Nico floated alone in the void. All he felt was stillness, silence, and peace, combined together to lull his aching mind and disentangle the incessant throbs knotted into his forehead. Overwhelmed with pain and exhausted in a million ways, Nico let out wet, raspy breaths. Weighed down by gold, he couldn't even raise his left arm anymore. It only didn't continue to weep blood because he willed it so.
He began to think again sometime later, his thoughts still stuck in the collapsing spire as if he hadn't yet left. It was a strange experience to see someone plunge their weapon towards him with such boundless hatred — one made exponentially worse by his vile Flaw. Sunless appeared a bitter and cruel boy, but that wasn't all. Throughout their fight Nico had barely been able to distinguish himself from the other two Sleepers, and so he knew perhaps more about their consciousness than they ever did. Plagued by self-doubt, a scathing desire for more, hidden kindness, and a deep yearning for freedom, Sunless was complicated and… human. So human.
Nephis, or as he often preferred to call her, Changing Star, was just as odd. She was passionate beyond measure. She wanted to fix people, fix the world, fix the issues of the Nightmare Spell, and would carve her own bloody path towards those goals no matter the cost… except for when she wouldn't. He'd already left, but Nico couldn't help wondering who would follow after him. Did Changing Star realize that stealing her own freedom would oppose her own goals? Did the woman end up stomaching the regret that taking her own exit would bring?
'Shaman did decide to show her—'
He wheezed dangerously. The thoughts were snuffed out before he could find the clarity to continue them. Taking a second to focus, his vision narrowed and locked into the infinite tapestry of silver stars above. They were so beautiful. Millions of strings connected each one to the other, creating a dangerous, intricate web.
When he strained focus, it was almost like they were but a faint whisper in his soul sense…
He sighed.
'It's over.'
The thought wasn't his own, but he echoed it in his voice regardless, then deflated. The battered [Silver Wraith], only intact thanks to its potent enchantment, dispersed into a dense cloud of white sparks. Drops of essence revitalized his sapped cores. A sprinkle of color returned to his pale face. His wounds would've begun to drip once more, but he rallied enough of his subconscious to keep their flow from escaping.
'Wonder where… Kido and Gemma are right now… and Seishan too.'
He'd have plans to make once he awoke. No doubt the sudden reappearance of about six hundred Sleepers would make waves, and he and the other former lieutenants were going to be major pieces in that story. Especially Nico since he had ascended the tower to fight the Crimson Terror alongside Changing Star. So, they would need to decide what to tell, how to coordinate their position in the Dream Realm, and anything else that could come up.
That little hiccup at the end would most likely be ignored by both sides as long as Sunless or Changing Star didn't twist the story, which he had full confidence wouldn't happen.
But, quite honestly, he didn't really care about any of that right now.
He was just cold. Once again, he had figured not to wear any clothes under his armor to keep himself as light as possible. The Memory he had dismissed already had so many layers, and adding more weight on top of that would be foolish…
His choice, as always, backfired. At least he wasn't coated in his own sweat and dripping blood anymore, though his body was still maimed beyond recognition beneath.
Nico missed his left arm quite a bit.
'It'll be repaired once I return.'
He figured it didn't really matter what happened to his body in the Dream Realm anyway since he would be back in the real world any moment now.
Or would he? Slipping into a drowsy, half-asleep state, time began to crawl.
The Spell sure was taking its time.
Eventually, though, it did speak. With a pleasant tone, it announced:
[The Second Seal is already broken.]
[Awakening Dormant Cores…]
'Oh, how nice. It's doing the rest of them for me.'
A soothing warmth radiated from his Monster and Demon Core. It spread through his body, along the channels of his soul essence, making his entire body fundamentally stronger. While before he had technically become Awakened, for a being like him it wasn't until all three cores reached that state that his body began to significantly change.
His flesh, soul, and spirit felt like they were being transformed by the process, and Nico's eyes sparkled with dazzling blue light, opened wide as the change washed over him — all without an ounce of pain.
Nico exhaled, and while his body remained an injured heap, covered in wounds, grime, sweat, and broken parts, he had never felt more whole.
