A nightmare?
His fingers clawed at his own neck, half-expecting to feel the wet, open wound. Nothing. Just skin, slick with sweat.
He swallowed hard, his eyes still adjusting to the brightness of the morning sun.
"What the…"
The words barely left his lips, still struggling to grasp the fact that everything that he just saw was a dream.
"It was all a dream… but it felt so real,"
That was how dreams normally were but this felt different, was this because his attribute effect Free dreaming?
That was the only answer he could come up with, so he opened his Scripture,
___
-Anchor of Oroborn-
Name: Izikel Vau-Leotard
Title: The Dreamer
Acquired Attribute: The one who Dreams.
Attribute effects:-
Higher mental awareness: The Dreamer is more in touch with his subconscious.
Free dreaming: your dreams are no more ordinary.
Attribute Miracles:-
Dream walking: The Dreamer can travel between dreams.
Dream creation: The Dreamer can create items in his dream.
Dream divination: The Dreamer can divine the known.
Soul Divinity: II
Soul energy: 1000/1000
___
'it says my dreams are no more ordinary, so that was what it meant, that my dreams would feel more real?'
That wasn't all, he could also remember every single detail of it, like how the sword went through his little neck, or the cold look of death in those guards red eyes. His dreams were never this detailed, but this time they were as vivid as an actual memory.
"Why doesn't this shit come with a manual!" He sighed, frustrated.
He rubbed his tired eyes, contemplating if he should return back to sleep. Evidently, the time he spent in the Dream world last night didn't count as sleeping.
After staying up late the night before, he had only slept for three hours before being forced awake by this unfortunate nightmare.
'why am I dreaming about two dead people… are they going to come back,'
The thought sent a shiver through his spine, but then again he wondered why would they come for him, he wasn't the one who killed them.
Thinking back the guide did say dreams were born from imagination and memories, so this could have just been a combination of the two,
'but I have never seen that last guy with a sword before,'
He pondered on it for a few more seconds then shrugged it aside. It was just a dream anyways and it wasn't even the craziest dream he had dreamt, one time he dreamt that he walked in on his girlfriend with another guy and he didn't even have a girlfriend at that time…
That's just how dreams are. Fucked up.
He was just about to close the Fate scripture before he noticed that there was a new miracle, Dream divination. He didn't expect to see it there but it quickly made sense that it was.
His brows furrowed
"No announcement? No grand revelation? Just… there?"
Most stories he had read would make a big deal about unlocking a new skill. A voice in his head announcing, "Congratulations! You have awakened a new ability!" But here? Nothing. Just another line on the list.
Seeing it here didn't mean that much to him, the only thing that crossed his mind was the fact that this meant that he could only get new miracles by performing them. It wasn't going to come as a skill reward or upgrade, instead it would only come after he had performed something new with his abilities.
And that brought up an even bigger question.
"What exactly is the Fate Scripture?"
It was something all Divine believers had, and if it was the same for everyone, it was merely a menu to tell your powers.
It wasn't a system. It didn't guide him, didn't reward him, didn't push him toward progression. It was just there—a silent record of his existence. A passive observer.
That was unlike any system Izikel had seen in any of the fictional works he had read. Izikel suspected that it had something to do with the Order of Divinity Oroborn had mentioned.
Before he could lay back down and ponder on this new thought, there was a knock on the room door
Still not fully recovered from the dream yet, his heart almost jumped out of his chest, but it was calmed as Dremlin poked his head inside wearing a friendly smile as usual.
"Good morning master Izikel,"
Izikel noticed the difference in the way he addressed him,
"no more young master?" He asked
Dremlin gave a small, dry laugh before his expression turned solemn. "No, sir."
They both went silent as they were reminded as to why that was.
Izikel remained quiet until he remembered something he had to do today. He had to meet Sophia so she could explain the things the guide wouldn't, like how to increase your soul divinity.
"Dremlin where is Sophia?"
"She probably spent the night at the Saint quarters, she had to report about the two guards that went missing,"
Izikel's heart skipped a beat or two,
"The missing guards?"
"Yes… but you have nothing to worry about that matter, no one would ever know what we did," he said in his usual carefree manner and a wink.
'we?!' Izikel screamed inwardly, 'who the hell is 'we', I didn't kill anybody!'
Dremlin continued speaking, unaware of the turmoil in Izikel's mind.
"I'm actual here because of another matter…"
He was hesitant to speak almost as if he didn't know how to start.
"I came to warn you…"
His usual carefree tone vanished, replaced by something colder. He took a slow breath, as if bracing himself.
"There is a law that all five kingdoms must uphold,"
Izikel felt his body tense as Dremlin's next words rang heavy in the air.
"To be corrupted… is to be slaughtered."
A cold dread seeped into Izikel's bones.
Dremlin's gaze locked onto him, unwavering.
"That means you must hide it, Master Izikel. Under no circumstances must anyone find out that your soul energy is chaos."
His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper.
"No one, Master Izikel. Not even Saint Sophia."
Before he could say another word, there was another knock on the door and this time it was none other than Sophia.