[Prepare for appraisal...]
Jay was brought into a space between dream and reality, mind and matter. It was a limitless black space, bathed in the light of countless stars. Countless silver strings into a vast, beautiful and terrifying net. Jay did not feel as though he even had the qualifications to gaze upon the vast tapestry.
And then he realised something. He had slain an Awakened Terror. An Awakened Terror. As an aspirant.
He suddenly realised just how bloody ridiculous his performance was.
"There's no way I get anything less than a Transcendent aspect right? At the very least, not lower than Ascended?"
He forgot all about that when he saw something.
[You have received a Memory: Architect's Culmination]
His excitement rose. A memory from an Awakened Terror? It was a rank above his and was tier VI, which meant it could hold up to SIX enchantments.
He suddenly realised that he was basically golden when he was yeeted into the dream realm. As long as he wasn't thrown into a Death Zone, he would be fine, probably. It would be even better if thrown near a Citadel... Well, all that depended on whether this memory was good.
He was about the check the memory, when the Spell finished it's appraisal.
It's voice now sounded omniscient and omnipotent, in this space. Well, to be fair to it, it was close to both.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[A nameless hero was thrown into the throes of illusions conjured by a horrific abomination. Yet, through the illusion, the hero persevered and withstood the destruction of the illusion. He clashed with the abomination and put it to a final rest.]
[You have defeated a Dormant Beast: Hefty Flea]
....
[You have defeated an Awakened Beast: Regretful Corpse of Mutation]
[You have defeated an Awakened Demon: Sabered Assailant]
[You have defeated an Awakened Demon: Feathered Hunter]
[You have defeated an Awakened Terror: Mental Architect]
[You have lived up to the name of Terror.]
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[Final appraisal: glorious. The terror you cause within others shall be truly limitless.]
Jay was elated. He was pretty sure that glorious was either highest or close to the highest appraisal you could get. There's no way he doesn't get at least an Ascended Aspect with the way the Spell praised him. He would probably even get a Transcendent one.
[Dreamer Jay, receive your boon!]
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Terror Raptor.]
Jay's knees bucked. A TRUE NAME??? IN HIS FIRST NIGHTMARE? That was truly unbelievable. Only on person that he knew of achieved that sort of feat. Smile of Heaven.
He was genuinely going to strike it rich.
All he needs to do is reveal the fact that he has a True Name and he would be the richest Sleeper ever. He would be treated like one of those spoiled Legacy babies!
But the spell wasn't done.
[Your aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
Jay held his breath.
"Yes."
[Dormant Aspect Terror-touched is evolving...]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Divine]
[Aspect Name: Terror Incarnate]
Jay choked on his spit.
...
Divine? He received a DIVINE Aspect? He didn't even know of ANYONE with a Divine Aspect. Not even the Saints or the First Generation heroes had Aspects on this level. If fact, he didn't even know whether anyone had a Sacred Aspect. And now, he had received a Divine one.
His hands still trembling, he summoned the runes.
Aspect: [Terror Incarnate].
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Description: [You are one chosen by the child of Terror. You shall inspire terror in the hearts of your enemies. Just as the child once did, you shall now bear the hatred of the dead Gods. You possess many strange and miraculous abilities.]
Innate Ability: [Seeds of Fear]
Innate Ability Description: [All those that you consider enemies shall feel a stifling fear in their heart. As battles stretch on, the fear grows within your enemies, eventually causing a Tree of Terror to blossom and slaughter them.]
His hands clenched into fists and he cried out in jubilation. After all, he had just received a truly incredibly ability. Any opponent he faced would be scared, and if he could just stretch the battle on, they would just die by themselves. It was insane.
Well, it probably had a limit like it wouldn't work on creatures higher ranked than him, but who cares? Just an ability like this against creatures of the same rank was crazy. He could probably kill a Dormant Titan like this. Hell, maybe it even worked against Awakened creatures. He might be able to take on an Awakened Titan. Sure, he'd already killed a Terror but this one just like conjuring illusions and wasn't physically all that. It also used flowers, which harmed itself. If it had just fought him without using the flowers, he probably would've run out of stamina first and died.
His excitement had just slowly started receding when the Spell spoke once more.
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers...]
He felt a strange transformation in his body. He felt energy coming from within his soul, strengthening him and awakening his abilities.
He felt his bones, muscles and organs being remade. He was far faster, stronger and healthier now.
And then, a strange Sea appeared in his sight. From his prior knowledge, he knew it was supposed to be a Soul Sea. But...
The water was a bright red... like blood.
And the sun of the sea, the Soul Core, was black. And yet, it somehow managed to illuminate the whole place?
He spotted three orbs of light circling his Soul Core. His Memories.
The Spell's voice dragged him out of his Soul Sea, back into the endless black space.
[Awakening Aspect Ability...]
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Terrified Submission.]
He opened his runes to take a look at the ability, but he noticed something.
Name: Jay.
True Name: Terror Raptor.
Rank: Dreamer.
Terror Core: Dormant.
Hated Creatures Slain : [0/1].
He raised his eyebrows in confusion. Where was the soul fragments count everyone else had? Why did he have a Terror Core instead of a Soul Core? And what the hell was a Hated Creature?
As he was thinking, he took a look at the Aspect Ability.
Aspect Abilities: [Terrified Submission].
Aspect Ability Description: [Some beings when terrified, may choose to submit to you and become your eternal slaves.]
Jay stared at it.
Did that mean.. he could enslave Nightmare Creatures? And keep their sanity intact? If so... that would be beyond overpowered. He might even be able to construct armies of Nightmare Creatures!
The Spell's voice snapped him out of his imagination.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
Flaw: [Marked].
Flaw Description: [If you fight something with the intent of killing, you must kill them.]
He stared at the flaw for a moment, and then he realized. He could never retreat from Nightmare Creatures. His heart almost stopped.
What the hell would he do if he ran into a Fallen creature? Or a Corrupted one? He would end up fighting it like and idiot. And then, he would die.
[Wake up, Terror Raptor!]