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To his left stood an older boy, his features blurred and indistinct, but radiating a sense of familiarity and safety. He couldn\'t see his face but Levi seemed to know him.

On his right was a woman, his mother, her warm hand clasped his own, her presence a comforting anchor in the sea of excitement.

"What do you want to ride first, sunshine?" his mother\'s voice rang out, clear and melodious above the carnival noise.

Levi\'s face split into a wide grin as he pointed at a towering roller coaster. "That one!" he exclaimed, bouncing on his toes. The excitement bubbled up inside him, making him feel light and giddy.

As they made their way through the crowd, Levi\'s senses were overwhelmed with the magic of the park. The sweet scent of funnel cakes wafted past, making his mouth water. Carnival music blended with laughter and the mechanical whir of rides, creating a symphony of joy. Bright lights from game booths caught his eye, their prizes dangling tantalizingly just out of reach.

Levi tugged on his mother\'s hand, pointing excitedly at a ring toss game. "Can we try that, Mom? Please?"

The older boy chuckled, ruffling Levi\'s hair affectionately. "Sure, squirt. I bet I can win you that big teddy bear."

They paused at the booth, and Levi watched in awe as the older boy deftly tossed ring after ring, each one landing perfectly around a bottleneck. The booth attendant handed over a massive, fluffy teddy bear, with an expression so sour that he was practical them to go away.

Not giving any mind, the older boy immediately presented the teddy bear to Levi with a theatrical bow.

Hugging the bear tightly, Levi felt a warmth spread through his chest. He looked up at his companions, their faces glowing with happiness in the carnival lights. In that moment, he felt completely safe and loved.

As they continued towards the roller coaster, Levi\'s heart raced with anticipation.

The line seemed to stretch forever, but he didn\'t mind. Each step forward was an adventure, filled with people-watching and the growing excitement of the approaching ride.

Finally, they neared the front of the line. Levi could see the roller coaster car zip past, filled with screaming riders. His excitement peaked a delicious mixture of nervousness and thrill. He could almost feel the rush of wind on his face, the exhilarating drop of the first hill.

Clutching his new teddy bear, Levi turned to share a smile with his mother, ready to ride on this thrilling adventure together.

But as he looked up, the words died in his throat

The dreamscape warped, colors bleeding and blurring like watercolors in the rain. The cheerful carnival sounds distorted, stretching into an eerie, discordant wail. The amusement park melted away, replaced by a desolate field under a bruised sky.

Levi\'s stomach lurched as the ground beneath his feet seemed to shift. The sudden change left him dizzy and disoriented, his mind struggling to process the abrupt transition. The cotton candy sweetness in the air turned sour, filling his nostrils with the stench of decay.

Before him stood a gnarled tree, its branches reaching towards the heavens like grasping fingers. And there, suspended from one of those twisted limbs, hung a woman. Her long hair obscured her face, but Levi knew with horrifying certainty that it was his mother.

Panic seized him, freezing him in place. His chest tightened, each breath becoming a struggle as if an invisible hand was squeezing his lungs. The chill of terror spread through his body, leaving him trembling uncontrollably.

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Levi tried to move, to run towards the tree, but his legs felt leaden. Each step was an immense effort as if he was wading through thick mud. The distance to the tree seemed to stretch impossibly, no matter how hard he fought to reach it.

His vision blurred with hot tears as he called out to his mother, but no sound escaped his lips. The silence was deafening, broken only by the pounding of his heart in his ears. Desperation clawed at him as he realized he couldn\'t save her, couldn\'t even reach her.

A scream built in his chest, clawing its way up his throat. The pressure was unbearable, filling him with the need to release the terror and anguish consuming him.

Just as it was about to escape, the dream shattered like glass, the shards of the nightmare scene falling away around him.

****

Levi\'s eyes snapped open, his body drenched in sweat and shaking uncontrollably. He gasped for air, trying to remember what had scared him so badly, but the details of his nightmare slipped away like sand through his fingers. All that remained was a vague sense of dread, settling heavily in his stomach.

