After some testing and trial and error, Azdin had learnt a lot about the strange sorcery that he appeared to possess. Or was is it that it possessed him? There was no way to tell.
First of all were it's base functions, it seemed to possess an intricate understanding of Azdin, to a level that went down to the bare bones of his being. It was able to track basic things like his name and the status of his soul, but also more personal and intimate things like the traits of his being.
Or what this spell appeared to call, his 'attributes.'
Attribute: [Descendant]
Attribute description: [You are a descendant of dragons. They are known to you, and treat you as one of their own, however, that doesn't make you their equal.]
Attribute: [Brilliance]
Attribute description: [New skills come to you faster than most, but even then you master them to their limits.]
The latter one appeared to describe him to some degree, Hugo wouldn't let him forget that. But it was the former that truly puzzled him.
"Hugo, what's a dragon?"
A surprised expression seemed to form upon his face. There was nothing that could've warranted it, nevertheless, he answered away.
"A dragon is a secluded, but particularly powerful species of noble creatures, of which there are all sorts of types. The Rich Earth dragons in Northern Estornia, and the Pale dragons in Babylonia to name a few."
He had never seen one himself, but tales of the trail of destruction that they had left behind had long since spread far and wide. Benevolent Divine dragons, malicious Unholy dragons, and dragons that did nothing but destroy and wreck havoc all day. They were creatures encompassing all kinds of natures, but mainly commanding a unique authority.
More importantly, there was no such thing as a weak dragon. They simply didn't exist, as it was within their very nature to be strong and wield authority.
"They're all calamity's, natural incarnations of destruction and chaos. If you make an enemy of one, death is all but guaranteed."
He paused for a moment, and then quietly added.
"I suppose that's why those sickening people made it their symbol..."
In other words,
'So I have an affinity for them?'
He wasn't sure what this actually could do practically, but he was sure there wasn't any combat application. Just because he was descended from them, it didn't mean he was physically as capable one.
He was only a human, there was no way to change that.
The next important thing he learned about this sorcery, was of its function to create 'memories'. To create one, a soul shard was a must have, it served as the power source for whatever mysterious process occured next.
The next step was the actual material, it couldn't be any old thing, but a material that was mystical, not mundane in nature. This could range anywhere from rare ores excavated from holy grounds, or even the body parts of slain creatures.
The strength and quality of the material mattered too. For example, he could use his weaker dormant shard, to create a memory out of the claws of the Azure bear, but he could not use an Awakened shard as fuel for the Azure cubs claws.
When combined, the base material would be refined and elevated in it's fundamental qualities slightly, like sharpness and balance, and any other extra items would be included in it's recreation.
Afterwards, a memory would be the end result. They all possessed the same ability, to be summoned out of thin air and then dismissed into nothing. He didn't know where they went when he did this, but it didn't really matter.
Of the things that he wasn't sure about, were how to actually apply enchantments onto these memories, as well as things like his Aspect, or what a true name were. These were all left blank.
That concluded everything he knew about this sorcery.
"This is too strange.. you never showed anything like this in the past. So you either hid it from us, or only gained it while we were on that boat."
Maybe the former was true, but no way was it the latter. That entire time on the boat it was just the three of them, if anything happened then Hugo would've seen.
Well.. the only thing he didn't see was...
"Could it have something to do with my memory loss?"
Hugo pondered it for a short while, eyes drifting off as he turned the thought over his mind. But quickly came to the conclusion,
"It's a possibility. But I don't see how those two things correlate."
Furrowing his brow slightly, a new thought rose within Azdin.
"Could it have something to do with those experiments?"
To Hugo's knowledge, he had supposedly been the first to awaken in that place, so it was a thought.
"They didn't bother explaining to us what they were doing, so I don't know if this is true. There's a strong chance it could be."
But this also didn't make sense either, otherwise Hugo would've also had such sorcery too. Or maybe it was because he was 'the first' that he had it in the first place.
"Sorcery is pretty broad in the first place, so I'm not sure as to how yours works exactly. All I know is that it's supposed to take centuries before one can even call themselves a master."
There was a brief pause before he continued, more practical now than uncertain.
"Once we reach land, you ought to find a skilled sorcerer that can explain it."
