"And in the end, I woke up confused before fainting," Uriel finished recounting, taking a sip from a water bottle.
"Do you know how the Spell evaluated you in the end?"
"No."
The government worker nodded, finishing noting some things in a file.
After the interview, Uriel was taken to another room where they began conducting all kinds of tests to evaluate his physical state, mental state, and cognitive state. Many boring things and incipient technicalities.
He felt bored and couldn't even see his runes. After a long time, he wanted to study his new Memories.
Uriel once again passed the tests and demonstrated that he was in perfect physical condition and largely mentally sound, being someone of unbreakable will, though a bit dulled by the Dream Realm and his nightmare, but that would be fixed with time.
They offered him psychological counseling, which Uriel declined for the moment.
Finally, after almost twelve to fifteen hours later and exhausting all processes, Uriel received the information that he had been designated with the highest rank of Special Strategic, as there was no higher rank than that due to the amount of information he brought about two new unexplored zones of the Dream Realm.
After being informed of this, he was given a special communicator used by all Awakened to respond when a nightmare gate opened in the waking world. Finally, regarding his license as a Master, it would be given to him the next day. After all that, he was allowed to leave.
The doors opened, and finally, Uriel could head to the academy's cafeteria to eat large amounts of food. However, his Fated attribute prevented it.
Uriel blinked, disconcerted by the crowd gathered before him. He observed strange faces and faces he recognized instantly, like Scarlet, who had apparently become an Ascended.
Her red hair remained bright and vivid like fire, her skin became more flawless, and her face more beautiful. She wore black attire with copper-colored armor and a blue scarf around her neck.
Scarlet gave him a warm smile before speaking in a tone full of respect.
"Welcome to the waking world, Lord of Darkness."
Uriel nodded as a smile spread across his face.
"It's good to see you again, Scarlet," he expressed in a lively tone, happy to see one of his friends whose last memory was of her skin severely burned from using her Aspect.
Uriel felt himself being hugged from behind. Turning his head, a wide smile spread across his face upon seeing a familiar face.
"You kept your promise. You came back," Cassie's voice was low, almost a whisper, but Uriel heard it clearly enough.
"I always keep my promises... besides, now I'm much cooler than I used to be," he said in a playful tone, making the blind girl laugh.
All those closest to Uriel who saw this fell silent, letting the duo have their moment.
Effie wanted to make a sarcastic comment to tease Uriel, but a look from everyone made her stop immediately and only watch the wall with interest.
...
A few minutes later, the seven who had been part of the Forgotten Shore cohort were sitting in the cafeteria. Fortunately, the cafeteria was empty of other Awakened, making it the best place to catch up on everything that had happened in these almost two years.
Since Uriel was hungry, he decided first to gather a large amount of food, collecting multiple trays filled with all kinds of meat, sauces, rice, and junk food, along with a large glass of fresh water.
The six watched in astonishment as, within minutes, the enormous amount of food had disappeared from the trays as if a hungry beast were feeding for the first time in years.
Effie, whose Flaw forced her to eat large quantities, was surprised by the amount of food that had vanished so quickly.
Finally, once Uriel had filled his empty stomach, he finished the entire glass of water.
"Oh, God, how I missed the taste of normal food," he said with an air of admiration. "I feel like crying."
"You say it as if you'd never eaten," said Sunny.
"Well, generally, I had to fight my meals to the death. You know?" he replied.
"Well, what did I miss?" he asked, returning to his usual carefree personality.
"Well, to start," said Scarlet, beginning to give him a summary of what happened with the Sleeper army once they returned to the waking world.
Uriel was surprised to learn that he was the leader of one of the largest military forces today, as if he were the head of a great legacy clan. Of the seven hundred Sleepers who returned to the waking world, two hundred were from legacy clans, so they returned with them, leaving five hundred Sleepers. Of those, two hundred went with Nephis, following her and becoming the Fire Keepers.
Finally, the last three hundred decided to follow Uriel, or in this case Scarlet, since she was designated as his right hand for being the first person Uriel saved in the Dark City. With three hundred Awakened under her command, Scarlet founded an organization called Shadow Garden. A mysterious group of Awakened who wander the Dream Realm, clearing dangerous areas or saving the lives of other Awakened in trouble. Thanks to all their combat experience and special training, they were considered elite Awakened.