As he tried to calm his racing heart, a chill ran down his spine.

His senses flared as the pendant around his neck - the Eternal Vigil sensed something!

Someone was in his room!

A dark figure stood in the shadows, their presence unsettling in the quiet of the night. Without thinking, Levi grabbed his tablet from the bedside table and threw it at the intruder.

To his surprise, the figure caught the tablet easily.

They moved to Levi\'s desk, placing the device down before turning towards him.

At the movement, the light from the outside buildings of the dorm shed light on the intruder\'s face and Levi\'s eyes widened as he recognized him.

There, at a distance from him stood Professor Valerius, looking at him with some complicated expression.

"Professor?" Levi said, his voice a mixture of confusion and embarrassment.

His gaze darted to his watch, and his heart sank.

It was 5:32 AM. He was supposed to meet Professor Valerius at the training grounds over half an hour ago.

"Damn it," Levi muttered under his breath. He had completely overslept, and now his teacher had come to find him.

Levi scrambled out of bed, bowing his head in apology. "I\'m so sorry, Professor. I don\'t know what happened. I can be ready in five minutes-"

"That won\'t be necessary," Professor Valerius cut him off, his voice softer than usual. "Take the morning off, Levi. We\'ll continue training from tomorrow."

Before Levi could say anything else, the professor turned and left the room, leaving Levi staring after him in confusion. He hadn\'t expected Professor Valerius to be so understanding.

***

As Professor Valerius closed Levi\'s door behind him, he paused in the hallway.

Earlier, Valerius had arrived at the training grounds well before the scheduled 5:00 AM meeting. He had prepared a rigorous session, eager to push Levi\'s limits and explore the extent of the boy\'s unusual abilities. As the minutes ticked by with no sign of Levi, Valerius\' initial disappointment had turned to irritation.

At 5:20 AM, he had decided to investigate.

A quick call to the dorm manager, followed by some persuasion, had secured him a master key - he was the guardian of the academy after all, his position was only lower than that of the dead and the vice dean.

Valerius had been prepared to deliver a stern lecture on punctuality and the rare opportunity Levi had been given - not every student got personal training from a Guardian of the Academy.

But all thoughts of scolding had vanished the moment he entered Levi\'s room. The sight that greeted him was far from what he had anticipated.

\'How can a child so young...?\' The thought lingered, unfinished, in Valerius\' mind. The image of Levi, pale and trembling, was etched into his memory. It was clear the boy had been in the grip of a terrible nightmare, even if Levi himself seemed unaware of it.

Valerius had seen his fair share of students dealing with stress and fear, but something about Levi\'s distress seemed fundamentally different. The raw terror on the boy\'s face had been deeply unsettling to witness.

"What could scare you so badly, Levi?" Valerius wondered quietly to himself.

Even though Levi couldn\'t recall the dream, its effects were unmistakable. The way he had been shaking, covered in cold sweat, and looking so lost – it all pointed to a nightmare far worse than most.

Valerius\' mind drifted back to their last encounter during the academy exams. He remembered the strange purple aura he had seen surrounding Levi, an anomaly that had piqued his interest and led to this special training arrangement. "Maybe it\'s connected to his powers," he thought.

More frequently than not, powerful abilities were accompanied by flaws, maybe that was also the case for Levi?

He didn\'t really know but he wanted to help that child out a little if possible.

For now, though, he knew Levi needed rest more than he needed training.

"Sleep well, Levi," he said softly, hoping that whatever was troubling the young man would grant him peace for the remainder of the morning.

With one last glance at Levi\'s door, Valerius headed back to his office.

At this moment, he didn\'t realize how close he was to the truth - although the flaw wasn\'t exactly from Levi\'s Lunacy Ability - it indeed was a flaw from one of his abilities!!

---***---