During the same time, while the original trio—Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie—were crossing the dark sea on a boat made from the body of a dead demon, something strange was happening in another corner of the Forgotten Shore.
Five Ascended humans, who had appeared out of nowhere in this desolate place, stood around a glowing pentagram, chanting an eerie incantation in unison.
The pentagram was surrounded by floating strange runes that pulsed with ominous energy. At each of the five corners hovered a radiant Soul Shard, clearly supplying power to the mysterious mechanism.
After some time, the Soul Shards shone with blinding brilliance. Then, in one sudden flash, they lost their radiant glow and clattered lifelessly to the ground. Everything fell silent.
When the light finally faded, a man in his early twenties could be seen standing in the center of the circle, slowly rising to his feet. He had striking white hair, radiant blue eyes, and a tall, lean build. Anyone familiar with anime would immediately recognize him as the spitting image of Satoru Gojo.
The man—Raine—flexed his fingers, opened and closed his fists, and twisted his body, carefully checking if everything was functioning properly.
"Everything looks good," he muttered with satisfaction.
He then inspected his surroundings. The area was deathly quiet. He stood inside the ritual circle, surrounded by the five figures. Strangely, none of them were moving.
Raine stepped closer to one of them and examined his face. The man's eyes were unfocused, as if his soul had left his body, yet he was still breathing—his chest rising and falling faintly. He looked alive, but empty.
Raine tried calling out to him first. When there was no response, he waved a hand in front of the man's face, then gently shook his shoulder. The moment he let go, the man lost balance and toppled to the ground like a statue, hitting the dirt hard with a dull thud. No sound came from him—not even a groan.
Raine jolted back in shock, thinking he had hurt the man. But after a moment, realization dawned on him.
"They've turned into vegetables… or 'Hollow,' as the people of this world call them."
He wasn't sure whether this was a side effect of the ritual itself or because his rushed instructions hadn't properly defined the summoners' personalities. Honestly, he hadn't even finished writing all the modifications he wanted before being pulled in.
After discovering the loophole, he had paid a hacker on the dark web to temporarily hijack the author "Guiltythree's" account. He had been in the middle of typing his character information when everything suddenly went dark, and he found himself here.
'I think I got the most important parts written,' he thought. 'Let's see… yes, this body is different from my original one, just as I described. Now, let's check my status or runes.'
The moment he focused on seeing his runes, the Spell activated. A calm, mechanical voice echoed directly in his mind.
[ Welcome to the dream world, Raine ]
It was followed by several more announcements.
[ Awakening the aspect ability... ]
[ Aspect ability acquired ]
[ Aspect ability name: Spirit Wanderer ]
This was the Spell fixing and taking him into its system. Everything was working as Raine wrote. He summoned the rune next.
Name: Raine
True Name:
Rank: Dreamer
Soul core: dormant
Soul fragments: 0/1000
Memories:
Echoes:
Yeah, this part he didn't get the chance to write. Even so, he didn't think too much about it. The main thing was his aspect.
He spent quite some time thinking of a good aspect for himself. His goal was simple. Not overpowered from the start, or he wouldn't get the excitement of getting stronger. He understood that true fun is in playing by the rules.
Sure, you can cheat your way through, but those achievements didn't hold any real value deep down. The only things that mattered were those earned through struggle and time.
So that's why he chose an Ascended aspect — strong, but not too strong — just the way he liked it.
He continued reading:
Attributes: [Dreamspawn], [Free Spirit]
[Dreamspawn] Attribute description: "You are born of two worlds, belonging to both, but welcomed in neither. Your soul exists on the edge between nightmare and reality."
[Free Spirit] Attribute description: "Your spirit is more independent from the body than others."
Aspect: Spirit Wanderer
Aspect rank: Ascended
Aspect description: [A spirit seeking wonders now confined within the body of a human.]
Aspect ability: [Astral Projection]
Ability description: [You can leave your body to roam the realms of spirits.]
'So this is it. This is who I am now. I have to survive using this aspect ability until I awaken. Challenging. Just what I am looking for.'
And last but not least,
[You have received a flaw.]
Flaw: [Safe Cage]
Flaw description: [You constantly grow weaker in spirit form.]
Great. Just how I want it.