[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your first Trail...]
He dreamt of a flawless plain of white sand. One that stretched as far as the eye could see. One where the wind carried clouds of dust just to nestle them in large heaps.
In between these valleys were ancient ruins - half buried and abandoned - scattered far and wide like dark splatters on a white canvas.
And hanging from the blue ceiling was an incandescent disk. Its incinerating rays made themselves home on the surface, casting a blurry hue along the horizon.
Somewhere in the middle of the wasteland - nearly perfect - stood a black pyramid. Its obsidian surface made it seamless like a hole in space that even the furious rays couldn't escape.
Neither the haze that blurred away the finer details of the surface nor the gentle caresses of the wind could touch it.
From where he stood - the precipice of the mysterious nothing - he felt oppressed and equally drawn by its magnitude.
And no matter how he looked, it was ever present in his peripheral.
...
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
[Your soul proves its worth... ]
...
[Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal...]
He was standing in the bottomless void between dreams and reality.
His eyelids drew open, unveiling the foggy belt that surrounded the dark, murky depths within it. And the numerous stars were nearly swallowed in their empty pits.
'Where am I?'
His eyes remained fixed on the distant stars, strings connected them together with inconceivable complexity, forming various constellations and nexuses like an inescapable spiderweb.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[You questioned the Gods, but nobody answered because the Gods were already dead.]
...
He barely caught the words ringing in his mind.
It was the Nightmare Spell.
But when did he enter his First Nightmare? He couldn't quite remember. He couldn't even really remember what he did in the Nightmare.
It was all very vague.
[You have achieved the unprecedented!]
[Final appraisal: glorious! What is it that you wish to achieve?]
His brows creased into a frown.
Hearing such praise from the Spell, he couldn't help but rack his brain even more. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't recall anything else.
More than that, the Spell posed a question. What was that supposed to mean?
[Dreamer Shinei, receive your boon!]
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Spell of Ruin.]
...
At that moment, Shinei seemingly forgot about his frustration because whatever he did, it was definitely awesome for his first experience.
Nonetheless, it only made him burn with more curiosity.
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening Dormant powers.]
Suddenly, a warm feeling started to brew within his chest, it slowly trickled along his limbs to the very tip of toes and fingers.
The waves of heat washed over him like the sea spilling trash onto the shore.
From his skeleton, his organs, his muscles and his skin, it all felt brand new but it did not feel foreign. It was not unpleasant, he just... he couldn't quite put it into words.
The heat soon settled and was replaced by a refreshing chill like he had just came out from a hot shower. It took away the aches that he did not know he even had till now.
He felt light.
It was strange.
[Your soul is overflowing with power.]
Before he could get a feel for it, the Spell's enigmatic voice rang out.
[Your soul is taking shape.]
The heat rose again but this time, it was intense.
[Your soul is complete.]
With a snap, agony boiled from within him. The source of this splintering pain came from deep beneath his very being.
'It hurts.'
He clutched at his chest as if trying rip out the pain, gritted his teeth and tried to hold back his screams. Gradually, it grew and he couldn't bite back his screams.
Shinei's knees buckled and he collapsed onto his side.
...
Eventually, relief spilled over his body and he let out a shaky breath.
It took a while for it to subside, but it left him fresh and whole. In fact, he felt stronger and more resilient. Although, the pain left him drained and sprawled out on the bottomless abyss.
It was somewhat strange, he didn't fall and neither was there a platform.
His gaze locked onto the intercrate tapestry of the Spell shining brilliantly in the abyss. He opened his mouth, lips slightly trembling, but no sound escaped from them.
In the end, he closed his mouth.
It was something that many people had wondered about. And yet, nobody knew the answer. Generally, people believe that the Spell was neither alive nor dead.
That it existed, rather made, to serve a singular purpose like a program running a machine.
He wanted to ask even if he received no answer. However, something strange made the words die in his throat.
It was still the same empty void but illuminating it was a bleached sun - two of them - slowly drifting in orbit around the other. Shinei's eyes darted around and noticed the familiar mist nesting around around his body, stretching all around him into the far reaches of the void.
