[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 nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal...]
He was standing in the bottomless void between dreams and reality.
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
His eyelids drew open, unveiling the foggy belt that surrounded the dark, murky depths within it. And the numerous stars reflecting in eyes nearly disappeared.
'Where am I?'
In between the distant stars, strings connected them together with inconceivable complexity, forming various constellations and nexuses like an inescapable spiderweb.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[It was a dream that would never end.]
...
He barely caught the words ringing in 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.
Or even before the Nightmare.
It was all very vague.
[You have achieved the unprecedented!]
[Final appraisal: glorious! Their is no distance too great.]
Hearing the praise from the Spell, he couldn't help but rack his brain even more. What exactly did he do to warrant it? Despite his efforts, his frustration only grew as he could not recall anything more than a supremely built pyramid.
[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 more curious.
[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, spilling the trash of the edge.
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 complete... somehow.
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 overcoming his very being. The source of this splintering pain came from his soul but as for why... he didn't know.
He clutched at his chest with all his might, gritting his teeth and endured the pain. As his soul split apart, he felt the strength in him also 'leave' him.
His legs slightly trembled.
...
He let out a shaky sigh as relief washed over his body.
It took a while for it to subside, but it left him fresh and whole. In fact, he felt stronger and more resilient.
And his mind even feels less muddled.
He gazed back up at the intercrate tapestry of the Spell shining brilliantly in the void.
But something was different.
It was still the same empty void but illuminating it was bleached suns - two of them - drifting in orbit around the other. Looking around, he noticed the familiar mist nesting around his feet, stretching all around him into the far reaches of the void.
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 but 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 slowly looked down at his hands but they remained normal, although a little pale and slender. He continued to stare at his hands, repeatedly balling his hands into fists, patiently waiting for them to churn and twist into a monstrous claw.
Eventually, he gave up to summon his runes but the Spell chimed again.
[Awakening Aspect Ability...]
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Acceleration.]
After hearing the announcement, Shinei continues while anticipation boiled within.
...
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 caused this change in class though?'
The counter could be an indicator at to how he can gain a new class. But Shinei was unsure. In fact, he never heard of a counter for soul fragments.
It is still the only lead he has.
...
Memories: -
Echoes: -
Attributes: [Endless Desire] [Friend of Fate]
...
Based on names, none of them seemed to relate to his strange progression.
[Endless Desires] 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?
It was too much to take in.
Anyway, he was one step closer to finding the culprit of his strange progression.
...
Aspect: Wanderer.
Aspect Rank: Divine.
...
He focused his attention on the runes.
...
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 though nobody knew the answer, you still asked.]
...
'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 absorb any form of essence.]
...
Before he could even form a thought, the Spell interrupted him.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
Shinei focused on the new runes that appeared.
'Huh?'
...
Flaw: [Curious Cat.]
Flaw Description: [You are endlessly curious.]
...
At that moment, Grey couldn't help but stare out in front of him.
[Wake up, Spell of Ruin.]
And just like that, the void disappeared.
It left him feeling weird. Maybe he was still groggy from the drea- nightmare. In the end, he had more questions than answers.
Like why is he considered a 'friend' of fate when the description described it as a lose end?
And his supposed flaw... can he even call it that?
Aside from that, it is partially safe to assume that the reason why he can host multiple cores was related to the Divine rank of his job.
Since the Nightmare Spell first appeared in the Waking World, there was none whom has yet to possess an aspect of the Divine rank. Couple that with the mysterious fragment counter, it all added up.
"What now?"
He lay motionless, gazing at the heavily armored ceiling. He tried to move but he was strapped down to 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 intimidating armored 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.
He yawned, tears welling up in the corners of his stern eyes. He wipes them away with the sleeve of his uniform.
"When does my shift -"
It was like the words were stuck in his throat, his eyes wide 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 proper 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.
"I am Awakened Vasco. I am one of three Awakened looking over you while you were in your First Nightmare. And this happened to be my shift."
"I see."
The Awakened settled back in his plastic chair, resting his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward and gave Shinei serious look.
"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?
"Hey. Are you alright?"
Shinei snapped back to reality.
"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."
"Okay."
"Let me know if you want to go the bathroom or the cafeteria in the meantime. I'll show you the way."
"Rather, could you debrief on what happened these nine years?"
He just needed to know for some reason. It was like not knowing would drive him insane.