A few hours after the Induction Ceremony, Kaelis found himself alone in his dorm room.
Everything related to the Dormant was concentrated in a single building: dormitories, cafeterias, a few classrooms, and several other rooms he hadn't yet had time to explore.
To his surprise, he had been given an entire room just for himself.
The space was simple but comfortable. There was a bed with a soft mattress, a desk, a dresser, and a private bathroom. All the furniture and materials looked new and aesthetically pleasing. The air was clean and sterile — so different from the heavy atmosphere of the neighborhood where he had lived with his family.
Kaelis also noticed that several sets of clothes with the Academy's emblem had been left there, provided free of charge.
"I didn't expect a dorm to be this well-equipped..." he thought, sitting on the edge of the bed. "But thinking of my family, I'll send my mom a message later. I need to know if the move to the new apartment went well."
He glanced around the room for a moment, then his expression darkened.
"Now, I need to analyze the situation."
During the ceremony, Awakened Rock — director and representative of the Awakened Academy — had explained many things about the Dream Realm and the Spell.
Kaelis already knew that the First Nightmare was unique to each person. If the Dormant died in it, their body would be taken over by a Nightmare Creature, which would cross the threshold between worlds and enter reality.
But from the Second Nightmare onward, everything became even more dangerous.
These nightmares don't belong to just one Awakened, but to several. They appear as Nightmare Seeds — rifts into other realities — within the Dream Realm.
While the Seed is still growing, any number of Awakened can attempt to conquer it. But if they all fail, or if no one finds it before it matures, a Gate will open in the real world… and monstrous creatures will invade reality, bringing chaos and destruction.
The opening of a Gate was humanity's greatest fear. Each had its own level, and any kind of powerful Creature could cross it.
That's why Awakened Rock made the Awakened's purpose very clear: enter the Dream Realm, search for Nightmare Seeds, and end them before any damage could erupt in the real world.
"If Nightmares are the destination, then the Dream Realm is the path. But also much more," were Rock's words.
The Dream Realm was vast, mysterious, and mostly unexplored. And above all: dead. No life existed there besides the Nightmare Creatures, their corrupted ecosystems, and the Awakened themselves.
But it hadn't always been this way.
Ancient civilizations had once inhabited the Dream Realm. Buried ruins still told forgotten stories.
Kaelis had heard of them. Though labeled "primitive," these civilizations were anything but. Their development centered around soul cores and mystical practices instead of the technology that shaped the real world.
What were these civilizations? What were their names? How were they wiped out?
No one knew for sure.
The most accepted hypothesis was that they had been destroyed by the Spell itself.
With that in mind, Kaelis couldn't help but reflect: Hariel, the boy whose body he inhabited in his First Nightmare… he had truly existed at some point in history. So had that cursed, profane church.
He remembered how time seemed to run backward at the start of his Nightmare. What if Hariel had jumped into the Lower Sky? Would the Heart God still be trapped in the Inverted Cathedral? Or would it have found another vessel?
Either way, Kaelis now understood the difference between the Dream Realm and the Nightmares.
In the Dream Realm, there was no story to resolve, no predefined conflict. There, the Awakened could move freely — so long as they had the strength to survive. Most preferred to stay close to one of the human cities.
Additionally, as Awakened Rock warned, although there were no living people in the Dream Realm besides the Awakened, there were monsters that could mimic human appearances. Extreme caution was necessary.
Another crucial difference: the death of an Awakened in the Dream Realm did not bring Creatures into the real world.
The Realm's Creatures were scattered everywhere, with varying levels of power. Kaelis knew that to survive, he'd have to remain in regions dominated by monsters weaker than himself. That was the plan.
Finally, Rock explained that when the solstice arrived, all Awakened would once again be drawn into the Dream Realm. The location of their emergence couldn't be predicted, but there was a chance many would appear near one another.
