NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Genesis of Nightmare
Sunny stared into the night sky, smoke appearing with each breath he took. He was sitting on a bench within an empty park, holding onto a cup of coffee — real coffee that is!
Sunny had spent all his life savings on this cup of coffee, which would be quite ridiculous from the average individual's perspective. Of course, Sunny was not the average individual, quite below average in fact. Living his entire life in poverty did not necessarily get him to the heights of an average person.
Sunny was currently thirteen — almost fourteen — had ghostly pale skin, along with black hair, a matching set of eyes that seemed to absorb light itself, and a skeletal figure caused by malnourishment. He was on the shorter side, barely reaching five feet in height.
It was currently a cold November night on the planet that was known as the origin the point of humanity. Earth was quite desolate, considering it used to sustain billions of people; there were few planets that could boast the same, as humanity was spread across the galaxy.
The main reason that Earth was abandoned, was due to the descent of the Nightmare Spell: a phenomena that infects individuals and turns them into either the powerful warriors known as Awakened, or the dreadful abominations known as Nightmare Creatures.
At the time of the Nightmare Spell's arrival, all those tens of thousands of years ago, interstellar travel had just been conceived. The rapid spawning of Nightmare Creatures was entirely focused on Earth at the time, as their were no other civilization for them to assault. Humanity had rushed to board the ships under the belief that Earth was doomed, traveling across the stars in search of new homes.
Unfortunately, the Nightmare Spell chased down humanity no matter where they went.
Fortunately, the constant assault of Nightmare Creatures was proportional to population, so most other planets did not have an onslaught on the same scale as Earth once did.
Of course, Sunny did not have a formal education, and only had the scraps of information he had heard around the outskirts — an area bathed in poverty — to work with.
Sunny raised his hand to rub his eyes, as sleep was starting to call to him. He flinched after rubbing his left eye, the area around it being purple. A cut can be seen near his temple, although it wasn't bleeding. His left ring finger was bending at an awkward angle, swollen an bruised.
Today had been an… eventful day for the boy, much more than his days would normally be.
Sunny tried not to think about it.
He had much more worrying matters to attend to after all.
He took a sip of his coffee, feeling dark liquid pool into his mouth. He had never tasted real coffee before, always getting cheap, synthesized products due to his pitiful financial situation. Most of the time, his two meals of the day consisted of those tubes of synthpaste that the IPC developed. They tasted like literal plastic, so Sunny could easily guess that they weren't created for the average citizen to consume.
Just the ones who were on Sunny's side of the spectrum.
"Bleh! So bitter!"
Sunny expressed his predicament to the desolate park, nobody being around to acknowledge his concerns.
Indeed, his coffee was the largest of his concerns! He should have gotten real meat!
Sunny stood from his perch, walking to a nearby trash can. He tossed his cup of coffee, watching in dismay as it hit the rim, bouncing to the floor. Sunny bent over, reaching down to pick up the cup of coffee to put it back into the trash can. He didn't want to make this place any worse, considering this is one of the few places of greenery in the outskirts.
"Tch! Not even the trash cans believe in me, huh?"
Sunny stared at it in betrayal, before looking in the direction of a tree. There were a few carvings on the bark, which seemed to be the spot that Sunny was staring at. He stood still for a moment, before walking over to the tree. He dug into his pockets for a moment, fishing out a small pocket knife he held onto at all times.
He carved a line into the tree, stepping back for a moment. A complex emotion flashed across the young boys face, before he quickly turned around, not wanting to get distracted.
On the tree, there sat three lines.
Sunny sat back down on the bench, staring at the stars in the sky.
'I wonder, are the people out there living the type of life that I could only dream of, or are they simply in another, crueler type of hell?'
He didn't know the answer to that, and he never will.
Today was the day that Sunny would die.
That thought really sobered him up. He wasn't even at the age that most kids would go to high school, yet he was already facing the gates of death. Sunny didn't have much to live for, therefore, he wasn't exactly afraid of death.
Nobody in the Universe cared if he lived or died, so he wouldn't either.
Sunny was infected by the Nightmare Spell, and he was currently running out of precious time. Precious to most, at least. There was a rule that dictated that he go to the nearest police station so an Awakened can be called to monitor him. However, there was an extreme shortage of Awakened on earth, with the possibility of there being none. He would only cause trouble for the police, which he didn't want, as they had helped him out a few times during some… altercations.
Of course, he might end up being a danger to anyone who passed by, but there was hardly anybody who passed through this park. Even if they did, he'd probably be a weak enough Nightmare Creature that they could wrestle him to death!
Sunny laughed hoarsely for a moment, amused by his own joke. The ragged sound exited out of his chapped lips, deteriorating as he kept laughing. At some point, he started to sob, tears streaking down his pale cheeks.
He laid down on his side, his shoulders shaking as he continued to weep. He curled up into a position similar to that of a fetus within the womb. The merciless, ghastly claw of sleep gently called him into his embrace, crying to himself all the while.
Sunny was not afraid to die. However, he was afraid of how he was going to die.
He recalled a wish from long ago, spoken by a dying woman on her death bed. She was kept company by to young children, both with features identical to each other.
Sunny simply couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't allow himself to die. Not yet. Not until that wish was fulfilled.
Dying in such a manner brought him no solace.
Sunny wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt, nothing left but cold determination within his abyssal eyes. He took one last glance at the tree, before finally…
His Nightmare began.
***
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for the First Trial…]
Sunny dreamt of a mountain.
Jagged and lonesome, it dwarfed other peaks of the mountain chain, cutting the night sky with its sharp edges. A radiant moon bathed its slopes in the ghostly, pale light.
On one of the slopes, the remnants of an old road stubbornly clung to the rocks. Here and there, weathered paved stones could be seen through the snow. To the right side of the road, a sheer cliff face rose as an impregnable wall. To the left, a silent black sea of nothingness indicated an endless fall. Strong winds crashed into the mountain over and over again, screaming in powerless rage.
Suddenly, the moon fell over the horizon. The sun rose from the west, streaked across the sky and disappeared in the east. Snowflakes jumped from the ground and returned into the embrace of clouds. Sunny realized that he was seeing the flow of time in reverse.
In an instant, hundreds of years flew by. The snow retreated, baring the old road. Cold shivers ran down Sunny's back as he noticed human bones littering the ground. A moment later, the bones were gone, and in their place, a slave caravan appeared, moving backwards down the mountain in the clamor of chains.
Time slowed, stopped, and then resumed its usual pace.
'What… what the hell is this?'
Step. Step. Another step.
A dull ache was radiating through Sunny's bleeding feet as he was shivering from cold. His threadbare tunic was nearly useless against the biting wind. His wrists were the main source of agony: badly hurt by the iron shackles, they sent a sharp pang of pain every time the freezing metal touched his broken skin.
