[Wake up, Tinyiko! Your nightmare is over]
[Prepare for your appraisal]
Nyiko's face formed into a grimace before his eyes opened to the wondrous sight before him.
All around him was an infinite black void filled with distant stars. Each star was connected to another by strands of radiant light, forming constellations that he didn't know yet felt connected to. Looking at the celestial landscape that his mortal eyes could grasp, he could liken it to only one thing.
"It's like a net," he muttered the stray thought under his breath.
If this was the inner workings of the spell, and he had the inclination to believe that it was, then did that mean he was prey trapped within its confines?
'What kind of thought is that? That doesn't make sense at all.'
There were more urgent things to think about than considering the validity of his absurd theories. Specifically, the nagging feeling in the back of his head. The one that told him that something was off.
'This all feels a bit too sudden,' He thought as he scratched the back of his head, trying to conjure up memories of what happened before the nightmare.
He could easily remember the littlest of details, from the name of the first person he spoke to in the nightmare, Sodek, to the swirling patterns of the bark archway, yet he couldn't remember anything past entering Heart God's temple. It seemed that once he passed the temple's threshold, the nightmare simply ended.
That… made sense, in a way. The temple was probably the objective he was supposed to reach, and once he did, the Nightmare simply ended. Still, he felt like he was missing something.
[Aspirant! Your Trial is over.]
Nyiko jumped as the spell's voice, no longer a whisper but something that resonated all around him, announced its appraisal.
[An heiress to the frontier of war ran away from a herald of darkness, chasing the image of an enigmatic druid. Accompanied by her beloved slave, they felled man and beast alike. At the end, at the precipice of their journey, she had not seen the slave's betrayal despite her true name. Free, the slave entered Heart's temple and met with what could not be named]
[You have defeated two dormant humans, names unknown]
[You have defeated two awakened humans, names unknown]
[You have defeated fourteen dormant beasts]
[You have defeated an awakened monster: Stone Saint]
[You have defeated an awakened human: Allsight]
[You have gained the interest of the First to Fall ]
[You have accepted the challenge of the Unmoored One]
[You have achieved the Impossible!]
[Final Appraisal: Glorious. Your desires could never wane.]
Nyiko blinked upon hearing the praise of the spell. It was uncomfortable to receive such exaltations when he knew most of the things he was being admonished for were not accomplished by him alone, never mind that he could not remember what the last two accomplishments the spell mentioned were referring to.
'The First to Fall? The Unmoored One? Who are they, and how have I gained their interest? Also, what bet is the spell on about?'
Along with the final appraisal, commenting on his desires and the spell's summary of the Nightmare's events, Nyiko felt like the spell was describing someone else. However, it sounded like that person was just as unimportant as he was. Before he could maul any longer on the Appraisal, the Spell spoke once again.
[Dreamer Tinyiko, receive your boon!]
[You have been bestowed a True Name: __ ]
Nyiko's jaw had dropped at the sound of those words, but as nothing came after, his brows furrowed in confusion.
'Maybe I heard the Spell wrong. I'm not worthy of having a true name anyway,' he rationalized the anomaly away.
There were more rewards he would receive after all.
[Your aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
He wrung his hands, hesitating to answer the Spell's question.
'What am I so nervous about? Anything is better than the dormant one I have so far.'
With a deep inhale, he answered with all the confidence he could muster.
"Yes,"
[Dormant Aspect Scholar Slave is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired]
[Aspect rank: Sacred]
His eyes grew so wide that they nearly burst out of his skull.
[Aspect Name: Forgotten Companion]
He couldn't believe it. A glorious appraisal was already too much for him to handle, but his aspect evolving into one of the Sacred rank was downright unbelievable. Such aspects were barely heard of, only rumored and gossiped about in scholarly circles and Network forums obsessed with all things awakened.
Now, Nyiko was a part of those rumored few, someone with the potential to become one of the strongest people out there.
"Yeah, right! I doubt that I will even get close to challenging the second Nightmare," he scoffed.
"Oh, here we go again!" the voice remarked snarkily.