It is worth noting that Shadow Garden never asked for a reward or recognition. They were like the darkness that protected the defenseless from death. Many Awakened, having been saved by them, naturally attracted the attention of the three great clans and the government, who wanted them in their ranks.
Thanks to Scarlet's management and with Cassie's help, Shadow Garden added more numbers to their secret organization. The selection process was secret and different for each person, ensuring they wouldn't be betrayed.
Currently, Shadow Garden had seven hundred people, of which fifty-five had become Masters, including Scarlet. Others were preparing to challenge their second nightmares in still-immature Seeds.
Since Shadow Garden was a mysterious organization, the fact that fifty-five new Masters were born caused a stir for a few months.
As an extra, they also infiltrated Shadow Garden members into some of the great clans as well as the government to obtain information from the inside.
It must be said that Uriel was more than astonished by all this surprising information, which he undoubtedly never expected. However, this brought many long-term benefits that he could think about exploring later when he caught up.
After listening to all that, Uriel nodded several times with his head.
"I see... I see..." he murmured while holding in his hand a large fruit resembling an apple and a peach, purple in color, which he brought to his mouth to eat.
Sunny and Nephis, seeing the fruit, opened their eyes, and an instant later, Uriel found himself biting air.
"Huh? Where's my fruit?" he asked, confused.
"Don't eat that," said Nephis in a serious tone, looking at the fruit with hatred as if she expected it to turn into an abomination.
"Hey, Neph, it's just a harmless fruit," said Uriel, trying to reach the fruit. However, Nephis remained inflexible.
"Alright, but why can't I eat this fruit?" he asked, taking out another fruit very similar to the previous one.
Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie shuddered upon seeing the fruit, remembering their time controlled by the Terror of the Ash Mound.
"It's dangerous. It can control you," said Sunny in a serious tone, receiving curious looks from Kai, Effie, and Scarlet.
Uriel blinked before remembering something.
"Oh, are you afraid I'll become the slave of some kind of giant soul-devouring tree?" he asked, getting surprised looks from the trio.
"You ran into that thing?" asked Sunny.
"Of course. I did. It was quite a large tree. But don't worry, I dealt with it," he said, biting into the sweet-tasting fruit.
"You did?"
Uriel nodded.
"I did. In fact, it was a nice bonfire. It was quite pleasant, the hours of warmth it provided," he said with a childish smile.
Uriel remembered how the tree was set on fire, screaming in silent agony while he watched with a friendly smile on his face, drinking a cup of hot coffee. All this while sitting in his exquisite chair.
"Oh, yes, and that thing was an Awakened Terror, by the way."
"Crazy. You're crazy," said Sunny, then cursed because he didn't like that phrase after seeing a certain movie.
"I'm not crazy, Sunny. The world is the one that's crazy," a mysterious wind moved Uriel's hair, leaving everyone confused about where the wind came from in an enclosed place like this.
"Where does the wind come from?" asked Effie. "It's always there when he says those words. Or when he says something philosophical."
"I don't know," said Scarlet.
"Cassie, do you know something?" asked Effie.
The blind girl shook her head in denial; she was as puzzled as everyone else.
"A magician never reveals his tricks," said Uriel in a calm tone. Another ghostly wind moved his hair along with several leaves, leaving them even more puzzled than before.
"Anyway," Uriel decided to change the subject. "I can see that you've all become Masters. When did that happen?"
"A few weeks ago," said Nephis. "But what about you?"
Uriel blinked.
"Me?" he asked, a bit confused.
"Yes, we had each other to support us in our darkest moments. But you... you were completely alone all that time. How did you survive?" asked Effie.
Uriel put on a thoughtful face while another fruit rested in his hand, looking at it with a strange expression.
"I wasn't that alone. I had Shade with me."
"That voice in your head?" asked Effie.
"Wow, I really didn't think you'd say I was just a voice in someone's head. It's a bit annoying, you know?" said Uriel, but he hadn't opened his mouth to say those words.
Everyone quickly saw how behind Uriel, something materialized instantly. It was an identical copy of Uriel himself, except for subtle differences like his more confident and playful smile and red eyes full of hidden fun mixed with madness.