'What kind of a situation is this?!'
Sunny looked up and down, noticing a long chain winding up the road, with dozens and dozens of hollow-eyed people — slaves just like him — shackled to it at small intervals. Ahead of him, a man with broad shoulders and a bloodied back was walking with a measured gait. Behind him, a shifty-looking guy with quick, desperate eyes was quietly cursing under his breath in a language that Sunny did not know, but somehow still understood. From time to time, armed horsemen in ancient-style armor would pass by, giving the slaves menacing looks.
However you judged it, things were really bad.
Sunny was more bewildered than panicked. True, these circumstances were not like what the First Nightmares were supposed to be. Usually, freshly chosen aspirants would find themselves in a scenario that presented them with a fair amount of agency: they would become members of privileged or warrior casts, with plenty of access to necessary weapons to at least try to tackle any conflict.
Starting out as a powerless slave, shackled and already half-dead, was as far from being ideal as one could imagine.
However, the Spell was as much about challenge as it was about balance. As the old policeman said, it created trials, not executions. So Sunny was pretty sure that, to counter this abysmal start, it would reward him with something good. A powerful Aspect, at least.
'Let's see… how do I do this?'
Remembering popular webtoons he read as a child, Sunny concentrated and thought about words like "status", "myself" and "information". Indeed, as soon as he focused, shimmering runes appeared in the air in front of him. Once again, although he did not know this ancient alphabet, the meaning behind it was somehow clear.
He quickly found the rune describing his Aspect… and, finally, lost his composure.
'What?! What the actual fuck?!'
Name: Sunless
True Name: —
Rank: Aspirant.
Soul Core: Dormant.
Memories: —
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Fated], [Mark of Divinity], [Child of Shadows].
Aspect: [Temple Slave].
Aspect Description: [Slave is a useless wretch with no skills or abilities worth a mention. A temple slave is just the same, except much rarer.]
Sunny was in the First Nightmare, a trial where Sunny could die and become a Nightmare Creature, or live and become an Awakened. The scenarios are designed to always be within the means of the challenger, yet he truly couldn't see any way in which he could survive.
Attributes and Aspects were the tools that the Aspirant would be given during their Nightmare. Usually, the Aspect wouldn't be too useful, as it wouldn't have any abilities yet, but some would come with a passive effect that would aid the Aspirant.
However, Sunny had none of that. He was a [Temple Slave]. There was nothing within a slaves arsenal that would help Sunny in this situation.
Speechless, Sunny stared at the runes, trying to convince himself that he was maybe just seeing things. Surely, he couldn't be that unlucky… right?
'Ah. I'm screwed.'
As soon as this thought appeared in his mind, he lost the rhythm of his steps and stumbled, pulling the chain down with his weight. Immediately, the shifty guy behind him screamed:
"Whore's bastard! Watch where you're going!"
Sunny hurriedly dismissed the runes, which were only visible to him, and tried to recover his balance. A moment later, he was once again walking steadily — however, not before inadvertently pulling on the chain one more time.
"You little shit! I'm going to kill you!"
The broad-shouldered man in front of Sunny chuckled without turning his head.
"Why bother? The weakling will be dead by sunrise anyway. The mountain will kill him."
A few seconds later, he added:
"It'll kill you and me, too. Just a bit later. I really don't know what the Imperials are thinking, forcing us into this cold."
The shifty guy gasped.
"Speak for yourself, fool! I'm planning to survive!"
Sunny silently shook his head and concentrated on not falling again.
'What a charming pair.'
Suddenly, a third voice joined the conversation from somewhere further back. This one sounded gentle and intelligent.
"This mountain pass is usually much warmer this time of year. We just had really bad luck. Also, I would advise you against harming this boy."
"Why is that?"
Sunny turned his head slightly, listening.
"Haven't you seen the markings on his skin? He is not like us, who fell into slavery due to debts, crimes or misfortune. He was born a slave. A temple slave, to be precise. Not long ago, the Imperials destroyed the last temple of the Shadow God. I suspect that this is how the boy ended up here."
The broad-shouldered man cast a look back.
"So what? Why should we be afraid of a half-forgotten, weakling god? He couldn't even save his own temples."
"The Empire is protected by the mighty War God. Of course they're not afraid to burn down a few temples. But we here are not protected by anything or anyone. Do you really want to risk angering a god?"
The broad-shouldered man grunted, not willing to answer.
Their conversation was stopped by a young soldier riding a beautiful, white horse. Clad in a simple leather cuirass, armed with a spear and a short sword, he looked dignified and noble. To Sunny's irritation, the asshole was really pretty, too. If this was a historical drama, the soldier would definitely be a male lead.
"What is going on here?"
There was no particular menace in his voice, even something resembling concern.
When everyone hesitated, the gentle-voiced slave answered:
"It's nothing, sir. We are just all tired and cold. Especially our young friend over there. This journey is truly too hard for someone that young."
The soldier looked at Sunny with pity.
'What are you looking at? You're not much older than me!' Sunny thought.
Of course, he didn't say anything out loud.
The soldier sighed and took a flask from his belt before extending it to Sunny.
"Bear with it a little more, child. We will stop for the night soon. For now, here, drink some water."
'Child? Child?!'
Due to his thin body and small stature, both caused by malnourishment, Sunny was often mistaken for someone younger. Usually, he didn't hesitate to use it to his advantage, but now, for some reason, being called a child really irked him.
'I'm thirteen you wretch!'
Still, he was really thirsty.
He was just about to take the flask when a whip cracked in the air, and suddenly Sunny was in a world of pain. He stumbled, once again pulling on the chain and causing the shifty slave behind him to curse.
Another soldier, this one older and angrier, stopped his horse a few steps back. The whip that sliced the back of Sunny's tunic open and drew blood belonged to him. Without even glancing at the slaves, the older soldier pierced his younger colleague with a disdainful glare.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The young soldier's face darkened.
"I was just giving this boy some water."
"He'll receive water with the rest of them once we camp!"
"But…"
"Shut your mouth! These slaves are not your friends. Understood? They're not even people. Treat them like people and they'll begin imagining things."
The young soldier looked at Sunny, then lowered his head and put the flask back on his belt.
"Don't let me catch you making friends with slaves again, newbie. Or next time it will be your back tasting my whip!"
As if to illustrate his intention, the older soldier cracked his whip in the air and rode past them, radiating threat and anger. Sunny watched him go with well-concealed malice.
Sunny glanced around, making sure to take in everything he could. Paranoia was seeping into the dark recesses of his mind, caused by the excessive peacefulness and the amount of possible threats around him.
