Elizabeth found herself back in the void, but unlike before, the void was not as dark. The darkness was filled with a myriad of stars shining brightly, and between those stars countless strings of silver light were drawn beautifully, forming a complex web of threads.
This was the inner working of the spell.
She had seen interviews of awakens describing it and even awakened artists try to paint the scenery she was looking at, heck she had seen something similar when she had used the Dreamscape, and although they managed to capture its beauty, it wasn't as beautiful as seeing it in person. It felt more alive in here. She took a moment to admire the scenery.
"Congrats, sis, you made it."
She shifted her gaze to the side where she saw her illusionary brother standing, but for some reason he seemed…more real than before.
"One heck of a nightmare you had, right? Oh, if you don't get at least an Outstanding appraisal, urg, I'm destroying the spell myself!"
He said as he threw a punch toward the net of light.
She stared at her brother for a second before smiling again.
"I missed having a friendly voice in my mind."
Her brother blinked, then suddenly got mad.
"I bet you do! That bastard, what he did to you was inexcusable! If I was there, I would've disassembled it for daring to touch my little sister, god or not!"
Hearing that, she chuckled to herself. She had no doubt her brother would have done exactly that.
Suddenly, she felt something touch her shoulders, and she instantly turned to look at the hand that touched her.
"Wha—"
Before she could respond, her brother's voice cut her off.
"I am proud of you… truly."
She looked at his face and noticed the bright smile he always gave her painted across it. His green eyes seemed to shine even brighter, becoming gem-like, and for a second the beauty of the myriad stars was drowned out.
Before she could fully comprehend what had just happened, he vanished into thin air.
'What… was that? Did he just...touch me? Why did it feel so real?'
[You have received a memory: Drop of Ichor]
The spell's warm voice suddenly knocked her out of her thoughts, reminding her why she was still here: to receive her appraisal.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[A child of the sea, who was aboard a ship meant to seal a forbidden offspring of two deities, was tricked and broken to commit a sin. Realizing it, the child of the sea sought revenge, and through it, taught a god how to hate.]
[You have slain a supreme beast: Guardian of Disaster.]
[You have slain a sacred beast: Disaster Born.]
[You have achieved what was deemed impossible.]
[Final appraisal: Glorious! Your might is unending.]
When she read her achievements, she couldn't help but sigh. She had never heard of a 'Glorious' appraisal before, but then again, her nightmare was not normal. Usually, people faced nightmare creatures or beings who walked the opposite path of Ascension. Yet, she had faced beings who walked toward the true path of Ascension. She had also survived a meeting with a demigod and even managed to kill it. Nothing about her nightmare was normal.
[Dreamer Elizabeth, receive your boon!]
The moment the spell said so, she felt something within her shift ever so slightly. It was the translation of taking a step toward the path of awakening, she was no longer an Aspirant.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Siren of the Last Haven]
Her eyes went wide, almost to the point of popping out of their sockets.She had received a True Name!
'Ha!… even Tessie doesn't have one yet!'
She really hadn't expected to gain a True Name in her first nightmare, but now that she thought about it, she damn well deserved one. There was no way she wouldn't get one after everything she did and went through. Although a True Name didn't improve combat ability, it was said that people with True Names were talented and powerful people. Receiving one gave her hope for the future.
[Your aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve aspect?]
'Is the sky blue? What kind of question is that.' she thought, rolling her eyes.
"Yes."
[Supreme aspect Ocean Maiden is evolving...]
'Wait, my aspect was already Supreme? Then if it's evolving, that means—'
[New aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Divine]
This time the information struck her core. She felt her very being shake as she looked at the runes.
'Divine!?'
She blinked rapidly, thinking her eyes were deceiving her, but the aspect rank stayed the same.
'…I'm starting to like difficult nightmares...a little.'
If this was the reward the spell gave her for everything she endured, then it wasn't bad at all. Actually, she had earned so much in one nightmare, two sacred memories and a supreme one.
'There is no other Sleeper as loaded as I am!'
She then looked at the aspect name.
Aspect Name: [Avatar of Skies]
Already too excited, she rushed to summon her runes to check the description.
Aspect Name: [Avatar of Skies]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Description: [You are a being built for one purpose, becoming the physical body of a god. Designed to be the perfect vessel. But when the god who was meant to inhabit you died, you remained an empty husk. To regain purpose, you began to devour the heavens, hoping to fill the emptiness with the endless skies and seas.]
Innate Ability: [Unending Source]
Ability Description: [For as long as you are under the skies or next to the seas, your power shall be as unending as they are.]
'That's… that's amazing!'
Unlike before, even though the description was cryptic, it didn't take her long to understand. She had been a body created to hold a god's full might, and that god was the Storm Goddess. But she didn't care about the description. What mattered was the innate ability, which made her powerful as long as she was within the boundaries of the sky or ocean.
Was there even a place in the world without either one?
Although deserts had no sea, she couldn't think of a single place without a sky.
Meaning, she had a permanent buff.
Which was sweet and incredibly helpful in battle. This was truly worthy of being a Divine Aspect. Just its innate ability turned her into a fighting machine. She knew many aspects existed, but she didn't think she had ever heard of an innate ability this ridiculously strong. She was probably the first person to ever gain a Divine aspect.
She couldn't help but feel giddy inside.
[The first seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Suddenly she felt something inside her wake up and move, as if it had been asleep, almost like a limb she had not used in a long time. Then she felt power course through her, but not physical power. This was spiritual, as if her soul itself was growing stronger. Her mind became clearer and sharper, and the turbulent excitement from moments before calmed down.
A moment later, her body began to heat up, and she felt it change slowly as the heat spread around her body. Her entire being bones, muscles, organs, blood vessels, everything was changing, becoming stronger, almost magically. She had never felt anything like it. It was a sensation she knew she wouldn't forget anytime soon.
It was almost addicting.
Soon the heat became stronger, and hotter a few moments later it became painful.
"Urghh—"
She groaned when the pain started to intensify and gritted her teeth, trying to endure. Her vision doubled.
'Wha—what is going on?'
Was she supposed to feel pain right now? Didn't people say the best part of a nightmare was the feeling of getting stronger? What was happening to her?
As her vision continued to twist, the surroundings turned blue, and for a moment she forgot the pain eating at her, when she looked at a gigantic blue sun hovering above her.
It was then she understood where she was.
Her soul.
The place was surrounded by blue mist like mist, the sky was clear of any clouds only having a blue sun releasing a bright blue light. Her soul-space was a bit different from what she had heard, but she ignored that, because something else was happening.
Next to the sun, droplets of water were gathering into one place, and each time the droplet grew bigger, the pain she felt grew with it.
'Just what is going on!'
Moments later, the small ball stopped absorbing water and began to glow. She closed her eyes on reflex, and the pain vanished, as if the agony she felt earlier had been an illusion.
When she opened her eyes again, a second blue sun was hanging above her.
'What just happened?'