[ 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 utterly breathtaking.
'Wow.'
A celestial equivalent of a neural network. From what he could find from Sunny's old memories, people thought that the Spell is neither alive nor dead, neither sentient nor mindless.
It's more like a function than a creature.
[ You have received a memory: Puppeteer's Shroud.]
Seeing the spell appraising his performance, Sunny became sure of one thing. It looks how his involvement changed the fate of the people in the nightmare, how he changed the sequence of events, etc.
Did Hero die if he remained a normal, pathetic slave?
Some things like that.
[ Aspirant! Your trail is over.]
[ A nameless slave ascended the Black Mountain. Both heroes and monsters fell by his hands. Unbroken, he entered the ruined temple of a long-forgetting god and spilled his blood on the sacred alter. The gods were dead, and yet they listened.]
[ You have defeated four dormant beast, Mountain King's Larva.]
[ You have defeated five dormant human, names unknown.]
[ You have defeated an awakened human, Auro of the Nine.]
[ You have defeated an awakened tyrant, Mountain King.]
[ You have received Shadow God's blessing.]
[ You have achieved the impossible!]
[ Final appraisal: Glorious. Your treachery truly knows no bound!]
It felt good to be praised.
[ Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon.]
[ You have been bestowed a True Name: Lost from Light]
'Finally.'
[ Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
Sunny thought about it for a moment. He can reject it to see what happens and do it all over again if the result is bad.
'No way. I am not going through that hell again.'
"Yes."
[ Dormant aspect Temple Slave is evolving.]
[ New aspect acquired.]
[ Aspect rank: Divine.]
[ Aspect name: Shadow Slave.]
[ Aspect description: You are a miraculous shadow left by a dead god. As a divine shadow, you possess plenty of strange and wonderous 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 their command. It is improper for a shadow, let alone a divine one, to walk around without a master.]
'Worthy master, huh.'
[ The First Seal is broken.]
[ Awakening dormant powers…..]
Sunny felt something awakening inside him. Without bothering to hide his scream, he clutched his chest, trying to understand what was happening. The feeling was neither particularly painful nor pleasant; it just felt weird and unfamiliar.
He felt energy fill every fiber of his body.
He was becoming stronger, faster, and healthier.
It was euphoric.
After some time had passed, the burning in his chest finally calmed down. The heat in his chest was replaced with a soothing coldness. The coldness washed over his entire body, taking away all the discomforts and aches that had accumulated over the years.
Suddenly, he could see a calm, dark sea illuminated by a lonely black sun. It was eerily silent. He could see his three memories hanging above, caught in the sun's gravity.
'My own soul-sea.'
The spell's voice pulled him out of his Sea of soul.
[ Awakening Aspect Ability...]
[ Aspect Ability acquired.]
[ Aspect Ability name: Shadow Control]
[ Aspect Ability description: Your shadow is more independent than most. It is an invaluable helper.]
Sunny then summoned his runes.
Name: Sunless
True Name: Lost from Light
Rank: Dreamer
Soul Core: Dormant
Shadow Fragments: [18/1000]
'It was 12 after the first nightmare for the original Sunny, huh.'
The spell's voice resounded in the void.
[ All power has a price.]
[ You have received a flaw.]
Flaw: Clear Conscience.
Flaw description: You cannot lie.
He held a tiny hope that his flaw will be a different one.
*Sigh*
'It's not like I can do anything.'
Zarian slowly sat on the floor.
The reason he took 17 loops to complete this trial was to get familiar with this cruel world. Sunny was raised in this world, not him. Sunny's upbringing made him selfish, distrustful, and paranoid. Sunny, if needed, could kill anyone to save his own hide.
Not him.
Zarian was not raised like this. He had his fair share of problems in his life, but not as many as Sunny. He didn't have the mindset to survive in this world. He is neither cruel nor merciless.
To become Sunny and to be one of this cruel world's people, he spent 17 loops in this cruel nightmare.
He had shown violent and cynical behavior after coming to this world. He made sure to be as ruthless as possible.
That's an improvement.
Is he ready to go back to the waking world, which is slowly being gobbled up by nightmare spell?
Is he ready to wake up when [Fated] will try to screw him every second?
Ready or not, he has to wake up.
Does it even matter?
After all, he has all the time in the world.
The spell's voice was heard again, as if pushing him to a new beginning.
[ Wake up, Lost from Light.]
The black sun disappeared from his vision.
AN : Sorry for a short chap, this one was around 900. I usually do 1-1.1k.
Also if you liked the story so far, I will appreciate if you add it to your collection. It would help the fanfic to get more reach.
Thanks again, keep the power stones flowing.
Bye :)