"A ghost," said Effie.
"I'm not a ghost, strong girl. I'm Shade."
"How does that work?" asked Effie, voicing the question everyone had in mind.
"It's my Flaw," responded Uriel. "My Flaw is Double Mind: A different version exists inside my head. Apparently, upon becoming a Master, it can appear as a visible or invisible specter as I wish."
Kai was surprised because his Flaw detected no lie in his words.
Shade gave a smile full of arrogance before slowly disappearing like the wind.
"Hasta la vista, baby."
Uriel sighed, shaking his head.
'Really, did you have to make a Terminator reference?' Uriel asked mentally.
'It's never too late for a good reference,' responded Shade.
"Where is he?" asked Scarlet.
"Inside my head. So, answering the previous question, I wasn't alone since Shade kept me company," explained Uriel, biting the rest of his fruit, which released a sweet aroma.
"As for what happened, well... there are many things to tell. Do you want the short version or the long version?"
"First, the short one," said Cassie.
"Well, after staying behind and defending the gate to let the last Sleepers escape, I couldn't make it in time. The gate had been destroyed because the Crimson Spire was collapsing. To my misfortune, earlier, when we were running to escape the sunlight, I received a lot of damage to my soul. It was similar to being burned, stabbed, torn limb from limb, crushed, and as if being unraveled thread by thread..." said Uriel in a calm tone, making Cassie pale, Effie grimace, Kai's beautiful face lose all color turning ghostly pale, Scarlet make an expression of pure horror, Sunny blink bewildered by the description of the suffering Uriel endured before his final battle, and Nephis look surprised.
"And yet you fought alone to ensure we all got out of that place?" said Scarlet.
"Yes. Anyway, I was more dead than alive, but thanks to a Memory I obtained from killing a demon, I had a minor healing enchantment. So I returned to the Dark City, recovered, killed what remained, headed east for a few months, reached a death zone, was chased by some Corrupted, ran into a Titan or two that tried to make me their dinner, then left that zone and returned west, passing back through the Dark City and farther, arriving at another death zone with high-rank creatures, hid, found a Citadel with a Seed, challenged it, passed it, and here I am," he finished summarizing.
Uriel looked at his friends, who had faces of disbelief, fear, awe, surprise, and shock.
Effie shook her head. "You're a monster. Finding not one, but two death zones," said Effie.
"Yeah, that's how fucked up my luck is."
"Now, do you want the long version and hear about how a Corrupted Titan almost ate me?" he asked with a smile, making them pale.
"No," said Sunny; even Nephis agreed.
"Better your second nightmare," said Kai.
Uriel looked at Kai; a sinister smile spread across his face, making the former idol feel as if what he was about to hear would shatter the logic of the world he thought he knew.
"Well, my second nightmare was, let's say, exciting, hopeless, and surprisingly heartbreaking. There were abominations of all ranks."
"Doesn't sound so bad," said Sunny.
"Except they were all of Corrupted rank."
Effie spat out the water she was drinking, splashing Uriel completely.
Everyone's jaws dropped to the floor. Creatures of Corrupted rank were beings that only Masters and Saints could fight. That there were monsters, demons, devils, tyrants, terrors, and titans was an authentic hell that not even the strongest Saint would dare to face.
"I-is that true?" said Kai, whose face somehow achieved a whiteness that would leave traditional white green with envy.
Upon the archer's confirmation, everyone looked at Uriel, who was cleaning his face with some synthetic paper towels.
"Corrupted? All of them?"
"Yes," he responded nonchalantly.
"The nightmare was a bit strange, and in a way, I was the cause of it all."
"What do you mean?" asked Cassie.
"I couldn't keep a promise." Uriel summoned the Memory he obtained from killing Isis.
A crown of golden bread leaves appeared in his hands. Everyone saw how Uriel's eyes widened upon noticing something in the Memory, and then a sad smile drew itself on his face.
"What is that Memory?"
"It's what I got for killing a beast to end the nightmare."
"Was it Corrupted?" asked Sunny.
Uriel didn't respond.
"No," he answered without saying anything more.
"Listen to the description of this Memory because it has a lot to do with what I did during the nightmare."