He must have been the weakest slave here, which also made him much weaker than any of the slavers. Anyone could easily kill him on a whim if they so desired. This wasn't even taking into account the Nightmare Creature which hadn't appeared yet.
Within the First Nightmare, a single Nightmare Creature would be the opponent of the Aspirant. Once the Nightmare Creature was defeated, the Nightmare would end, and the Aspirant would proceed to the next step by becoming a Sleeper. The only difference in power between the two was that a Sleeper would gain an Aspect Ability.
However, Sunny was not worried about that now. He had other things worry about.
Using the opportunity, Sunny decided to take another look at his status and summoned the runes again. The last time he was too outraged by the Aspect and didn't study the Attributes well. While not as important as one's Aspect, the Attributes were often the deciding factor between life and death. They represented one's natural traits and affinities, sometimes even providing passive abilities and effects.
[Fated] Attribute Description: "The strings of fate wrap tightly around you. Unlikely events, both good and bad, are drawn by your presence. There are those who are blessed, and there are those who are cursed… but rarely both."
[Mark of Divinity] Attribute Description: "You bear a faint scent of divinity, as though someone briefly touched by it once, a long time ago."
[Child of Shadows] Attribute Description: "Shadows recognize you as one of their own."
'Hmmm… Interesting.'
Sunny quickly recognized the first attribute, [Fated], as the main culprit of his predicament. At first glance, it seemed to indicate that he was destined for a certain fate — to die miserably and vanish without a trace, for example. But after reading the description, he realized that being fated actually just meant that improbable things had a higher chance of occurring when he was around.
'I guess this is how I managed to receive one of the super rare useless Aspects — and a weird variant of it, at that!'
If [Fated] was his innate Attribute, then the other two came from the [Temple Slave] Aspect. [Mark of Divinity] was more a less straightforward — it was supposed to allow passage into certain sacred places inside the Dream Realm and enhance several types of sorcery. Since there were no sacred places in sight and Sunny's Aspect had nothing to do with sorcery, it was useless, too.
[Child of Shadows] was a stranger one. He had never heard of it and had no idea what it was supposed to do — at least not until the sun hid behind the mountain and the sky began to darken. To his surprise, Sunny found himself able to see perfectly in the darkness, as though it was still as bright as day. This ability alone was nothing to scoff at, and it was quite possible that shadows would reward him with some other, yet unknown, gifts.
Sunny stared off to the side, at the wall of the cliff face. There were was a shadow cast due to the sun being on the other side of the mountain, but it did not extend all the way to Sunny.
Without much regard for anything else, Sunny stepped a few times in the direction of the shadow, albeit at a slow pace, so as to not disrupt the caravan.
The moment he took a step into the shadows, he immediately stepped out, taking a glance behind him. The shifty guy didn't seem to be paying any attention to him, looking off to the edge of the road instead.
'…That could have been bad.'
The moment Sunny took a step into the shadows, he instinctively knew what the [Child of Shadows] attribute did. It allowed him to 'become one' with the shadows, allowing him to become nearly undetectable by normal means.
'Heh. This will be more than enough.'
Sunny finally caught a lucky break, as he now had a tool to use.
***
It was the middle of the night, and the slave caravan had stopped to rest. The slaves were huddled around a fire, with the strong ones closer to it as they blocked the weaker slaves. The cold was only increasing, as there was no sun to provide them a certain amount of heat.
In the far back of the group, an old slave was sitting down near a shadow. Due to his age, the odds of him surviving the harrowing trip was extremely low. He was at peace with that fact, and didn't even make an attempt to get closer to the fire.
The slaves were still chained up, but they were no longer connected to each other. This allowed for more movement, but not enough so as to allow them to escape. Of course, the odds of a slave escaping in these conditions was close to impossible.
The old man heard the sound of chains clanging together, but ignored it, as he assumed that it was just another slave fidgeting around.
Strangely enough however…
He couldn't see anyone near him…
"Gah!"
A low, strangled sound escaped the elderly slaves lips. He felt a tight pressure around his throat, losing the ability to breathe. He was being choked by a chain…
Sunny stood behind the slave, murderous intent the only thing on his mind. When he felt that the old man wasn't dying fast enough, he started to press onto the back of the man's head with his knee, increasing the pressure.
After awhile, the old man stopped struggling.
[You have slain a dormant human, name unknown.]
[You have received a memory, Dagger of Peace.]
Sunny grinned, before dragging the corpse a little further into the shadows. Nobody was looking in this direction, but if they did, they wouldn't be able to see Sunny. They would still see the corpse of the slave however, but they wouldn't suspect that it was a murder as long as he isn't anywhere near him.
Sunny decided to check the memory he just obtained — weapons and armor that carry magical properties — to see if it would assist him in any way.
Memory: [Dagger of Peace].
Memory Rank: Dormant.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [The trail of Treachery has only begun to be blazed.]
Sunny wondered what the description meant, but ignored it in favor of the fact that he now had a weapon. Dormant memories were the weakest, but within this Nightmare, something was much better than nothing.
He had no regrets about killing the slave, as he was simply an illusion conjured by the Spell. No matter how jaded Sunny may be, he wouldn't kill a person simply because it would be convenient.
However, he had no qualms slaughtering illusions for that same convenience.
Sunny looked around for his next target, a dagger appearing in his right hand out of white sparks.
***
Auto of the Nine heard a scream.
He stood up immediately, hand on the pommel of his sword. He guessed the direction of the scream, and sprinted in that direction. With his superhuman physical capabilities granted from being an Awakened, he arrived at the gruesome scene in front of him.
He saw a mangled corpse, guts spilling out, eye gouged, and multiple signs of what seemed to be claw marks. He looked to the side and saw the young temple slave staring at the corpse in horror. Strangely enough, he didn't sense his presence, which remained completely hidden until a moment ago.
Auro ignored this and decided to question the slave. He knelt down on one knee and laid a reassuring hand on the child's shoulder.
"Did you see what happened hear child?"
Something flashed across the child's face, although Auro had no idea what it could have been. Fear? Unease? Maybe something else? He couldn't tell.
"I saw a monster…"
Auro's eyes narrowed, staring at the corpse. He could have guessed that was the case, considering how the corpse was left. The creature did not seem to desire to eat the slave, so it must have had another purpose.
The creature was most definitely corrupted.
Auro of the Nine stood up, glancing at the corpse before looking at the child. He smiled at the child to comfort him.
"It's not safe here. You should come with me."
After saying those words, Auro turned around, ready to leave, before suddenly…
Blood filled his throat, rushing down to his lungs. The pain of something being torn open was felt through this neck, causing him to glance down in despair.
'Wha-what?'
