An exhausting, repetitive, and exceedingly long day — that was the sum of Asteria's experience within her shattered Citadel of crystal glass.
"I hated cleaning up at home, let alone an entire city's worth of junk," she sighed to herself, her gaze lingering on the grotesque remains of nightmare creatures strewn across the floor.
Asteria had slain countless Awakened and even Fallen abominations within the last few hours, though she had been careful not to provoke the handful of Corrupted horrors that had, fortunately, stayed clear of her massacre.
Looking at the ruin now, she realised it wasn't entirely hopeless. Perhaps she could truly make this place her own. Yet, despite her internal denials, a sliver of hesitation kept her from reaching for the gateway back to the Waking World.
"Where in the Spell would my tether even be? I never actually made one," she muttered. "Am I just going to manifest in the middle of nowhere, or perhaps on top of some raging Gate?"
As the elders used to say: 'Mess around and find out.' That was precisely what the Queen of Nightmare intended to do.
'Do I even need a gateway for this?' she wondered, sensing a faint connection to a place far beyond this realm. 'There's no harm in trying. It won't kill me... I hope.'
Focusing on that distant tether, Asteria felt her vision swim in violent spirals. Her senses distorted, and her limbs went numb with a terrifying speed. 'Bad idea! Very bad idea! Am I really going to die like this?'
Her desperate prayers were answered with a jolt. The world solidified, and she found herself exactly where she had started: standing before the now-open medical pod that had once housed the Changing Star. To her immense relief, she was fully clothed and alone — a far cry from the awkwardness of her return after the second nightmare.
"I think," she mumbled, stretching her arms until her joints popped, "that I deserve a sandwich and a very long shower."
White sparks danced across her skin as her golden crown and armour dissolved into essence, replaced by a simple mantle that condensed into soft, comfortable fabric.
"That's the spo– what?"
As she stepped out of the medical bay, a cacophony of raised voices and flickering screens assaulted her.
"There has been an unprecedented wave of Awakenings! We are awaiting a full report, but representatives from the Great Legacy Clans are already on the scene! Valor, Song, and the House of Night are all present!" a reporter's voice blared from a nearby speaker.
'Can I not catch a single break? I'll just slip out while they're distracted.'
That was the plan, at least until a hand clamped onto her arm. "Are you the Lady Queen of Nightmare?" a man asked, his eyes wide with frantic mirth.
"I am. Is there a problem? I'd quite like to sit down."
"Oh, no, of course not!" The man stammered, his words tripping over each other. "I'm from the Dreamer Army. So many of us want to thank you for the rescue! Please, you must come to the hall." He pointed toward the crowded assembly space Asteria had been trying so hard to avoid.
Asteria felt a phantom twitch in her eye. She had stared down Fallen beasts and outmanoeuvred the ego of a Legacy scion, but the unbridled enthusiasm of a survivor was a different threat entirely.
"The hall," she repeated, her voice flat. "Right."
The man didn't wait for a formal response, practically ushering her through the double doors. The wall of sound that hit her was like a physical blow. It was a sea of hospital gowns and weeping families. In the centre of the storm stood Nephis.
Even in a plain tunic, the Changing Star looked exactly like the icon the world demanded she be. She was surrounded by a thicket of officials, her face a mask of serene, exhausted stoicism.
"Lady Asteria is here!" the man bellowed.
The effect was instantaneous. The crowd shifted like a single organism, a hundred pairs of eyes — some haunted, some filled with worship — locking onto her.
"Is it true?" a woman cried, clutching a child. "Did you really slaughter the Spire Messengers alone?"
"What was it like?" a reporter asked, shoving a drone into her face. "The Forgotten Shore — is it true the sea was alive?"
Asteria felt the familiar itch of her soul sea, a defensive reflex. She caught Nephis's eye across the room; the silver-haired girl gave a microscopic nod — a silent 'welcome to politics'
"The Shore," Nephis began, her voice quiet yet carrying a weight that silenced the room, "was a grave that refused to close. We survived it. And this many of us are standing here because Asteria decided five hundred lives were worth saving."
"But the Spire!" another voice shouted. "They say it was a gateway to the heavens!"
"It was a pile of bloodied coral and bone," Asteria interjected, her voice sharp enough to pierce the romanticised fog. She stepped forward, her casual clothes failing to hide the predatory grace she couldn't switch off. "It wasn't a fairy tale. It was a meat grinder. If you want to thank me, don't ask about the scenery. Go home, hug your families, and forget the colour of that sky. Trust me, you don't want it in your dreams."
A stunned silence followed, quickly broken by a surge of movement at the end of the hall as the Great Clans arrived.
On the left was a woman in a sharp, crimson-trimmed suit with a stylised anvil pinned to her lapel: Valor. To the right was a woman whose fluid movements bordered on musical: Song. Trailing behind, shrouded in the quiet mystery of seafarers, was the House of Night.
"Lady Asteria," the woman from Valor spoke first. "My name is Morgan, Princess of Valor. We believe you would be of great benefit to us." Her voice dropped to a cold, low note. "We should also discuss the unfortunate disappearance of Han Li Caster."
The threat was barely sheathed. Asteria met her gaze evenly. "How could I refuse talks with a Great Clan? Though you'll have to pardon the wait — it's rather busy."
Morgan let out a sly scoff and turned away, her crimson eyes as piercing as a blade. Next was Song.
"Asteria, a pleasure to see you again." The woman wore a stylish red dress, her skin as flawless as jade.
