a portal spell. Despite not being biologically from an Etykiran family, she acquired great knowledge about magic developed by powerful sorcerers interconnected with the Drenn family, becoming the current sorcerer of the Drenn family.

Sorcerers from Drenn family have developed a certain portal spell that connects with the Drenn Portal, a monument located at the base of the Dawn Plateau. A single sorceress requires a lot of time to activate this spell.

Vektor's mother stays up the entire night to finish this portal. In the morning of the next day, Vektor prepares completely, approaches the portal, and then his mother says goodbye:

"You ready...?"

"Yes..."

"You already know what you got to do. Make sure you come back alive, you hear me?"

"Leave it to me."

"Now, go! End this curse, and return home in one piece!"

"Alright! It's time to go to Netern Island! See you later, mom."

"Good luck..."

"...I'm leaving."

At last, Vektor Drenn jumps into the magic portal, then beginning his mission. After more than 24 hours without sleeping, his mother is still too restless to fall asleep...