He didn't have much time to think, falling to the floor as his life was extinguished.
Before he finally died however, he heard one last thing.
"You know, there's nothing more pathetic than a slave who begins to trust his master."
***
[You have slain an awakened human, Auro of the Nine.]
[You have received a memory, Vessel of Remembrance.]
***
Igris of War stared at the scene in front of him with a grim look on his face.
One of the younger Awakened among them was now naught but a corpse. He must have been slain by a powerful monster. However, the fact that there was only two corpses meant that the creature was a sneaky little thing. It might have had the ability to turn invisible, or perhaps it was simply to quick to keep track of.
Either way, this was problematic.
***
Sunny watched as the corpses were tossed off the side of the cliff. He had killed two dormant humans, and an Awakened human so far, using the corpse of the second dormant as bait to distract Auro of the Nine.
He had actually gotten a memory after defeating the Awakened soldier, wondering what it was. Sunny quickly checked the runes as the slaves were being reconnected to the main chain.
Memory: [Vessel of Rememberance].
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Type: Tool.
Memory Description: [A memory that will never be forgotten.]
'A tool…'
Tool memories were the utility portion of an Awakened's arsenal. They granted mysterious abilities that could be extremely useful in combat, or other situations.
He couldn't summon it currently, but he could always check at a later time. Sunny eyed the knight who had found the corpses he left, fashioned in a way that they would seem like they were attacked by a Nightmare Creature. Even if they were to grow suspicious of the slaves, Sunny would be the last person they would suspect.
As Sunny observed the Awakened, he resisted the urge to grin.
'I wonder what type of memory I could get from him.'
***
After making another grueling journey up the mountain, night had fallen once more. Just as it had the night before, the slaves shoved and pushed each other as they attempted to get closer to the fire.
Sunny was standing near Shifty, looking around for a chance to get another kill.
A few steps away from them, where the paved road ended and sharp rocks began, a scattering of bright-red berries were growing from the snow. Sunny had noticed them before, clustering here and there along the road, and even noted how pretty those resilient things looked contrasted against the white. The Shifty's eyes glistened as he tried to crawl towards the berries on all fours.
"I would advise against eating those, friend."
It was the Scholar again. Sunny turned around and finally saw him in the flesh for the first time. It was a tall man in his forties, lean and strangely handsome, with a dignified look of a Scholar. How a man such as him ended up a slave was a mystery. Yet there he was.
"You and your advice again! What?! Why?!"
The scholar smiled apologetically.
"These berries are called Bloodbane. They grow in the places where human blood was spilled. That's why there's always a lot of them along the slave trade routes."
"So what?"
The older man sighed.
"Bloodbane is poisonous. A few berries might be enough to kill an adult man."
"Curses!"
The shifty slave flinched back and glared at the scholar.
Sunny did not pay them a lot of attention.
Because, while looking around, he finally recognized the site of the camp as the place where, in his vision at the start of the Nightmare, the bones of the slaves were buried under the snow. And he was willing to bet that whatever it was that killed them all was going to happen soon.
He was simply waiting for the opportunity.
As if to answer his thoughts, a thundering noise rang from above.
And in the next second, something massive came crashing from the sky…
Turning in the direction of the thundering noise, many slaves rose their heads — only to see rocks and heavy shards of ice raining on them from above. They instantly panicked, lurching away in a cacophony of screams. Shadows happily danced on black stones as, entangled by the thick chain, those slaves fell to the ground and pulled others with them.
Sunny was one of the few that remained upright, mostly because he was ready for something like this to happen. Calm and collected, he gazed at the night sky, his Attribute-enhanced eyes piercing the darkness, and took one measured step back. In the next second, a piece of ice the size of a man's torso hit the ground right in front of him and exploded, showering everything around with sharp shards.
Others weren't that quick. As ice and stones continued to rain, many were wounded, and a few even lost their lives. Agonizing wails filled the air.
"On your feet, fools! Get to the wall!"
The veteran soldier — the one who had whipped Sunny a few hours before — was shouting angrily, trying to get the slaves to move towards the relative safety of the mountain slope. However, before anyone could heed his command, something massive came crashing down, sending a tremor through the stones beneath their feet. It fell right between the caravan and the mountain wall, plunging everything into silence for a few seconds.
At first, it looked like a lump of dirty snow, roughly round in shape and as tall as a mounted horseman. However, once the creature unfurled its long limbs and rose, it towered over the stone platform like a nightmarish omen of death.
'That thing must be at least four meters tall,' Sunny thought, a bit stunned.
The creature had two stumpy legs, an emaciated, hunched torso and disproportionately long, multijointed hands — two of them, each ending with a set of horrifying bone claws, and another two, these ones shorter, ending with almost human-like fingers. The thing that at first glance looked like dirty snow turned out to be its fur, yellowish-grey and ragged, thick enough to stop arrows and swords.
On its head, five milky, white eyes regarded the slaves with insect-like indifference. Beneath them, a terrible maw crowding with razor-sharp teeth was half-open, as though in anticipation. Viscous drool was running down the creature's chin and dripping into the snow.
What unnerved Sunny the most, though, were the strange shapes endlessly moving, worm-like, under the creature's skin. He could see them clearly because, unfortunately, he was one of those unlucky souls closest to the monstrosity, getting a nauseating first-row view.
'Well, that is just… too much,' he thought, stupefied.
As soon as Sunny finished that thought, all hell broke loose. The creature moved, slashing its claws in his general direction. But Sunny was one step ahead: without wasting a single moment, he jumped sideways — as far as the chain allowed — conveniently placing the broad-shouldered slave between himself and the monster.
His quick reaction saved his life, as those sharp claws, each as long as a sword, sliced through the broad-shouldered man a fraction of a second later and sent streams of blood flying through the air. Drenched in the hot liquid, Sunny hit the ground, and his fellow slave — now simply a corpse — fell on him from above.
'Damn! Why are you so heavy!'
Temporarily blinded, Sunny heard a chilling howl and felt an enormous shadow passing over him. Immediately after, a deafening chorus of screams filled the night. Not paying it any attention, he tried to roll the corpse to the side, but was stopped by a forceful lurch of the chain that twisted his wrists and filled his mind with white-hot pain. Disoriented, he felt himself being dragged a few steps, but then the chain suddenly slackened, and he was able to control his hands again.
'See, things could have been worse…'
Putting his palms against the dead man's chest, he pushed with all the strength he had. The heavy corpse stubbornly resisted all his attempts, but then finally fell sideways, setting Sunny free. However, he didn't get to celebrate this newly found freedom, as his blood suddenly turned to ice.
Because at that moment, with his palms still pressed against the broad-shouldered slave's bleeding body, he clearly felt something wriggling under the dead man's skin.
