Thales was dumbfounded.
One moment he was peacefully taking a shower, then suddenly he was in a horrible realm filled with dreadful creatures.
Now, he felt himself falling into a sea of blue right below him whilst a surge of memories flashed in his mind.
A torrent of memories different from his own. It was quite debilitating, yet the knowledge of his impending fall made him regain some semblance of clarity.
Analyzing his memories he could honestly say,
He was doomed.
From what he could gather he was reborn as the son of one of the many vassals of the great House of Night. Although, the clan had not noticed this young child of theirs as he was immediately thrown to the second nightmare after his first.
'But surely they would be in a panic right now?'
The timing of his release from his first nightmare perfectly coincided with the winter solstice.
In all honesty, the original 'Thales', coincidentally having the same name as him, could have brute forced and stayed awake to inform his peers. Yet perhaps due to trauma and exhaustion, the boy fainted shortly after waking up. Not even having the time to stand up.
Yet he could not blame the boy. Thales now possessed the memories of his first nightmare, and in many ways it rattled him. The memories were too vivid. The horrors were too memorable. It was as if he lived it himself.
The current Thales did not succeed in running away from the past Thales' trauma. Infact it may have affected him even more than the seasoned legacy.
---
On the other hand, time was of the essence. And he had run out.
The cold chill of the waters did not aid his raving train of thought. On the contrary it calmed him.
The splash disoriented him, but he regained his composure quickly. The waters seemed comfortable, aiding him in calming down.
He reminded himself to check his runes once he reached safety. His skill in the water should not have been inherent to his past self.
Supposedly, Thales was planning to look around and determine where he was. But a sudden feeling of being bitten quickly replaced those thoughts with surprise and fear.
Pain resounded in Thales' back as he felt a fist sized chunk be removed. Although it was fortunate to be near his ribs, so the creature could not bite more.
Retaliating in pain, Thales fruitlessly swung his hands towards his back in instinct. In the process he finally managed to see his brutal assailant.
It was a strange fish that resembled an elongated Angler Fish. A bright light source shone in the depths of it's hideous maw. Where three rows of teeth were placed.
Yet it was not it's hideous face that made Thales pale. It was the swarm of light in the distance behind it.
"Fuck." He said vividly underwater.
His mind racing, he decided to summon a memory that he had nearly forgotten due to how fast everything was happening.
A rain of sparks coalesced in his hand as a shield made of rotten wood with swaths of red resembling flesh and blood strewn and embedded on it's broken surface.
[Hope of the Damned]
Memory Description- [Many of the deep craved this worn shield, as it carried something that they did not. Hope.]
The shields vague description did not help at all, but with Thales vast reading and gaming experience it was easy to guess that this memory that he had gained from his first nightmare was the classic taunt shield!
Thus, using all his power, Thales used the shield to brutally bash the head of the weird angler fish, sending it flying a short distance.
The fish didn't seem that strong though, having the strength of a dormant beast at most. But now with the beast away, Thales decided to do the only thing he could.
He threw his shield far below him, throwing it as far away as he could. Then he proceeded to bolt as swiftly as he could to the opposite direction of the beasts.
Thales wasn't strong. Nor was he skilled in any martial art. Perhaps the old Thales, but he wasn't.
So he ran. More like swam, but fleeing in this situation was the smartest thing he could think of.
Perhaps fleeing was indeed the best choice yet why did he have to discard his shield?
If his theory about the memory was right, then his plan should work right about now..
Because no matter how old and weary the shield looked, it was supposed to be a very strong item. It was taken from an awakened devil after all.
Sighing in relief, Thales smiled wearily as his theory rang true, as more than half of the monsters ran to chase the shield in the depths.
But Thales gaze faltered. 'Maybe I am dumb' He thought as he came to the revelation that if his memory was pretty strong then the ones that escaped it's grasp should be even strong right?..
A swarm of nightmare creatures stronger than an awakened devil?
In his mind Thales was already screaming internally.
'Why are they even going after me in the first place!?'
But rather quickly his thoughts were soothed as a gentle wave collided with his body.
He reached the surface. Sparing some time to appreciate how miraculously calming these waves were.
Thales began to think again.
How could he escape this?
His aspect?
Bingo.
The spell ever the poet left him puzzled over it's description once again.
Shiny runes dazzled and appeared in front of him.
________
Aspect: Key of Storms.
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Description: [The seas and the winds have their rage. You as their prince have a hand in their anger.]
Innate Ability: Soul Sea
Ability Descriptions: [On the path of ascension you carry a sea of your own. And that has made all the difference.]
Aspect Ability: [Storm Control].
Ability Description: [As a son of the sea you are favored by its waters and followed by its winds.]
________
Not quite sure what to make of it, he still had enough sense to understand that he had control over water and wind. He was a son of the Night after all. Born from the Stormsea.
Reading his runes also gave him a sense of confidence. His rank was beautiful.
Divine.
A rank so unique only three people had it aside from him in this generation.
He could run. He knew it. The waves told him.
So that's what he did.
Whilst on the surface he already found a distant structure.
A distant curved white mound. Seemingly like bone.
Once be determined his destination, he willed with his imagination. The waters around him surged and rotated. Seemingly propelling him forward as he swam. The winds pushed against the back of his form, adding momentum to the wave.
But this was not without cost. The essence in his soul core, was dwindling. Although he added that his soul core was a little strange as he sensed.
Yet he had no choice, with the raging waves around him the gentle tides could soothe him no longer. He felt the tension, the fear. And the gaze of more than a dozen awakened monsters behind him.
'Ah'
'Maybe he couldn't run?'
Fear drowned his face, and it made the waves even stronger. Clouds even gathered in the sky. Readily watching their prince being chased by death.
_______
The mound grew close. He estimated that he could make it with less than half of his essence.
His excitement grew, but it also quickly decreased when he felt something crunch on the sole of his boot.
'SHIT!!'
Thales quickly scurried around and started to add arm movements to his swimming as well.
His feet were hurting bad though. He could feel at least three trying to chew on his foot.
His two boots were already gone!!
If not for the circulating waves the fiends would have had it easier.
He struggled and struggled, even summoning his shield back and bashing a few of them.
But they relented.
And eventually they had their way. Thales cried in pain as his left foot up to the ankle was bitten off.
"ARGHHHHHH"
That was the last straw.
He gave up all pretense of struggle and just used all his essence to bolt to the nearest piece of land.
In fact he was almost already there. He could help but thank his divine aspect for being so useful in an ocean.
Seconds from reaching land he already started to pray and thank his ancestors.
But, as grand and powerful Thales' aspect was, it had to have an accompanying flaw. At first he dismissed it due to the situation and how vague and broad it was.
Flaw: [Alien]
Flaw Description: [The world rejects you.]
Now, Thales had even reached arm's reach of land. Only a little more until salvation.
Then suddenly, the sound of the spell rang true and sonorous in his mind.
The earth rejects you.
Thales was unable to reach for land.