[Prepare for Appraisal…]
Sunny opened his eyes.
He was alive.
Didn't he burn to death?
'I survived?'
Looking around, he 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.
…Not as breathtaking as his survival though.
It really happened!
Sunny…. He… he survived!
'I almost thought it was a real death, burning…' He shuddered, 'I never want to be burned ever again — I already died two times because of it.'
'But— The Spell did say I died, who saved me then? What held me together?'
Racking his brain, Sunny tried to think of any possible explanation, but couldn't come up with anything.
It felt strange for someone to be 'holding his soul together' as the Spell had just said.
'Well, I'll take this survival gratefully!'
Out of nowhere, the spell's indifferent voice boomed again, helping to ground Sunny in his reality — the death in his First Nightmare must have only been a dream! Like how he had lived through the Dream Weaver enthralling him in an eternity of slumber.
[You have received a memory, Dream Torch.]
'A memory!' Sunny exclaimed in his mind.
The memory… it tasted sweet, bitterly sweet — it was a memento, a definite proof of his survival from the creature. But— he had only survived because of the damned unknown, not of his own efforts.
If it wasn't there, would he have lived? Would he still be standing here, unharmed?
He still wasn't strong enough!
Like…
'No Sunny! Stop thinking about that! There was nothing you could have done!'
It was at this moment, the Spell's voice once again ignited, as if mocking him for his powerlessness before it graced itself to him.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
'Over? Yeah, that can't be right! There's still the Winter Solstice! Can't I get a break for once?'
[A keeper of the flame was enthralled into a breathless slumber. His mind overtaken, he lost himself — and yet, he remembered, and broke through the trial of the treacherous creature. Filled with spite, he doused himself, along with the one who had wronged him, in oil, and set himself aflame. Waking up from the dream, he hunted the monster until its very last breath, before the silver flame devoured everything around it.]
It… it was flowery, but also poetic to the ears. Like a herald acknowledging his efforts for this first nightmare to be over.
There would be many more to come.
[You have defeated an Awakened Terror, Dream Weaver.]
Throughout the whole process, he had only defeated one creature — the master behind his almost eternal slumber. It wasn't much, but quality over quantity as they say. An Awakened Terror is infinitely better than thousands of Dormant ones.
The Spell continued.
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[Final Appraisal: glorious. Your will is unbroken.]
The Appraisal… It seemed ominous, yes, his will is unbroken, since why would he give in?
Something was off though, but Sunny didn't know whatever it was.
[Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon!]
Dreamer. Not Aspirant.
Sunny was a Dreamer now, or in more 'human' terms — a Sleeper. He had survived.
A grin found its way onto his face, as the Spell continued to whisper.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Forgotten Dream.]
Sunny's jaw dropped. A True Name? Now that was generous. Never in his wildest dreams would he dream of receiving one — it was extremely valuable, so rare that not all saints even had one. And… he received it in his First Nightmare! A feat that was never heard of in history.
'Heh, so I guess the Spell really is repaying my efforts in survival.'
The rewards kept coming.
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
'What kind of question is that?'
Crossing his fingers, Sunny determinedly answered.
'Yes.'
[Dormant Aspect Lighthouse Keeper is ready to evolve…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Divine.]
Sunny fell over.
He wasn't dreaming was he?
'What kind of question is that!? Who dreams inside a Nightmare?'
[Aspect Name: Keeper of Light.]
'Divine… it's divine.'
He was so shocked that his limbs gave out and he fell onto the floor.
'It said Divine, right?'
He raised a trembling hand to rub his eyes, making sure what was in front of him was real.
Confused by all this terminology, Sunny summoned his runes and found the lines describing his Aspect.
Aspect Name: [Keeper of Light].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Description: [You are a creature of light who was banished into everlasting darkness. You bring radiance and hope to wherever you go, but with it comes indescribable longing.]
Innate Ability: [Spark of Remembrance].
Ability Description: [The ones burned by your flames shall have their memories inherited by you.]
That was… a lot to digest.