'You just had to think about how things could get worse, right, you idiot?' he thought, and then flinched back.
Pushing the corpse with his legs, Sunny crawled as far away from it as he could — which was about a meter and a half, thanks to the ever-present chain. He quickly glanced around, noticing a mass of dancing shadows and the silhouette of the monster rampaging amidst the screaming slaves on the opposite end of the stone platform. Then he concentrated on the dead body, which was starting to convulse with growing violence.
Sunny did the first thing he could think of, and summoned the [Dagger of Peace]. He started to stab repeatedly at the body on top of him, not knowing where he was hitting due to the panic. The broad-shouldered slave was skewered repeatedly by Sunny, until he finally got an announcement from the spell.
[You have slain a dormant beast, Mountain King's Larva.]
Sunny paled.
He had just killed a Nightmare Creature.
'Something is definitely wrong here!'
But Sunny's conclusion that things weren't right did not come from self-pity. He just meant that this whole situation was literally not right: the Spell, mysterious as it was, had its own set of rules. There were rules for what type of creatures could appear in any given Nightmare, too.
Nightmare Creatures had their own hierarchy: from mindless Beasts to Monsters, followed by Demons, Devils, Tyrants, Terrors and, finally, mythical Titans, also known as Calamities. The First Nightmare was almost always populated by beasts and monsters, rarely with a demon mixed in. And Sunny had never, ever heard about anything stronger than a single devil appearing in it.
However, the creature had clearly just created a lesser version of itself — an ability that belonged exclusively to tyrants, the sovereigns of the Nightmare Spell, and those above them.
What was this tyrant even doing in a First Nightmare?
How powerful was that damn [Fated] attribute?!
But there was no time to ponder.
Unfair or not, there was only one person now who could save Sunny — himself.
He pushed off the mountain king's larva, and surveyed the current situation, his ability to see in the dark being essential currently.
Actually, this granted something of an opportunity, considering that between the chaos and the darkness of the night, nobody would possibly suspect him if he started to slaughter everyone in his path.
And slaughter he did.
***
Sunny squeezed the berries into the canteen, plugging it up once he was done. His hand was stained red now — actually, everything was — but now wasn't the time to worry about it.
He heard raspy breaths nearby, causing him to grow alert.
A moment later, he was standing in front of the dying body of the soldier who had whipped him earlier. Sunny looked around for a second, before kneeling down in front of the slaver. He seemed to be reaching for a broken sword, which Sunny decided to grab himself.
"Are you looking for this? Why? Are you guys like Vikings, longing to die with a weapon in your hands?"
The dying soldier didn't answer, watching the young slave with some unknown, intense emotion in his eyes.
Sunny sighed.
"Well, it might as well do. After all, I promised to watch you die."
With that, he leaned forward and slit the old man's throat with the sharp edge of his broken blade, then threw it away. The soldier twitched, drowning in his own blood. The expression in his eyes changed — was it gratitude? Or hatred? Sunny did not know.
He sat quietly near the old man, keeping him company on this last journey.
After a while, the Spell's voice came whispering into his ear:
[You have slain a dormant human, name unknown.]
[You have received a memory, Silver Bell.]
Sunny sighed, disappointed.
'Well, with my luck, what was I expecting?'
Still, this thing was worth investigating. Maybe it had a powerful enchantment, like being able to send out destructive sonic waves or repelling incoming projectiles.
Sunny summoned the runes and concentrated on the words "Silver Bell". Immediately, an image of a small bell appeared in front of his eyes, with a short string of text below.
Memory Description: [A small memento of a long-lost home, which once brought its owner comfort and joy. It's clear ringing can be heard from miles away.]
'What a piece of crap,' Sunny thought, dejected.
Actually, Sunny had obtained quite a few memories in the past few hours, but most of them were useless.
During the attack from the Mountain King, Sunny had ran around under the cover of shadows, attacking everyone not within the vicinity of the the tyrant. This included both the Mountain King's Larva, and the slaves who hadn't been taken under it's control.
However, he made sure not to attack a few of them, as they would be useful in getting rid of the Mountain King.
In particular, the Knight, Shifty, and Scholar.
While the Knight was distracting the abomination, Sunny got Shifty and Scholar to push the cargo into the tyrant, which got itself caught on the massive chain. It was then pulled down until it toppled over the edge, falling a deadly drop.
Unfortunately, the tyrant was still alive, as the Spell did not announce the kill, nor did Sunny think that the tyrant would die from such a height, considering that it had jumped down from a much higher level of the mountain.
'What a pain…'
The tyrant was surely coming back for round two, so the four were in a rush to get to the top of the mountain, as far away from the Mountain King as possible.
Of course, the other three were not aware of an even bigger threat…
***
Shifty gulped down even more water, somehow looking even paler than before.
One misstep, and he fell to his doom, implied by a spike.
***
[You have slain a dormant human…]
***
Scholar took another step forward 'accidentally' bumping into the child in front of him.
Instead, he was the one who suddenly lost his balance, body failing him from the inside.
***
[You have slain a dormant human…]
***
At the peak of the mountain, Igris turned away from the child, trying to figure out the easiest and simplest way to use the slave as bait. The moon was once again reaching high into the sky, the third night arriving as the sun was completely gone.
He looked towards the only other living person left, before suddenly realizing that he wasn't there.
The child had disappeared.
And he was falling.
Igris felt a searing pain in his left ankle, before he suddenly felt similar pain in his right. His eyes widened in confusion and pain, attempting to unsheathe his sword. The simple act was made difficult due to finish the act.
A moment later, something moved in the darkness, completely undetectable by his superhuman senses.
Everything went dark.
***
[You have slain an awakened human, Igris of War.]
***
Sunny stood in front of what seemed to be a temple, shivering as the cold seeped into his very bones. He took a step forward. And another. And he continued to move forward.
He paused for a moment, taking a look around.
'Was there something here?'
Thinking that his paranoia was starting to get to him, Sunny sprinted into the temple before he could convince himself not to go in.
However, he suddenly tripped.
'Ack!'
Sunny stood back up, realizing that he had cut his right hand, as it was oozing out blood. However, it was a minor injury, so he moved forward with the desire to explore the temple.
His luck was running out anyways, as he had no means to kill the tyrant chasing him down.
To get at least some comfort before his demise, Sunny laid on what seemed to be some sort of stone pedestal, large enough for a person to use as a rough bed.
Sunny felt the familiar call of sleep reach out to him. The blood staining his hands seeped onto the stone pedestal.
'Don't fall for it. It's just hypothermia. If you fall asleep, you'll die.'
[You have offered yourself as a sacrifice to the gods.]
'…What?