Sighing, Nyiko ignored whatever the voice wanted to critique about him and summoned his ruins, focusing on the parts that described his aspect.
***
Aspect: [Forgotten companion]
Aspect Rank: Sacred
Aspect Description: [You are a part of a tale as old as the first humans. A companion to a friend, a hero you have journeyed far and wide with. You have fought with them, dined with them, and bantered with them. Yet you are not remembered, your identity lost to the annals of history. A Heartless wraith]
Innate Ability: [Memory Eater]
Ability Description: [A forgotten being like yourself does not feed off souls alone, but their memories as well. Your soul hungers for all that holds memory]
***
This was a lot to take in. His aspect description felt heavy, as if old, deep history were hidden away between each ethereal rune. So instead of deciphering that mess, he considered the possibilities of what his innate ability did. The name Name [Memory Eater] was pretty clear in telling him what the ability was supposed to do, and the accompanying shone a little more light on how it should be done.
'But what exactly does it mean by memory? Do I get stronger from eating my memories? Or My Memories? Oh, this is going to get confusing.'
The spell's voice echoed around him, beginning to speak once again:
[The First Seal is broken]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Immediately, warmth filled the center of his chest, gradually spreading throughout his body. His hand grasped his chest in confusion. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was strange and alien. He felt like something inside had at last been realized, each cell gradually growing into a more vibrant version of itself. From his arms and legs to his fingers and toes, the warmth filled every part of his form.
He felt alive. More alive than he had been in years, like he could easily sprint across the length of his neighborhood and not be tired.
Then the warmth subsided, and a soothing cool replaced it, washing over him like a waterfall. The cooling sensation sharpened his mind and senses, and when the feeling reached his eyes, his vision suddenly doubled.
Somehow, he was still able to see the innumerable constellations that he was surrounded by, but now he could see a different but equally extraordinary sight.
It was as if inside a charcoal painting of a vast and turbulent sea, the small waves were frozen in place. Above him stood a sun that seemed to be pencil-shaded onto the sky, its circular outline barely visible to him.
This was his soul sea, presumably. All he knew about soul seas described a much more uniform environment; blue still waters, clear skies, and a bright sun represented one's soul core. A peaceful, safe space for the Awakened to retreat to, but his soul felt much more eerie and slightly melancholic.
Soon Nyiko spotted the orbs of starry light that represented his memories; they were… quite many.
"Good God, that's a lot for a Sleeper."
He counted seven in total, all received within the week. Such luck was beyond extraordinary and was probably only possible due to a certain attribute.
[Awakening Aspect Abilities….]
There were more pressing things to focus on than that attribute. He crossed his fingers and closed his eyes, silently praying to receive something useful from the spell. His dormant ability would be the determining factor in his likelihood of surviving the dream realm and in his place in the world. Whether he would be in front, behind, or even far away from the battlefield depended on what his abilities leaned towards.
[Aspect Ability acquired]
[Aspect Ability Name: Fleeting Memory]
'Interesting name?' he noted as he focused on the runes that described his dormant ability.
Aspect Abilities: [Fleeting Memory]
Aspect Ability Description: [Your presence is ever fleeting, disappearing from memory when not looked at.]
'Well, this is quite interesting,' he thought, stroking his chin while staring at the ability description.
It seemed to be a memory-manipulation ability with a sight restriction that prevented it from being used at any time. Nyiko would have to figure it out once his physical body was awake. A new set of runes appeared below the ones he was reading; simultaneously, the Spell's voice reverberated through the void.
[All power comes with a price]
[You have received a Flaw]
He held his breath as the spell spoke. The flaw he would receive, or be cursed with, would be the final factor that would determine how he lived the rest of his life. No matter how short it could be.
[Your Flaw is: Who are you again?]
His eyes stared at the runes that described his flaw, and grew unfocused the longer he stared at the words in front of him.
Flaw Description: [You are hard to remember and recognize]
His lips formed into a thin line at the seventh reread of the description.
"...Crap" was all he could say before Spell announced its presence one last time.
[Wake up, __!]
And then the void spun before it disappeared.