"Are you taking us to a special arena?" Keth's anger seemed to dissipate slightly as they entered the building.
Noble smiled.
"A very special arena indeed. One specially curated for just this occasion."
Turning up a long corridor, Noble found the alloy door and opened it with a flourish.
The six Sleepers looked inside.
Pods. An entire room full of pods lining the walls.
"What is this place?" The shorter boy with Keth seemed reluctant to enter.
"Good question, Beric. We call it the Dream Workshop. It's the location of our battle today."
The Dream Merchant, Saint Thane, had not only created the Dreamscape for public use but also made a version specifically for the Awakened Academy.
It was different in design and purpose, with the option of fighting fictitious monsters or completing various simulations. While not close to the detailed Nightmares orchestrated by the Spell, it did give those who wanted to tackle further Nightmares a place to sharpen their skills.
Today, it would be used as the Queen of the Dreamscape desired. They would hold a duel.
'Keth wanted the chance to hurt Tamar; I'm sure of it.'
Noble would give him the chance, but in a way that he could do no permanent damage.
"A simulation?" Keth's expression darkened. "Surely, anyone can claim what happens in there is true. That is what got us in this situation in the first place!"
"Fear not, Sleeper Keth. I anticipated that you would want the truth of this battle to be memorialized. That is why you each have two people with you as witnesses. Beyond that, I selected this location because it can be recorded for posterity. If either one of you needs facts of the battle clarified, we will have every detail." Noble nodded.
She had stripped the young man of his audience, and there was little he could do about it.
"It seems you have thought of everything, Professor Noble," Keth pressed his fist to his chest and bowed slightly.
His honor prevented him from declining the match, but Noble could feel the emotion behind his calm facade. He was seething.
The professor pretended not to notice. She clapped her hands. "Excellent! Shall we begin? Daiki, are you there?"
"I'm in the control room. Just putting the finishing touches on your request."
A pleasant voice came over the intercom of the room, startling the Sleepers.
Noble glanced toward the one-way glass and squinted. "I only requested a simple arena like we have in the Academy."
That simulation should have already been in the system. It would have required maybe a few selections at best.
"I know what you requested," Daiki answered with a smile in his voice.
"Very well, shall I prepare them or would you like to?" Noble didn't want to slow down the technician's process.
"Thanks, Professor, but I've got it!" Daiki coughed lightly. "Welcome, Sleepers, to the Academy's Dream Workshop. Today, you will be engaging in a simulation. While the experience may feel real, please be advised that none of it will have any effect on your physical body or your soul. If at any point you feel you cannot handle what is happening, you may eject yourself from the simulation with a thought. The pods are designed with comfort in mind, but if you have any difficulty, you can reach out at any time, and I will assist you. Does anyone have any questions?"
"Are you a real person or a robot?" The taller Valor legacy, Elric, asked.
Daiki chuckled. "I assure you that I am quite real. If there are no other questions, you may select your pods. I will patch you in shortly."
"Thank you, Awakened Daiki!" Fleur waved up at the speaker.
Noble directed the Sleepers to opposite sides of the room. She activated the pods for Keth and his friends first, making sure they were properly situated before moving on.
Ray was the final one to receive his assigned space. Noble lifted the lid for him as the machine whirred to life.
He hesitated. "Is it dark inside?"
"Only for a moment," Noble assured him.
Ray touched the pod. "I guess it's good practice. The thing I'm least looking forward to is crawling into a confined space every night."
"It doesn't have to be every night," Noble's smile faded. "But you will get used to it."
Ray tentatively climbed inside the capsule, and the professor shut the lid.
"Daiki? Could you invert one of them for me?"
"Of course, I should have thought of that." The voice went quiet.
Because there were all types of Awakened, these pods had functionality that commercially available Dreamscape pods did not. One of them was the ability to alter position.
The adjustment was completed, and the pod door opened downward with a hiss.
"Thank you!" Noble floated into the bed and allowed her Flaw to keep her against the cushions.
Using her telekinesis, Noble shut the lid with a satisfying click. The world went dark for a moment, and a void of stars surrounded her.
"Prepare for the merge." Instead of the strangely familiar voice of the Spell, Daiki interrupted the silence.
Noble didn't have time to respond. A moment later, she was thrown into a world of sunshine.
The professor shielded her eyes as the six Sleepers appeared beside her.
Around them, a large, circular arena was cut from flawless stone. Whorls of color decorated the surface. Likewise, the sky was painted like an eternal rainbow, coating the clouds and even the sun in its color.
"It's beautiful!" Fluer's mouth fell open as she looked up.
Ray wrapped his arm around her, whispering something that made her cheeks blush.
Noble ignored them as an eighth and final figure manifested in the prismatic world. The handsome man smiled at Noble as he fluffed the feathers intermixed in his hair.
"So, what do you think?"
Glancing around, Noble clicked her tongue. "So much for a simple arena."
Daiki shrugged. "What can I say? I'm an artist!"
Noble smirked. "That you are. It's very pretty."
It was no wonder that the technician had taken extra time to complete the simulation. With the level of nuance in the marbling of the rock, it was amazing that he had had time to complete it at all.
Thanks to his Aspect, Daiki had been able to piggyback on the system and bring scenes to life almost as well as if Saint Thane were doing it himself…sometimes better.
However, Tamar and Keth were not here to enjoy the view. There was a duel to be fought.
Summoning her Queen Bee armor, Noble stepped into the center of the ring.
She let her eyes swirl.
"Daiki and I will be monitoring this fight, but our roles are only observational. The ground rules are simple. The first one eliminated from the simulation loses."
"That's it?" Keth looked at her incredulously.
"I figure it is impossible to cheat when the rules are so simple, but if there is a caveat you would like added, I will hear your reasoning."
Noble had seen Keth be too rough before, and this was the easiest way to prevent it from happening again.
"I have no objections," Keth said at last.
The four bystanders exited in pairs to opposite sides of the ring.
Noble summoned her Zenith and held it between the two combatants.
"Are you ready?"
Tamar and Keth summoned their weapons of choice and planted their feet. Noble nodded and lowered her blade like a flag.
"Begin!"