First of all, Sunny heard it right, all his suffering and horror he had experienced in his First Nightmare had really paid off! A Divine Aspect, not to mention, a True Name. Besides, anything with the rank of Divine was unheard of, even Supreme was hard enough to find!
Miracle. That was the only way to describe it.
Sure, the Awakened Terror was hard as hell to fight, with both of them mutually killing the other by doing so…
But that was his fault.
His fault for his arrogance.
A Sleeper should never face an Awakened Terror.
Then… about his Innate Ability, it was strange to say the least — inheriting memories, what could the Spell possibly mean?
Was it talking about Memories as like the ones Awakened received, or memories as in recalling information?
'Strange… I guess I'll know in due time.'
[The first seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
As soon as the Spell said that, Sunny felt something awakening deep inside him. It was ethereal, indescribable, like his soul was being shaken awake, infused with strange new energy.
However, it was a source of energy that was coming from within, like it had always been slumbering deep inside him.
His body began to change, as though a miniature star was burning in his chest, waves of heat radiating from it.
Under that heat, his bones, muscles, organs and blood vessels were being rebuilt and revitalized. Sunny felt like he was being reborn. Stronger, faster, healthier, that's what he felt like.
It was euphoric.
After some time, the star burning in his chest finally cooled down. And as that coolness traveled everywhere around his body, something was different.
Opening his eyes, his vision was… strange.
The void wasn't only populated by an endless pattern of stars, there was something different — Light. Shimmering, blazing light.
A beautiful dark sea that was glimmering under the light of the sun above, illuminating the darkness that would have been there.
Silver flames danced across the surface of the sun, eternally blazing, as if reflecting his unbroken will.
From his knowledge, this was the so-called Sea of Soul. However, it was a bit… different.
The star hanging above shouldn't be this bright, nor should there be silver flames around it.
Also, he heard something strange. An almost silent humming could be heard, but there should be no one here except for him! It was his own soul after all.
Yet, no matter how much he turned his head, he couldn't catch a clear glimpse of the source of the sound. But he knew, what he heard wasn't a lie.
He took in a look of his soul, eyes staring at the strangely moving liquid below him, the last place he hadn't searched for the sound of the voice. Briefly, he saw a reflection of a man with ethereal silver hair, and sharp, hungry eyes. He was carrying a torch of silver flames, a gentle smile on his lips.
Could it be the one who was humming?
As soon as he thought of that, the sound faded out, like it was caught, unwilling to give in to his curiosity.
"The hell? What was that? So who was in my soul sea?" Sunny muttered, looking around with a cautious look on his face.
No one answered.
Not wishing to waste any more time on this, he turned back onto the silver sun, and finally spotted a sphere of light orbiting it.
A subtle smile appeared on his face.
Dream Torch, the memory he had acquired. The proof of his victory.
At this moment, the Spell's voice suddenly pulling him out of the Soul Sea, and back into the void of stars.
[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.
It would determine his role in the Dream Realm — vanguard, rearguard or utility specialist.
IF he was lucky, he could even become a healer. They were rare, and as such, sought after specialists.
[Aspect Ability Acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Soul Flame.]
Sunny hurriedly summoned his runes. Of course he wanted to check out his newest ability, but decided to give his overall information a look — there were some things he might have overlooked in his excitement.
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Forgotten Dream.
Rank: Dreamer.
Soul Core: Dormant.
Soul Fragments: [0/1000]
'What? What are fragments?'
According to his knowledge, the Spell shouldn't show how much his core should be saturated. But… The Nightmare Spell was strange, anything could be possible.
He continued to study his runes.
Memories: [Dream Torch].
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Fated], [Mark of Divinity], [Child of Light].
Aspect: [Keeper of Light].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Abilities: [Soul Flame].
Ability Description: [Your soul burns with the purest of flames. That flame can both restore and destroy, and is both a blessing and a curse.]
'What is that supposed to mean?'
Did restore and destroy mean it could heal and harm?
'No… this can't be true!'
Holding his breath, he began to read the description again, trying to understand what his Ability could possibly mean.
But, suddenly, 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.
'No, no, no… Tell me it's wrong!'