— WHAT?!
[Sacred Vessel], [Half of a Whole], and [Battle Master].
Even without reading their descriptions, Alice already had a good idea of what they represented—especially [Battle Master], which likely influenced her physical abilities. Without a doubt, an excellent trait for surviving a nightmare.
Curious, she focused on the first rune and read:
[Sacred Vessel]: Your soul is more powerful than others, and consequently, so is your body.
Alice's jaw dropped. This was far more than she had imagined. A trait that strengthened both her soul and body? Something incredibly rare—practically unheard of.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she turned her attention to the next rune:
[Half of a Whole]: One soul, two bodies.
Interesting. It didn't seem to enhance her soul's essence or anything like that, but it implied that her soul was split between two bodies. Now, she just needed to figure out exactly what that meant.
Having traits that affected the soul was already extremely rare. But two soul-related traits? It was almost unbelievable. In fact, who would believe her? If she told anyone, they would surely call her a liar. After all, who would accept that an orphan girl possessed not one, but two soul-related attributes?
"Now's not the time for this, Alice."
None of this would matter if she couldn't escape this place. The longer she stayed here, the longer she left her sister alone. She had to hurry.
The last glowing rune caught her attention:
[Battle Master]: In battle, it is essential for the commander to know what they are doing and to have a resilient mind.
Alice stared at the runes for a long moment before her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. As if two soul-affecting traits weren't enough, she also had one that strengthened her mental resilience.
It was too much to take in. Not only had she received three incredible traits, but she also inherited an almost imperceptible burden.
"What do you mean, 'the one who commands'? Since when did I become a general?"
It was as if the Spell was trying to force a responsibility onto her. And honestly, she wasn't interested in that at all. Her plans were simply to awaken and take care of her sister—not to lead an army.
"I really hope it's just the description."
But setting aside her worries, there was something even more important before her: her Aspect—the thing that would truly define the course of her life from now on.
[Servant of War]
Description: Born amidst war, death is all you know. Your existence is an endless cycle of battle—until one finally takes your life.
"SCREW YOU, SPELL!"
Maybe she shouldn't have shouted. A few people turned to look at her. But seriously… "My life is just war?" That's not a life!
I mean, she was already in a constant war. Her existence had always been like this—a battle against hunger, against the cold nights, against the nightmare creatures that invaded the waking world. Even against other people, whether it was fighting for the chance to grow stronger or against those who had lost their minds under the crushing weight of the Spell. But spelling it out like this? That was just cruel.
There was one crucial thing to consider: the first nightmare and the Aspect were directly connected. The Spell chose based on who you truly were. This meant that, in some way, this nightmare reflected something about her.
Perhaps one of her traits didn't come from the girl whose body she now inhabited. Alice believed it belonged to both her and her sister—after all, they were twins. It was possible the Spell had intertwined their souls. But that didn't make sense either, since Sophia wasn't infected by the Spell…
On the other hand, the other attributes were connected to holiness and war. In other words, Alice was a servant of the Goddess of War. But if she was supposed to be someone special, why was she in this state? Lying in a filthy street, surrounded by a horrible stench?
Speaking of which…
Where was that awful smell coming from? It wasn't normal. Alice recognized it from somewhere, but she couldn't quite place it. It was strong—so strong that no one should have been able to ignore it.
She was just about to step out of the alley when she heard the shouts of a nearby crowd.
As she approached, she saw a group of people gathered in a circle. They were all yelling, as if celebrating something… or cheering someone on. She was still too far away to tell what was happening.
But as she got close enough to see, Alice held her breath.
And stopped breathing.