Memory Description: [Long ago, there lived a rebellious princess who dreamed of having many adventures. One day, a badly wounded stone saint on the brink of death appeared before her, changing her life. Both, the princess and the saint, lived many incredible adventures. But knowing her life would soon end, the princess asked a promise of her friend: "If I ever become corrupted, I hope you will be the one to end me." The stone saint did not know how to respond at that moment, but he nodded, accepting the promise. However, he failed the princess over and over again until his mind fragmented from pain and guilt. Full of pain, the stone saint faced his greatest failure and, in a broken voice, said: "I'm sorry for not keeping the promise I made you, but I cannot kill you. Even now, I cannot bring rest to your corrupted being, so I can only make you sleep until you can die." And true to his words, the stone saint used a powerful one-time witchcraft that made the beast sleep in exchange for a large part of his life and being until it awoke.]
The place fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts upon hearing the Memory's description. They could intuit what happened. The stone saint was clearly Uriel, and the princess mentioned must be killed to leave the nightmare.
However, they wondered: why was it mentioned that he tried over and over until his mind fragmented? And what was the witchcraft he used?
This left them with more questions than answers.
Uriel played with the Memory in his fingers, turning it over continuously.
"After leaving the nightmare, I woke up confused and then woke up with you all looking at me as if I were a corpse," he finished explaining, leaving many, many details out of his crazy and strange adventure that he wasn't yet willing to reveal in the academy.
He did so more out of distrust that the conversation might be recorded. One could never be too cautious in life.
All the information Uriel gave was essentially the same as what he provided to the government workers, in case they tried to find any discrepancies.
After a few minutes, Cassie broke the silence.
"Alright. Now that you're back, everything will be fine," said the girl with hope, but Uriel knew well what would soon happen in a few months.
Originally, Antarctica began to collapse about 7 or 8 months after Sunny became a Master, Nephis's return, and the Valor clan's ball.
So, he had a small vacation to enjoy the waking world and fulfill his dream of publishing his webtoon and opening his café.
"However, our current situation is delicate," said the girl.
"Did something happen after you returned from the Forgotten Shore?"
"Not immediately, but we got into a few problems before challenging the second nightmare," said Sunny.
Uriel smiled, amused.
"Problems with some great clan? And you say I'm crazy?" he asked playfully.
"No, you're definitely genuinely crazy," said Sunny.
"Anyway, we'll tell you later, in a more private place. For now, there was supposed to be a negotiation with the Valor clan representatives, which failed for obvious reasons."
"Guilty as charged," admitted Uriel without any shame.
Sunny smiled.
"Aside from that, the important thing is... let me think... now I'm a renowned scholar and instructor at the academy. Well, Nephis leads the Fire Keepers with Cassie's help; they are her most devoted followers," said Sunny, amused by the social suffering Changing Star had to deal with.
"Oh, of course, now you're famous—terribly and disgustingly famous. There's even a movie about you. Fortunately, there's no romantic subplot, something Kai insisted on removing."
Uriel looked at Kai with relief on his face.
He didn't want his cool image to be corrupted by a romantic version fighting for Nephis's love alongside Caster or something like that.
"What else? We have a flying ship and an exclusive Citadel in the Dream Realm. Effie moved in with me. Night & Gale disbanded."
Uriel stopped Sunny.
"Wait a moment... Kai, is it true? You disbanded your band?"
"Seriously, that's your first question?" asked Sunny, annoyed, but Uriel ignored him.
"I understand, Uriel is surprised the band dissolved. It's a shame," said Nephis in a voice of mutual understanding of mourning.
Of course, Uriel didn't care about Kai's music band but another matter.
"Yes, I'm sorry, but Gale and I decided to go our separate ways. It's for the best. My status as a Master would have sunk it, especially because of my Aspect that evolved after killing that dragon," he explained.
"Oh, you killed a dragon. I'd definitely pay to see that. In fact, I killed several of them too."
Kai paled.
"Anyway, are you poor now?" asked Uriel, changing the subject.
"No."
"Phew. What a relief. I can still scam you... I mean, ask you to lend me money."
Kai blinked several times.
"You only care about money?"
"Money is happiness. If you're unhappy, it's because you don't have enough money," once again, a mysterious wind moved Uriel's hair.