In the middle of a forest a bustling town stood. The people were wearing warm clothing as they walked down the streets, smoke came out from almost every house's roof.
Despite the cold conditions these people lived in, they all seemed to be living in harmony.
The town had tall walls around it, and many guards were stationed around the wall. There were some awakened amongst them, ready to protect the city from the harrowing abominations that lurked outside.
Amongst the people in the shopping center a man draped in a dark cloak walked around. He was wearing black robes under the cloak. Most of his face was covered by a hood, and he was wearing an eyepatch over his left eye.
The cloak concealed the loss of his left arm.
It was none other than Aether.
He had arrived to this town a week ago after the unfortunate death of Bianca. He had most likely strayed from the purpose of his nightmare.
But he had not come here because he wanted to find a settlement.
He had come here to kill that ascended man.
It was a foolish idea, killing an ascended while being a dormant human. But after observing that man and his sidekick he had formed a plan.
Additionally he had gained a memory. Even though it was dormant, it had a very powerful enchantment.
Enchantment: [Final Slash]
Enchantment Description: [With one final strike this sword shall shatter, however it will kill everything on its way.]
Aether did not know how impressive this enchantment was. But from what he had learned, memories that had a condition to work, or had a cost were much more powerful than normal ones.
He finally found himself inside a bar. Men and women alike laughed together and got drunk. Some even fought amongst each-other.
But Aether did not care, he was not here to observe them.
He glanced at a door in the corner of the bar. Giving the bartender a golden coin as he passed by him, he walked into the door.
It was a long corridor, the top of the ceiling were some planks that had gaps that one could pass into.
He did just that.
He was now standing on the plank, fortunately the ceiling itself was dark and with the enchanted dark cloak he was wearing, his presence was hidden.
He had robbed some people to buy it.
Yellow sparks shimmered in his hand, and a saber appeared in his hand. It was devoid of any color other than white.
It was perfect for his situation, he had lost an arm after all. And a saber was a light weapon he could use perfectly.
'Did you want me to avenge you? Because I definitely will.'
Those men had not had a hand in her death directly. But they were still the reason he had decided to leave that village. If he had decided to stay back there they both could have survived.
But that would not have turned out well either.
Aether had pondered a lot about the purpose of this nightmare.
And it was to slaughter every living being in that abandoned village.
With Bianca out of the way, there was most likely someone else or something else dwelling inside that village. He would need to find and kill it.
If he survived this encounter that is.. because they were already here.
This time around there was no armor on them. However their swords were inside their scabbards which were attached to their belts.
The man with long hair was an ascended while the other one was an awakened. From what information he had gathered, the awakened man was young and newly awakened.
Such pity he was going to die.
And just like that, Aether jumped down right on top of the awakened man first. His saber held high in a stabbing position, his fingers gripping the handle to the point his knuckles turned white.
The saber whistled through the air as it stabbed mercilessly into the young man's head. Blood sprayed onto his dark cloak.
[You have slain an awakened human.]
[You have..]
Before he could listen to the rest, a sword flashed in his way. Aether tilted his body backwards at the last moment. Avoiding the cut barely before it could chop off his head.
As he backed away he took his stance and looked at the angry ascended. He looked shocked that his side-kick had died just like that.
"You! I should have killed you that day!"
Aether's heart pounded in his chest. Right now, he was either going to die, or was going to take his revenge.
And he was definitely not going to die.
The man charged at him with an angry growl, his movements were too fast for Aether to keep up with. But with his attribute of [False Sight], he could keep track of it.
Raising his saber, he blocked the incoming attack that sent a surge of pain through his arm. The ferocious force behind the attack made him stagger backwards. And what came next was a front kick in the stomach that sent him rallying into a wall.
His back hit the wall with a loud thud as he let out a pained groan. Coughing up blood.
The man immediately dashed forward to stab his sword into Aether, but he rolled away at the last moment.
"You slippery bastard!"
Immediately getting up to his foot, Aether raised his saber once again. He was breathing heavily, his arm and stomach hurt a lot. Getting hit by an ascended was no joke.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. And the man's attention slipped for a second.
'A chance!'
That was when Aether's killing intent intensified and then he immediately swung his saber in a wide arc with as much force as he could muster.
'Thank you, Bianca. And farewell.'
The saber glowed in blue as it came towards the ascended. However he was already raising his sword to block the incoming attack.
But it was futile.
The saber cut cleanly through the sword and then suddenly emanated an echo of a powerful slash. the phantom slash whistled through the air with force.
The attack cut the ascended man into two, severing his spine. Blood sprayed from his gut as he looked at Aether's blank eye with shocked ones of his.
Then his upper body slipped to the ground, next was his legs.
He was dead before he could even register it.
What followed after was silence, however the silence did not linger much as some familiar runes appeared.
[You have slain an ascended human.]
[You have received a memory: Silk Step.]
The saber showed signs of cracking, then suddenly shattered into pieces in his hand.
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
'Thank you.'
However the spell was not done speaking.
[You have received an attribute: Ever Winter.]