**
Later that day, the sun quickly slipped below the horizon, leaving behind streaks of amber and rose that turned into a deepening blue. As the last light drained from the sky, night creeped in gently, cool and vast.
It was in that darkness, that countless stars bloomed like tiny pricks of silver scattered across the heavens, quietly claiming the sky as their own.
It was under the night, that a sudden question popped into Azdins head mind.
'What will I even do after all of this?'
The time will come when he and Hugo will eventually leave, but then what? Azdin had nowhere to return to, no place to call home. He didn't even know anyone, nor have a particular dream that he wanted to chase.
Well, there was one thing but—
'No. I don't want my memories.'
He had already decided that a long time ago.
'I don't want to be that kind of person, at least not anymore. I don't know what kinds of people he may have known in the past, or if he even had anyone close to him... but Azdin is now dead. Once I reach land, I suppose I'll change my name.'
If those memories returned, he feared that he'd become drunk on the pleasure of killing once more. Would his desires be quenched by noble creatures, or would it spread out to other humans too? What would he look like then?
He did not want to find out.
But still, what kind of person did he want to be now? What did he want to become?
This question wandered around in his mind for a long while, and eventually, he decided to confide in Hugo once more.
"Hey.. are you awake?"
His voice replied in a half annoyed tone.
"..what now?"
Hesitantly, he asked,
"When we leave, what are we going to do? What comes next?"
Hugo sighed, thinking on the question for a moment. His response wasn't anything he expected though.
"We aren't friends, you and me. After we make it back to civilization, we will go our separate ways."
Azdin quickly sat up with a rather confused and slightly shocked expression now resting on his face.
Quickly rolling over away from him, Hugo added,
"Don't look at me like that, I don't have the time to babysit you. Especially when.."
He paused mid way through, as if his next words would've been a mistake. Thinking it over, he said something slightly more encouraging,
"You're an awakened, there's plenty of stuff you could do. If you don't plan on leaving storm sea anytime soon, then you could always join the navy, or the military of one of the kingdoms here. Aspect or not, I'm sure you could get into any career that you'd like with those skills. It pays pretty well too."
In other words, he had to get..
'A job...?'
Right, he was dirt broke and had no money to his name. The moment they got back there wouldn't be any stray creatures he could hunt, so there would be no food to eat too. Getting a job was a must.
Laying back down, he asked,
"What do you want to do?"
Hugo pondered on that question for much longer than Azdin would've thought. He always seemed like he had every sorted out already, but that wasn't the case this time.
'Is he just a lost as me?'
Azdin wondered this, before quickly dismissing it. That could not have been true.
Eventually, Hugo gave his own answer.
"I want to find out what happened to my family."
His voice was steady and calm, but he hid his hands as they clenched at his sides, knuckless whitening as they settled in the air.
When he got separated from them, the group he ended up in got taken to the twilight sea. He had no clue where the other, which included his parents and most of the people he knew, had went.
Were there other camps like his one? Were they scattered in other realms? Or did they simply just get rid of the ones they didn't need?
"Even if they're dead, I have to atleast know. If there's even a bit of hope, I'll hold onto it."
He swallowed hard, eyes flickering with something fragile and stubborn.
"Then after that, I'll find the people who took us to that place."
The calmness in his voice vanished, and was instead replaced by a cold and sharpened focus.
He declared,
"And I'll make each and every single one of them pay for what they did. I'll slaughter them all."
**
And so, time passed.
Days, weeks, and then a month.
Before they knew it, 2 months had passed on that island in total. In that time nothing eventful happened, and they met no problems either.
There were no fights, no random nightmare creatures washing onto the shore, or a hazard caused by a stray fight between gods coming to decimate them.
It was a paradise.
Until...
As per usual, Azdin lay on the edge of the beach where the sand was still collected and dark.
Then far out where the sea and sky met, something shifted. At first it was nothing more than a shadow, a thin shape interrupting the clean line of the horizon.
But then he squinted, his heart pausing unsure if what he saw was truly real. Even with his awakened eyes, it was truly difficult to make it out.
Eventually, he was able to recognise it. The shape slowly began to take shape, with it growing clearer and clearer by the second as it inched closer and closer, silently cutting through the water.
It was unmistakably,
"Hugo!! A ship!! I see a ship!!"