[The gods are dead, and can not hear you.]
"No, seriously."
[You soul bears the mark of divinity.]
[You are a temple slave.]
[Shadow God stirs in his eternal slumber.]
"I'm not following…"
[He sends a blessing from beyond the grave.]
[Child of Shadows, receive your blessing!]
Befuddled, he suddenly felt a strange sensation on the side of his face. It was a dark mass taking the shape of a hand.
'Is it made of shadows?'
Normally, this would be quite eerie, and Sunny would start screaming like a little girl, but he was strangely comforted by the hand. It was if he had finally found solace.
He hadn't, but it was similar.
The hand disappeared, dissolving back into the shadows. Before Sunny could contemplate what had just happened, he heard another announcement from the Spell.
[You have offered up the blood of War.]
[Grasping life for one last time, the Goddess of War has offered up her divine lineage.]
"…I've gotten pretty popular lately, huh?"
[The cycle of life and death is almost complete.]
[You have breached the contract between the gods.]
'What is even happening anymore at this point?'
"I BLAME YOU, [FATED]!"
Sunny coughed after exerting himself. It was a reasonable reaction, considering that attracting the attention of not one, but two gods would be something of a big deal.
Unfortunately, it seems that he has attracted the attention of quite the foe.
The Mountain King stood, it's milky eyes unblinking. It stepped forward, coming in Sunny's direction.
'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!'
Sunny tried to pray to the elusive gods who had just granted him their blessing. He hoped that they were still looking down upon him, giving him the means to defeat the tyrant, or at least survive.
It seemed that his prayers were answered.
It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, the Mountain King was walking towards him, the next, it was strung up by countless shadows. It appeared as if it was a hamster turned into a pincushion, not that Sunny had seen a hamster. He had only heard of it in passing.
Tentacles of darkness surged forward, entangling Mountain King's arms and legs. The mighty tyrant struggled, trying to get free.
But how could it resist the power of a god?
The shadows dragged Mountain King back, pulling in different directions. The tyrant opened its maw, and a furious howl escaped it.
The next second, its body ruptured, torn apart into pieces.
Blood, viscera and severed limbs fell on the floor in a crimson torrent. Just like that, the horrible creature was dead.
Sunny blinked.
Once again, he was alone in the ruined temple. The great hall was dark and silent.
And then the Spell whispered:
[You have slain an awakened tyrant, Mountain King.]
[Wake up, Sunless! Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]
***
Sunny found himself in a space between dream and reality. It was an endless black void illuminated by a myriad of stars. Between those stars, countless strings of silver light were woven into a beautiful and inconceivably complex net, forming various nexuses and constellations. It was truly breathtaking.
Somehow, Sunny understood that he was seeing the inner workings of the Nightmare Spell. He also couldn't help but think that it looked a lot like the celestial equivalent of a neural network. If so… was the Spell alive?
This was a question that countless people had been asking themselves for the past few decades. The best answer they had come up with was that there was no way to know. The Spell was neither alive nor dead; neither sentient nor mindless.
It was more of a function than a creature.
But Sunny was in no mood to ponder philosophical questions. He was eagerly awaiting his boon.
The Spell was still appraising his performance. However, the first reward had nothing to do with it.
[You have received a Memory: Puppeteer's Shroud]
'Yes!'
Sunny felt incredibly elated. He was almost ready to do a happy dance. That Memory belonged to Mountain King, who was an awakened tyrant — which meant that the Memory itself was of the Awakened rank. Getting it was a stroke of incredible luck!
There were seven ranks to everything in the Spell. These ranks were, in order of growing power: Dormant, Awakened, Ascended, Transcendent, Supreme, Sacred and Divine (with the exclusion of Nightmare Creatures, who were ranked as Dormant, Awakened, Fallen, Corrupted, Great, Cursed and Unholy).
From the Spell's point of view, Sunny was a dormant human. Having a Memory of a higher rank than his own soul core would be of great help once he enters the Dream Realm. The power gap between different ranks simply could not be overestimated.
He wanted to take a look at the Puppeteer's Shroud, but there was no more time. The Spell was done with its appraisal.
Here in the void, its voice didn't sound subtle and familiar anymore. Rather, it seemed like the universe itself was speaking. Sunny held his breath, listening.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[A nameless slave ascended the black mountain, a grudge in his heart and treachery on his mind. With shadows as his only ally, heroes and monsters fell by his merciless hand. Unbroken after his senseless slaughter, he entered the temple of a long-forgotten god, spilling his blood and the blood of his enemies upon its sacred altar. The gods were dead, and yet, they listened, breaching a divine agreement.]
[You have defeated 397 dormant beasts, Mountain King's Larva.]
[You have defeated 486 dormant humans, names unknown.]
[You have defeated an awakened human: Auro of the Nine.]
[You have defeated an awakened human: Igris of War.]
[You have defeated an awakened tyrant: Mountain King.]
[You have received the Shadow God's blessing.]
[You have stolen the War God's lineage.]
[Your feats are incomprehensible!]
[Final appraisal: unknown. Your treachery has surpassed the limits of fate!]
[You have received an attribute.]
[You have received an attribute.]
[Your attribute has evolved.]
[Your attribute has evolved.]
Sunny took a deep breath. That comment about him being treacherous was extremely uncalled for, but he'll let it slide considering how great everything is sounding so far. The Spell is even acting like he had broken it's systems!
He felt like his chances of evolving his Aspect to an Awakened, or even Ascended one were pretty high.
His overall power was still dependent on the rank of his soul core, which would remain dormant until much later, but the rank of the Aspect itself would do wonders for his overall potential.
[Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon!]
He was an Aspirant no more. Sunny grinned.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Lost from Light.]
His jaw dropped. A true name! He had received a true name! Never in his wildest dreams did Sunny dream of becoming one of the chosen few to accomplish such feat — and in his very first Nightmare to boot! Not even all of the Saints could boast of having one. He was an elite now, a bonafide cream of the crop! He was going to be rich!
But the rewards kept coming.
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
'What kind of a question is that?!'
Sunny crossed his fingers and said "yes".
[Dormant Aspect Temple Slave is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Divine.]
Sunny fell over.
[Aspect Name: Shadow Slave.]
***
'Divine… it's Divine.'
Sunny was standing on his knees, stupefied. The shock was so great that for a second there he lost all control over his limbs and fell.
'It said "divine"... right?'
Sunny silently summoned the runes and found the lines describing his aspect.
Aspect: [Shadow Slave].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Description: [You are a miraculous shadow left behind by a dead god. As a divine shadow, you possess plenty of strange and wondrous powers. However, your existence is empty and lonesome; you mourn the passing of your former master and long to find a new one.]
Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond].
