A man with silver-white hair could be seen moving through the roads of an abandoned city. The man was wearing dark blue clothes that resembled a school uniform. His jacket collar was raised, covering his chin. He had beautiful sky-blue eyes.
But what he was holding didn't quite fit into this otherwise beautiful picture. In one hand, he held a broken spider leg, while a lizard's tail dangled from his back, gripped tightly in his other hand. The man moved forward with slow, deliberate steps.
Suddenly, a monster appeared from a street corner. It looked at the man. The man looked back. He didn't flinch. He didn't run. He simply continued moving forward, as if he wasn't surprised to see the creature.
It would have looked much cooler if the man had been holding a sword instead of a spider leg and a lizard's tail.
The creature lunged at him. In response, he threw the lizard's tail toward it. The creature caught it in its mouth, now completely distracted.
The man fell to the ground. But about ten seconds later, the creature also collapsed.
The man woke up, calmly picking himself up and walking toward the fallen beast. The spider leg was still in his hand. He stood beside the creature, aimed at its eye, and with a swift motion, thrust the spider leg as deep as he could.
[You have slain an Awakened beast, Coral Turtle.]
He retrieved his 'weapon' from the creature's head and cleaned it on the beast's body.
This was Raine's fourteenth kill, excluding those five hollows. He hadn't received anything from the Spell since he had gotten the lizard's tail.
He bent down to pick up the lizard's tail, which was now covered in the creature's saliva.
[Your soul grows stronger.]
He placed the lizard's tail on his back again and was about to continue forward when his legs stopped. The Spell wasn't done speaking.
[You have received a Memory.]
He dropped the tail, which had become quite slippery from the saliva. He also dropped the spider leg, hoping he would never have to pick it up again.
He had lost all hope of ever receiving another Memory from the Spell. From his second kill to his eighth, he had desperately hoped for anything. But nothing came. He had apologized, cursed (in his mind), and even prayed. Nothing worked.
But now, when he wasn't expecting anything, he had finally received something.
"Am I forgiven?" he asked, still only half believing it.
"Thank you, Lady Spell."
"I know you had a heart somewhere in—"
He quickly shut his mouth with both hands. 'What is wrong with me? Was I really going to say that? You fool, think before you open your mouth.'
"Thank you," was all he said after some time.
He summoned his runes. He knew no creatures were around him for the moment, so he checked his status right there.
Name: Raine
True Name:
Rank: Dreamer
Soul Fragments: 952/1000
Memories: [Lizard's Tail], [Coral Blade]
Echoes:
Attributes: [Dreamspawn], [Free Spirit]
Aspect: [Spirit Wanderer]
Aspect Rank: Ascended
Aspect Ability: [Astral Projection]
Flaw: [Safe Caze]
He looked at his full status. He had received a new weapon — the Coral Blade. But he didn't feel any excitement. Somehow, reading through his entire status left him in a strange mood.
He summoned the details of the Coral Blade.
Memory: Coral Blade
Memory Type: Weapon
Memory Description: [A blade made out of coral.]
Suddenly, he felt an urge to enter his Soul Sea. For no apparent reason, he just wanted to see it — to see the sun shining there.
He dived inside and opened his eyes. This time, he was standing on a calm and tranquil sea. A single, blinding sun shone brightly in the sky above.
He rose toward the sky, already familiar with flying in this place. He tried to reach the sun, but he couldn't get any closer. He gazed at the vast, beautiful sea stretching endlessly below.
A deep tiredness washed over him. He wanted to sleep — as if he hadn't rested in ages. He wanted to lie there in the sky, surrounded by perfect peace from all sides.
But he couldn't.
His real body was still standing in the middle of that ruined city road. He forced himself to leave this peaceful place and return to reality — to the endless fighting against nightmare creatures just to survive and move forward.
He opened his eyes, picked up the lizard's tail, and continued forward with slow steps, leaving the creature's body and the spider leg behind.
"I feel so tired."
He was feeling tired.