After that warmth left his body, there was a pleasant coolness. It rolled across his skin, easing the tension. His mind relaxed once more.
When the process finished, he closed his eyes, listening for any more announcements.
There were none, of course, since he had already acquired his Awakened Ability.
'Speaking of…'
He opened his runic window, filing straight for the section pertaining to it.
Aspect Abilities: [Soul Roots], [Soul Construction].
[Soul Construction] Ability Description: [You can transmute soul essence into physical matter.]
An idea flickered in his head. His cores weren't bone-dry anymore, but they were nearly empty and in a complete state of exhaustion. If he wasn't, would he be able to heal his wounds? Because of [Specter], his soul was as much part of his body as his flesh, so it shouldn't be that hard to transmute. Just imagining one of the perks of his ability being self-healing was pleasant.
Either way, something like that was better tested first. Who knew what would happen if he just went and randomly experimented with his own body?
Glancing at his missing forearm, he sighed. Acting hastily could result in any number of injuries.
Then there was his Aspect Legacy. For that he required a better understanding of both soul and form, so it wasn't all that bad he had acquired a second ability pertaining to creation, not to mention such an impossibly broad one. There didn't seem to be a limit to what he could make — only his imagination and essence.
Losing himself in idle thoughts, and the possibilities of what he could and would do once recovered, he almost missed when the Spell finally said:
[Wake up, Nico!]
And instantly, the void world was replaced by another.
***
Hidden deep underground in the Song domain's main compound were two luxurious sleeping pods. Their surroundings were a contrast of varnished wooden flooring and exposed medical equipment, bronze table lamps and loose wires, ancient oil-paintings hung on plastered walls and various monitoring apparatuses wheeled on metal carts.
Already, some dozen or so nurses, assistants, and members of the clan had rushed to the large room due to the fact that, just now, after ten long years, Princess Seishan had finally finished her venture into the Dream Realm and reappeared back home. Various diagnostics were being run on her body, and the other pod — the one that no one at all seemed to be sleeping in — was being watched tensely.
Because Prince Nico had yet to return. Two years ago, he had disappeared on the day of the solstice, his physical body completely vanished. They had long wondered why, but simply didn't know, and because of that, decided to keep his pod powered off and exactly where it was despite several years having passed and two other rounds of adopted members of the clan having come and gone.
For a while they waited, the princess ordering them to do so even after the doctors came to escort her away.
A dozen minutes passed. Then twenty. Then thirty…
…and then, to everyone's surprise, there was a vague distortion inside the open pod, and a figure suddenly teleported into the chamber.
Instantly, his eyes opened, and his knees wobbled as his shoulder fell against the metal wall to steady himself.
For a moment, the room froze. Everyone saw his battered, exposed body, and though unbeknownst to them, because of the sudden disappearance from the Dream Realm, his control over his blood circulation had slipped and a steady stream seeped from a dozen different wounds.
The young man's lips curled down. Something passed through his mind, and then the rich color of his essence began to shimmer and turned strangely translucent, more and more escaping his forearm and assuming the shape of his missing limb.
His Awakened Ability activated all on its own.
Ethereal bone came first, taking the shape of a skeletal hand. Faux muscles and tendons wrapped around the base. Layers of model skin seemed to peel in reverse, and after that… it started to construct. Slowly at first, forming in the same process from which the mold was assembled. Then faster, the blueprint swiftly fading into indistinguishable flesh.
All across his body other wounds were mending in the same way.
Within a couple seconds, an identical copy of what was lost had regrown.
His posture became visibly sturdier. He rubbed his new hand against his nape and cracked his neck, taking a few steps out of the enclosure and glancing at the spectators with those enthralling, liquid blue eyes of his. Somehow, even covered in dried blood and dirt, he was overwhelmingly hypnotic.
He grabbed the soft white towel that had been prepared for him on the arm rest of an antique leather chair and strapped it around his waist. His baritone voice was strangely polite as he slicked back his dirty hair and quietly said:
"It's… good to see you, Seishan."
She shot him a wry grin.
He turned to the closest nurse, his expression bored.
"I'll discuss what transpired with you later, but for now — you — escort me somewhere I can take a shower."