Ability Description: [Find a worthy master and let them know your True Name. Once they recite it out loud, you will be bound to their will, unable to disobey any command. It is improper for a shadow, let alone a divine one, to walk around without a master.]
That was… a lot to digest.
First of all, Sunny felt his heart beating faster. He heard it right! All the suffering and horror he had experienced in the First Nightmare paid off in the end. A divine Aspect, he had received a divine Aspect! Anything above Awakened was rare and immensely valuable!
People with Ascended Aspects were rare enough to be fought over by various factions. The factions themselves were built around singular powerhouses with Transcendent or Supreme Aspects. And he had never, ever heard of anyone acquiring a Divine one. Never!
Of course, the universe was quite large, so he wouldn't be surprised if there was another Divine Aspect or two out there.
…Sunny felt like he would regret thinking that.
Anything with the "divine" prefix was so hard to find that it mostly lived in the realm of myths and legends. After all, the human race had not reached that high yet; it was a few millennia since humans managed to finally conquer the Third Nightmare and receive the ability to evolve their cores to Transcendent rank. Although the Nightmare Spell had been around for a long time, humanity used to have to face off against other threats, such as the Swarm or the Legion, who were servants to higher beings known as Aeons; embodiments of a concept.
Sunny hoped to never encounter such an entity, nor their subordinates.
As Transcendents — or Saints, as they were called in the real world — powerful Awakened ruled over the Dream Realm, but even they did not dare to face Nightmare Creatures of higher ranks. Subsequently, there were not a lot of Memories and Echoes of Supreme rank around, let alone Sacred… or Divine. The same went for Aspects.
And yet Sunny just got one!
He grinned, driven half-mad by joy and arrogance. However, his jubilation was a little muddied. After all, there was that weird innate ability. Of course, he had no intention of becoming someone's magical slave, with no free will of his own. To hell with that!
But it wasn't that bad. All he had to do to avoid that fate was to conceal his True Name. No one except for him could see his status. That meant that Sunny just had to keep his mouth shut, and no one will know that he even had one.
It meant giving up on all the benefits that someone who was bestowed a True Name after the First Nightmare was entitled to, but it all paled in comparison with a Divine Aspect.
'Not a problem,' Sunny thought with a smirk.
If the Spell had the ability to laugh, it would surely do so after hearing his thoughts. However, it didn't. Instead, it began to speak again:
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Sunny felt something waking up inside of him. With a startled cry, he clutched his chest and stared into the darkness, trying to understand what was happening. The feeling was not painful or unpleasant, yet it was like nothing he had ever experienced. It was as though his soul was being shaken awake, infused with strange new energy.
However, that energy did not come from some outside source. Rather, it was coming from within, as though it had always been there, sleeping.
The energy filled every fiber of his being. Sunny felt his emotions becoming clearer and sharper. Then, his body began to change, too. He felt as though a miniature star was burning in the center of his chest: waves of heat were radiating from it, slowly reaching his stomach and shoulders, then his arms and legs, then his hands and feet.
Under that heat, his bones, muscles, organs and blood vessels were being rebuilt and revitalized. Sunny felt like he was being reborn. He was becoming stronger, faster, healthier.
It was euphoric.
With each second, his transformation was becoming more profound. New confidence settled in Sunny's heart. He was not a weak, frail street kid anymore. He was not as vulnerable against anyone who would wish to bully him as he was in the past.
With his powers awakened and his will tempered by the horrors of the First Nightmare, he was now someone you would not want to cross.
After some time had passed, the star burning in his chest finally cooled down. The heat was replaced with a soothing coldness. That coldness washed over Sunny's body, taking away all the aches and discomforts that had been accumulated there over the years. Then it moved up, reaching his brain and, finally, his eyes.
His vision strangely doubled.
He could still see the void populated by an endless pattern of stars. But he could also see something different.
A silent, calm dark sea illuminated by a lonely black sun.
From his previous knowledge, Sunny knew that this was his so-called Soul Sea. But he also knew that it was supposed to look quite different.
For starters, it was supposed to be much more lively. The star hanging above — the visual representation of his soul core — was supposed to be burning with bright light, filling the Soul Sea with a warm, blinding shining.
However, Sunny's soul was dark and lightless.
'That's strange.'
He took a look at the black sun. At a closer examination, it actually turned out to be transparent. It's just that with no other major source of light around, the star had appeared to be as dark as its surroundings.
Also, no one wass supposed to be here except for him. It was his soul, after all! But Sunny had a nagging feeling that somewhere just beyond the periphery of his vision, hidden in the darkness, shapeless forms were constantly moving. No matter how he turned his head, he couldn't catch a clear glimpse of them. And yet the feeling would not go away.
He also caught site of a light blue shape moving around. It was too small to see clearly, but it was an anomaly within what his soul sea should have looked like.
Not wishing to waste any more time on this right now, Sunny turned back to the black sun and finally spotted a few dozen spheres of light orbiting around it, as though caught in the soul core's gravity well. A subtle smile appeared on his face.
These were his Memories. As his arsenal grew, he more orbs would start to circle his soul core. If he was lucky, he would even acquire an Echo or two!
The Spell's voice suddenly pulled him out of the Soul Sea.
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
'This is it. The moment of truth,' Sunny thought.
Divine Aspect or not, his immediate future still depended on the first Aspect Ability he would receive. His role in the Dream Realm would be based on its characteristics. If it was a combat ability, he would be most useful on the frontlines of the bloody battles against the Nightmare Creatures. If it was tied to sorcery, he would likely become a powerful, but fragile ranged fighter.
If it was something having to do with utility, he would be a vitally important part of the behind-the-scenes workings of the Dream Realm. Utility Abilities were also extremely valued in the real world, where Awakened performed many tasks that kept it going.
If he was lucky, he could even become a healer. Healers were very rare, and as such, sought-after specialists.
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Shadow Control.]
Sunny hurriedly summoned the runes. He wanted to go to the description of his new ability right away, but then decided to give his overall information a look first.
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Dreamer.
Shadow Core: Dormant.
Shadow Fragments: [897/1000].
'What? What is that?'
Where the rank of his soul core was supposed to be written, a mysterious "Shadow Core" appeared instead. Sunny looked at it, blinking. He had never heard of anyone having a different kind of core before. Was he that unique?
This enigmatic shadow core would certainly explain why his Sea of Soul looked so strange. And also… He moved his eyes down, noticing the "Shadow Fragments" counter. Usually, there was supposed to be an indicator of the number of soul shards consumed. However, it was nowhere to be seen.
'Do I… do I actually have a completely different progression path than all Awakened?'