"Is this the soul sea?"
Usually, the Soul Sea is described as being bathed in a warm glow. The star - soul core - hanging above was the source of this brilliant shine.
But his soul core - now strangely soul cores - did not radiate this brilliant shine nor warmth and he felt that if he touched it, he would be incinerated.
It was like a star in the night sky brimming with pale brilliance. And as the ghostly light graced the mist, it only emphasized this feeling of dread.
Like if something could go wrong, it will go wrong.
Speaking of wrong, the fact that there are two soul cores...
What does it mean? And how did he come to posses two of them? What did it make him? Is he still human?
His thoughts were in disarray.
To his knowledge, it was only Nightmare Creatures that can possess more than one soul core so he couldn't help but wonder...
He pulled himself up, his eyes traveling down to his hands but they remained normal, although a little bronze and calloused. He repeatedly balled his unfamiliar hands into a fist, patiently waiting for them to turn into monstrous claws.
[Awakening Aspect Ability...]
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Karma.]
After hearing the announcement, Shinei's thoughts dissolved into background noise while he summoned his runes.
...
Name: Shinei
True Name: Spell of Ruin
Rank: Aspirant
Soul Core: Dormant
Class: Monster
Soul Cores: [2/7]
Soul Fragments: [999/2000]
...
He paused.
For normal humans, the path of progression entailed seven ranks from lowest to highest: Dormant, Awakened, Ascended, Transcended, Supreme, Sacred and Divine.
That is all.
Similarly, the Creatures of Nightmare also has seven ranks: Dormant, Awakened, Fallen, Corrupted, Great, Cursed and Unholy. But they also have a class, meaning the amount of soul cores they have of their current Rank.
For example, an Awakened Tyrant would have five soul cores of the Awakened Rank and an Awakened Demon would have three Soul Cores of the Awakened Rank.
And while the difference in strength between an Awakened Tyrant and an Awakened Demon is not much compared to a difference in rank, it is enough to give the Tyrant the advantage.
So, this is no small thing.
For Shinei, the possibilities were simply endless now.
'What was the cause of this change, though?'
With nothing to grasp at but straws, he sat there stunned before reading futher.
...
Memories: -
Echoes: -
Attributes: [Endless Desire] [Friend of Fate]
...
He eyes focused on the names of his Attributes. Based on the names alone, none of them seemed to bear any clues regarding his strange predicament.
However, one never can be certain if the Spell is involved.
...
[Endless Desire] Attribute Description: "You are cursed by the Divine and blessed by the -unknown- ."
[Friend of Fate] Attribute Description: "Strings with lose ends..."
...
Shinei couldn't quite comprehend what is said and what is implied by the Spell. Though, is their any difference?
For now, it was too much to take in.
At least, he was one step closer to finding the culprit of his strange progression.
...
Aspect: Wanderer.
Aspect Rank: Divine.
...
Shinei's eyes widened.
...
Aspect Description: [You look back to remind yourself of what it is that you want. But approaching the end, you couldn't help and wonder if this was it... what was there? And even if nobody knew the answer, you dared to ask.]
...
In thought, his eyes dimmed a little.
'That is depressing.'
What made it more confusing was that he could not tell if the Spell spoke in metaphors or not. With a sigh, he looked at his Aspect ability.
...
Aspect Ability: [Karma.]
Aspect Ability Description: [You can accumulate essence. It will help you in the end.]
...
Before he could even form a thought, the Spell had more to announce.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
Shinei focused on the new runes that appeared in front of him.
'Huh?'
...
Flaw: [Oblivion.]
Flaw Description: [You can not hold onto Memories.]
...
At that moment, Grey couldn't help but stare out in front of him.
[Wake up, Spell of Ruin.]
And just like that, the abyss disappeared.
It left him feeling weird. Maybe he was still groggy from the Nightmare. It left him with more questions than answers.
Like why is he considered a 'friend' of fate when the description described it as a lose end?
And his Flaw seemed all to glaring of a problem. Memories are an essential part of every Awakened's life. It serves as a weapon, a tool, armor and a charm.
