Dream's lips quivered up as he glanced at the runes of the Spell.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Born of Night].
A smile rested upon his lips as he looked at the runes shimmering in front of him. "It's not like I didn't expect it." He said, raising his eyebrows.
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
Dream was tempted to say no, he wanted to see what would happen if he did. But in the end he answered yes.
[Dormant Aspect Nightmare is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Divine]
Dream's eyes widened.
[Aspect Name: Oneiros.]
***
Dream chuckled awkwardly. This was definitely something he didn't expect.
His expectations ranged from anywhere between Transcendent and Sacred.
'Is a Divine Aspect even possible?' Dream thought, gasping slightly. He quickly summoned the runes describing his Aspect.
Aspect Name: [Oneiros]
Aspect Description: [The veil between reality and dream is thinner than one believes. As the Dreamborne, you command the twilight realm where truth and illusion blend into one seamless whole].
Innate Ability: [Manipulation]
Ability Description: [You can pass through the Sea of Collective Subconscious and enter a person's Mind Island. As the Dreamborne, the island submits to you].
Now, this was certainly a lot to digest.
'What does the Spell mean by Dreamborne?' Dream thought with befuddlement. 'Is this connected to my [Child of Dreams] attribute?' Dream made an assumption, pulling up his attribute description to check.
Child of Dreams: Dreams answer your call while the Realm favours you, slightly.
"No, this could not be the answer." Dream muttered to himself. In the end, he shrugged, leaving it be.
Dream's eyes soon wandered to his Innate Ability, finding it even more ridiculous.
Could he subtly influence and change a person's mind by altering the so-called 'Mind Island'? He didn't know, but the possibilities were endless.
Dream grinned, driven half-mad by joy and arrogance. No one in the world had a combat ability as their Innate Ability. But Dream had just got one!
'Was this the powers of a Divine Aspect?' He wondered, slightly shaken. 'The Gods must've been a force of nature then.' He said with slight awe.
Soon the Spell spoke once again.
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
Dream felt a sharp pain emanate from his chest, no, a rather better word was soul!
Dream clutched his chest, his pupils dilated as he let out a loud screech. The feeling wasn't painful nor was it pleasant. It felt like his soul was reclaiming something that had been absent.
The energy filled his every fibre of his being as Dream relaxed slightly. He felt as though a miniature star was burning in the center of his chest. Waves of heat were radiating from it, slowly reaching his stomach and shoulders, then his arms and legs, then his hands and feet.
Under that heat, his bones, muscles, organs and blood vessels were being rebuilt and revitalized.
Dream felt like he was being reborn, his strength increasing beyond its normal limits.
It felt euphoric.
There was probably no drug out there that could match this feeling.
With each second, his transformation was becoming more profound. After some time, the feeling dimmed enough for a soothing coldness to emanate from his soul.
The coldness washed over Dream's body, taking away all the aches and discomforts that had been accumulated there over the years. Then it moved up, reaching his brain and, finally, his eyes.
His vision strangely doubled.
He could still see the void populated by an endless pattern of stars. But he could also see something different.
A radiant red sun glimmered, casting orange shadows on the water. Dark patches of clouds floated near the harsh sun, giving a soothing atmosphere.
Dream stood at the shores of what seemed to look like a lake. Dream's attention soon turned on two spheres of light orbiting around the sun.
A proud smile appeared on his face, this was his Soul and those were his memories.
The Spell's voice suddenly pulled him out of the Sea of Soul.
[Awakening Aspect Ability…]
"Alright baby. Don't disappoint me now." Dream muttered to himself as he awaited his Aspect Ability.
[Aspect Ability acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Dream Weaving]
Dream felt it was slightly poetic that his Aspect Ability was named after him. But he soon turned to his runes, summoning them hurriedly.
Name: Morpheus
True Name: Born of Night
Rank: Dreamer
Dream Core: Dormant.
Dream Fragments: [67/1000]
Dream was puzzled. What was this mysterious "Dream Core" that had appeared.
'Was his path of progression different from other Awakened?' Dream wondered for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. It wasn't unprecedented.
This was a Divine Aspect after all. It probably had its own set of rules. It couldn't be judged normally.
The idea was as exciting as it was frightening. Not having to fight for resources with anybody else was an incredible advantage. Most of the human society in the Dream Realm was built around the acquisition of soul shards.
If he had no need to gather them to evolve… not only would he be able to become more powerful with incredible speed, he would also be completely self-sufficient.
On the other hand, he had no idea how to acquire these dream fragments. However, he had gotten sixty seven of them somehow already. So whatever it was that he had to do, he had already done it in the First Nightmare.
Satisfied, Dream continued exploring his runes.
Memories: [Tyche's Coin], [Arcane Sword].
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Warrior of The Mind], [Discernment], [Mark of Divinity], [Child of Dreams].
Aspect: [Oneiros]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Abilities: [Dream Weaving]
Aspect Ability Description: [You can pull a veil around your foe, trapping them in a dream. These dreams are yours to command. Your imagination is your limit.]
Well there was nothing to mull about. It was pretty straightforward.
Simultaneously, the Spell's voice resounded in the black void.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
[Your Flaw is: Changed By The Gaze]
"Fuuuck no." Dream muttered, a tight feeling arising in his heart.
He hastily pulled up the Flaw description, hoping it was not what he dreaded.
Flaw Description: [Your personality differs person to person by the way they think of you]
Dream stood in a daze. His eyes blinked at times, as he stared hard at the screen.
He sighed, his voice warm, "It could've been worse" He whispered with a strained chuckle, "Right?! Right?!"
The Spell spoke soon.
[Wake up, Born of Night!]
The black void with a myriad of stars spun as it disappeared from his vision.
***
Dream opened his eyes suddenly.
Dream's hand wandered down to his pants. Suddenly, he stopped for a moment, before deciding to fuck it.
He lifted up his pants to see if awakening had caused any changes down there. Looking at it, Dream could not help but curse. There was no difference! Oh the cruelty!
A sharp snicker soon resounded from his side. Dream's head snapped to the voice, and then, he froze, his cheeks turning red.
On a cheap plastic chair placed beside his reinforced medical bed sat the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
She had short, raven-black hair and icy blue eyes. Her flawless skin was smooth, supple and as white as snow. But her pale skin did not hide how beautiful the stranger was. Instead it increased her striking appearance.
"I didn't think you were that worried about your little one." She said with a smile as Dream's awe stricken face faded, replaced by an uncanny darkness.
Soon the woman turned towards his front, tracing her vision he noticed another boy sitting up opposite to him.
He had jet black hair, heavy eyebags and pale skin like that off a corpse.
"What are you looking at?" she said, not a gram of humor in her voice that was there before.
The boy blinked, contemplating what to answer before his mouth arched open.
"Your breasts."
A strange silence settled over them before Dream's mouth burst open with laughter, almost wetting the bed.