"Seishan? I didn't expect to see you so soon," Asteria probed, a small wave of relief hitting her at the familiar face.
"I'll cut to the chase," Seishan began with a cunning, seductive smile. "Clan Song wants you. Specifically, our Mother. She is impressed by your performance — a second nightmare as a Sleeper and the single-handed rescue of a forgotten corner of the Dream Realm. She wishes to reward you. As do I."
'For the Spell's sake... do I have to?'
"I appreciate the generosity, Princess Seishan," Asteria replied, her eyes devoid of their usual warmth. "However, I must consider my options. Life has been... chaotic. I'm sure you understand."
Seishan chuckled at the hidden aggression. "We offer a legacy that matches your beauty, Asteria. Why stay locked away when you can pave the way for the next generation? We'll await your response. Don't keep us waiting long."
'One more,' Asteria thought, regretting ever entering this hall. She gave the third representative a curt nod.
"Queen of Nightmare," the man began, stepping into her personal space. "We may not offer as much, but we care for exploration and the truth."
"If you know you can't offer much, is there a point in trying?" Asteria grumbled, her patience finally snapping. "Am I a piece of real estate? An object to be bought?"
The representative paled, but Asteria's cold voice cut him off before he could speak.
"I told you," she said, her glass eyes glowing with a dangerous violet hue. "I want food and a shower. In that order. If any of you are in my way within the next ten seconds, I'm going to wonder if you're as sturdy as the things I killed in there."
The crowd parted like a school of fish fleeing a predator. She walked through the centre of them, her shoulder clipping the man from the House of Night. The representatives of Valor and Song watched her go with looks of predatory pride and unmasked greed.
For the first time since their founding, the Great Clans didn't seem like untouchable deities. They were mere fodder in the face of the Queen of Nightmare — hungry, angry, and very dirty.
As she reached the exit, she heard Nephis's voice one last time, answering a reporter. "I wonder what she'll do next."
Retreating to what formerly was her room in the Academy, Asteria let out a sigh of relief.
'So much carnage... ' She exhaled, thinking of what to do next. 'I might as well check what I gained from the shoddy cleanup of my newfound Citadel, right?'
Summoning her runes, Asteria scanned them in their entirety carefully.
[Name: Asteria
True Name: Queen of Nightmare
Rank: Fallen
Class: Monster
Dream Cores: 2/7
Spell Fragments: [1836/2000]
Memories: [Obsidian Glass], [Lightkeeper's Guard], [Mask of Glass], [Monarch's Talisman], [Crown of Golden Glass], [Sentinel's Heart], [Unseen Mantle].
Echoes: [Carapace Scavenger], [Might of Gold].
Attributes: [Glass Eyes], [Dream Walker], [Mental Fortification], [Heir of Dreams], [Corrupted], [Flame of Divinity], [Fang of Weaver].
Aspect: [Heralded by Nightmare]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Description: ["You were born of the waking world, yet you were made for the one that dreams. The nightmare and the dream is a sanctuary to be claimed and owned. You are a part of this eternal dream, heralded and praised by its inhabitants."]
Innate Ability: [Arachnid's Gaze]
Ability Description: ["Blessed by the Spider of Fate, the Nightmare Spell is almost transparent to you. You possess a strong understanding of its hidden logic."]
Aspect Abilities: [Spell Sense], [Gift of Nightmare], [Unbound by Dream].
Dormant Aspect Ability: [Spell Sense]
Ability Description: ["You can perceive the change or position of entities connected with the Nightmare Spell."]
Awakened Aspect Ability: [Gift of Nightmare]
Ability Description: ["You are the fuel to the great machine. Using your own essence, you can assist the machine in its creations of armaments."]
Ascended Aspect Ability: [Unbound by Dream]
Ability Description: ["You are the bane of dreams. You can enter the dreams of those around you or have marked with the brand and freely leave within the dream. You are one with the nightmare and have the freedom to come and go from within its trials."]
Flaw: [The Call]
Flaw Description: [The nightmare calls to you, welcoming you home.]
Dream Anchor: [Theatre of Crystal.]
Aspect Legacy: [Seeker of Truths].
Description: [To discover oneself is to uncover the world. That was the truth the insatiable Queen of Nightmare concluded upon breaking the chains of fate within her trials, witnessed by the Daemon of Fate. Who else could break fate if not their blessed? Find the truths of your kin, Queen of Nightmare.]
Steps Claimed [0/0]
Step One: Unlearned...
'133 fragments... It could be worse... '
Her eyes were drawn to a certain ability though, [Unbound by Dream].
'I can enter the dreams of those I have marked with my brand... Sounds painful if I have to brand someone.' Asteria shuddered at the thought. 'I'll find out later, I suppose?'
Rapping her fingers on her thigh in thought, Asteria's eyes were drawn to her Aspect Legacy with a sea of questions.
My kin? Their truths? Who? What? How?
And most importantly: Where?
She didn't know who her kin was — though she guessed it had to do with her divine lineage. 'The other Gods? Weaver?'
"Questions, questions and more questions..." She grumbled at her own cluelessness.
Someone was at the door. She knew that much; she heard it, felt their steady footsteps and the carefully raised hand until–
KNOCK KNOCK.
"Come in."
As the door openly slowly, almost pathetically slow — Asteria saw the one figure she didn't expect to see so soon.
He was quite unassuming as far as Awakened go, his eyes like pools of darkness and his small stature pitiful.
Sunless.
The source of Asteria's unknown hatred, longing and rage.
Sunny. Weaver's heir.
'My kin...?'