Madara opened the door and stepped back into the room with the bunk. His presence was cold, commanding, and Johan's cheerful demeanor faltered for a moment under the weight of his gaze.
"Now that's a whole other thing! Your hair looks so much better! I didn't even notice you had earrings before, but they suit you perfectly!" Johan exclaimed, though his enthusiasm felt forced under Madara's piercing stare. He began talking nonstop, but Madara listened not out of interest, but to extract every ounce of useful information. Every word was a potential tool, and tools were meant to be used.
"You know, you remind me of a girl from the Awakened Academy. Ah, she was stunning! I wish I'd paid more attention to her back then. But anyway, I'm doing great now! A good job, a good life…" Johan rambled, but Madara cut him off, his voice sharp and deliberate.
"What's the Academy?"
Johan blinked, caught off guard by the abruptness, but quickly recovered. "Oh, right! I have so much to explain to you, but I'll try to keep it brief. Since you're from the suburbs, like the rest of us, you can attend the Academy. There, they'll train you, feed you, and prepare you for the world of dreams. When I was at the Academy, they taught me so much. There are courses for everything: combat, wilderness survival, espionage… But let me tell you something—you should definitely take the wilderness survival course. Even the greatest warrior can die from lack of food or not knowing how to swim. I wish I'd taken that course back then…"
Madara interrupted again, his tone icy. "What is the realm of dreams?"
Johan laughed nervously. "Oh, you really don't know anything!" He spent the next hour explaining, though Madara's patience wore thin as Johan veered off into pointless anecdotes. Still, Madara absorbed every detail, piecing together the fragmented world he now found himself in.
He learned of the Nightmare that had engulfed Earth a century ago, rendering continents uninhabitable. He heard of the first Awakened, the great clans, the Academy, and the Second Nightmare—a yearly trial where survivors were sent into the dream world to fight for their lives. Madara's lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. This world was not so different from the shinobi world he had once ruled. Clans, power struggles, survival—it was all the same. Only the stakes had changed.
But Madara cared little for the politics or the clans. Power, in the form of authority or influence, was meaningless to him now. It was merely a means to an end. His true goal was singular: to regain the strength he had lost. The strength that had once made him a god among men. The strength that had been stripped from him when he was torn from his world.
When Johan finally finished, Madara agreed to attend the Academy. Not out of gratitude or obligation, but because it was the most efficient path to his goal.
"Well, since we're in Antarctica and the Academy is on another continent, you'll have to travel by ship. Luckily, they depart almost every day. The next one leaves in an hour, and we'll have just enough time to get there by car!"
Madara followed Johan out of the building and into the cold, stone streets of the city. The world around him was bleak, the air heavy with the stench of decay and desperation. The people moved like shadows, their eyes hollow, their spirits broken. Madara felt nothing but disdain for them. They were weak, and weakness was a sin.
The iron wagon—what Johan called an "automobile"—was a crude contraption, but Madara accepted it without comment. He had no time for marveling at the primitive technology of this world. As they drove through the streets, he noted the crumbling buildings, the flickering lights, the ever-present sense of dread. This was a world on the brink of collapse, and Madara found it fitting. Let it burn. He would rise from the ashes, stronger than ever.
At the port, Johan bid him farewell. "Well, this is where we part ways. I hope you won't forget me. Now, you must obey the ship's captain. By tomorrow morning, you'll reach the Academy. Good luck!"
Madara didn't respond. He had no use for sentimentality. As Johan drove off, a man in a white uniform approached.
"Are you Madara Uchiha?" he asked, his tone brisk.
"Yes," Madara replied, his voice cold and clipped.
"Come on, then! We're a cargo ship, and we don't usually take passengers. But I was asked, and I agreed. Just don't cause any trouble."
Madara followed the captain onto the ship, his expression unreadable. He was given a chair on the deck and left to his own devices. As the ship set sail, he closed his eyes and summoned his status screen, reviewing his progress.
**Name:** Madara Uchiha
**True Name:** Dream Warrior.
**Rank:** Dreamer.
**Soul Core:** Dormant.
**Soul Fragments:** [40/1000].
**Memories:** [Gray Clothing], [Shadow].
**Echoes:** -
**Attributes:** [Insurgent], [Serpent Tattoo].
**Aspect:** [Seeker of the Unknown].
**Aspect Rank:** Supreme
**Aspect Abilities:** [Black Drawing].
**Aspect Ability Description:** [Drawings are the fulfillment of your imagination! However, not all of them are harmless—some can kill.]
Madara's lips curled into a smirk. The power of creation, limited though it was, intrigued him. He summoned the first memory, [Gray Clothing], and examined it.
**Memory:** [Gray Clothing].
**Memory Rank:** Awakened.
**Memory Level:** II.
**Memory Type:** Armor.
**Description:** [Armor skillfully crafted by artisans from the hides of fearsome wolves, adorned with metal inlays.]
**Enchantments:** [Increased Durability], [Heat Retention].
He donned the armor, its weight familiar and reassuring. Next, he turned to the second memory.
**Memory:** [Shadow].
**Memory Rank:** Awakened.
**Memory Level:** IV.
**Memory Type:** Charm.
**Description:** [A shadow lost by its host. Despite being severed, it retains its power.]
**Enchantment:** [Versatility].
Madara's eyes gleamed with dark anticipation. The Shadow's potential was immense, and he was eager to test its limits. But before he could summon it, chaos erupted on the deck. Sailors scrambled in panic, and the captain's voice rang out, sharp and urgent. Then, without warning, the lights went out, plunging the ship into darkness.
Madara's smirk widened. Let them panic. He would not falter. In the darkness, he would find his strength. And when the time came, he would crush anyone who stood in his way.