The idea was as exciting as it was frightening. Not having to fight for resources with anybody else was an incredible advantage. Most of the human society in the Dream Realm was built around the acquisition of soul shards. If he had no need to gather them to evolve… not only would he be able to become more powerful with incredible speed, he would also be completely self-sufficient.
On the other hand, he had no idea how to acquire these shadow fragments. However, he had gotten 897 of them somehow already: so whatever it was that he had to do, he had already done it in the First Nightmare. He had even almost fully saturated his core!
'I'll have to explore this carefully.'
Satisfied with this decision, Sunny continued to study the runes.
Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Dagger of Eve], [Vessel of Remembrance]...
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Fate's Chosen], [Essence of Divinity], [Child of Shadows], [The War], [Breach of Styx].
Aspect: [Shadow Slave].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control].
Aspect Ability Description: [Your shadow is more independent than most. It is an invaluable helper.]
'What is that supposed to mean?'
Sunny held his breath and began to read the description again, but at that moment, a new set of runes appeared just below it. Simultaneously, the Spell's voice resounded in the black void.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
[Your Flaw is: …]
Sunny read the runes, and his eyes widened in horror.
'Oh, no. No, no, no...'
'Please, be gone! Please!'
But the runes were still there, shining slightly, as though mocking him.
Flaw: [Clear Conscience].
Flaw Description: [You cannot lie.]
Sunny stared at these three simple words, feeling like there was a bottomless abyss opening right beneath his feet. The Spell, which was usually frivolous with its descriptions, decided to be straight and on point this time. There were only three words. They left him no room to maneuver.
'Can't lie. I can't lie? Me? How am I supposed to live if I can't lie?!'
Sunny's very survival was predicated on his ability to deceive and outsmart other people. Even the Spell itself congratulated him on his treachery! Without the ability to lie, he wouldn't be able to achieve anything.
Not to mention…
His heart suddenly felt as though it was about to stop.
If he could only tell the truth, how was he supposed to hide his True Name? Wouldn't anyone be able to turn him into an obedient slave by simply asking a couple of innocent questions?
"Sh…"
Sunny was about to scream and curse, but at that moment, the Spell spoke again.
[Wake up, Lost from Light!]
The black void spun and disappeared.
***
Sunny jolted awake, sobering up after hearing his name. It was quite the unusual one, but his mother had a poetic soul, and he just so happened to be born under the solar eclipse.
Sunny looked around the still empty park. Time passed the same in the real world, so three days must have passed.
Sunny decided to dive into his soul sea, as there were a few things he had to check. One of which being the moving shadows!
***
Sunny shrieked.
There were hundreds of them!
It didn't matter where he looked. He was completely surrounded by silhouettes of what seemed to be all the enemies he had killed.
'Nope! Not dealing with this.'
***
Sunny exited his soul sea with his eyes closed. He was still horrified of what he had just saw, considering that he now had still shadowy figure in his soul.
Sunny had reviewed his runes, learning more about his evolved and newly developed attributes.
[Fate's Chosen]: Although you are still Fated, you have shown the ability to resist your fate, causing you to be selected as Fate's champion. The trials will only get worse from here…
[Essence of Divinity]: Due to the divinities of two major gods, you're very essence has been altered to contain it.
[The War]: You carry the divine lineage of War, stolen by surpassing the descendents of War within their own divine realm.
[Breach of Styx]: As you are blessed by multiple gods, you stand as the symbol of the broken, everlasting promise made in ancient times.
Sunny wasn't quite sure what these would do yet, but he would certainly need to test them out.
Sunny opened his eyes.
He shrieked.
Standing right in front of him was a woman with magenta hair and a matching set of eyes. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she wore a pair of round sunglasses resting on her forehead. Her outfit seemed quite expensive by Sunny's standards(which weren't very high), and she wore an overcoat that didn't cover her arms.
'…What a weird fashion statement.'
Not that Sunny knew anything about fashion.
"What were you thinking about?"
The women spoke to him, pulling Sunny out of his thoughts. She had an eerie smile that hadn't changed since the moment Sunny saw her.
'Creepy…'
"I thought you were weird for wearing a coat that didn't cover your arms."
Sunny froze. His eyes widened. His respiratory functions halted. His hands were already raised to his mouth, trying to shove the words back in.
'It's too late, huh?'
***
Sunny had a red handprint on his cheek, which hurt quite a bit considering the woman's stature. She didn't seem very muscular, but…
Sunny looked up to the sunglasses-wearing woman, who was tilting her head in curiosity. Her skin was flawless, and her face was extraordinarily beautiful. She also exuded this aura…
It felt as if he was caught in a web.
"If you don't mind me asking miss, are you a Master, or a Saint?"
Master was an honorific term used for Ascended, while Saint served the same purpose for Transcendents.
The strange woman slightly smirked, before answering his question.
"Oh? I wonder how you figured that out. I'm a Saint, but what made you think that I wasn't just an Awakened?"
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"The Awakened that I've met in my Nightmare didn't feel as… prominent as you."
There were multiple things that weren't adding up. Why was there a Saint on Earth? What were they doing right here, in front of Sunny? Realistically, Sunny should never meet a Saint, unless it was within the Dream Realm or another, more populated planet.
"You're probably wondering what I'm doing on this backwards planet."
Surprised at her basically reading his thoughts, Sunny nodded, confirming the Saint's assumption.
Her smile spread a little more, sending shivers down Sunny's spine.
"It's pretty simple actually. I'm here to give you an offer, mister Divine Aspect."
Sunny blinked. He was now somewhat alarmed, as he now knew that this woman, or someone in cahoots with her, had the ability to learn Aspect ranks.
However, as she hadn't said his True Name, he could assume that they weren't all-knowing. It would be stupid to deny yourself the power of a Divine Aspect when you only had to say three words.
At the mention of the word 'offer', greed appeared in his lightless eyes, imagining all the things that he could gain from a Saint.
'I'm going to be rich!'
"Go on, Saint… uh, what was your name?"
"…You're not very delicate with these matters, are you?"
Sunny smiled politely.
"I'm very delicate with a lot of things, thank you very much."
Sunny's eyes glanced downwards.
'Speaking of delicate… thighs.'
"Where are you looking?"
"Your thighs… Aren't we getting off topic?"
Sunny hoped that she would ignore that comment. To be honest, he hadn't met a woman as attractive as the one in front of him. Of course, she was a Saint, so she was bound to be many times more attractive than a woman in the outskirts.
Sunny couldn't help himself, he was an (un)healthy young pre-teen after all!
The Saint put a finger to her chin, as if she was pondering something.
"Ah, I guess we were."
She stared straight at Sunless, with eyes that felt as if they saw straight through his lightless orbs.
"My name is Kafka, and I'm offering you the chance to join our little crew…"