The ideal plan was for them to regroup quickly and seek out a nearby Human Citadel. If there wasn't one, they were to find an unclaimed Gate, usually located near some prominent regional landmark. Then, together, they'd have to defeat the Gate's guardians to return alive.
That was all the Induction Ceremony had revealed.
Now, Kaelis needed to prepare.
From this moment forward, his absolute priority was his own survival.
Kaelis looked at his right wing, his fingers sliding gently across the feathers—soft to the touch, yet dense and firm like forged steel. Then, he turned his gaze to his left shoulder and touched the underdeveloped wing, caressing it.
"Even incomplete, it's part of me. I need to understand my body better... but not now."
Rising from the bed, he walked to the center of the dorm room.
"Status."
The thought alone was enough. Glimmering runes, composed of golden symbols and fluid shapes, appeared before his eyes like projections etched into the air.
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Name:Kaelis
True Name:Angel of the Broken Vow
Rank:Sleeper
Angelic Core:Dormant
Seraph Fragments:[2/1000]
Memories:[Armor of the Divine Twilight], [Sword of the White Priest], [Amulet of the Nameless Traveler], [Scar of the Burning Martyr]
Attributes:[Breath of Azrael], [Reflected Truth], [Weight of Unborn Wings]
Aspect:Fractured Seraph
Aspect Rank:Divine
Aspect Ability:Fractured Manifestation
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There was still much to study, but at that moment, Kaelis knew exactly where to begin: his memories. He finally had the time and silence to examine each one of them — both those obtained in the First Nightmare and those received after the interview at the Academy.
He focused his attention on one in particular.
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Memory:[Armor of the Divine Twilight]
Memory Rank:Transcendent
Memory Type:Armor
Memory Description: — Forged in the final light of a doomed city, as the sun set upon its fallen glory, the Armor of the Divine Twilight was born between divine and profane. Its existence is marked by the burden of judgment and the eternal struggle between what is divine and what is profane.
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Kaelis frowned.
"Divine and profane... Those words always send a chill down my spine."
The armor's description brought him back to the massacre of the sacred city and the Inverted Cathedral. Was that the reward for so much destruction?
Sighing, Kaelis tried to suppress the weight of guilt. The deaths, the city's collapse, the fall... all of it had led him to this point, shaping the path he now had to walk.
He extended his hand and summoned the memory. Golden threads appeared around his body, snaking like living silk until they enveloped him completely.
The Armor of the Divine Twilight took form with silent majesty. White metallic plates, alabaster-like, covered his body, adorned with refined silver-edged borders. A long, soft hood draped from his shoulders, concealing his head beneath a helmet of striking elegance.
The helmet resembled those worn by ancient crusaders — but elevated, stylized, angelic. Completely enclosed, it was shaped with flowing silver lines that traced the contours of the face. Only two narrow horizontal slits revealed the eyes. The silver adornments extended like solidified rivers, separating the plates with near-divine precision.
At the center of the breastplate, two intertwined and chained wings were sculpted with symbolic perfection.
Kaelis looked at his hands, now covered by white metal gauntlets and thick fabric, clenching his fists to feel the armor's precise fit. It was surprisingly comfortable, with the ideal space to accommodate both his right wing and the underdeveloped left one.
He felt protected... and powerful. A shy smile formed on his lips.
"I look like a knight... or maybe a boss from those Souls-like games I used to watch."
The armor was well-balanced — neither light nor heavy. He moved with ease, though it emitted faint metallic sounds as the segments shifted.
"Even with the helmet closed, I don't feel any vision obstruction... It's like it's not even there."
He walked slowly around the dorm, getting used to the weight and sensation of the living memory. Then, he summoned the runes once more and expanded the armor's information.
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Memory Rank: Transcendent
Memory Tier:IV
Memory Type:Armor
Memory Description:— Forged in the final light of a doomed city, as the sun set upon its fallen glory, the Armor of the Divine Twilight was born between divine and profane. Its existence is marked by the burden of judgment and the eternal struggle between what is divine and what is profane.