No Awakened can live in the Dream Realm without them. Without a doubt in his mind, the Spell has set him up for failure.
He just couldn't...
Aside from that, it is safe to assume that the reason why he can host multiple cores was related to the Divine rank of his job.
Ever since the Nightmare Spell first appeared in the Waking World, there was none who has yet to possess an aspect of the Divine rank. Couple that with the strange fragment counter, all the mysteries added up.
'What now?'
He lay motionless, gazing at the heavily armored ceiling. He tried to move but he was strapped down to the bed. Even with his new found strength, he couldn't break them.
He sighed.
It looked like some bunker?
As his upper body was slightly elevated, he could see more of the intimidating armor all over the walls. In his peripheral, he could see a vault door and a relatively plain looking man in a dark blue uniform next to his reinforced bed.
The man yawned, tears welling up in the corners of his dark brown eyes. He lifts his arm and wipes them away with the sleeve of his uniform.
"When does my shift -"
It was like the words became stuck in his throat, his eyes wide open like he had seen a ghost.
"What?"
Shinei couldn't help asking while observing the man more carefully and noticing an insignia on his left shoulder with two stars on it.
'He was of the Awakened rank.'
They were Dreamers whom after surviving their First Nightmare would have their spirit roped in by the Spell to the Dream Realm. Their physical body would remain in slumber in the Waking World until they escaped from the Dream Realm.
After that, they would return to their daily lives in the Waking World until they fall asleep, their spirit returning to the Dream Realm.
The Awakened almost jumped at his words but quickly collected his composure.
"You are finally awake, huh?"
He cleared his throat but his voice was hoarse. There was a moment of awkward silence. As if the Awakened had not expected him to be awake.
"So?"
He seemed to snap out his thoughts and cleared his throat again, "Right. Congratulations on finally clearing your First Nightmare, Sleeper Shinei."
Actually, the correct term would be Dreamer. But humans made their own terms for those infected by Nightmare Spell.
Suddenly, the Awakened stood up and approached the bed, undoing his restrains one by one including the tubes hooked up to him hat.
Shinei didn't notice that he even was hooked up to machines. It must've been stuck for quite a bit.
"I am Awakened Vasco. I am one of four Awakened looking over you while you were in your First Nightmare. And this happened to be my shift."
The Awakened settled back in his plastic chair, resting his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward and gave Shinei serious look.
Noticing this shift in mood, he wanted to move but found it difficult. He looked down at his hands, his arms and legs. His skin did not have the bronze tint he saw, however, it was unusually pale.
The skin of his hands were no longer calloused, rather incredibly soft even though it looked like bare bones. As he balled his fists, he couldn't put the strength he had in them.
It was... gone.
Before Shinei could ponder on his condition, the Awakened cut his thoughts.
"As per protocol, I am obligated to inform you of a few things. First, in regards to your Nightmare, you are entitled to receive free psychological counseling."
He paused and gave me a long look.
"Your mind is as important as your body. Are you interested?"
Shinei couldn't fathom why he was so intense but after some thought, he just shrugged. And the Awakened continued:
"Personally, I would recommend it. After all, you were in the Nightmare for nearly nine years... "
'Huh.'
The following words coming out the Awakened's mouth were like noise in the background. Shinei's mind couldn't quite comprehend the idea of those years in his head.
He couldn't remember.
Nine years...
Where have they gone?
Wasn't he just here the other day? Wait. When did he even enter the Nightmare? It was nine years ago?
But...
"Hey. Are you alright?"
Shinei snapped out of his thoughts.
"Yeah... what did you say again?"
Awakened Vasco narrowed his eyes but continued, "As I said, I'll go ahead and contact your family as there are a few hurdles that require their permission."
Family? It felt so distant but the feeling the word awoke tightned his chest. How could he forget?
There was... father, mother and his adopted sister.
He couldn't forget.
"Okay..."
With a sigh, Awakened Vasco stood up and walked to vault door and paused. He spoke over his shoulder:
"I will call over the caretakers so that they can get you settled."
Casting his gaze to the Awakened, Shinei saw the wary gaze he gave him. Perhaps, even worried.