Memory Enchantments:
[Judgment of the Veiled Light]:— "When the bearer faces enemies impure by nature, the armor recognizes their hatred. Physical and mental resistance increase drastically against targets with impure hearts."
[Voices of the Fallen]:— "The armor carries the feelings of the wrongfully dead. With each emotion absorbed, its resistance becomes greater."
[Prayer of the Martyrs]:— "When a righteous one falls, their faith does not fade. In their final breath, they offer a silent prayer... And the armor hears it."The death of nearby allies generates Seraphic Fragments and converts their sacrifice into strength.
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Kaelis's gaze grew hazy at the end of the reading. The enchantments... all rooted in pain, sacrifice, and loss.
'This... doesn't feel very comforting. But I guess I have no choice but to accept it as it is.'
And even if the burden of the armor was heavy, Kaelis knew: he had already taken the first step on the path of a Seraph.
After that, Kaelis extended his hand and summoned his next Memory: "Sword of the White Priest."
Golden lights flickered in his palm, swirling and condensing rapidly. In moments, they took the form of a bastard sword — long, elegant, and imposing.
The Sword of the White Priest was a true masterpiece of beauty and symbolism. Its straight, lengthy blade was forged from pure silver, gleaming with a pale, cold light, as if silently absorbing the world's sins. Though its surface was smooth and flawless, ancient runes were etched along the metal — subtle, nearly invisible, and still indecipherable to Kaelis.
The guard was shaped like a simple cross, forged in dull silver with polished white edges. It symbolized not glory or triumph, but the silent vow to purify evil. The grip was long, made of polished white bone wrapped with shards of radiant marble — cold to the touch, yet strangely comforting.
At the center of the guard, where the blade met the hilt, rested a ruby crystal — pure, clear, and vibrant. It was identical to the one in the ceremonial dagger the Priest had given him before his entry into the Inverted Cathedral. The crystal pulsed gently, as if breathing, carrying deep echoes of pain and hope.
Kaelis stared at the blade in silence for several long seconds.
Somehow, he could hear whispers coming from the ruby — as if the sword had a life of its own. They were not clear voices, but emotions whispered between the silence: sorrow, devotion... regret.
With a subtle motion, he summoned the descriptive runes of the Memory, letting the text project itself before his eyes:
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Memory Description:— Born from the silence of a goddess who loved a demon and lost everything, the Sword of the White Priest is the final breath of a dead and forgotten divinity. Forged in the sacred pain of a forbidden love, its blade carries the bitter memory — and the soul — of the demon who was once loved. Each strike is not merely an act of strength, but a silent prayer: a plea that even corrupted souls might find redemption... or, if they fail, rightful condemnation.Whoever wields the Sword of the White Priest bears the burden of judging between light and shadow... and the unbearable weight of understanding both.
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Kaelis grew pensive over what he had just read.
"A goddess who loved a demon and lost everything?"
Immediately, he remembered Heart God — the deity whose soul he carried as a vessel, and the one he had killed in his First Nightmare.
"The goddess... could it be her?" he wondered, uneasy.
But... what about the demon?
"Who would the demon be? I never encountered any demon in my First Nightmare."
Determined to understand more, he moved on to the remaining runes, reading the Memory's information carefully:
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Memory Rank: Ascended
Memory Tier: III
Memory Enchantments: [Sealed Heart], [Profane Requiem], [Tear of the Forgotten Goddess]
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And then… he saw it.
A single line among the inscriptions made him freeze.
Kaelis stopped breathing for a moment.
'No…'
His mind refused to accept what his eyes were reading. That Memory was a weapon. A bastard sword. Anyone would rightly assume that its type would be:
"Memory Type: Weapon."
But it wasn't.
Kaelis read it again. Once. Twice. Three times.
At last, the truth pressed down on him — as heavy as the sword in his hands.
"Is that even possible?!" he exclaimed, eyes wide, staring again at the runes before him.
The runes read...
Memory: Sword of the White Priest
Memory Type: [Echo]